But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because they were charged with the service of the holy things that had to be carried on the shoulder. (Numbers 7:9 ESV)
And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. (2 Samuel 6:6, 7 ESV)
God gave some of the priests oxen to use to pull the articles of the tabernacle on carts. Others he instructed to carry certain articles. The most important part of the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant, was to be carried. God instructed them to carry it with poles & not to transport it on a cart.
Some years later, the Philistines captured the ark & used a cart to carry it. When the Lord finally brought the ark back, the Israelites transported it like the Philistines, not like God had commanded. They brought it back on a cart instead of carrying it. What's the big deal?
At one point the ark starts to move. The oxen stumble & Uzzah reaches out to steady it. That's a good thing to do right? Wrong! He touches the ark & God strikes him dead.
Everything about this seems wrong. How could God do this? He was trying to steady the ark, why would God kill him for that!?
We see a couple of truths for us in this. First, God means what he says. When he told them to carry the ark he meant it. We often times want to do God's work our ways & this simply won't do. God requires obedience from us & any deviation or shortcut to that is disobedience. Cain experienced this first hand. He knew what God expected from him & chose to do things his own way. We know what God requires of us. It's clearly written on our conscience & in his Word! He requires complete obedience. We can't do God's work in the pattern of the world & expect God to bless it!
Second, God is holy. To treat him as unholy is a serious offense. It's a matter of life & death. In fact, it was primarily the holiness of God that cost him the death of his son! Jesus died because God is holy & if he would adopt sinners as children, someone must take the wrath of God for sin.
In what ways are we taking shortcuts to God's commands? How are we living our lives according to the patterns of this world rather than the commands of God? Are we doing marriage according to God or the world? Church? Family? Business?
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