For a long time now I have had difficulty reading the story of Uzzah. In practice, I have actually started skipping over this text. I figured I could ignore it and stick with the parts of the bible I like. The thing is, God didn't give me his word to make me comfortable, He gave it to me for instruction, and so has seen fit to lead me right back to the passage. I believe for two reasons. One, to understand what it has to teach me about God's character, and two, to get to the root of my distaste. For those of you not familiar with Uzzah, let's travel back to the 2nd book of Samuel, chapter 6, starting with verse 3.
(3) 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 (4) with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. (5) David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals. (6) When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. (7) 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.
Shazzam! How's that for the final word! Ok, time to dig. Let the burrowing begin!
In an effort to be totally honest, I admit my reaction upon reading the tale of Uzzah is to see a perfect example of a God who can be enormously displeased with me and, at the slightest provocation, choose to wipe me from the map. This, then, leads my mind to conclude that God is capricious, prone to violent mood swings and his favor cannot be trusted. I mean, really! All poor Uzzah was trying to do was save the ark from slipping off the cart into the mud. This begs the question, where is the fault in that? It says Uzzah was irreverent. Irreverent? At this my human mind balks. It seems (at first glance, anyway) that Uzzah was being quite the contrary. That, in honoring God, he could not bear the thought of the ark being tarnished with mud. So here I'm stuck. How do I reconcile this mental picture of an impatient and impulsive God with other passages in the word that clearly share He is slow to anger, abounding in love. Time and time again I read of the grace He extends to his children even when we are clearly wrong.
So what happened here?
Well, that’s a good question. In an effort to answer it I went back to Numbers to acquaint myself fully with how the ark was made, the specifications, who would care for it, etc. I won’t take the space here to cover all I read but the fact that grabbed me was Uzzah’s heritage. There is some disagreement, however, I believe with the majority, that Uzzah was a Kohathite, a separate branch of Levites (the priests) entrusted solely with the special care of the most holy things. In that context, Uzzah would have been schooled in the proper care of the most holy things from birth. It would be his life's pursuit, and so would have been instructed ad nauseum on every last detail of God’s commandments concerning the ark and its handling. In addition to which God very clearly states that “they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.” So here we are. The reasonable conclusion. Uzzah grabbed the ark directly and he died. So why do I get bent out of shape when the precise consequences God has warned will happen, happen?
I let this truth sink in. That first and foremost, God knew Uzzah’s heart from the moment he stepped out of the womb. If God says he was irreverent than he was irreverent. Second, one of the very things I truly need from God is his immutability. I need for the words from his mouth to be unchanging. Not subject to back door promises or bribes. No different set of rules for his favorites. In this world of transience and shifting sands, praise God that he is the immovable rock.
And now for the thoughts that surprised me.
What if in grabbing the ark, Uzzah interfered with God’s opportunity to perform a supernatural act. Now that’s worth pondering. I mean would an all powerful God not have been able to keep his own ark from falling into the mud? Did he really need man to intervene? Of course not! God could have caused the ark to float. Or it could have gone into the mud and then come out without a spot of dirt on it. Or those around might have witnessed angels from heaven holding the ark in mid air. Any number of things could have happened. But one thing would have for sure – God’s supernatural involvement. Well, this leads down a whole new rabbit trail. It got me thinking, what if? What if Moses had thought “Great Scott, the Red Sea! There’s no way around it! We have to get to a boat!" And so upon procuring a boat, the Israelites crossed the sea and went about their business. Weeeeeeeel, that's noteworthy. And what if David had decided to arm himself with an enormous sword instead of tiny little stones and a slingshot. And feeding the five thousand? What if the disciples had called a caterer? Okay, far fetched, but you see where I’m going with this. Every time I think I am helping God accomplish what only God can do I take the “super” right out of the equation. And you know as well as I do - there is nothing eye-catching about ordinary. For it is in the “super”natural that God resides. Every great leap of faith; every time the risky road less traveled was taken; yes, at the end of human ability there is God.
Verses for the Day: Psalm 77:1-14 (NIV)
1 I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.
2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands
and my soul refused to be comforted.
3 I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint.
4 You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak.
5 I thought about the former days, the years of long ago;
6 I remembered my songs in the night. My heart mused and my spirit inquired:
7 "Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again?
8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"
10 Then I thought, "To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High."
11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.
13 Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God?
14 You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. [Can I get an Amen!]
(3) 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 (4) with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. (5) David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals. (6) When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. (7) 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.
Shazzam! How's that for the final word! Ok, time to dig. Let the burrowing begin!
In an effort to be totally honest, I admit my reaction upon reading the tale of Uzzah is to see a perfect example of a God who can be enormously displeased with me and, at the slightest provocation, choose to wipe me from the map. This, then, leads my mind to conclude that God is capricious, prone to violent mood swings and his favor cannot be trusted. I mean, really! All poor Uzzah was trying to do was save the ark from slipping off the cart into the mud. This begs the question, where is the fault in that? It says Uzzah was irreverent. Irreverent? At this my human mind balks. It seems (at first glance, anyway) that Uzzah was being quite the contrary. That, in honoring God, he could not bear the thought of the ark being tarnished with mud. So here I'm stuck. How do I reconcile this mental picture of an impatient and impulsive God with other passages in the word that clearly share He is slow to anger, abounding in love. Time and time again I read of the grace He extends to his children even when we are clearly wrong.
So what happened here?
Well, that’s a good question. In an effort to answer it I went back to Numbers to acquaint myself fully with how the ark was made, the specifications, who would care for it, etc. I won’t take the space here to cover all I read but the fact that grabbed me was Uzzah’s heritage. There is some disagreement, however, I believe with the majority, that Uzzah was a Kohathite, a separate branch of Levites (the priests) entrusted solely with the special care of the most holy things. In that context, Uzzah would have been schooled in the proper care of the most holy things from birth. It would be his life's pursuit, and so would have been instructed ad nauseum on every last detail of God’s commandments concerning the ark and its handling. In addition to which God very clearly states that “they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.” So here we are. The reasonable conclusion. Uzzah grabbed the ark directly and he died. So why do I get bent out of shape when the precise consequences God has warned will happen, happen?
I let this truth sink in. That first and foremost, God knew Uzzah’s heart from the moment he stepped out of the womb. If God says he was irreverent than he was irreverent. Second, one of the very things I truly need from God is his immutability. I need for the words from his mouth to be unchanging. Not subject to back door promises or bribes. No different set of rules for his favorites. In this world of transience and shifting sands, praise God that he is the immovable rock.
And now for the thoughts that surprised me.
What if in grabbing the ark, Uzzah interfered with God’s opportunity to perform a supernatural act. Now that’s worth pondering. I mean would an all powerful God not have been able to keep his own ark from falling into the mud? Did he really need man to intervene? Of course not! God could have caused the ark to float. Or it could have gone into the mud and then come out without a spot of dirt on it. Or those around might have witnessed angels from heaven holding the ark in mid air. Any number of things could have happened. But one thing would have for sure – God’s supernatural involvement. Well, this leads down a whole new rabbit trail. It got me thinking, what if? What if Moses had thought “Great Scott, the Red Sea! There’s no way around it! We have to get to a boat!" And so upon procuring a boat, the Israelites crossed the sea and went about their business. Weeeeeeeel, that's noteworthy. And what if David had decided to arm himself with an enormous sword instead of tiny little stones and a slingshot. And feeding the five thousand? What if the disciples had called a caterer? Okay, far fetched, but you see where I’m going with this. Every time I think I am helping God accomplish what only God can do I take the “super” right out of the equation. And you know as well as I do - there is nothing eye-catching about ordinary. For it is in the “super”natural that God resides. Every great leap of faith; every time the risky road less traveled was taken; yes, at the end of human ability there is God.
Verses for the Day: Psalm 77:1-14 (NIV)
1 I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.
2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands
and my soul refused to be comforted.
3 I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint.
4 You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak.
5 I thought about the former days, the years of long ago;
6 I remembered my songs in the night. My heart mused and my spirit inquired:
7 "Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again?
8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"
10 Then I thought, "To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High."
11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.
13 Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God?
14 You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. [Can I get an Amen!]
