Under Law or Under Grace?

One of my favorite people in the Bible is David.  There's so much to love about him.  He's real...just read the psalms that he wrote.  I mean he just opens up his heart to us and let's us inside.  He taught me how to be real that way.  Also, he was rejected by his own family...when Samuel, the prophet of Israel came to town and the Lord directed Samuel to go to Jesse's house, all the boys, all 7 of the boys were invited to come and sit with the prophet...well, all of them but one...that's right, David was the only one left out from this very important meeting.  David was treated with hostility by his older brothers when he came to the front lines to bring them food.  And yet, not only a reject, but David was a man's man...he killed a lion AND a bear, before he took on the 9 foot giant, Goliath!

So there is so much to love about him.  Another thing I love about David is that when it came to expressing worship to God...he didn't stick his wet finger in the air to discover what the winds of opinion had to say about the issue.  David was just downright FREE with his worship of God.  He didn't settle for lame excuses about why he couldn't be really expressive during worship...he just went for it...and let the opinions of others take a hike!  I love it!

So, David, in one of his first acts as King of united Israel...he gets the troops ready to go to battle against the Philistines...primarily for one reason...they've got the ark of the covenant.  The ark of the covenant was where the Presence of God dwelt in the tabernacle of Moses.  There was nothing more important to David than restoring the Presence of God to the nation of Israel.  So David and the army beat the Philistines so badly that they never again become a formidable foe to Israel, and David returns to Jerusalem, with the ark.  There is such joy in David's heart that the Presence of God is returning to Israel, that he assembles a band of worshipful musicians to lead worship before the ark as it is brought along the journey...and David is dancing and whirling about in celebration of God's Presence!  Let's read about it...

2 Sam 6:14-16, 20-23  14  And David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod.  15  So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.  16  Then it happened as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.  20  But when David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, "How the king of Israel distinguished himself today!  He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants' maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!"  21  So David said to Michal, "It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel; therefore I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 "I will be more lightly esteemed than this and will be humble in my own eyes, but with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be distinguished." 23 Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.  NASU

Michal, his wife, judged David for being free in his worship, for dancing before the Lord in a celebratory and free way!  There is one who flows in this accusatory way towards God's people...in fact, his title is...the accuser of the brethren.  Michal made the choice to flow in accusing David and her womb suffered from the curse of poverty.  When you flow in the enemy's path...poverty will hunt you down.

On the other hand, David celebrated as does anyone that has been the recipient of God's abundant grace!  And David would prosper, as did Israel under his leadership.

Let this be a lesson to all of us...we can either flow in the Holy Spirit or we can flow with the enemy, the judgmental accuser of the brethren.  One releases blessing upon blessing, and the other releases a curse upon our lives.  One is to live under grace (the flow of the Holy Spirit) and the other is to live under the Law.  Michal lived under the law, and probably felt like God was always judging her, which in turn caused her thought life to be full of judging others.  Do you feel like God is always judging you?  Consider this verse...

John 5:22  "For not even the Father judges anyone...  NASU

Is your thought life filled with accusatory thoughts towards yourself for failing to measure up?  Or is it filled with accusatory thoughts towards others for failing to measure up?

Is your thought life filled with thoughts of how pleased God is with you?

What does the word of God say about all this?