David's Dilemma...Ours

“Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled...and there he died before God.” The ark was a symbol of the presence of God. It had been absent for over seventy-five years from the Divine sanctuary at Shiloh. Its rightful place was at Jerusalem in the center of the sanctuary. David knew if he could get God back in His rightful place the people would get their minds off their petty differences and divisions, and center their attention once again on the Lord.

The first attempt to bring the ark back is a good illustration of doing the right thing in the wrong way. David had not sought the mind of the Lord as at other times, and this always ends in tragedy. He knew how God had told Moses the ark was to be carried. Evidently, he had forgotten. The designated Levitical priests were to carry it on their shoulders. They were never to touch it, but carry it by the staves on the sides of the ark. Instead, they emulated the world, and carried it on a “new cart,” not following God’s pattern given on Sinai.

When the oxen stumbled, Uzza presumptuously put forth his hand to steady the ark, as though God’s throne needed steadying. His good intentions brought about his death. We can become overly familiar with God. When this happens, we get it in our heads that we can get away with things others can’t. Uzza may have thought he was a pet, but God used him as a pattern.

It’s never right to do wrong in order to get a chance to do right.

                                    (Dr. Bob Jones)