Struck dead by touching the Ark

[Deacon_Joseph]

Anyone remember where in the OT that there was a guy who touched the Ark of the Covenant when they were moving it, and he was struck dead? Is there any theological meaning in this?

 

[Randy_Carson]

Anyone remember where in the OT that there was a guy who touched the Ark of the Covenant when they were moving it, and he was struck dead? Is there any theological meaning in this?

Yes: it is very important to obey God.

 

[byzgirl]

I liked the last response (ha! ha!)

I do remember hearing some very interesting typology regarding the parallel of the Ark of the Covenant (OT) and the New Ark of the Covenant (NT), being that of Mary (the Theotokos). I first heard of it, in a lecture given by Scott Hahn. The typology really shows some very interesting connections, scripturally speaking (the Ark of the old and the Ark of the new)…both having ‘contained’ the Word of God.

I think it was Uzzah…that was struck dead?

Here’s a link which provides information:

catholicism.org/ark-new-covenant.html

 

[aball1035]

I heard it was an accident-like he was falling or something…

 

[byzgirl]

catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=6811&CFID=2489467&CFTOKEN=53040541

1… Uzzah had excellent intentions of preventing the ark of the covenant from falling of the cart. But God had commanded that no one was allowed to touch the ark and only the sons of Kohath could touch the poles the carry the ark.
2.God struck Uzzah dead for touching the ark of God against the command of God.

David went out to retrieve the ark (1 Sam 6:1-2). After a man named Uzzah was struck dead when he touched the ark, David was afraid and said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” He left the ark in the hill country of Judea for three months. David danced and leapt in front of the ark and everyone shouted for joy. The house of Obededom, which had housed the ark, was blessed, and then David took the ark to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6:9-14).

This does seem appropriate for support of the Catholic Marian doctrines. There are many shadowings/parallels that are quite stunning.

I did feel a little sorry for Uzzah…but I think the message remains regarding the importance of the Ark. If it, a box, was so adorned (specific instructions were given as to the building of it and the decoration of it)–then we can easily see why Mary is even more significant (and watch out to those who want to mess with her)!!! God didn’t take it lightly, apparently…how much more would He do for His mother?

 

[aball1035]

catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=6811&CFID=2489467&CFTOKEN=53040541

1… Uzzah had excellent intentions of preventing the ark of the covenant from falling of the cart. But God had commanded that no one was allowed to touch the ark and only the sons of Kohath could touch the poles the carry the ark.
2.God struck Uzzah dead for touching the ark of God against the command of God.

David went out to retrieve the ark (1 Sam 6:1-2). After a man named Uzzah was struck dead when he touched the ark, David was afraid and said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” He left the ark in the hill country of Judea for three months. David danced and leapt in front of the ark and everyone shouted for joy. The house of Obededom, which had housed the ark, was blessed, and then David took the ark to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6:9-14).

This does seem appropriate for support of the Catholic Marian doctrines. There are many shadowings/parallels that are quite stunning.

I did feel a little sorry for Uzzah…but I think the message remains regarding the importance of the Ark. If it, a box, was so adorned (specific instructions were given as to the building of it and the decoration of it)–then we can easily see why Mary is even more significant (and watch out to those who want to mess with her)!!! God didn’t take it lightly, apparently…how much more would He do for His mother?

Yes but didn’t Uzzah have right intentions? And doesn’t God look at people’s intentions rather than the action?

For example if someone tells somebody something false but doesn’t know it, it isn’t a lie. In the same way, Uzzah touched the Ark but did it for good.

Could you clarify this for me?

 

[byzgirl]

I am not a biblical scholar and do not know, in what sense (literal, metaphorical, etc.) this story of the Old Testament scriptures, was meant to be interpreted (I’m sure that there is stuff, online, regarding the biblical interpretation, with a Catholic understanding). I did find this remark from a previous discussion on this forum, that was similar to this thread’s subject matter:

"Maybe we could conclude that the spiritual teaching of this passage which God wants to teach us through His Word is “You MUST always obey my Absolute Moral Laws, not according to or just when they seem convenient.”

I do know that typology is a rather ancient sense of Scipture, and was used by some of the Early Church Fathers. There are undeniable parallels (shadows) of the relation of Mary, the Theotokos (the New Ark) and of the Old Testament Ark.

 

[Steven_John]

Yes but didn’t Uzzah have right intentions? And doesn’t God look at people’s intentions rather than the action?

For example if someone tells somebody something false but doesn’t know it, it isn’t a lie. In the same way, Uzzah touched the Ark but did it for good.

Could you clarify this for me?

I dont think the OT was all about intention, it was about obedience mess up and your out (in relation to spiritual not worldly).

Ie Moses (pbuh) smote the rock when was told to speak so that was the mark, no promised land for him.

In the NT kingship, priesthood and prophecy come together a new age of the heart wanting to be obedient rather than the acts of obedience.

 

[juliamajor]

Uzzah was not a Levite . Levites were the only one’s who were allowed ,under penalty of death, to touch the Ark. It is an odd story and even in Rabbinical literature they have a hard time explaining it.One of my professors thought that Uzzah might have simply had a heart attack while simultaneously trying to hold up the Ark. This could have been interpreted as being ‘slain’ by God for touching the Ark. It wouldn’t be such a strange leap even in our mind to connect the dots in such a manner.

 

[adstrinity]

Is this the story who put the Ark on a horse or caravan when God specifically told him how to transport it or was that something else?

 

[juliamajor]

Is this the story who put the Ark on a horse or caravan when God specifically told him how to transport it or was that something else?

It’s 2 samuel 6:1-8

 

[Sillara]

I usually read this story (aside from the Marian foreshadowing) as an “ends do not justify the means” story.
God said, “Don’t touch the Ark. AT ALL.”

Uzzah saw the Ark getting unbalanced and thought, “I will steady the Ark.” The end was good.

Uzzah reached out and touched the Ark, disobeying God in so doing. The means were NOT good.

God did not accept Uzzah’s “but I was doing something good” excuse. Uzzah knew better.

I find this story helpful to meditate on as I try to figure out NFP. Even if my end (not wanting to hemorrhage to death after another delivery) is good, my means had better be right, too!

 

[Fidelis]

Is this the story who put the Ark on a horse or caravan when God specifically told him how to transport it or was that something else?

David again assembled all the picked men of Israel, thirty thousand in number.
2
Then David and all the people who were with him set out for Baala of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which bears the name of the LORD of hosts enthroned above the cherubim.
3
The ark of God was placed on a new cart and taken away from the house of Abinadab on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, guided the cart,
4
with Ahio walking before it,
5
while David and all the Israelites made merry before the LORD with all their strength, with singing and with citharas, harps, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals.
6
When they came to the threshing floor of Nodan, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and steadied it, for the oxen were making it tip.
7
But the LORD was angry with Uzzah; God struck him on that spot, and he died there before God.
8
David was disturbed because the LORD had vented his anger on Uzzah. (The place has been called Perez-uzzah down to the present day.)
9
David feared the LORD that day and said, “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?”
10
So David would not have the ark of the LORD brought to him in the City of David, but diverted it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.

 

[ethereality]

I’m not sure if this question was answered, so I thought I’d try:

Yes but didn’t Uzzah have right intentions? And doesn’t God look at people’s intentions rather than the action?

You are right: God does not change, so it seems to follow that his justice doesn’t change, either. It doesn’t make sense to me that God would judge those under the Old Covenant by their obedience, and those under the New Covenant by their intention. In fact, I think Paul makes clear in the New Testament precisely this point, that those under the Old Covenant have ALL sinned, have ALL fallen short of God’s commandments. So, yes, I believe God looks at the intentions of us all, just as Christ died for all.

From 2 Samuel 6, it’s unclear what Uzzah’s intentions were. I can imagine someone who wanted to steady the ark, lest it fall to the ground and scandal reach the Philistines (just for example), and I can imagine a busy farmer who blasphemed the ark as just another load for the oxen, grabbing the ark roughly, not caring for its contents. These are very different things, and the text only says, “Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled” (v. 6).

The text implies to me that what Uzzah did was terribly wrong, and it obviously displeased the Lord. David was angry at what God did, but that doesn’t mean that he witnessed what Uzzah did, so David could have misunderstood God’s action – and apparently he did, mistrusting the ark, placing it in another town, and then finally bringing the ark in to his town when he saw how the other town was blessed as a result of the ark (v. 8-15).

Whether Uzzah’s intentions were good or bad, God killed him for it. Keep in mind all this means is that Uzzah’s life on earth ended. We do not know whether God sent him to paradise (and later to heaven when Jesus opened its gates after his descent to hell), possibly as a reward for his action, or to hell as his action’s just punishment. It’s true that “the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah” (v. 7), but that does not rule out God’s mercy – we do not know what happens to men when they die, unless God reveals it to us. It seems most of us must wait for the general judgment for that, when God’s justice is revealed to all.

I hope this helps.

 

[ricmat]

Anyone remember where in the OT that there was a guy who touched the Ark of the Covenant when they were moving it, and he was struck dead? Is there any theological meaning in this?

Perhaps the first recorded instance of liturgical abuse?