Fear of the Lord
6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. 7 The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God struck him there because he reached out his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God. 8 David was angry because the Lord had burst forth with an outburst upon Uzzah; so that place is called Perez-uzzah,
to this day. 9 David was afraid of the Lord that day; he said,
“How can the ark of the Lord come into my care?” (2 Samuel 6:6-9)
Prior to David's reign, the ark of God (or the arc of the covenant), resided in Baale-judah. But once David took the city of Jerusalem, David wanted the ark in "his" city. The ark was a large chest built during Moses' leadership to God's very detailed specifications. It held the stone tablets etched with the Ten Commandments, and most importantly it was the location of God's presence among the people of Israel. Failure to comply with God's rules about handling the ark always resulted in suffering and swift death (seen especially throughout 1 Samuel). Still, when David and his company of 30,000 set out to joyfully accompany the ark as it was carried into Jerusalem, no one anticipated the death of one of their own resulting from a seemingly innocent gesture - Uzzah touched the ark in order to steady it as the oxen had shaken the cart.
This may seem to us - as it did to David - to be unnecessarily harsh, causing us to question everything we think we know about God. Is God loving, merciful, just? We may seek to blame the participants. Was David at fault? Did he lead the people in a lack of reverence? Was he so keen to experience God's blessings that he mistook God's favor for familiarity? We also don't know Uzzah's heart - had he made an idol of the ark? Or did Uzzah pay the price for David's arrogance? We don't know.
After Uzzah's death, David waited three months before attempting, and succeeding at, bringing the ark into Jerusalem. God greatly blessed the home where the ark resided during this interim period, and that blessing helped convince a hesitant David to try again. God does not stop being good just because God's ways are not always understood. We stand in reverent awe of the God whose power and love are equally untamable.
9 Give instruction to the wise, and they will become wiser still;
teach the righteous and they will gain in learning.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
(Proverbs 9:9-10)
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