I Can Serve God My Own Way!?
- Justin Ray
- May 7, 2020
- 4 min read
I Chronicles 13-16
And they carried the ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drave the cart...9 And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled. 10 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God.
I Chronicles 13:7, 9-10
This is one of the hardest stories in the Bible to read and not think that God is unfair in his treatment of Uzza. As humans, we look at Uzza's intentions and judge his actions based on that. However, God has a different standard. We can be 100% sincere in our motives and be sincerely wrong. To understand how he was wrong, we have to look back at God's commandments concerning the Ark of God.
Exodus 25:10-15
10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.
12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.
13 And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.
15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.
Numbers 4:15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.
Numbers 7:1-9 1 And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them; 2 That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered: 3 And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle. 4 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 5 Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service. 6 And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites. 7 Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service: 8 And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
9 But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders.
Three quick facts about the reading:
1. The Ark was built with rings and staves to be carried.
2. Transportation of the Ark was assigned to the family of Kohath and the Ark was NEVER to be touched.
3. When Moses gave carts to the families of the Levites, he intentionally did not give them the the family of Kohath because they had to carry the furniture.
While most people get bored with, and avoid these verses, the law of God is VERY important. It reveals to us God's holy standards. Ignorance does not absolve us of our guilt when we violate God's standard of righteousness. We are sinners under the penalty of death, unless we receive a pardon for our sins (salvation).
If I am going to be held accountable for something, I want to know what that standard is. I would not think it fair if I was driving in a 55 mph zone and got pulled over and given a ticket because the speed changed to 35 mph, but there was no notice of such a change. Now, if there is a sign and I ignore the sign, that is my fault. God has given us the sign, but most of us chose to ignore it because we find it boring. When faced with the consequences of our sins, the law being "boring" will not be an adequate defense.
Uzza died because he did what he was told not to do; he touched the ark. This really upset David and he left the ark close to where Uzza died, under the care of the house of Obed-edom. While there, God blessed the house and they prospered. David took note of this.
Even though they started by doing everything wrong, David learned from his mistakes, and corrected them.
And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the LORD.
I Chronicles 15:15
When we find that we have violated God's law, we must do like David. We should figure out where we went wrong, based on God's word. Then, repent from our sins and do the right thing. While we do not read in this text about a prayer seeking for forgiveness, David absolutely repented by turning from doing things the wrong way, to doing them the right way.
Remember: ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (II Timothy 3:16-17)!
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