March 1
“When they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, because the oxen nearly upset it. And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzza, so He struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark; and he died there before the LORD.” 1 Chronicles 13:9-10
There is so much more to say about the fear of the Lord. The death of Uzza brings several things to mind. Here is a situation where David was doing a good thing, and he had brought Israel together for a great procession and celebration in bringing the ark of God to a more protected and more permanent place. A seemingly very small infraction on Uzza’s part caused God to be angry and kill Uzza on the spot. Not only did a man loose his life, but the entire celebration, meant to honor and exalt the Lord, was brought to a screeching halt and ended up being an occasion of dishonor and regret.
We read that David was angry because of what God did. We are not told the details of this story, but knowing that God is a patient, loving God in addition to being a holy God, I would like to offer some speculations about what might have been going on, all with the intention of helping us better understand the way God may think about things and the way He can very well choose to deal with His people if He so desires.
First, it is important to point out that God gave very specific instructions about how the ark was to be carried in Numbers 4. It was to be covered by multiple cloths and skins by the sons of Aaron and then carried with poles only by the sons of Kohath of the tribe of Levi, “so that they may not touch the holy objects and die.” (Numbers 4:15) God’s warning was already clear that death was the outcome if they didn’t carry the ark correctly.
Uzza may have been completely ignorant of these verses and his disobedience to them completely unintentional. But it is also possible, and I personally think more likely, that Uzza was well familiar with God’s instructions for moving the ark and didn’t think it would matter if they didn’t follow them. Perhaps because of expedience or laziness, perhaps out of a fear of man to not want to upset the king and delay the big procession, or perhaps out of arrogance and unbelief, whatever the reason Uzza did not think it would be a big deal to not follow the commandments of God. Another possibility is that Uzza was kind of showing off for all the people, wanting them to see how important he was touching the ark of God, and perhaps it didn’t need steadying at all, and Uzza knew it. Whatever the details were, I think it is likely that Uzza became arrogant and knowingly put the Lord to the test.
How often do we put the Lord to the test? How often do we do what we know the Lord would not approve of, knowing that the thing is prohibited in scripture? Perhaps we really didn’t know the commandment, but far more often I think we know exactly what the commandment is and become proud and presumptuous in our disregard of that commandment. Perhaps we have done the forbidden thing before and nothing happened to us, so because of God’s goodness we become emboldened to do it more and more. In such a situation, would God be unjust to suddenly give us the consequences we deserved all along? He would be fully just and in no obligation to continue extending grace to us.
Tomorrow we will continue this discussion and explore David’s anger toward the Lord and what insights that might give us into our own errant thinking and behaviors.