There was once a man who paid a severe penalty for making what seemed like a very small mistake. The ark of God, which had been for some time in an alien land, was on its way back to Jerusalem, drawn in an ox-cart after the primitive fashion of those days, and under the immediate charge of the two sons of Abinadab, Ahio and Uzzah. We read that "when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it." As this seems only a natural thing to do in the circumstances, we are somewhat startled in reading on to find that Uzzah's temerity in touching the sacred object was deemed so great that he was instantly smitten for his "error," as the narrative calls it, and "he died by the ark of God."
Although it seems as if the unfortunate Uzzah had simply indicated a proper and commendable desire to safeguard the precious object of his care, a deeper study of the incident soon reveals that his mistake was not so trivial as it at first appears. For what was he doing, or rather, what was he trying to do? He was trying to steady the ark of God because "the oxen shook it." He was evidently afraid that unless he came to its assistance it might fall out of the cart. In other words, he thought the ark was unable to take care of itself.
But what was "the ark of God"? Uzzah was an Israelite and must have known its history and all that it stood for. The Popular and Critical Bible Encyclopædia says, "Nothing is more apparent throughout the historical Scriptures than the extreme sanctity which attached to the ark as a material symbol of divine presence." In their wanderings the Israelites carried it in advance of the host, covered by a purple pall and borne upon the shoulders of priests, men set apart and especially consecrated for that sacred office; and whenever and wherever the ark "rested," the whole camp did the same until the command was once more given to advance. The waters of Jordan had parted before it, and the walls of Jericho had fallen when it had encircled the city the prescribed seven times; yet now, because some oxen shook it, human presumption put out a hand to keep it from falling. In brief, the divine presence, the Shekinah, the unspeakable, inexpressible glory of God, of which the ark was but the outward type and symbol, was not sufficient unto itself. Uzzah, it seemed, was needed to help things along.
