The Life and Times of

Conclusion

This text is filled with lessons for us. First, there are lessons we can learn from Uzzah. We do not know much about Uzzah. We cannot be certain about his relationship to God. We do not know what his motivation was for reaching out and touching the ark. Generally speaking, I am inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. I tend to think he was genuinely concerned that the ark might fall to the ground, and touching the ark did not seem to him to be such a serious matter if he was attempting to save the ark.

We do know that Uzzah grew up with the ark in his home (1 Samuel 7:1-2; 2 Samuel 6:2-4). Did he become too accustomed to things holy? It is certainly a possibility. The same danger exists for us. Each and every week we remember our Lord's atoning work on the cross of Calvary by celebrating communion at the Lord's table. The saints at Corinth began to see this as a ritual, and their conduct at the Lord's table was not pleasing to the Lord. Paul told these saints that they failed to “judge the body rightly” (1 Corinthians 11:29). For this failure, a number of the Corinthians were stricken with illness, and some even died (11:30). Let us be very mindful of the holiness of God and the sacredness of our worship. God does not take our insensitivity to His holiness lightly.

Ananias and Sapphira were more concerned about what people thought about them than how God saw them. And so they lied to the Holy Spirit by saying they had given all of the proceeds of the sale of their property, rather than just part of them (Acts 5:1-11). God is a holy God who calls His people to holiness (see 1 Peter 1:14-16). He takes our sin very seriously. When Herod failed to give God the glory and accepted people's praise as praise to a god, God struck him dead (Acts 12:20-23). Disregarding the holiness of God can be deadly.

Uzzah is a reminder to us that God's holiness is such that sinful men cannot draw near to Him, unless He provides the means to do so. After the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, God had to expel Adam and Eve from the garden. God provided them with coverings, but this was only a partial solution. When God delivered the nation Israel from their Egyptian bondage, He gave them His law from Mt. Sinai. His glory and majesty were revealed to the Israelites:

16 So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. 19 When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. 20 The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up (Exodus 19:16-20).

More than once God established boundaries, beyond which neither man nor animal could pass. God had Moses warn the people of the danger of drawing too near to Him:

12 “You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, 'Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 'No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether beast or man, he shall not live.' When the ram's horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain” (Exodus 19:12-13).

20 The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through to the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. 22 “Also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, or else the LORD will break out against them.” 23 Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, 'Set bounds about the mountain and consecrate it.”' 24 Then the LORD said to him, “Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, or He will break forth upon them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them (Exodus 19:20-25).

I recall the words of Moses, spoken to the Israelites before they entered the promised land:

15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. 16 “This is according to all that you asked of the LORD your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, 'Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.' 17 “The LORD said to me, 'They have spoken well. 18 'I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 'It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him” (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).

There at Mt. Sinai, the Israelites began to grasp the holiness and the glory of God. They rightly perceived that to get too close to God would be fatal. They decided they needed a mediator to intercede with God on their behalf. They asked Moses to fulfill this role, and he agreed, commending them for their decision. They were not cowardly (or at least not just cowardly); they were wise. Sinful men need a mediator to approach a holy God.

The tabernacle, the ark, the priests and the sacrifices provided a short-term solution, but there was still the need for a permanent solution to the problem of sinful men approaching a holy God. It was God who solved this problem in the person of Jesus Christ. In His incarnation (his birth as a child in Bethlehem), God took on human flesh. He identified with sinful men to provide an eternal solution for the problem of our sin, and the danger of drawing near to Him.

We can only stand in awe of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in His incarnation (his birth, coming to this earth as the sinless God-man). With wonder, we read these words of the apostle John:

14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life -- 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us -- 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:1-3).

It is through Him that we have the forgiveness of God and the boldness to enter into God's presence:

5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time (1 Timothy 2:5-6).

19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:19-23).

The invitation of the Gospel in the New Testament is that sinful men draw near to God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ:

16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).

8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded (James 4:8).

The warning of the Bible is that the Lord Jesus Christ will draw near in judgment upon all who have refused to draw near to Him by faith:

5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me,” says the LORD of hosts (Malachi 3:5).

Have you drawn near to God through faith in Jesus Christ, God's only provision for men to enter into fellowship with Himself? If not, I urge you to do so this very hour. God will allow us to go to hell any way we please, but if we would go to heaven, it must be by way of the means God Himself has provided -- the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We can learn from Michal. Michal serves as a kind of prototype of the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees of our Lord's time. As Michal had come to enjoy her position as daughter of the king, so the scribes had come to enjoy their privileged position as religious leaders in Israel. They feared losing their power, and they feared losing their status. They challenged Jesus about His authority. They looked upon our Lord with disdain because He associated with the lowly. Just as Michal bore no fruit (i.e., children), neither did the scribes and Pharisees. Those who would worship God must come to Him in humility, not in pride. So far as our story is concerned, Michal was the only person not joyfully worshipping God. No wonder, since she was preoccupied with herself.

We can also learn from David. David serves as a prototype of Christ in our text and beyond. He was both a king and a priest (he wore a linen ephod). David laid aside his royal robes and humbled himself, just as our Lord laid aside His royal robes and humbled Himself (Philippians 2:5-8; see also John 13:1ff.). David refused to allow any class distinctions when it came to worship. Godly worship will not tolerate classes of inferiors and superiors. The gospel equalizes all men. We are all sinners, condemned to God's eternal torment. And we are all saved apart from our own merits or works, solely on the basis of Christ's atoning work on the cross of Calvary. How then could David do anything but humble himself in worshipping God, even though his wife despised him for doing so?

Finally, this chapter has a great deal to say in relationship to the charismatic/non-charismatic controversy so prevalent in the church today. There are two extremes, two polarities, and we are prone to drift toward one or the other (and sometimes one and then the other). The first is that of reckless abandon. David and the rest were so caught up with their worship they seemed to forget who they were worshipping -- a holy God. We can get so carried away with the emotional element of our worship that we lose all self-control. In the excitement of the moment, things that God has clearly forbidden somehow seem permissible, even necessary (like grabbing the ark). Uzzah was “caught up” in the excitement of bringing the ark of God back, but he forgot to pay close enough attention to God and to His Word. Uzzah died for his irreverence. Let us never forget this. Enthusiasm is never an excuse for disobedience to the Word of God.

For many, the danger I have suggested is hardly a danger. We are in no danger of getting carried away with our worship. Our worship is so stiff or so structured that nothing unplanned could possibly happen. Listen well. I am not opposed to structure, and there is much to be said for an appreciation of God's majesty in our worship. But some of us don't raise our hands or our voices because we are too proud to do so. Like Michal, we are more concerned with our dignity than with God. Let us beware of avoiding enthusiasm in our worship because we think it beneath us.

Two extremes are exposed in our text, and both are wrong. Enthusiastic worship, which underestimates the holiness of God and violates the Word of God, is wrong, and no matter how much enthusiasm you may add, it is still wrong until it rightly views God and until it rightly approaches God. Stately worship that avoids emotion and enthusiasm, purely because we are too proud to humble ourselves before God, is just as wrong. The former produces barrenness; the latter produces death. Let us seek to worship God as David and Israel eventually did, in accordance with His Word, with humility, with hearts filled with joy and gratitude, and with enthusiasm.