Creator, Father, King #110

Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him.

KING DAVID’S EARLY REIGN was rolling.

He had united Israel’s tribes, captured the strategic city of Jerusalem for his new capital, and defeated the Philistines in a miraculous victory. Now, he desired to bring the Ark of the Covenant from Kiriath-jearim to Jerusalem.

David summoned every Israelite to make it a celebratory parade (1 Chronicles 13:8).

Then things went wrong—very wrong.

They placed the Ark on a cart behind a pair of oxen. Because of his holiness, God specifically commanded Levites to carry the Ark using poles that would slide through rings on the Ark’s sides (Exodus 25:14-15; Deuteronomy 10:8). Touching the Ark was expressly forbidden (Numbers 4:15).

At one point in the journey, the oxen stumbled, and the cart tipped. A man named Uzzah instinctively reached out to keep the Ark from falling. Instantly, “the LORD’s anger was aroused against Uzzah, and he struck him dead because he had laid his hand on the Ark” (1 Chronicles 13:10).

Instant party deflater.

David immediately stopped the procession. He was frightened, angry, and confused. “How can I ever bring the Ark of God back into my care?” he asked (1 Chronicles 13:12).

What’s It Mean?

Perhaps, like David, you’re thinking, Wasn’t instant death for Uzzah a little harsh? After all, wasn’t he trying to help by keeping the Ark from hitting the ground?

Here we must understand God’s holiness and our sin. The Ark wasn’t just a special religious object. In his lovingkindness, God used it to manifest his presence among his people, physically appearing in a cloud of glory above the mercy seat (i.e., the lid) between two golden cherubim. He told Moses in Exodus 25:22, “I will meet with you there and . . . give you my commands for the people of Israel.”

But God is holy, and we are pervasively sinful. We must approach him according to his terms (through atonement), not ours. This was Uzzah’s mistake and David’s confusion.

David had no right to be angry at God. But in some respects, David had a right to be frightened. God is perfectly loving, but his holiness is an awesome, fearsome thing (see today’s verse). It should not be taken lightly.

If you are God’s child, you don’t need to dread him, but you do need to take his commands seriously and give him the proper worship he deserves.

Now What?

Read the account of Uzzah in 1 Chronicles 13 and 2 Samuel 6:1-11. Also review the January 10 and 11 devotions on God’s holiness.

Did You Know?

David finally moved the Ark to Jerusalem three months after Uzzah’s death.