April 7

The story of Uzzah dying has always perplexed me. It seems as though he did a good thing in stabilizing the Ark. It makes sense to make sure that the Ark doesn’t fall off its cart. Then I started to think about it. Wasn’t the Ark supposed to be carried? Let’s say I am remembering incorrectly, the Ark was not supposed to be touched. God dwelt between the Cherubim – that thing was as Holy as Holy could be! What was Uzzah doing near it? The fact remains that he tried to do something good and was punished for it, because he did it wrong. What do I do with that?

God spoke to me and said that I can try to accomplish a good result in the wrong way. Helping the church through a financial crunch would be possible if I robbed a bank. We know that robbing is wrong though so we would never… Didn’t Uzzah know…? He did! There is a separation between the secular and the sacred and God demands that we observe it. It is the difference between worldly wisdom and God’s wisdom. It’s the difference between taking the glory because you did something and giving the glory to God because He accomplished it!

It isn’t the result He is after (the Ark arriving safely), it is the process in our lives (carrying the Ark properly), because that is what takes us to the proper result – Christ likeness.