David’s Tabernacle Restored, Part 11

 

January 4, 2019

 

It probably seems to some as though we have really deviated from the topic of David’s Tabernacle and the picture of unabated praise and worship, but I assure you, we have not!  The relationship that David experienced with the Lord was an intimate one.  It is a strange thing that during all of his years as King of Israel, he wound up marrying so many women in his desire to match the relationship he had with the Lord.  Not until he married Bathsheba (under highly controversial and questionable circumstances) did he finally feel like he had a wife in this life with whom he could be One!

 

But that’s another subject we won’t get into – not now, anyway.  We pick up where we left off last week and continue with another area that disturbs many religious people.

 

The marriage between the Lord Jesus Christ and the disciples was ratified on the Day of Pentecost.  He had their tongues, and used those tongues to manifest His power and authority in 17 different languages to those who were gathered about.  From that day forward, Jesus had their tongues.  He could speak through them in any language He so desired to minister to virtually any kind of need.  The disciples became apostles and prophets and evangelists, etc., because of the marriage covenant between them and the Lord.  He gave them power.  They gave Him their tongues.

 

There are a lot of Christians who want the benefits of the marriage relationship with the Lord, but they are not willing to give up control of their tongues.  They want the power and the authority, but they want to maintain control of their tongues.

 

Think about it for a minute.  How could the apostles lay foundations for the early believers if they refused to let go of their tongues?  How could they preach with the power and authority of Holy Spirit if Holy Spirit didn’t have that control.  The same applies to prophets.  When you prophesy, those words are not coming out of your spirit: they are originating with Holy Spirit.  He is doing the speaking, but He is using the prophet’s tongue. 

 

The prophet is speaking forth things that he couldn’t possibly know of himself.  He is decreeing and declaring events to come because Holy Spirit wants His people to hear and know these things.

 

Now, let’s apply this once again to praise and worship.  We get back to our theme of the Tabernacle of David.

 

David saw the heart of God.  He gave himself over to the Lord, lock, stock and barrel.  He withheld nothing of himself to the Lord.  His number one priority was the marriage of the Lord to His people, Israel.  He knew that was not going to manifest unless the presence of the Lord was demonstrated among the people in a tangible way.

 

What David experienced personally in hearing the sound of praise and worship coming out of Heaven as he himself worshiped changed him permanently.  It was a revelation that would never leave his spirit.

 

When the opportunity presented itself, and he became King in Israel, restoring the Ark of the Covenant was his number priority.  That Ark, after all, was the visible representation of the marriage between the Lord and Israel.

 

But it wasn’t enough to restore the Ark to its place of prominence so that all Israel could see.  The Ark had been ensconced for generations in the Tabernacle of Moses prior to be captured by the Philistines.  The nation had drifted away from the Lord to such a degree that they barely knew that the Ark existed.  It wasn’t something that filled their conscious beings, and most of them had lost sight of the fact that the Ark represented the Covenant that God had made with them.

 

Nope.  Israel needed more than the Ark.  They needed the presence of the Lord.  They needed the sounds of praise and worship that had long permeated David’s being.  David was a musician of long standing.  He’d already been responsible for putting on parchment much of the songs of prayer, praise and worship that had filled his days as a shepherd.  As King, there would be little time for him to personally spend the kind of time necessary.  So he appointed three families who had the anointing for praise and worship.

 

Asaph was a leading member of the Levites, a songwriter in his own right, and a musician.  His sons and daughters had been trained to follow in his footsteps.

 

Heman was the prophet Samuel’s grandson.  That prophetic anointing of his grandfather was upon him.  He was also a musician and his sons and daughters followed him.

 

Finally, there was Jeduthun — sometimes referred to as Ethan.  Songwriter, singer, musician, he was also a member of the tribe of Levites.  His sons and daughters likewise followed in his footsteps.

 

And there it was.  Three families that could keep praise and worship going in shifts around the clock.  Three families that learned from David.  Three families that understood the presence of the Lord, and the necessity of keeping it continually going before the nation.  These would be three families that would perpetuate the sound of praise and worship for generation after generation after generation, and reap both the rewards and the benefits of always being ready.  And David’s vision would come to fruition through their continual praise and worship.

 

If ever there has been opposition and warfare, it occurs when true worship manifests.  It is the nature of this realm.  Let me give you a history of this opposition today.

The Enemy absolutely hates it when believers enter into this realm.  He stirs controversy and attacks against those who lead real worship, he promotes innuendoes that demean both the worship and the worshipers, and he seeks to kill and destroy anything that promotes worship in the Spirit and in truth.

 

We start today with the very beginnings of the Tabernacle of David.  Consider the personal ridicule and attack that David took from his own wife, Michal, as he brought the Ark of the Covenant back into Jerusalem.

 

Before we go there, however, let me lay a little groundwork so that you understand Michal.  This starts off a bit gruesome so bear with me.

 

I Samuel 18:20-28:  And Michal Saul’s daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.   And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the twain.  

 

And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king’s son in law.  And Saul’s servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king’s son in law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?  And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David.

 

And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.  And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son in law: and the days were not expired.

 

Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king’s son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife. And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal Saul’s daughter loved him.

 

This is a strange way to begin, but it illustrates the effort that the Enemy goes to in order to bring down a worshiper — and in this instance — one like David whose entire existence revolved around seeing that the heart of the Lord was pleased and fulfilled.

There is a Hebrew word used here that has many applications, depending on how one uses the diacritical breathing marks with it.  The word is ‘ahab.  This word can mean: “intimate love.”  It can represent a real bonding relationship where two people are fond of each other.  It can simply mean: “like.”  It can also mean: “to desire sexually, to want in order to fulfil one’s own sexual needs.”

 

The Hebrew ‘ahab, in its various uses, parallels the Greek terms, eros (for animal passions), phileo (for brotherly love), or agape (for that intimate, unconditional love of God).

 

How it is used and where it is used makes all the difference in the world.  Each time you see the statement that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, you can read that she saw in David a handsome young man who she believed would satisfy her sexually.  There was nothing in Michal’s heart that yearned for the kind of joining with the Lord that David experienced.  She simply saw him as a sex object.

 

However she expressed her desires to her father, Saul, he decided to make a point of that by requiring David to kill 200 Philistines and bring him their foreskins as proof.  He was, after all, extremely jealous of David and the favor he had in Israel, and thought that the task of killing 200 Philistines would actually result in his death.

 

When Saul was unable to kill David, and David had to go on the run for his life, Saul gave Michal to another man, by whom she had children.

 

Move forward a few years in time and we come to that time when Saul is dead, David has become King of Israel, and he has purposed to bring the Ark of the Covenant back and set it up in his simple Tabernacle — nothing more than a tent with the flaps open for Israel to see.

 

II Samuel 6:15-23:  So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.   And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.

 

And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.   And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.

 

And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.

 

Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!

And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD.  And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.  Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.

 

The picture is pretty clear, isn’t it?  What was supposed to be “love” in Michal’s heart turned very quickly into hate and despising of David.  Her reference to David and accusation was that he was simply exposing himself to the young maidens who were also dancing for sexual reasons.  She was quick to attack his motives and his heart’s desire.  She never really knew David, nor did she ever share his heart of worship, so it was easy for her to attack his display has having unclean motives and purposes.

 

That’s a tactic that the Enemy still uses today against worshipers who really pour themselves into it.  My recent participation in the prophetic conference in Gettysburg, PA gave me a fresh look and reminder of this kind of attack.

 

Elizabeth Fondong is the wife of Robinson Fondong, who sponsored the conference.  She is the worship leader in their fellowship.  When Elizabeth got into the worship, she was all in it.  Every bit of her being was demonstrating that worship.  She danced with all her might.  She sang with all her might.  Had she worn the kind of loose-fitting clothing that David wore, I’ve no doubt that she would have lost it in her dance, the same way that David lost his.

 

When she finished leading the worship, there were some folks sitting behind me who expressed their criticism of her, saying that she was just going overboard, and that kind of display was not necessary.

 

During the years that Della and I were based out of Post Falls, Idaho and we traveled the northwest and western Canada with spontaneous worship, we periodically ran into people who disliked our spontaneity and were critical of it — absolutely ignoring the peace and presence of the Lord that accompanied the worship.

 

We stopped to visit a family in northern Alberta and discovered that the father was suffering terminal cancer.  After some discussion with the family, we brought our instruments in (we carried them with us wherever we traveled) and began worshiping.  Another family was visiting while we were there and they simply sat still on the sofa as we played.  The peace and presence of the Lord flooded that home.  The man with the terminal cancer was healed as we played.  The visitors snorted, however, when we wrapped it up.

 

“This is nothing more than a crazy jam session, if you ask me.  This isn’t worship!  You’d never get this kind of stuff in our church.”  They simply couldn’t see it as worship because it didn’t fit into their little boxes.

 

I just laughed.  “You’re right.  It would be a rarity to have this kind of worship in any modern church.  Most churches have lost any semblance of what real worship is all about.  They are more concerned with how refined it is and how it meets the standard of their hymnal instead of how or whether it ministers to the heart of the Lord.

 

The visitors were offended and decided it was time to leave.  I felt bad for them because there was no heart of worship in them.  To their natural ears, we were just “jamming together” and making stuff up.  They had no ears to hear what the Spirit was saying or doing.  My guess is that they would have treated David’s music in much the same manner.  He didn’t just sing Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual songs, he played by the hour on his harp.  He played whatever he heard coming out of Heaven, no matter what it sounded like.

 

In case you are missing out on real fellowship in an environment of Ekklesia, our Sunday worship gatherings are available by conference call – usually at about 10:45AM Pacific.  That conference number is (712) 770-4160, and the access code is 308640#.  We are now making these gatherings available by Skype.  If you wish to participate by video on Skype, my Skype ID is regner.capener.  If you miss the live voice call, you can dial (712) 770-4169, enter the same access code and listen in later.  The video call, of course, is not recorded – not yet, anyway.

 

Blessings on you!

 

           

Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES

RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Temple, Texas 76504

Email Contact: CapenerMinistries@protonmail.com

 

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