It’s Really Important That We Listen To God

It’s Really Important That We Listen To God
by Dr. Danny Purvis
I know the title of this article is not breaking any new news. But I don’t think we often think of the depth of that statement. Right now, in church, we are working our way through Malachi. Like many books of prophecy, it is directed to a people that have stopped listening and obeying God…and to give us pause lest we do the same. And one of the most obscure and little known examples of this fact is found in another strange event on the OT.
I, again, am not breaking any news here by saying that there are a fair number of strange stories in the OT. Too often we let that strangeness distract us from the larger message God is attempting to relay to us. This particular event includes King David…and a man with the unlikely name of Uzza. It is safe to say that most Believers may not recognize that name, though his story may be remotely familiar to some. There are two different accounts of this story and are found in 2 Samual 6:1-7 and 1 Chronicles 13:9-12. Let me see if I can give you the Reader’s Digest version of this story.
Israel’s mortal enemies…the Philistines…had captured the Ark of the Covenant. They thought they had quite the prize. They were wrong. After holding it for 7 months, and after suffering boils and tumors as a result, they could not wait to get the Ark back to the Israelites. So, they did so. Of course, David and the people were overjoyed and made plans to take the Ark back to Jerusalem and put it into the Tabernacle where it belongs. They were rightfully grateful to God and were going to have a 30,000 strong contingent of people to parade it back home. So, they did so.
They placed the Ark on a “new cart”…arranged people around it…praised and sang to God…and started the journey. Then (and I know this is a huge surprise), something weird happened. As the car was rolling along, apparently the ground became a little uneven. The cart lurched to the side…the Ark slid to the side…and it appeared that it was going to tip and fall over. Here is where Uzza comes into the story. Uzza simply did what any of us would have done in that scenario. He saw the tottering Ark and instinctively reached out to place his hand on the Ark to keep it from spilling over. After all, he couldn’t let that happen.
Scripture tells us the rest. “Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzza, and He struck him because he put his hand to the Ark; and he died there before God” (1 Chronicles 13:10). Strange story…right? This seems kind of harsh…right? But, as always, there is a much bigger principle involved here. Because the fault for all of this began with David…not Uzza. Uzza is the focus here…but the driving force behind this tragedy was David himself. Make no mistake, David didn’t see it that way at first. In fact, we are told that David was angry because of God’s action against Uzza. But it doesn’t specifically say that David was angry with God…just what happened. That is an important distinction.
I know what you may be thinking. Uzza had a good heart. He was just trying to keep the Ark from falling over. His intentions were good and he saved the Ark from falling. In the words of Curly from the Three Stooges…he was a victim of circumstance. But in order to truly see the truth of what God is telling us, we have to go back to the beginning of the story. We are told that when David was taking the Ark back to Jerusalem, that he put it on a cart for transport. It seems like an innocuous detail. It is not. In fact, that is where it all began to go wrong.
God had delivered specific instructions as to the Ark. For our purposes, the ones that matter are who would touch the Ark and how the Ark could be moved. God was specific. Only the Levites could have this kind of access to the Ark and only they could carry it. They were supposed to use poles to carry it on foot and only the Levites could carry the poles. That’s it. Simple. Clear. Unambiguous. He could not have made it any clearer. Yet, when David moved the Ark he ordered it onto a cart and surrounded it with people who were not allowed to touch it. Simply put, David knew what God had told him to do, but simply ignored it and did what he wanted to do. I don’t think out of malice. The cart was faster. They were parading in thanksgiving for the return of the Ark. They were praising and thanking God. They had good intentions.
But David and Uzza both openly disobeyed God. In fact, Uzza was only in that position because David disobeyed God. He should not have been anywhere close to that thing. And here we get back to David’s anger. He was angry but I don’t think it was directed at God. I think it was more directed at himself. Why might we think that? Just two chapters over, in 1 Chronicles 15, we see David again preparing to move the Ark. But check out his words this time. “No one may carry the Ark of God but the Levites, the Lord has chosen them to carry the Ark of God and to minister to Him forever” (1 Chronicles 15:2). The move went off without a hitch…and the Ark went home. So, what’s the takeaway?
That God will strike you dead even over the most innocuous act? Of course not. Not at all. The takeaway is this. We need to listen to God in all things…and obey Him in all things. No matter our intentions…no matter if it is from a “good” place. The takeaway? All disobedience leads to heartache. There is never a scenario in which we can disobey God and expect everything to “work out fine”. Sin and disobedience always has a price. Always. Not always as dire as Uzza’s, but it is a reality.
In Malachi 3:6 God states: “For I am the Lord, and I do not change.” This is God telling us: Trust Me. Listen to Me. Believe Me. Obey Me. Not because it benefits Him…but because it benefits us. Not because He will strike us dead…but because disobedience always has a price. That’s why it should be our life’s goal to listen to Him…and to obey Him.
– Dr. Danny Purvis