David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. And they carried 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, were driving the new cart, with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 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. II Samuel 6:1-7 (English Standard Version, ESV)

Today and tomorrow I’m going to focus on what happened to Uzzah and why. First of all, let’s consider the fact that Uzzah touched the ark and died. Some people may think that it was pretty harsh for the Lord to strike Uzzah down, while others may think that Uzzah should have known better.

We have to remember that in the Old Testament under the Law, no one had direct access to the presence of God except the high priest once a year on the Day of Atonement. The very presence of God is extremely powerful because He is totally and completely holy and righteous. Man, who was not made righteous at that time because the blood of Jesus had not yet been shed, could not stand in the powerful presence of God. This was the reason for all of the preparations the high priest had to go through on the Day of Atonement so he could enter the Holy of Holies. Entering the presence of God was a very serious thing and had to be done in reverence and holy fear and according to the strict instructions of the Lord.

The Mercy Seat, on the Ark of the Covenant, was designed to be the seat upon which the presence of God would dwell. Therefore, the Ark was the most holy of all the items in the tabernacle, and later the temple. And by looking back at I Samuel 7, we can get some interesting insight into the “temporary” storage of the Ark at Abinadab’s house that helps us understand this incident with Uzzah.

And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the Lord. From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. I Samuel 7:1-2 (English Standard Version, ESV) emphasis mine

First of all, Uzzah was one of the sons of Abinadab, where the Ark was stored for approximately 20 years. Think about it- the Ark was in his father’s household for 20 years! That’s a long time to be around something. One becomes familiar with a thing or person when they are nearby day after day. Uzzah probably became too familiar with the Ark of the Covenant and did not revere it or the the presence of the Lord that was to dwell on the Mercy Seat. As a result, when the Ark started to tip on the cart, he mindlessly reached out and touched it. He did not treat it with honor and reverence. God was not pleased with this. God’s holiness and righteousness clashed with Uzzah’s unrighteousness, and he was killed.

Also, recall that there was only one son of Abinadab who had been sanctified to care for the Ark, Eleazar. Eleazar isn’t mentioned in this account of the moving of the Ark, so we’re not entirely sure where he was or if he was even still alive. Regardless, Uzzah really had no business being near the Ark because he had not been properly set apart to approach it or care for it.

Thank God that today we have access through the blood of Jesus to approach the Lord personally. But, we can learn something from Uzzah’s casual approach to the Ark. While we have been given direct access to the God of the universe, to approach His throne without hesitation, it remains that we should maintain a an awe, reverence, and holy fear of Him. He is our loving Father, but we can’t treat Him like one of our buddies. He is the Lord God Almighty. He is worthy of honor, glory, and majesty.