David’s Blessing Platter

David's Blessing Platter

From 2 Samuel 6

Stuffed Cheese Bruschetta With Tandoori Chicken

(made with garlic cheese stuffed challah bread and tandoori chicken with sriracha mayo)

Raisin Almond Cake

Stuffed Cheese Bruschetta With Tandoori Chicken

David blessed and gave everyone a piece of bread, a portion of meat and a piece of raisin cake

Serve it with homemade sriracha mayo drizzling

Have you heard of the term 'Freedom in the Lord'? It starts by loving the Lord with all your heart, which comes from obeying the Word of the God. But how does that free you exactly? How do you feel when you are truly free? That is what we are going to see in today's story from 2 Samuel 6.

Before getting into the story, let's just worship our Lord and ask Him to fill us up with His spirit to truly understand freedom the way he intended. Not the way the world is trying to indoctrinate us.

Freedom in the Lord

I am free I am free

Shout it out loud

I am free I am free

Rejoice in the Lord

I am free I am free

Say it out loud

I am free I am free

Dancing for the Lord

I am free I am free

Jump up in joy

I am free I am free

Spirit of the Lord

I am free I am free

No condemnation

I am free I am free

That was a good exercise!!! Now that we are done singing and dancing, let us look at the story.

Story Introduction:

David has been the anointed king over all of Israel. He feared the Lord and did everything the Lord had commanded him. So the Lord was with him and answered him in times of trouble and gave him victory over his enemies. His fame spread throughout every land and nation. But David never took credit for any of his accomplishments and always remembered Lord's hand in everything he did.

2 Samuel 5: 12

'And David knew that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.'

1 Chronicles 14: 17

'So David’s fame spread throughout every land, and the Lord made all the nations fear him.'

So now, David wanted to bring the ark of the God back to Jerusalem so that his people would have God's presence closer to them and then eventually place it inside the temple his son King Solomon would build for the Lord. The glory of the Lord resided in the ark so the ark was extremely important for not just David but for all of Israelites.

2 Samuel 6 : 1,2

'David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand. He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LordAlmighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark.'

Where is he bringing the ark from?

From the house of Abinadab where it resided for 20 years.

Why is it in the house of Abinadab?

To make that answer simple, I will make a table of its journey so it's not too confusing to read.

Journey Table:

Thus it came to be in the house of Abinadab. It is essential for us to know the journey of the ark as it plays a very significant role in this story.

Ok, let's get back into the story. David gathered 30,000 of his people and went to get the ark. But the retrieval process took two takes to get it right. Take 1 & Take 2.

Take 1 :

2 Samuel 6: 3-7 says,' And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.'

Before we jump into our judge mode and say, 'That's just too harsh. After all Uzzah was only trying to help. He didn't want the ark to fall down - was that so bad? A warning would have been sufficient.'

This is where the journey table helps us to decode what exactly happened.

1. First of all God explicitly commanded that the ark was only to be carried and to be carried by the Levites alone, and specifically from the family of Kohath. But they ordered the ark to be carried on a cart and by the way, Uzzah was not a Kohathite. Why such a decision? Maybe they thought they were doing it better, we can't be sure.

2. God commanded that even the Kohathites must not touch the holy things with their hand or they will die . Unlike now, it was common knowledge back then as it was followed religiously every single moment of every single day.

3. The last one was the most compelling reason of all. Notice from the Journey table point 9, the Philistines placed the ark on a cart and the cows driving the cart took the ark straight to the Israelites. The cows didn't even turn right or to the left. No one was riding on or steering the cart, no one was securing the ark, no one. The ark took care of itself. It can even drive itself to its desired destinations. Couldn't it also handle a stumble? By the way, again, Lord clearly said you will die if you touch it. How much more clear can it get? The very ark was in their house for 20 years! They should have known better.

1 Samuel 6:12 says 'Then the cows went straight up (carrying the ark) toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left.'

So, Uzzah dies right away and fear grasps everyone, including David. He even went one step further and he got angry because the Lord had struck Uzzah. What started off as a celebration, ended in a funeral.

2 Samuel 6: 9-11 says 'And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.'

Before we go to the next point, let's decode this for a minute. David wanted to bring the ark back to its people but he failed to follow any of the rules. His motive was good but the way he took was wrong. It explicitly went against the rules and regulations the Lord himself has provided. Uzzah wanted to save the ark from stumbling down but he touched the ark and that was again a direct violation of what the Lord had instructed them. So he died. And now everyone is scared to even go near the ark and David is mad. They sent the ark to the house of Obed-edom and there it remained for three months. Situation sound familiar? Rings a bell? Maybe, take a minute to think. Got it? This is exactly what WE DO EVERY SINGLE TIME!

We will often get mad at God for not coming around or not taking us out of a situation, but in reality, it is us who don't follow God's commandments. We ignore the dos and don'ts, we do things that we think are best. We take loopholes for God-given instructions calling it - 'the times have changed', 'this is a good thing', 'I am sure God won't even care about this, he has more important things to worry about', 'I am making it better', 'people like it this way', and so on...

We take out the authority of God in our lives by not following his commandments and we wonder why God is not coming around when we want Him to.

We get confused and mad. We think we have been wronged. The result? We go even farther away from God, like how they sent the ark to the house of Obed-Edom. Now does this situation sound familiar? It is us, isn't it?

Glory of the Lord is holy.

In John 17:4, Jesus prayed this to the Father,

'I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do"

We bring God's glory on earth by following what he has commanded us. Jesus did. Even to the last minute.

When we take away His authority in our life, we won't bring glory to Him. Then things won't go as intended and we will be left with fear and confusion.

Take 2:

In 1 Chronicles 15, Take 2 was described much clearly.

The Lord blessed the house of Obed -edom as the ark of the covenant was in their house for 3 months. Why? Obed- edom was a Korahite ( a Levite of the branch of the family Kohath) in 1 Chronicles 26 says Obed-edom had eight sons because God had blessed him. Think, this might have given David a clue as to what he should do. He must do exactly as God has commanded for the carrying and handling of the ark.

1 Chronicles 15:2 says, 'Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister before him forever.”'

David then would assemble the right people from the right family in the right way to carry the ark.

1 Chronicles 15: 13 says, 'It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the Lord our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire with him about how to do it in the prescribed way.'

This verse shines more light on this instance. David enquired the Lord this time. He is on the right track.

1 Chronicles 15: 15 says, 'And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the Lord.'

They carried the ark on their shoulders just as the Lord commanded. No shiny new cart, just the plain old shoulders from the appointed family.

1 Chronicles 15:16 says, 'David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their fellow Levites as musicians to make a joyful sound with musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.'

The right people were appointed from playing the music to singing to blowing the trumpets to being gatekeepers for the ark. David ordered everything just like God has commanded. So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom with rejoicing. Because God had helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, seven bulls and seven rams were sacrificed.

The i's are dotted and the t's were crossed. Everything according to its purpose. So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouts, with the sounding of rams’ horns and trumpets, cymbals, lyres and harps.

Remember we started off this story with what it is to feel the 'Freedom in the Lord' ? In Take 1, David was not following God's commandments and he didn't pay attention to God's instructions, because of that the celebration turned into a funeral. But in Take 2, David enquired the Lord and did everything He commanded and because of that, the celebration escalated to another level. David rejoiced, leapt and danced not thinking of anyone or anything. He was filled in the spirit and fully experienced freedom. He was not concerned that he was the king of Israel or how he had to follow the royal protocols, instead he was experiencing FREEDOM. Complete Freedom!

We experience the fullness of freedom when we let God take authority in our life.

When we follow his commandments, we love him completely and we won't be anxious or worried. We will have the utmost confidence that our Lord God is in charge of our lives and not us. He is the sole proprietor and we are His humble servants. We follow Him and Him only. How can we say we follow him when we don't follow his commandments?

1 John 5:3-5 says, 'In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.'

We keep his commandments because we love Him. When we do, we can overcome the world as the children of God. And who can be a child of God? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

2 Samuel 6: 17-19 says, 'And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts and distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed, each to his house.'

Hint: This is where our meal plan today comes from. After they brought the ark and set it in its place, David would bless the people and give everyone, both men and women, a piece of bread, a portion of meat and a piece of raisin cake.

Though David was getting things right, one was not - Michal.

1 Chronicles 15:29 says, 'As the ark of the covenant of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal, daughter of Saul, watched from a window. And when she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart.'

2 Samuel 6:16 says, 'As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, 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.'

After blessing the multitude David would return to his home to bless his household and that is when his wife and Saul's daughter, Michal, will come up to confront him about dancing in front of the ark. She would despise him for that. For that, David famously replied, 'It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord—and I will celebrate before the Lord. I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.'

When you make this meal today, meditate on how to be free in the Lord like David. And how not to be like Michal and miss out on the blessings. Michal was a prisoner in her own cell as she didn't know what freedom was as she has never experienced it.

As you savor this meal today, I pray to God that you are completely free in Christ. Love him and follow his Commandments. EXPERIENCE FREEDOM!

On to our recipes now....

From 2 Samuel 6:19, ..a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins to each one

Today I am making a Garlic Cheese Stuffed Challah Bread, Tandoori Chicken With Sriracha Mayo, and a Raisin Almond Cake. And I call this, Stuffed Cheese Bruschetta with Tandoori Chicken.

Stuffed Cheese Bruschetta with Tandoori Chicken:

There are three parts in this meal,

1. Garlic Cheese Stuffed Challah Bread

2. Tandoori Chicken With Sriracha Mayo

3. Raisin Almond Cake

1. Garlic Cheese Stuffed Challah Bread Recipe:

Ingredients for the Bread:

3.5 - 4 cups of all purpose flour

1 packet yeast

3/4 cup of warm water

2 tsp. honey

1/4 cup of melted butter

1 egg + 3 egg yolks

1.5 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Ingredients for the stuffing:

1/4 cup of butter

4 crushed garlic cloves

1 cup of finely chopped cilantro

1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

Method:

1. In a bowl, add the yeast and honey to the warm water and stir a couple of times. let it rest for 10 minutes as it will bubble up and will give out a yeasty aroma

2. Add in the eggs, melted butter, garlic powder and stir gently until everything is well combined.

3. Add the flour and salt and bring it to a doughy consistency. it will be a little sticky. Adjust the flour measurement accordingly. I ended up using all 4 cups of flour.

4. Cover the dough with a clean towel and let it rest in a warm dry place for 2 hours.

5. After 2 hours, the dough would have doubled up, Punch the middle and knead by dusting it with a bit of flour.

6. Make three equal parts of the dough and roll each part into a long thin rectangle.

7. Make the stuffing by melting the butter in a pan and add in the finely minced garlic and cilantro and let it roast in the butter for 30 seconds and let it cool.

8. Take a spoon full of stuffing and slather it on the rectangles and sprinkle generously with the shredded cheese.

9. Roll up the long way in the rectangles by forming it into a tube and pinch all four sides tightly. Make sure there are no air bubbles.

10. Braid the stuffed strands and carefully place it on top of a parchment paper and on to a baking sheet, cover it with a clean towel. Let it rise on the warm place for another 1 hr.

11. Brush the puffed up braided challah with egg wash and bake it for 45 minutes at 350.

2. Tandoori Chicken With Sriracha Mayo Recipe:

Ingredients for the Tandoori Chicken:

2 lbs of Boneless skinless chicken thighs

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. paprika or red chilli powder

1/2 tsp. garlic powder or garlic paste

1/2 tsp. onion powder or paste

2 Tbsp. thick yogurt

2 Tbsp. lime juice

1/4 cup of oil

Method:

1. Mix all the above ingredients and marinate for 2 horns in the fridge.

2. In a hot pan, add the oil and shallow fry the chicken in small batches. Rough chop it.

3. Add garnish by chopping up a single tomato and add in 1 Tbsp. of chopped onion, 1/2 tsp. of lime juice, 1 tsp. of chopped cilantro and a pinch of salt.

Sriracha Mayo Recipe:

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. mayo

2 Tbsp. sriracha sauce

1/2 tsp. lime juice

Method:

Mix all the ingredients and refrigerate it till serving.

3. Raisin Almond Cake Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped raisin

1/4 cup of chopped almonds

1.5 cups of all purpose flour

3/4 cup of melted butter

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup of brown sugar

2 medium sized ripe bananas

1/4 tsp. of cinnamon powder

2 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda

Method:

1. In a bowl add the raisin, bananas, sugar, butter, cinnamon powder, eggs and mix it until well blended.

2. Add the all purpose flour, salt, baking soda and combine it forming a thick batter

3. Pour it in a loaf pan and sprinkle the top with chopped almonds.

4. Bake it for 40 minutes or until the middle is firm at 350 degrees.

To serve:

Slice up the challah bread and add in the tandoori chicken and drizzle it with the sriracha mayo. Enjoy the raisin cake as a dessert.

--

Bindhu Jachin