Jeremy L. Berg

I find the disturbing story from 2 Samuel 6 of David and his men trying to carry the ark of God’s presence to Jerusalem terrifying, enlightening and surprisingly timely. One moment they are dancing and worshiping before the LORD; the next moment the animal stumbles, the ark teeters, and Uzzah is struck down dead for mishandling God’s holy presence. Here’s the scene:

[David] and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill.Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals. When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 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 6:2-7)

Why such a fierce and merciless divine response? What did Uzzah do so wrong? Wasn’t he just trying to be helpful and keep the ark from falling? Yes, how quick we are to think God needs us to protect Him, guide Him down our path, prop Him up and keep Him within our controlling grasp.

There’s no interpretation of this story that will satisfy our desire for a less holy God. Disturbed and unsettled is how we should feel reading this account. This story should drive us to reflect on the awesome responsibility it is to carry God’s holy presence in this world. How easy it is to squeeze God into containers of our own devising, rather than carry His presence in the Way He has commanded us.

Today all Christians, in a certain sense, carry the presence of God, Holy Spirit, in our being. All believers bear His name, individually and collectively, in how we conduct ourselves before a watching world. This is a holy and humbling responsibility. (Just ask Ananias and Sapphira if you think this is only an Old Testament reality, see Acts 5:1-11).

In the time of David, God’s manifest presence and power resided in a wooden box. God had given the Israelites detailed instructions on how to properly carry the ark. The duly appointed priests were to carry the wooden box on foot, using designated poles on each side of the box.

Unfortunately, Uzzah and Ahio disregarded these instructions and instead placed God’s holy presence on a cart pulled by oxen. Instead of carried on foot by designated priests, the ark is placed upon a common wagon. Instead of being carried by the consecrated hands of holy men, the ark is pulled by filthy animals no doubt leaving a trail of poop in their path.

Are we mindful of the casual and sometimes crass ways we are carrying God’s presence these days? Are we even concerned that we will one day be held accountable for the way we carried God’s name in this world? I shudder as I continue to see God’s reputation teetering back and forth on a poop-smeared oxcart of unholy political alliances and carried on the lips of people sometimes exhibiting more animal-like behavior than the fruit of the Spirit (on social media, at least).

When Jesus taught us to pray “hallowed be Thy name,” he wasn’t telling us to avoid using God’s name as a curse word. We take God’s name in vain whenever we drag His reputation in the mud by aligning Him and his beautiful Kingdom with ideas and people and movements and values that undercut His teaching and His Way.

Let us learn from Uzzah’s tragic fate that we too shall someday be held accountable for the ways we carried God’s name and handled His Presence in our moment on history’s stage. When we’re carrying God’s name in a holy and winsome way, Jesus said we are “the salt of the land” (Matt 5:13). “Salt is good,” Jesus warns, “but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear” (Luke 14:34-35).

Let’s aspire to be the royal priesthood he’s called us to be (1 Pet 2:9), walking upright with Christ at our side and His radiant glow at the center of our procession. And let’s make sure God’s Name and the Church’s reputation isn’t being dragged through the mud, pulled behind a teetering ox or an unstable jackass.