LEARNING DAILY

 

2 Samuel 6:6-7, Now 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.

 

The verses above seem to be out of place when thinking about how the devil lies to us (thinking back over the last few pages of the blog). Let me explain the situation for the verses and relate them to what we have been writing about.

 

David is transporting the ark of God to Jerusalem; it had been in the possession of Philistines for fifty years. They had loaded the ark onto a cart pulled by oxen. The oxen stumble, Uzzah tried to steady the ark so it would not fall off the cart. I imagine this was a man’s natural reaction when the ark was in danger of falling off the cart. Two problems are in this story. First, God had been very clear about transporting the ark (see Exodus 25:10-16). David, in his joy of returning the ark of the Lord, placed it on a new cart. “David was doing the right thing in the wrong way” (DJSB). Secondly, God had given instructions in Numbers 4:15 that no one was to touch the ark because it was a symbol of His presence and His holiness. Maybe Uzzah’s action was an involuntary reflex; perhaps it was due to ignorance of God’s Word or because he had an insufficient fear of the Lord. The fact is, he touched the ark of the Lord which caused the lord to be angry and God struck him and Uzzah died.

 

All of this would have been avoided if David had not been in such a hurry and had followed God’s commands. Can you hear the devil say, “Did God really say…?” “God really didn’t mean…!” There are several ideas we need to consider. First, you and I need to do the right thing for the right reason (a Dr. Ed Newton phrase). David’s failure to follow God’s specific direction caused an “innocent” man to be killed. God’s Word contains directions for walking on a narrow way; you and I must follow them. For example, what we do and say should bring honor to the Lord and not to ourselves. When we try to get the honor for the gifts and abilities God has given us, the attention is placed on the wrong person. When we do not do things God’s way or for His honor I wonder if He passes the blessings He intended for us on to others who will do His work in His way?

 

There is also danger in having enthusiasm for God without knowledge of God’s Word. Both David and Uzzah showed great enthusiasm for bringing the ark of God back to Jerusalem. However, it led to a careless attitude about the standards God had set in His Word. Ignorance can not be used as an excuse in following Him. I look back over some of the things I have said and taught, some of my teaching methods I used and I wonder if more damage was done than advancement of God’s kingdom. That is not a poor me attitude or pity party! In my enthusiasm perhaps I taught in some different ways that could have better served the needs of the students. My point is this: you and I need to know God’s revealed Word (His Bible) because it expresses His will regarding how we are to live our lives as we walk the narrow way to His kingdom. I’m really thankful for His grace and He does not do to us like He did Uzzah!