In
the book of Numbers, the instruction of God through Moses regarding the
transportation of the Ark was made clear. It was not to be ferried on a cart.
Numbers 7:9 said that Moses did not assign the Kohathites any cart because
their duty was to bear the Ark on their shoulders. The specific warning was
also given for them not to touch the Ark or be stricken
dead. Being Levites, Ahio and Uzzah should know how the Ark of
God ought to be transported. Whether by reason of carelessness or convenience,
their non-conformity to God’s specific instruction was already wrong in the
first place. Hence, no matter how good their intentions were, they had violated
God’s instruction and had to accept the consequence.
In these verses, Uzzah did not act according to God’s instruction. He should have
been better acquainted with his responsibility and not used a cart to transport
the Ark of God. He committed two errors: firstly by transporting the Ark
with a cart and secondly for being irreverent by touching it. All these could
have been avoided. What happened to him tells us that as people involved in
God’s work, we need to act obediently. Like Paul said to Timothy, we should be
diligent to study and be well acquainted with His Word so that we will
know how to act according to His instruction.
One puzzling question that we have would be this: how could David, a man after
God’s own heart, be angry with God for dealing with Uzzah for his wrong? Very likely
he was thinking that Uzzah had done the right thing to prevent the Ark from
falling, so why should he be punished for it. But he failed to see that God
requires everyman to be responsible when assigned to a task. Uzzah should have
known better what to do. To go about an assignment inaccurately, no matter how
well the intention, is still inappropriate. David had no right to be angry with
God. Because unlike God he did not have the total perspective. As a finite
being, David could only evaluate the situation from his limited perspective.
But God is infinitely different. He knows everything, He knows the end
from the beginning and no creature has the right to question the
all-knowing God’s intention. Like Abraham, we all need to know that God, the
judge of all the earth, can do no wrong. He is far too loving to be cruel and
far too deep to explain Himself. David’s perspective of the whole situation at
best was only at the human level. Isn’t this common among us? We often look at
a situation and react without seeing its wider and deeper implication. We need to
learn never to jump into conclusion without thinking through more deeply,
especially with what God is doing.
David’s
reaction to the whole situation was one of fear. Instead of drawing near to God
and seek to see things from God’s perspective, he withdrew and decided not to
move forward with his plan. Though it would be right for him to have the Ark
located at where he was, he was too fearful to do what he knew was right. Could
this be a guilt-ridden reaction? Probably so. Then he had the Ark moved to the
house of Obed-edom. God’s blessings began to flow into the household of
Obed-edom. It was God’s gentle way of showing David how much he would miss His
presence.
These
verses show us firstly that our actions must be in alignment with God’s instruction.
An action that may seem right in human reasoning, may not be totally right in
God’s reckoning. Always prefer God’s Word over human reasoning. When what we
want to do is not in alignment with God’s instruction, it cannot be totally
right. There is such a thing as an action that is almost right and one that is
totally right. Every subjective truth we subscribe to must always rest on the
objective truth of God’s Word. We must not just do what seems to be right but
what is completely right. Secondly, we must learn to reflect deeper when we
face a painful experience. God knows best, we may not see the reason why a certain
thing should happen to us, but God knows the “why’s” perfectly. Hence, we trust
Him absolutely, regardless.
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