NAME DROPPING
II Samuel 6:6,7 When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.
In some ways this event is as puzzling today was it was when it first happened. David wanted to bring the ark of the covenant to the City of David or as we call it today Jerusalem. David had taken this long held stronghold from the Jebusites. It was also the city of Salem that Melchizedek ruled as king and priest of the God Most High. It was there that Abraham brought the tithe to Melchizedek after defeating the armies that took Lot captive. So Jerusalem had been a city of great importance for a long time. Now all that political and spiritual history and importance was associated with David as its king and king of all Israel. To make it really his own, David needed the presence of God in the form of the ark of the covenant there as well. It could have been that in David’s thinking he would be ruling like Melchizedek.
From the beginning God set down certain rules for the tabernacle and how it and its furnishing were to be handled and transported. Only the Levites were allowed to do any of this with the priests ministering over and in it. One of the rules was that two poles were to be inserted in the rings that were on the ark and they were to remain there. Whenever the ark was to be moved the Levites were to carry it using the poles. The ark of the covenant was not meant to be touched or put on cart. The reason of course was that the ark represented the presence of God. By having God’s presence in the form of the ark in Jerusalem , it inferred that God’s blessing was on David and his rule over Israel. Now by not having the ark there, and Uzzah killed trying to get the ark there, it made it appear that maybe God didn’t approve or bless David’s rule. This is why in verse 9 it says, “David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, ‘How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?’”
I know that always the attention is given to Uzzah regarding this passage, but I think that the greater picture might be in the attitude of David. Uzzah did what most people would do if anything began to fall, and that would be we would try to catch it. The importance of the ark made saving it even more important in the eyes of Uzzah and those around the ark. The reason why Uzzah died was not because he was evil, but because the ark was holy. As I have said the presence of the Lord would appear above the ark, thus it was holy by association. God had said it must not be touched, and God had to follow through with what he said. If God did not do what he said, then everyone would question his word and not obey him. God killed Uzzah for the sake of everyone else even future generations. There needs to be a holy fear and reverence associated with God. He is not a buddy or chum to be taken lightly. I do not believe that this condemned Uzzah to eternity in hell or caused God to hate him. I believe that when Uzzah stood before the Lord, the Lord saw the intent of what Uzzah did and was pleased with him.
What I don’t think God was pleased with was how David intended to use the ark and ultimately God to give credibility to his rule over the people of Israel. No one likes to be used by someone else for their own benefit. We see this as people can become name droppers associating with others to give themselves greater standing in the eyes of someone. God does not want to be disrespected by a means of self-glorification. Sometimes as Christians we can find ourselves or others doing this very thing. Sometimes we will wear cross’, putting pins on our clothing, carrying Bibles, telling others about Jesus all to glorify self. Now you may be saying, but all these things are good. To this I would say that you are right, but what can make them wrong is if we do these things to make others think of us differently. In other words; are we doing these things to
glorify Jesus because we love him, or are we doing it for another reason.
I know the Bible says that God would not let David build the temple, because he was a man of blood and had killed many people. I also know that everyone has sinned and fallen short the glory of God. No one is worthy to build the temple, serve the Lord or even become a Christian having a personal relationship with Jesus. I believe God wanted to keep his beloved David from making a terrible mistake by building the temple for the wrong reasons. Now, I know that all this is speculation, so don’t put too much stock in what David didn’t or did have going on in his heart.
What we need to do is look to our own heart to see what motivates what we do for Jesus! We don’t have to prove anything to Jesus, or anyone else. So can we carry our Bible in public, wear crosses, dress modestly, talk to others about Jesus? Of course and we should! Let’s just do it with the right intent and that is for Jesus to get all the glory.
Prayer: Lord, we never want to use you, but to only glorify you and be used by you. Please keep the intent of our heart pure for your glory and our good. We ask this in Jesus name.
