There seem to be some incidents that are difficult to understand in the Bible, so Thomas G. Long questions whether every biblical text can be preached. The mysterious death of the man named Uzzah is one of these incidents, described in 2 Samuel 6:1-10. The passage is about David and his soldiers’ moving the ark to Jerusalem. As the ark processional arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, oxen stumbled, the cart bearing the ark tipped, and the man named Uzzah reached out to steady the ark. Then God struck Uzzah dead. David became angry and named the place Perez-uzzah.
On one hand, it is believed that this incident is caused by Uzzah’s violation of the divine directives, which are that the ark should be handled correctly according to God’s instructions. As Ingrid M. Haase, “scholars have always stressed the inherent sacredness of the ark and that it did not need puny man’s attention to survive.” Since the sanctity of the ark was so extreme and its violation so serious, when Uzzah had reached out to the ark, this alone was reason enough to be put to death. On the other hand, David F. Payne analyzes Uzzah’s death in the following manner, providing a somewhat naturalistic cause: “Uzzah, with the best of intentions in the world, instinctively put out a hand to steady the ark, and having done so was horrified at his own action, and overcome by fear suffered a heart attack or something of the sort.” According to Eugene H. Maly, Uzzah slipped and fell on the rocky ground. According to Andrew W. Blackwood, Uzzah was pinned to the earth by the overturned cart. These explanations seem to be logical and persuasive, removing from God unpredictable and capricious characteristics based on His sudden outburst on the innocent Uzzah.
Is there any further explanation for Uzzah’s death and David’s ensuing anger? In this incident, the ark of God is the most important and meaningful element. Looking into two other incidents related to the ark described in 1 Samuel will provide a better understanding of Uzzah’s death and the following incidents.
What Happened to the Ark of God?
The Israelites experienced three incidents in relation to the ark of the covenant in 1 and 2 Samuel.
Battle in Aphek
The first incident is described in 1 Samuel 4. Eli, a high priest and judge at that time, was very old and incapable. Hophni and Phinehas, two sons of Eli, took over from their father, but they were immoral and did not fear God.
One day the Israelites battled with the Philistines in Aphek. On the first day of the battle, Israel suffered a crushing defeat, losing as many as four thousand soldiers. There was no hope of turning the tide the following day. In a desperate effort to that, the elders of Israel dispatched the people to Shiloh and the ark was brought to the battlefield. They recalled that when their ancestors carried the ark and marched, the river of Jordan split and the city of Jericho collapsed. Hophni and Phinehas showed up in the battlefield with the ark (1 Samuel 4:5). All Israelite soldiers received the ark with a great shout. But it was not the manifestation of their faith in God. They considered the ark to be an amulet for good luck. If they had had even a little faith in God, they would have held onto the promises of God instead of using the ark in order to achieve their goals.
But their hope to win the battle was completely shattered (1 Samuel 4:10-11). The Israelites lost more than thirty thousand soldiers and even the ark was taken by Philistines. During the battle, Hophni and Phinehas lost their lives. After Eli heard that his two sons died and the ark has been taken, he fell off his seat, broke his neck and died on the spot. Even Phinehas’s wife died while giving birth after hearing the news. It is evident that God thoroughly ignored the people who tried to use His word as an amulet for their good luck or secular desire. God knew that His word has always been distorted by His chosen people such as Eli, Hophni, and Phinehas.
Tragedy in Beth-shemesh
The second incident related to the ark is described in 1 Samuel 6. After suffering disasters caused by the ark in Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron (1 Samuel 5), the Philistines decided to send the ark back to Israel. But they were too proud to return the ark, which was the most precious symbol of victory, and also wanted to find out whether the disaster came from God (1 Samuel 6:7-9). They planned to have two milk cows separated from their calves carry the ark to Beth-shemesh, which was originally Israelite land, but then under the Philistines’ control. They thought that if the cows moved and carried the ark in a new cart, God would do the great evil, but that if the cows did not move, all disaster would just happen by chance and they would not return the ark. Surprisingly, the two cows did not refuse to pull a cart and also did not turn aside to the right or to the left (1 Samuel 6:12). The lords of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh on the chance that they would see the cows go astray, but the cows went straight to Beth-shemesh. It turned out that the disaster the Philistines had been suffering was caused by God. The lords of the Philistines had to retreat, letting go of the ark. When the residents of Beth-shemesh received the ark unexpectedly, they were glad and excited. After performing offerings, they looked into the ark. They were not Gentiles who did not know God. All Israelites knew and followed the word of God, fearing God and being proud of themselves as the chosen people. They were aware that when the ark was carelessly dealt with, they would be killed instantaneously (Numbers 4:19-20).
Eventually, it was their curiosity that killed them (1 Samuel 6:19). They wanted to see the stone plate of the Commandments that Moses had received directly from God on Mount Sinai. Curiosity is another form of human desire. After all the people of Beth-shemesh despising the word of God as merely a tool to satisfy their curiosity and desire, the tragedy resulted. It is important that God punished the people who used the word of God to an improper use such as the satisfaction of their curiosity in that case. It goes without saying that they were the kind of people who distorted the word of God.
Uzzah’s Death in Kiriath-jearim (Baale-judah)
The last incident related to the ark is described in 2 Samuel 6. When the people of Beth-shemesh were killed the moment that they looked into the ark, the ark was hurriedly sent to Kiriath-jearim. The reason why the people of Beth-shemesh did not send the ark to the original holy place in Shiloh was that they did not want to be offensive to the Philistines, being still under the influence of the Philistines. So the people of Beth-shemesh decided to send the ark to Kiriath-jearim, which was also under the control of the Philistines. Then the people of Kiriath-jearim took the ark to the house of Abinadab and let Eleazar, a son of Eli, take care of the ark. Seventy years later, after the King David firmly established the sovereignty, he decided to bring the ark to Jerusalem from Kiriath-jearim. David gathered thirty thousand of all the chosen men of Israel and took them to Kiriath-jearim to bring up the ark. When David and his men arrived at the house of Abinadab to claim and bring the ark to Jerusalem, Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, started to lead a new cart. At the same time, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating with musical instruments. But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen nearly upset the ark. Uzzah following the cart reached out toward the ark and held it. At that moment God struck him down and he died there by the ark. David became angry with God’s outburst on Uzzah, took the ark to the house of Obed-edom, and kept it there until he brought it to Jerusalem later.
Why Was Uzzah killed?
This is an extremely difficult passage to understand. Based on the common sense, Uzzah did not seem to be guilty of anything. When the oxen stumbled, the ark nearly fell onto the ground and Uzzah held it, it seems that it must have been the right thing to do and not deserving of being killed on the spot. In general, it is understood that only a Levite who received permission from God could touch the ark. It is believed that since Uzzah was not a Levite, he was punished and killed. However, the Bible never says that Uzzah was not a Levite. On the contrary, Uzzah was a member of the family who kept the ark for approximately seventy years. During those years the ark must not have been laid aside without any maintenance. To say the least, somebody must have wiped out the dirt from the ark. Based on this observation, Abinadab’s family members must have received permission to touch the ark from God. Otherwise it cannot be explained that God had the ark kept in Uzzah’s family for seventy years. Then what kind of fault did Uzzah commit and why did God punish Uzzah for? The answer is found in King David who witnessed the scene with his own eyes. When Uzzah was killed on the threshing floor of Nacon, David was surprised and immediately returned to Jerusalem. The ark was moved to the house of Obed-edom nearby. A little while later David decided to move the ark again to Jerusalem. When he gave the instructions to move the ark to people in charge, he explained why God punished Uzzah the other day (1 Chronicles 15:11-13). Since the ark was not carried on the shoulders of the priests rather than allowed to ride in a cart, God made an outburst on Uzzah. God commanded the sons of Kohath who were Levites to carry the ark when the camp was to set out (Numbers 4:15). David must have known this command of God. When David went to Kiriath-jearim with thirty thousand Israeli soldiers, he apparently planned to carry the ark and move it to Jerusalem. However, what actually happened in Kiriath-jearim was that Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, placed the ark on a new cart and led the cart, which must have been a reflection of long-time ark keepers’ pride. No one made an objection to their action. Even David, who took thirty thousand people to move the ark, could not protest. Since Uzzah and Ahio kept the ark for a long time with such an experience and authority, all the other people had no choice but to succumb to and let them do their job. Ahio was leading the cart right in front of the ark and Uzzah was following it. David and all the house of Israel were celebrating with all kinds of musical instruments when the cart was moving along with Uzzah and Ahio. It must have been a grand sight when all the people were cheering in unison. The ark was definitely the center of attention and the spotlight was also on Uzzah and Ahio who were leading the cart with the ark on it. At that moment they would have thought that they were God. They would have felt that they were reigning over the whole country. However, something unexpected happened. The oxen nearly upset the ark. It was the warning from God against Uzzah and Ahio who were enjoying standing on God’s place. As God gave a warning to Balaam through a donkey (Numbers 22:30), God wanted to give a warning to Uzzah and Ahio through oxen. Uzzah and Ahio should have listened to God who pointed out their mistake. But Uzzah’s reaction to God’s warning was to reach out toward the ark and take hold of it as though the ark was one of his belongings.
Hebrew word used here ‘וַיֹּאחֶז’ has a meaning of possession. This word cannot be used when one shops around, holds this and that and tries to choose one. This word means that when one identifies a thing as one of his/her belongings, one claims that it belongs to him/her. Uzzah must have taken hold of the ark this way. To Uzzah, the ark of God was merely a tool to show off his authority before the public. Since Uzzah pretended to be an owner of the ark and disregarded God’s warning, he was punished and killed on the spot.
Why Did David Become Angry?
Ingrid M. Haase asked the question, “If the actors of this ancient drama truly believed that sacred objects possessed an intrinsic quality which rendered them dangerous even to the humans responsible for them, why would David be so despondent, or even angry, and at whom and or at what?” David’s reaction to Uzzah’s death could imply that David has felt God’s outburst against Uzzah to be a capricious, arbitrary act. Like the figure of Job, David complained to God and expressed both fear and anger when God’s ways seemed unjust and strange.
David took thirty thousand Israelite soldiers and went to Kiriath-jearim in order to move the ark to Jerusalem. Overwhelmed by Uzzah’s authority, David could not protest Uzzah’s action to move the ark on a new cart. David witnessed Uzzah’s being killed with his own eyes immediately after Uzzah disregarded God’s warning. David must have been shocked to see the death of Uzzah and realized a very important thing. The Bible describes that David became angry because of the Lord’s outburst against Uzzah and named the place Perez-uzzah. Perez-uzzah literally means ‘(God) struck Uzzah’. Perez-uzzah implies that God punished the arrogant human being whose name was Uzzah, but contains more profound meaning.David did not become angry at God. Instead, he became angry at his stupidity that caused and ignored Uzzah’s arrogance. Uzzah as a Hebrew common noun originally means “power,” “ability,” and “dignity.” Thus, Perez-uzzah implies that God punished human beings when they boasted of their power, ability and dignity. In other words, God punished people who put themselves before God and trusted in themselves more than God. When David saw Uzzah killed at the place, he realized that God surely punishes people who have blind faith in themselves and put themselves higher than the word of God.
Conclusion
The above-mentioned ark-related incidents have something in common. Firstly, it was all Israelites instead of Gentiles that tried to utilize the word of God as an amulet to satisfy their desire and as a tool to show off their power and authority. The word of God has never been distorted by people who did not have a relationship with God. Instead, it was His people who always distorted His word.
Secondly, God punished people who knew His word but did not obey His command. There was no exception in Aphek, Beth-shemesh, and Kiriath-jearim. When the Philistines moved the ark to Beth-shemesh, they used a new cart as a transportation tool. But God did not punish them because the Philistines were Gentiles. They did not know the word of God about the ark. Thus, it can be seen that the word of God was never distorted by the Gentile, Philistines in this case.
On the contrary, although the Israelites knew and were fully responsible for the word of God, they distorted His word to boast of their pride. Then the Israelites were punished by God without exception. Ark can be considered to represent the power of the divine, free from all human intervention or control. However, Uzzah represents the restrictive human labor or effort to distort both implicit divine intention and explicit command. It is David’s realization that God punishes people who trust in themselves rather than God and place themselves higher than the word of God. In other words, it is the realization that one must voluntarily destroy things placed higher than God in order to trust God in a righteous way. This is why David named the place Perez-uzzah. It is David’s confession that he would voluntarily strike down his ‘uzzah’, which is his self of desire, to place himself below the word of God.
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[ 1 ]. Thomas G. Long, “The Fall of the House of Uzzah…and Other Difficult Preaching Texts,” Journal for Preachers 7, no. 1 (1983): 13-19.
[ 2 ]. Ingrid M. Haase, “Uzzah’s Rebellion,” The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 5, (2004): 38.
[ 3 ]. David F. Payne, 1 and 2 Samuel, The Daily Study Bible (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1982), 184-5.
[ 4 ]. Eugene H. Maly, The Second Book of Samuel (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1970), 25.
[ 5 ]. Andrew W. Blackwood, Preaching from Samuel (New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1946), 197.
[ 6 ]. Recently there has been a resurgence of interest in the dark side of God’s character. Particularly notable among recent studies are Robert Clarke Dunston (1983), James Crenshaw (1984), Alastair Campbell (1986), and David Blumenthal (1993).
[ 7 ]. Ingrid M. Haase, “Uzzah’s Rebellion,” The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 5, (2004): 40.
[ 8 ]. Peter R. Ackroyd, The Second Book of Samuel (Cambridge University Press, 1977), 66-67.
