II SAMUEL 6: DEATH OF UZZAH

There is one troublesome negative miracle in the OT that is worth discussing. This is the story of Uzzah being killed by God for touching the ark while it was being transported during David's reign. There is one “scientific” explanation for this occurrence. Some believe that the ark was actually a giant electrical capacitor with the wing tips of the two cherubim on top functioning as electrical discharge terminals, and the voice of God was really the sound of the electrical sparks. How was it charged? Well, it extracted its power from the gravitational force of the earth, of course. This is all scientific nonsense unless you choose to get your science from the internet.

Or there is the Raiders of the Lost Ark version where the bad guys get zapped by supernatural spirits within the ark. Personally, if I had to chose between the “scientific” explanation and the movie version, I would definitely vote for Indiana Jones. The problem, of course, is that Uzzah does not seem to be a bad guy, like the Nazis, at all. He was only trying to prevent the ark from falling off the cart when it hit a bump in the road.

We need to first keep in mind that Numbers 4:15 does contain a clear warning: “When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the Kohathites shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, or they will die.” These holy things included the ark The ark itself was to be carried by Kohathite Levites walking on foot and using poles attached to the ark. David ignored all these requirements and actually used a cart to transport it. And Uzzah was not even a Levite, much less a Kohathite. There are at least three lessons we can learn from this story.

“Uzzah's death warned OT believers not to defile the sacred ark, but we have no physical ark to defile. Nevertheless, this passage has powerful implications for NT worship...If His anger burned against Uzzah for mishandling the OT ark, how much more will His wrath be kindled against those who defile the heavenly mercy seat through insincerity and irreverence in worship?” (Richard Pratt, Jr., He Gave Us Stories)

I think specifically of Paul's words: “Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body (referring, I believe in the context, to the congregation of believers), eat and drink judgment against themselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” (I Corinthians 11:27-30)

There is a second question that this story brings up. We should ask ourselves, “How often are we guilty of trying to help God out, as if He were somehow totally dependent on our aid?”

And lastly, this story is a powerful reminder that, in C. S. Lewis' analogy: “Aslan is not a tame lion.”