U is for Uzzah

My A to Z blogging theme is characters in (people from) the scriptures. Since my blog is a book blog, this theme would fit right in and help me strengthen a weakness at the same. How fantastic is that?!  This challenge is a blessing. Thank you A to Z Challenge team!  *Book: LDS quad combo scriptures: KJV Holy Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, Pearl of Great Price. (p)1989, (c)1979.

(Depiction by James Tissot)

We can find Uzzah's story in the Old Testament, 2 Samuel 6 and 1 Chronicles 13.  There we read that Uzzah was struck dead by God after touching the Ark of the Covenant.  As you may recall, the Ark of the Covenant was a sacred vessel that housed some of the holiest objects in Israel's history, like the Ten Commandments, Aaron's rod that budded, the Mercy Seat, etc.  God gave strict orders not to touch the ark or its contents, except those authorized Levites and under specific conditions (Numbers 4:15).  Well, in the aforementioned chapters, we find that the Ark of the Covenant was on its way back to Jerusalem under David's lead.  It so happen that on the journey, the cart carrying the Ark of the Covenant was tipping and Uzzah, one of David's servants, son of Abinadab, reached out his hand to steady the contents.  Yikes, he was not one authorized to touch!  So right there and then he suffered the  consequence. 

Seemed pretty harsh, huh?  Uzzah after all was trying to keep the holy ark from falling to the ground.  But the point was that God's rules are absolute.  His commands are sacred and must be observed precisely.  There's no wiggle room despite what may seem sensible at the moment.  Surely, the Lord could steady His own ark, right?

So what is the take away?  Well, how about, obey God's commandments because He keeps His end of the deal ..blessings or punishments will surely follow.  Scary but also comforting because we can be assured that the Lord's truth is absolute and if we but follow precisely, we will come out well.