2 Samuel 6:1-7 (NKJV)
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem
1 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from [a]Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called [b]by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. 3 So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new [c]cart. 4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. 5 Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.
6 And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and [d]took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his [e]error; and he died there by the ark of God.
Similar passage: 1 Chronicles 13:9-12
Didn't Uzzah wanted to protect only the Ark of the covenant from falling?
Why would the Lord’s wrath had broken out on a person that tries to help and protect the ark of the covenant?
Uzzah's punishment seems to severe/extreme or too much?
Is it not unfair that you are just trying to help, but you are the one punished to die?
Background: 1 Samuel 5:1
The ark of the covenant(ark of God) was captured by the Philistines, and later was brought to the house of Abinadab.
Reasons why God took such severe punishment.
1. Disobedience: God gave Moses specific instructions on how to move the ark of the covenant and other holy things of the tabernacle.
Numbers 4:15 (KJV)
15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.
1 Chronicles 15:15 (KJV)
15 And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the Lord.
No matter how innocently it was done, touching the ark was in direct violation of God’s law and punishable by death. This was a means of preserving the sense of God’s holiness and the fear of drawing near to Him without appropriate preparation.
[Picture of the ark of the covenant]'
Notice of how the ark is being carried?
(Exodus 25:12-14; Numbers 7:9)
2. Irreverent attitude towards God:Uzzah, having been around the ark in his own home, could very likely forget the holiness that it represented. There are times when we, too, fail to recognize the holiness of God, becoming too familiar with Him with an irreverent attitude.
3. Lack of faith and God's instruction was insufficient: Moses lost his right to enter the promised land because he felt his intervention was needed when he struck the rock, instead of speaking to it as God had commanded (Numbers 20:7-12).
We need to listen carefully to what God has to say to us, and in obedience strive to do all He commands. Yes, God is loving and merciful, but He is also holy and He defends His holiness with His power, and affronts to His holiness sometimes bring about His holy wrath. “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
Illustration:
The Ermine
In the forests of northern Europe and Asia lives little animal called the ermine, known for his snow-white fur in winter. He instinctively protects his white coat against anything that would soil it.
Fur hunters take advantage of this unusual trait of the ermine. They don't set a snare to catch him, but instead they find his home, which is usually a cleft in a rock or a hollow in an old tree. They smear the entrance and interior with grime. Then the hunters set their dogs loose to find and chase the ermine. The frightened animal flees toward home but doesn't enter because of the filth. Rather than soil his white coat, he is trapped by the dogs and captured while preserving his purity. For the ermine, purity is more precious than life. - HGB
The word holy means “to be set apart.” A thing is holy if it is set apart for a special use. Other words you might use are words like distinctive or different. Applied to God, holiness is that characteristic that sets him apart from his creation. There are many verses that speak of God being “on high,” “reigning,” “in his holy temple,” “sitting on the throne.” These verses all picture God as separate from creation and reigning over it.
There is a second important meaning of the word holy: “Utterly pure, separated from sin.” The Bible tells us that God hates sin, that he cannot sin nor will he tempt others to sin. God is so pure that he cannot tolerate sin in any form in his presence. One day he will destroy sin forever.
Habakkuk 1:13
Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
Galatians 5:21
Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
Psalm 24:3-5(KJV)
3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Then how can we be holy in the eyes of God, and enter into His kingdom?
Hebrews 10:10
And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Hebrews 13:12
"So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood."
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem
1 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from [a]Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called [b]by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. 3 So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new [c]cart. 4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. 5 Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.
6 And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and [d]took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his [e]error; and he died there by the ark of God.
Similar passage: 1 Chronicles 13:9-12
Didn't Uzzah wanted to protect only the Ark of the covenant from falling?
Why would the Lord’s wrath had broken out on a person that tries to help and protect the ark of the covenant?
Uzzah's punishment seems to severe/extreme or too much?
Is it not unfair that you are just trying to help, but you are the one punished to die?
Background: 1 Samuel 5:1
The ark of the covenant(ark of God) was captured by the Philistines, and later was brought to the house of Abinadab.
Reasons why God took such severe punishment.
1. Disobedience: God gave Moses specific instructions on how to move the ark of the covenant and other holy things of the tabernacle.
Numbers 4:15 (KJV)
15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.
1 Chronicles 15:15 (KJV)
15 And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the Lord.
No matter how innocently it was done, touching the ark was in direct violation of God’s law and punishable by death. This was a means of preserving the sense of God’s holiness and the fear of drawing near to Him without appropriate preparation.
[Picture of the ark of the covenant]'
Notice of how the ark is being carried?
(Exodus 25:12-14; Numbers 7:9)
2. Irreverent attitude towards God:Uzzah, having been around the ark in his own home, could very likely forget the holiness that it represented. There are times when we, too, fail to recognize the holiness of God, becoming too familiar with Him with an irreverent attitude.
3. Lack of faith and God's instruction was insufficient: Moses lost his right to enter the promised land because he felt his intervention was needed when he struck the rock, instead of speaking to it as God had commanded (Numbers 20:7-12).
We need to listen carefully to what God has to say to us, and in obedience strive to do all He commands. Yes, God is loving and merciful, but He is also holy and He defends His holiness with His power, and affronts to His holiness sometimes bring about His holy wrath. “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
Illustration:
The Ermine
In the forests of northern Europe and Asia lives little animal called the ermine, known for his snow-white fur in winter. He instinctively protects his white coat against anything that would soil it.
Fur hunters take advantage of this unusual trait of the ermine. They don't set a snare to catch him, but instead they find his home, which is usually a cleft in a rock or a hollow in an old tree. They smear the entrance and interior with grime. Then the hunters set their dogs loose to find and chase the ermine. The frightened animal flees toward home but doesn't enter because of the filth. Rather than soil his white coat, he is trapped by the dogs and captured while preserving his purity. For the ermine, purity is more precious than life. - HGB
The word holy means “to be set apart.” A thing is holy if it is set apart for a special use. Other words you might use are words like distinctive or different. Applied to God, holiness is that characteristic that sets him apart from his creation. There are many verses that speak of God being “on high,” “reigning,” “in his holy temple,” “sitting on the throne.” These verses all picture God as separate from creation and reigning over it.
There is a second important meaning of the word holy: “Utterly pure, separated from sin.” The Bible tells us that God hates sin, that he cannot sin nor will he tempt others to sin. God is so pure that he cannot tolerate sin in any form in his presence. One day he will destroy sin forever.
Habakkuk 1:13
Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
Galatians 5:21
Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
Psalm 24:3-5(KJV)
3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Then how can we be holy in the eyes of God, and enter into His kingdom?
Hebrews 10:10
And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Hebrews 13:12
"So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood."
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
