1 Chronicles 13:9, 10 And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled.… The incident here recalled to mind is one full of difficulties. Uzza seems to have been struck dead for what was, in intention, an act of consideration and care for She safety of the ark. To human view his sin does not readily appear, and some explanations are necessary in making it clear. Uzza's death was not, mainly, a judgment on Uzza, but a lesson, taught in a very solemn manner, to David and the people. They had not been associated with the ark for a long time, and so may have lost some of the due solemnity of feeling concerning it. By the Mosaic rules, the ark was on no account to be touched by human hands. It would not have needed any steadying if, in obedience to the Law, it had been carried by poles on the priests' shoulders. So God permitted this one man's death to teach the solemn lesson of reverence. The sin was really David's in neglecting the due order and regulations, but it pleased God that he should receive his warning through the suffering of another. One tradition says that Uzza was struck by a lightning flash; another represents his death as occasioned by the withering of his hand and arm. "We cannot fully explain this judgment from the side of Uzza. We must add that man, in life and in death, may be used by God to teach his lessons and accomplish his work; and Uzza, in his sudden death, was God's appeal to a king (and to a nation) who had forgotten his holy Law, and were 'following the devices and desires of their own hearts.' That which was a judgment to Uzza was a merciful call to repentance and right-heartedness given to king and people." I. ATTENTION TO FORMS MAY EXPRESS REVERENCE. Illustrate by the way in which kneeling aids in securing the spirit of prayer. Herein lies the importance of care in arranging the externals, the ceremonials, of Christian worship. The associations of God's house should both secure and cultivate a due and becoming reverence. II. THE NEGLECT OF FORMS MAY TEND TO NOURISH IRREVERENCE. Some pride themselves on freedom from forms. But while it is quite conceivable that overdone forms may crush out spiritual life and feeling, it is even more likely that a despising of religious forms may lead to undue familiarity with God's Name, and sanctuary, and worship, and sacraments. If to some it may seem that undue attention to ritual is replacing a true reverence by a mere formalism, to others it appears that the age is singularly and perilously irreverent, and sorely needs again the warning of Uzza's death. III. THAT WHICH IS DONE FOR GOD MUST BE DONE IN GOD'S WAY. A lesson which every age and every individual needs to learn. David made the very common mistake of trying to do God's work in Ms own way. He must be impressively shown that the fully obedient spirit waits on God to know the how as well as the what. It not only says, "What wouldst thou have me to do? "but also, "How wouldst thou have me do it?" To win willingness to take God's way is often, as with David, the issue of humiliating failures; and it is precisely the lesson which life-failures are designed to teach. IV. BY SOLEMN PROVIDENCES SOLEMN LESSONS MAY BE IMPRESSED. Our Lord taught us that we must not venture to convict public sufferers of special sins bringing on them judgment (Luke 13:1-5). God often teaches the mass of men by his dealings with a few. The victims of so-called accident vicariously suffer for the good of others. Illustrate by those who die of diseases caused by neglect of sanitary laws. They awaken attention to existing evils, and are the means of saving men. Uzza really saved the judgment that must have fallen on David and the nation if they had kept on acting in this self-willed way. Make final appeal to modern feeling respecting worship. There are signs of the danger of losing the worshipping idea, and overdoing the instruction idea, in our public services. We need recalling to a due reverence. - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled. |
    |