Your responsibility is to do what’s right. God help you if you don’t believe that.”
–D.W. Ulsterman (The Irish Cowboy)
“There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”
–Proverbs 16:25(NKJV)
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The Bible is not afraid to not only tell us the grandeur of God and the blessings that He has for His people, but also it tells us of sin, disaster, and human mistakes. There are many stories in the Bible regarding romance, courage, valor, but also of despair, discouragement, foolishness, and death. One of the saddest events is regarding the life, or rather I should say the death of Uzzah.
“And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.”
–2 Samuel 6:6-7 (NKJV)
At first glance we shudder in horror and might even proclaim that this was unfair. After all, Uzzah was only protecting the ark of God. But in this there are lessons that we should heed and learn. David was zealous to bring the ark to Jerusalem to make it the focal point once again of worship. First of all, David did not inquire of the Lord. He simply was following his own desires, and the problem was that even though the desires might be good, the way they were carried out was wrong.
David, instead of following God’s instructions regarding how the ark was to be moved, did it his way. He followed the example of the Philistines. He brought thirty thousand of his men with him, and a new cart was built on which the ark was set. God specifically had given directions that the ark was to be carried by Levites, descendants of Kohath. Here we see that David is following the actions of the Philistines, people of the world, in carrying the ark. He ignored God’s instructions of how it was to be carried. It is important that we understand that we must follow God’s pattern, not that of the world. “God’s work must be done in God’s way if it is to have God’s blessing” (Warren W. Wiersbe).
We do not know if Abinadab or his sons, Ahio and Uzzah, were even of the tribe of Levi. We do know that when the ark began its journey there was a celebration with singing and dancing. The ark was on its way, but then perhaps because the road became rough, the oxen stumbled. Maybe needlessly, Uzzah put out his hand to grasp the ark to stabilize it. The reaction was one of haste and reflex, but it was a costly reaction. Uzzah, by putting his hand on the ark, was in direct disobedience to the Word of God. Why should God strike a person dead simply because he did a thing that was natural? The ark could have fallen to the ground, then what would have happened? The point is that the ark should never have been on the cart. (Redpath)
God had commanded that the ark be carried by Levites (Numbers 4). David, and the others were so zealous to get the ark, the presence of the Lord, to Jerusalem that they did it their own way. They did what was right in their own eyes disregarding God’s commands. Alan Redpath states, “So often we put forth our hands, but not our hearts. We put forth our hands to the work of the Lord, but somehow our hearts have never really gotten under the burden of the Lord and begun, like the Levites, to carry it.” Imagine, Uzzah falling dead under God’s judgment right next to the ark of God’s mercy.
David became angry. Not at himself for his foolishness, for his carelessness. He became angry at God. In that anger, he became “afraid of the LORD that day; and he said, ‘How can the ark of the LORD come to me?'” (2 Samuel 6:9, NKJV) He left the ark because of his fear to the house of Obed-Edom and it remained there for three months. Needless to say that when David went back after the three months to retrieve the ark, he had it carried the way that God had instructed.
We should learn from this that we need to “return to the Word of God for an understanding of the will of God. No amount of unity or enthusiasm can compensate for disobedience.” (Wiersbe) Many times, and this is becoming more and more common, we find the practices, methods, and programs of the church following that of the world rather than the Word of God. When we imitate the world instead of obeying the Word of God we cannot expect the blessing of God. Oh, yes, it may seem that the church is growing, there may be numbers added to it and applause, but is the applause out of obedience? Do the methods have the approval of God? “The way of the world is ultimately the way of death.” (Wiersbe)
——————————–
The Bible is not afraid to not only tell us the grandeur of God and the blessings that He has for His people, but also it tells us of sin, disaster, and human mistakes. There are many stories in the Bible regarding romance, courage, valor, but also of despair, discouragement, foolishness, and death. One of the saddest events is regarding the life, or rather I should say the death of Uzzah.
“And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.”
–2 Samuel 6:6-7 (NKJV)
At first glance we shudder in horror and might even proclaim that this was unfair. After all, Uzzah was only protecting the ark of God. But in this there are lessons that we should heed and learn. David was zealous to bring the ark to Jerusalem to make it the focal point once again of worship. First of all, David did not inquire of the Lord. He simply was following his own desires, and the problem was that even though the desires might be good, the way they were carried out was wrong.
David, instead of following God’s instructions regarding how the ark was to be moved, did it his way. He followed the example of the Philistines. He brought thirty thousand of his men with him, and a new cart was built on which the ark was set. God specifically had given directions that the ark was to be carried by Levites, descendants of Kohath. Here we see that David is following the actions of the Philistines, people of the world, in carrying the ark. He ignored God’s instructions of how it was to be carried. It is important that we understand that we must follow God’s pattern, not that of the world. “God’s work must be done in God’s way if it is to have God’s blessing” (Warren W. Wiersbe).
We do not know if Abinadab or his sons, Ahio and Uzzah, were even of the tribe of Levi. We do know that when the ark began its journey there was a celebration with singing and dancing. The ark was on its way, but then perhaps because the road became rough, the oxen stumbled. Maybe needlessly, Uzzah put out his hand to grasp the ark to stabilize it. The reaction was one of haste and reflex, but it was a costly reaction. Uzzah, by putting his hand on the ark, was in direct disobedience to the Word of God. Why should God strike a person dead simply because he did a thing that was natural? The ark could have fallen to the ground, then what would have happened? The point is that the ark should never have been on the cart. (Redpath)
God had commanded that the ark be carried by Levites (Numbers 4). David, and the others were so zealous to get the ark, the presence of the Lord, to Jerusalem that they did it their own way. They did what was right in their own eyes disregarding God’s commands. Alan Redpath states, “So often we put forth our hands, but not our hearts. We put forth our hands to the work of the Lord, but somehow our hearts have never really gotten under the burden of the Lord and begun, like the Levites, to carry it.” Imagine, Uzzah falling dead under God’s judgment right next to the ark of God’s mercy.
David became angry. Not at himself for his foolishness, for his carelessness. He became angry at God. In that anger, he became “afraid of the LORD that day; and he said, ‘How can the ark of the LORD come to me?'” (2 Samuel 6:9, NKJV) He left the ark because of his fear to the house of Obed-Edom and it remained there for three months. Needless to say that when David went back after the three months to retrieve the ark, he had it carried the way that God had instructed.
We should learn from this that we need to “return to the Word of God for an understanding of the will of God. No amount of unity or enthusiasm can compensate for disobedience.” (Wiersbe) Many times, and this is becoming more and more common, we find the practices, methods, and programs of the church following that of the world rather than the Word of God. When we imitate the world instead of obeying the Word of God we cannot expect the blessing of God. Oh, yes, it may seem that the church is growing, there may be numbers added to it and applause, but is the applause out of obedience? Do the methods have the approval of God? “The way of the world is ultimately the way of death.” (Wiersbe)