(Sue is Thornleigh's Church Pastor)
The Teachings of Uzzah
It's approximately 1010 BC and we're on set with King David at Kirjath-jearim in Israel. It isn't all that long since the Elders met with David at Hebron and anointed him king so now David is king of both Judah and Israel. Since David has become king, he and his men have conquered the Jebusites and made Jerusalem their capital city, and today David has gathered another 30,000 men; this time to move the ark of God from Kirjath-jearim to Jerusalem where he intends to build a temple . . .
Wait a minute. 30,000 men to move the ark? Why would David need 30,000 men to move the ark?! David intends to make this "a scene of great rejoicing and imposing display," it has been said, and his people have responded gladly to the call. The ark of God has long been the token of God's presence amongst this nation and it's only fitting that their capital should be honored with such a token. (1)
The ark of God had been was built at God's command almost 500 years earlier and it was from the cover of this ark that God had spoken to their previous leader Moses. This ark was so sacred that even Moses' brother Aaron was only permitted to enter it once a year when he was called to perform ceremonial duties, and the family of Kohath, of the tribe of Levi, who were responsible for carrying the ark, wasn't allowed to look at it, let alone touch it. When the ark of God was moved it was always covered and carried on poles. This ark had gone before the Israelites and their army on many occasions. When borne by the priests into the Jordan River, the waters had parted so the people could cross over. When borne by seven priests sounding seven trumpets in a seven-day procession around the walls of Jericho, the city had been taken with a shout.
As the High Priest and the priests, the princes and the leading men of the tribes of Israel gather at Kirjath-jearim, David is aglow with holy zeal. He watches as the Levites carry the covered ark out of the house of Abinadab . . . on an ox cart?! Where are the poles? I guess a cart makes more sense. It would definitely be easier to carry and much quicker.
As Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drive the cart forward, David and his men follow, dancing before the Lord with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. It has been a long time since Israel has witnessed such a triumphant scene. With great shouts and songs of rejoicing the vast procession wind their way along the hills and valleys toward the Holy City. (2)
It isn't until they reach Nachon's threshing floor that something goes horribly wrong. Here on the hardest and most level of ground, the oxen "shake" and Uzzah, who reaches out to steady the ark is struck dead. Terror falls over the throng and David is first angry, then afraid. Hadn't he tried to honor God by honoring the ark, the token of God's presence? Why then had such a fearful judgment fallen upon them? Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have the ark so close. Maybe they should leave it with Obed-edom the Gittite who lived nearby.
David isn't the only one whose been confused by what happened that day. This story has not only confused many Christians; it's been reason enough for some to even leave Christianity and others to outrightly reject it. (3) Why would God strike someone down for the smallest infringement against an obscure law? Someone who looked like they were just trying to help? If someone had to die, why wasn't it David, or the oxen?
I'm sure many a want-to-be theologian and even the dinky-dis have tried to reconcile the seeming discrepancies in 2 Samuel 6. Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10:11 tell us stories like this are recorded in the Bible for our instruction, so we can learn from them, and I'm sure many a pastor has wrestled with what his or her church needs to learn so they don't make the same mistake.
For want of time this morning I'm not going to examine the specific laws on how the ark was supposed to be carried or the nuances in the Hebrew or arguments that maintain Uzzah's innocence. All these things are worthy of examination but for our purposes this morning, all I want to demonstrate is that God is who He says He is and He does what He says He will do and the irony is that if we take Him at His Word, we need never be afraid of judgment. If we take God at His Word, we can actually be confident of grace.
In Numbers 4:15 God explicitly told Moses that if anyone carrying the ark touched the ark or "the holy things" they would die. Apparently it was that simple. Right from the start God had been very clear about what was important to Him, and you might like to open your Bibles with me and read what that was from Jeremiah 7:22-23,
"For in the day that I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt," God said, "I did not speak to them or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them, 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you.'"
So that it may be what? So it may be well with you. That was God's only concern. That has always been God's only concern. The only reason God wanted His people to obey His voice was so they could experience His love and goodness. If they disobeyed the laws of His universe He knew they would experience unnecessary pain and badness, and to try to prevent this from happening, Exodus 20:20 tells us, He sometimes went so far as to give fearful warnings, like any parent would I guess.
In this context we needn't be surprised that Uzzah died. God had said that anyone who touched the ark would die so if we were to take God at His Word we would expect this to happen. But let me tell you something else we would expect to happen. Lamentations 3:33 tells us God does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone and 2 Peter 3:9 says God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. If we take God at His Word, yes Uzzah had to die. But if we take God at His Word we can be sure God would have wanted it any other way.
Not so long ago, I think it was a Tuesday afternoon, I wanted to do something my conscience was telling me not to do and for the life of me I couldn't see why God would have a problem with it. It was something I'd been thinking might not be so okay for some time but I'd resisted accepting it because when I looked at it through my everyday glasses, or I should say through most every other Christian I knows everyday glasses, it seemed miniscular; like something legalists might be concerned with and I'm a grace based pastor through and through.
After deliberating for quite some time that afternoon, I finally decided I must have got my wires crossed; that in my zealousness to be everything God wants me to be I must have subconsciously imposed a perfectionistic ideal on my life and I needed to put an end to it. I couldn't see how I would be violating either of the two great commandments on which the others hang upon, so I did, and that was that.
Well that night when I was talking to God and I'd totally forgotten about the events of the day, I asked God if there was anything He needed to tell me or anything I needed to do and that was when the words "1 John 1:9" came into my head. I have to confess I had no idea what "1 John 1:9" said at the time so I opened my Bible and discovered it to be the verse that says, "If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." You know it: if we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and wipe the slate clean.
I have to say this verse hit me on a number of levels that night:
|
First, I am ever amazed that it's possible to encounter the living God. That just rocks my socks. |
|
Second, the fact that I was convicted while reading 1 John 1:9 that it directly applied to the events of that afternoon confirmed that it had been God speaking to me through my conscience and I find that just as amazing. |
|
Third, and most importantly for today's sermon, I cannot tell you how overwhelmed I was by the way God confronted my sin. I already knew God was merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, because that's what He had told Moses on Mt Sinai (Exodus 34:6). I already knew I could approach His throne of grace with boldness in the name of Jesus because that's what it says in Hebrews 4:16. But to have the Holy Spirit, God Himself apply His Word to my life and tell me that if I confessed my sin He would completely forgive me, well this totally blew me away. Fear? Condemnation? Hardly. Joy! Love! I seriously cannot tell you how loved I felt that night. |
There's no denying that obedience is more important to God than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22) and I think I'm starting to understand what that means. There's no denying that there are consequences for our sins and I'm only sorry Uzzah and so many others have died such that we can even learn from their mistakes. But I'm so glad that God is who He says He is, and He does what He says He will do, because this means we can trust the promise of John 3:16-17 and I'm sure many of you know these verses by heart but let's read them together again. John 3:16-17,
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him."
I don't think there are many stories that illustrate John 3:16-17 quite as well as the story of the woman caught in adultery. Just this last week I've been writing a Bible study on this story for my Personal Ministries role and I came across a moving re-creation of this story. I want to read it to you in closing this morning because I want to remind you that Jesus not only died so He could be your Saviour; He also died so He could be your Lord. He not only wants to save you from the ultimate consequences of sins in the future; He wants to save you from the unnecessary consequences of sin in the present!
"Is this really happening? Jacob ben-Joseph wondered. One minute a crowd was sitting in the early morning shadow of Solomon's Porch. Only doves cooing and children playing quietly at the edges of the crowd were heard besides Jesus' powerful but gentle words which echoed from the pillars and cobblestones and temple buildings. People listened in rapt attention.
All of a sudden a woman was screaming, "No, no," as a group of well-dressed men dragged her through the seated crowd to where Jesus was sitting. Tears streaked her face, and she clutched her thin nightclothes to her bosom in terror and embarrassment.
Jesus had stopped trying to teach and waited. The spokesman for the group--an elderly Pharisee, one would judge by the way he was dressed--flung a challenge at Jesus. "Teacher," he bellowed so all could hear, "this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"
Jacob recognized the woman now, and in the few seconds it took for the crowd to quiet again he could see what was happening. She was from the Essene quarter of Jerusalem, where for months folks had whispered about her affair with a tradesman from Egypt. If these Pharisees had really cared about upholding morals, Jacob knew, they would have arrested her months before. But this morning they must have broken in on the couple in bed--with the required two witnesses- -and hauled her into the temple courts just to put Jesus on the spot. With his reputation for welcoming tax collectors and prostitutes and sinners to his meetings, the Pharisees were trying to set him up--Jesus against Moses--and then stand back to watch him try to wriggle out that.
This would be interesting indeed! Jacob thought.
After the elderly Pharisee's challenge, Jesus, who had been sitting on the stone courtyard, glanced down from the man's glaring eyes to the pavement, and began to write--maybe doodle, Jacob thought--in the dust covering the stones. The Pharisees, furious that he didn't answer, shifted about and muttered to one another.
Just then Jesus looked up to the old Pharisee towering over him, "The one of you who is without any sin ... why don't you throw the first stone at her?" he said quietly. Then he leaned over and began doodling in the dust again.
Jacob gasped. Amazing! If I am ready to pass sentence on someone else's sins, what about my own? Who will show me mercy?
The Pharisees were fuming. Jesus had given them permission, but who would pick up a rock and begin the ritual execution? The crowd waited to see. Which one would be willing to expose his life's actions to the scrutiny of his neighbors? Which one would have the audacity to pretend he was sinless?
The seconds ticked by, and it soon became obvious that nothing was going to happen after all. The younger Pharisees glanced up at their elders for a signal. None came. Then the elderly Pharisee began to edge into the crowd and move away, trying not to attract attention. The younger men followed as soon as they could do so without appearing to run. All eyes followed their retreat till the echo of the last footfall died away.
Jesus looked up at the woman, conspicuous now, standing in front of the seated multitude. Jesus seemed to address her as if she were all by herself. "Woman," he asked gently, "where are your accusers? Has no one passed sentence on you?"
"No one, Lord," she whispered.
"Then neither do I pass sentence on you," the Master said. "You can go now.... But woman," he added, as she began to leave, "you must leave your life of sin."
Jacob could almost see her thin body inhale deeply. Hope filled her eyes. She nodded to Jesus, and began to walk to the temple gate with the determination of a woman who had finally decided what to do, and had made up her mind to do it." (4)
References
1. Ellen G White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p 704.
2. Ibid
4. http://www.joyfulheart.com/jesus/condemn.htm
Home > Church Family > Sermon Summaries > 13 Mar 2010, Pr Sue Redman - The Teachings of Uzzah
Copyright © 2009 Thornleigh Seventh-day Adventist Church
Website Design and Maintenance by Petrie
Software Pty Ltd