"God Kills the Curious - "And he smote of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of Jehovah, he smote of the people seventy men, `and' fifty thousand men; and the people mourned, because Jehovah had smitten the people with a great slaughter. And the men of Beth-shemesh said, 'Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? and to whom shall he go up from us?'" (1 Samuel 6:19-20 ASV)
"Killing
the Good Samaritan - "The ark of God was placed on a new cart and taken
away from the house of Abinadab on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab
guided the cart, with Ahio walking before it, while David and all the
Israelites made merry before the Lord with all their strength, with singing and
with citharas, harps, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals.
When they came to the threshing
floor of Nodan, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God to steady it, for
the oxen were making it tip. But the Lord was angry with Uzzah; God
struck him on that spot, and he died there before God." (2
Samuel 6:3-7 NAB)
In order to better understand these
passages, it would help to examine them in their entirety. You can read the full chapters here:
First of all, what was the Ark of
the Covenant of God? The Ark was
constructed by Moses and the Israelites at God's command, while they were in
the wilderness after God freed them from slavery in Egypt. It was a chest made of acacia wood overlaid
with gold, with a lid containing the "mercy seat" between the figures
of two cherubim. Inside the Ark was
placed the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written (Exodus
25:10-22). The Ark was housed in the
innermost place of the Tabernacle while the Israelites were in the
wilderness. Once King Solomon constructed
the Temple in Jerusalem, the Ark was moved there (1 Kings 8:1-21).
There were very specific laws
detailing who could approach the Ark, who could carry it and so forth. The Ark was a physical representation of
God's presence and of his holiness. Only
the high priest could approach it, and only once a year, on the Day of
Atonement (Leviticus 16:2), or he would die.
Only the Levites could carry it, and it had to be carried on their
shoulders using poles so that they would not touch it, because anyone who
touched the Ark would die (Numbers 4:15-20, 7:9; Deuteronomy 10:8).
Why was this commandment given? Why was it such a serious offense to touch
the Ark or look inside of it? It is
important to remember the holiness of God (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8). No sinful mortal can approach God, because of
the sinful and fallen state of humanity; there is a gap between us and God (Ecclesiastes
7:20; Romans 3:23). This is why God sent
Jesus to die for us and bridge the gap, to provide atonement for our sins and
make us right with God, able to approach him once more (John 3:36; Romans 6:23;
2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:14-16).
In these two instances, the people
involved were aware of the commandment against touching or looking into the Ark
of God, but they disobeyed and did it anyway.
In the case of Uzzah, they disregarded the command to carry the Ark on
poles to eliminate the danger of touching it (Exodus 25:12-14; Numbers 7:9),
and carried it on a cart instead. Even
though Uzzah's intentions may have been good, he disobeyed the commandment not
to touch the Ark, and this irreverence brought about his death. "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" (2
Samuel 6:7, NIV). These two instances
were clear warnings to anyone who would not take God's commandments, and his
holiness, seriously.
