II Samuel 6:1-7
Again David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of Hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims. And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that which was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart. And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals. And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.
The story above talks about how a man who was trying to keep the ark of God from falling off the cart it was placed on. For his apparent trouble, he was killed by God. Why? Simply put, it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Only the priests were commanded to handle the ark and they had to carry it with poles. God instituted this in the law. However, a seemingly harmless gesture cost Uzzah his life.
How do we handle the things of God? Sometimes if the truth were to be told. We can be and are found too often neglectful. There are two dynamics in this universe, carnality and spirituality. Period. Man operates in one or both. The trouble is when a person is trying to handle godly things with a carnal mindset, confusion can take place. Uzzah was trying to do a good thing. He was trying to help but God smote him in spite of. How many times have you and I tried to do a good thing with the wrong motives? If we are not careful we can find ourselves right there. Online it amazes me how people can say something about God and curse in the same sentence let alone the same paragraph. You and I cannot handle God, His laws and His ways haphazardly. It is dangerous. It can cause stumbling blocks and make us hypocrites at the same time. In church we serve and yet sometimes in our service we find ourselves not consecrated. We want to hang out at night clubs or do foolish things then turn around on Sunday mornings and tell God how much we love Him. God gave us some food for thought. He says "If you love me, keep my commandments". Basically we can conclude that if we dont keep His commandments, then we dont love him.
How many times have you heard someone say, "God knows my heart". Usually this someone who has fell away from congregating with the people of God. Unfortunately, too many people have been burned by terrible instances in church and it causes people to leave. I teach and tell people all the time that Christ established the church and there is no salvation outside of that. While, people debate that you do not need to go to church to be saved. It should be noted that baptism and repentence only takes place at the house of God. People who read their bibles and pray and dont go to church dont realize that we are supposed to point people to the cross and the cross and gospel is only proclaimed in the very thing Christ Himself established, the church. How shall they believe in whom they do not know? How shall they hear without a preacher? You cannot. So while ministry takes place in and outside the church, it is only as good as the vessel carrying the gospel. The vessel must be prepared and can only be prepared by the word of God through diligent study. Too many people are trying to serve God outside His parameters that He set forth. Though grace covers us and God isn't quick to smite us for our errors, we should be thoughtful concerning His word and our desire to follow His perfect will for our lives. Uzzah was not appointed to the priesthood and was not authorized to handle God's ark. God wanted to show David that we can not get so happy and celebratory to where He will operate outside His word. Thank God for grace, for without it, all of us could wind up like Uzzah.
Richard J Wright
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