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 Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums, and cymbals.
When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore, God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.
Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. (II Samuel 6:1-7)
When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore, God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.
Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. (II Samuel 6:1-7)
Classic male trope. A guy gets a “some assembly required” gift, and throws the instructions on the couch, sure that he can figure this out, “No problem.” Hours later, it’s less assembled than it was to begin with, but read the instructions? “No, no, I’ve got this!”
This is one of those passages people, including me, struggle with. David, Uzzah, and Ahio were trying to do something good. They were trying to take the ark back to Jerusalem. The ox stumbled. Uzzah was trying to steady the ark so it didn’t fall. God struck him dead. Nasty, cruel, terrible God.
But, consider. Uzzah turns out to be a Levite, not a priest, but a Levite. The Levites were responsible for taking care of God’s things and had been given very explicit instructions about how they were to do so. Not all Levites were priests, and not all priests were permitted to see or touch the ark. As a Levite, he should have known this. The ark should have been covered with specific cloth, poles should have been run through the rings on the corners of the ark, and priests from a specific branch of the family should have carried it. Uzza and Ahio should have known this, but they decided it was easier to carry it on a cart.
Consider also, that the king was required to make his own copy of the Law. David should have known the rules about transporting the Ark.
Consider thirdly, that the Ark was made of wood and gold, and had the stone tablets of the Law inside it. I checked a source that estimated the weight of the Ark to be 615 pounds. I don’t know about you, but I suspect being struck down by God and dying might be preferable to be crushed by something that weighs as much as a stocked vending machine.
They should have known better. They should have read the instructions. Yes, he was trying to do something good, but if God let it slide, God would have been telling the Israelites that they were welcome to disrespect Him. They got very good at that without permission. They didn’t need His help in that regard.
Today, God tells us there are things we shouldn’t do, and we hear the same complaint. “I don’t see what’s wrong with it. God should just let it slide.” God is supposed to be a forgiving God. He should just forgive. If you read through Scripture, there is nothing that tells you whether or not God forgave Uzzah. What it does say is that there were consequences for Uzzah’s actions. Uzzah should have known those consequences, but either didn’t bother to learn the rules or didn’t bother to obey them. I’m not talking about being legalistic. I’m talking about the consequences of either not doing your job or of pretending to be the CEO when you’re a maintenance worker.
This is one of those passages people, including me, struggle with. David, Uzzah, and Ahio were trying to do something good. They were trying to take the ark back to Jerusalem. The ox stumbled. Uzzah was trying to steady the ark so it didn’t fall. God struck him dead. Nasty, cruel, terrible God.
But, consider. Uzzah turns out to be a Levite, not a priest, but a Levite. The Levites were responsible for taking care of God’s things and had been given very explicit instructions about how they were to do so. Not all Levites were priests, and not all priests were permitted to see or touch the ark. As a Levite, he should have known this. The ark should have been covered with specific cloth, poles should have been run through the rings on the corners of the ark, and priests from a specific branch of the family should have carried it. Uzza and Ahio should have known this, but they decided it was easier to carry it on a cart.
Consider also, that the king was required to make his own copy of the Law. David should have known the rules about transporting the Ark.
Consider thirdly, that the Ark was made of wood and gold, and had the stone tablets of the Law inside it. I checked a source that estimated the weight of the Ark to be 615 pounds. I don’t know about you, but I suspect being struck down by God and dying might be preferable to be crushed by something that weighs as much as a stocked vending machine.
They should have known better. They should have read the instructions. Yes, he was trying to do something good, but if God let it slide, God would have been telling the Israelites that they were welcome to disrespect Him. They got very good at that without permission. They didn’t need His help in that regard.
Today, God tells us there are things we shouldn’t do, and we hear the same complaint. “I don’t see what’s wrong with it. God should just let it slide.” God is supposed to be a forgiving God. He should just forgive. If you read through Scripture, there is nothing that tells you whether or not God forgave Uzzah. What it does say is that there were consequences for Uzzah’s actions. Uzzah should have known those consequences, but either didn’t bother to learn the rules or didn’t bother to obey them. I’m not talking about being legalistic. I’m talking about the consequences of either not doing your job or of pretending to be the CEO when you’re a maintenance worker.
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