Why would God kill someone who was just trying to help? (2 Samuel 6:7)
6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7 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. 8 Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.
2 Samuel 6:5 - 15
ESV - 5 And David and all the house of Israel were making merry before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.
Clarify
•
Share
•
Report
•
Asked January 30 2022
•
Anonymous
For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
Danny Hickman
Aurel's answer is right on. The reason Uzzah lost his life is right there in the text. It says, "because of his irreverent act."
I think he was just following orders. He was the driver of the cart. He wasn't in charge; he wasn't a leader, he was one of the two sons of Abinadab, the other son was Ahio, who were bringing the ark from their father's house to Jerusalem. It never made it; David made a new decision. He took it to the house of Obed-Edom, the Gittite for three months. (There's another sermon in that!)
The ark was to be carried using poles. Numbers 4:15 states clearly that the penalty for touching the ark is death.
There's an old adage that says, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." It means 'good intentions ain't good enough.'
There's more to the narrative. 2 Sam 6:8 says, "David was angry because Yahweh had burst out against Uzzah." With whom was God really angry? With whom was David angry? Himself? Yahweh? The writer of the story doesn't stipulate. David was coordinating this affair. His lax leadership led to this tragedy. This is a good example of how we can suffer loss when we don't follow God's instructions on how to venerate His presence and power.
But David was great at rebounding! He heard how God was blessing the house of Obed-Edom because of the ark being there, so he went and brought the ark to Jerusalem. The carriers took 6 steps, stopped and sacrificed an oxygen and a fatling. (probably a young lamb).
All's well that ends well!