The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Chronicles 13:9-10,
"When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord's anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God."
"When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord's anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God."
David's first attempt at bringing the ark to Jerusalem from Kiriath Jearim ended in disaster. When the oxen that pulled the cart carrying the ark of the Lord stumbled, a man who was moving it, Uzzah, reached out to keep it from falling, and incurred the Lord's wrath, putting him to death.
The thought is made that the excitement and celebration David and company engaged in due to the retrieval of the ark while it was in transit resulted in such a festive atmosphere that they became overly familiar with what was God's. This led to a failure to maintain a rightful reverence for the object of the celebration, and when Uzzah touched the ark, the Lord put him to death.
Uzzah putting his hands on the ark was a ritual offense in that only certain persons chosen by the Lord, the Levites, were authorized to carry the tabernacle with its furnishings, which would include the ark.
As I read this, the thought that strikes me is that I should never fail to maintain a healthy fear and reverence for the Lord and those things which are his. In this tragic way, David was reminded that our enthusiasm and celebration of the Lord may obscure our sensitivity of his holiness and the fear that is due him.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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