Oh, Uzzah!

Warning: long and perhaps rambly. It couldn't be helped - I'm feeling long and rambly! =)

In our Sunday School class, we're studying Max Lucado's book Facing Your Giants. It follows the life of David, applying his actions and reactions to situations in our lives. I wouldn't usually just pick up a book like this - the devotional part I like but the "self-helpy" part just isn't the kind of reading I choose to do in my leisure. Maybe I should read more of them - fix myself up a little. ;)

Okay, I don't pick up a lot of devotional books, either. I'll not kid myself.

This book, however, has come at a great time for Trey and me. I've found something enlightening on every page, and I've so looked forward to the conversations we've had in our small group regarding our "giants." It's been great for Trey and me to discuss the book and how it applies to our life right now as we find giants (or maybe the same giant) hither and yon.

We just read the story of a man named Uzzah and the Ark of the Convenant. Apparently when things were going pretty well, the Israelites kind of forgot about the ol' Ark. When David took over the city of Jerusalem, he remembered this special gift from God and wanted it in the city.

Uzzah's dad, Abinidab, somehow had the Ark all covered with hay in the back of his barn or something. He told Uzzah to load up the Ark and deliver it David. Uzzah loaded it up on the wagon and headed toward Jerusalem.

Along the way, the wagon hit a bump and the Ark shifted to one side and Uzzah reached out to steady it. I'm sure you can guess what happened next - God struck Uzzah dead, of course.

Now, if you're anything like me, you're a little confused at this point in the story. Uzzah was doing everything right. He was returning the Ark to Jerusalem just like his daddy and David said. Heck, he was trying to save the thing from smashing into a million pieces when he reached out to grab it. So why does he end up dead?

It turns out there were some very specific rules about how to treat the A of the C. I don't know them all, but there were some pretty strict regulations on who could touch it, and I think it was supposed to be moved with poles or something. Basically, when Uzzah reached out to "save the day" (so he thought), he broke all the rules.

Lucado's point (and God's too, I suppose, the Bible is His book, after all) is this: sometimes we treat holy things like ordinary things, and God doesn't appreciate it. Lucado often uses the word "reverence" in this chapter. I love this word.

This leaves me to wonder, what in my life is holy? church? family? prayer? job?

Better question: What in my life do I treat as holy? If you count smacking the kids when they're saying their bedtimes prayers in transformer voices as treating prayer holy, then I guess that qualifies.

Then there's the next place I go (hang on here - if you know me at all then you know my synapses make very interesting connections sometimes). I expect God to be there. I expect God to save the day, make everything okay, fix it - whatever it happens to be.

Truly, I believe that God cares for us in a way that we can never understand - greater than the greatest parent. But have we (okay, have I) turned God into a kind of friend-of-the-family plumber who shows up to fix leaks with a smile and hug, saying "no charge" on the way out the door?

Do I revere his benevolent care?

Do I jump up and try to save the day myself when I should just stop to remember that God's plan is holy and perfect? Am I Uzzah?

Uzzah. Ugh.

It's a shame that he had to get toasted to teach me about holiness and reverence, but maybe this time I'll learn my lesson.

You can check out the actual story in 2 Samuel 6. Please feel free to fact-check and correct me because I've given you a from-memory account here. That can be a scary thing!