The Opinion of Man Can Kill
One of the great misunderstood moments in all of scripture happens in 1 Chronicles 13.
1 Chronicles 13:9–10 (ESV) And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. 10 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark, and he died there before God.
David, seeking to bring the Ark of God back to Jerusalem from it's dormant facility in Kirath-Jearim is rejoicing and worshipping as it makes it's way back. But then tragedy strikes. Uzzah, seeking to steady the ark (we read that from 2 Samuel 6), touches the Ark and immediately is struck down by the Lord for his act of irreverence.
This is where secularists have problems with the Bible. They cannot imagine how unfair God could be in this moment. They have problems that the Lord would be so impetuous. This passage is why aggressive atheists in our world love to call the God of the Bible as a hateful petulant God of wrath. But they deliberately ignore the patient grace God shows IN THE BIBLE to generations of wicked sinners - including those of the later monarchy in Israel.
But what are we to see about this passage? First, we remember that 1 Chronicles is written to the post-exile generation, the generation coming out of Babylon and back to the land. They wanted clarity on their history. Sure, they knew of Uzzah's death, but what was the underlying problem. Interestingly, the account in 1 and 2 Samuel of this incident makes clear the Israelites followed the practices of the Philistines in transporting the Ark, putting it on a cart and hawling it with two milk cows. That was "what" they did. But the "why" they did it was much more important.
The underlying issue is illustrated at the beginning of the narrative with repetitive mentions of one common thread to the whole experience. See if you can see it?
1 Chronicles 13:1–4 (ESV) David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader. 2 And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and from the LORD our God, let us send abroad to our brothers who remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasturelands, that they may be gathered to us. 3 Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul.” 4 All the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.
Several times in this text we see people consulting people. David consults the commanders. David seeks the assembly's view. The assembly sees no issue among themselves with what David desires. Considering all of this, the problem is clear: No one seeks the opinion or Word of the Lord. It's a lesson on death. Following man will destroy you and you may not even be aware you're doing it.
We hear a lot of talk about "echo-chambers" in our day, particularly on the political segment of our society. And echo chamber is when you hear back to you what you think again and again from the people around you and no one challenges your assumptions or views. This is a problem as many times we need to be confronted with our wrong-headed ideas. Sadly, many do not see that our world is a huge echo chamber for the lies of satan. We hear them repeated any number of ways from the vast array of societal talking heads and only the light of God's truth can show us how empty these mantras really are.
David is overwhelmed by the results of this moment. He even shelves the plan altogether. The Ark is transported to a man's house named Obed-Edom who is blessed with its presence. Therein lies an incredible truth. It is not we who bring God to us, it is God who comes to us with all He offers. We do well to let Him in and allow Him to have His way.
Comments
Post a Comment