March 2
“Then Peter said to her, ‘Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they shall carry you out as well.’ And she fell immediately at his feet, and breathed her last…and great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard these things.” Acts 5:9-11
Yesterday we explored how Uzza was struck down by the Lord when he reached out and touched the ark, an action strictly forbidden by the Lord in the Law. I presented my opinion that I think it is possible that there was more presumption and perhaps pride in Uzza’s heart and that this was no mere innocent mistake of ignorance. But even if it had been a completely innocent mistake out of ignorance, God would not be unjust to do what He already warned them He would do if they touched the ark, even kill them.
Why did David get angry? Well, take a step back and retrace the path of the ark. David and everyone else knew that the Philistines moved the ark around with impunity. They put it in the house of Dagon, moved it from city to city, and put it on the cart, and obviously they did not follow God’s instructions for moving it. Yet there is no indication that any of them died immediately as a result of touching the ark. The scripture tells us that in David’s procession they were carrying it on a “new cart”, so this implies that they must have moved it from the cart the Philistines had used to send it back to Israel to a new cart, and apparently nobody died in that transfer. (Isn’t it interesting that they decided to move the ark the same way the Philistines had chosen to move it, even though they should have known better? Copy what appears to work for the world rather than following God’s commandments is a problem that is alive and well in the church today!)
I think it is possible that David was angry because there had been others touching the ark up to that point, Philistines, no less, and yet God chose to strike down dead one of Israel’s servants and not Israel’s enemies. What injustice? Or was it? What if God chooses to deal with one of His children much more harshly than another? What if God overlooks unbelievers committing certain acts that are offensive to Him and yet severely punishes His children for committing similar and even less sinful acts. Is God unjust in doing so?
There have been times when I have sinned and received negative consequences that I felt were way more severe than what I thought was warranted in the situation. I got angry with God because of it. But is God unjust if He gives one person a much more severe punishment than another? Was God unjust to take Uzza’s life for disobeying His command, even though He chose to show grace to others doing the same thing? No, God is not. And I believe that the person who knowingly and willingly disobeys God’s commandment and puts Him to the test is much more likely to experience severe consequences than those who do the same things, or worse, out of ignorance.
Consider Ananias and Sapphira, who lost their lives because of premeditated conspiracy to give money to the church (a good thing, no less) and tell everyone that they were giving the full price of the sold property when in fact they were only giving part of the price of the sold property and keeping some. That does not sound like a cause for capital punishment to me, but I think God wanted to send a very clear message to His entire church early on: He must be obeyed in all details that He has commanded. He is fully justified in giving out the harshest of punishments for seemingly minor infractions.
He demands and deserves to be treated with the utmost holiness and reverence. At times, He exercises His right to judge severely those who knowingly disobey His commandments. Don’t be surprised if the things that you used to be able to get away with you find yourself being punished for. This is God’s way of cleansing you to a greater degree, and granting you a greater appreciation for the fear of the Lord. But if you are wise, you won’t wait for that; you will cultivate repentance and reverence and the fear of the Lord without having to suffer dire consequences.