Why did God kill Uzzah who touched the Ark?

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JPUSC said:
Hey, I was just watching something about the Ark on TV. Is it true that it is located in an Orthodox shrine in Ethiopia? They say that the last guard and his replacement got some sort of eye cataracts and died after two years of guarding the Ark on the grounds.
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No.
 
I think if they’ve gone through all that trouble to protect it, it is very likely that it is the Ark. Plus, the keepers of the shrine hold some legitimacy as they are apostolic Christians. It’s like how Roman Catholics accept the Relics of the True Cross, Shroud of Turin and the Veil of Veronica to be authentic.

Haha, how come the Orthodox get to have all the cool stuff the rest of us aren’t allowed to see, like the Ark and Miracle of the Holy Fire? :ehh:
 
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.”
 
Epistemes said:
And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims. And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart. And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals. And 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. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. (2 Samuel 6:2-7)

While I understand that the Ark of the Covenant was an embodiment of God’s presence with the Israelites, that if someone approached the Ark then such a person would effectively be in God’s presence, and that there were certain commandments concerning presentation and handling of the Ark, I do not understand why God is so unmerciful when it comes to Uzzah touching the Ark.

As I read the text, no matter what translation, it appears to me that Uzzah only touched the only in order to protect it and prevent it from falling off the cart “for the oxen shook it.” It appears that Uzzah is punished with death for something that would and could be easily interpreted as a potentially meritorious action. Sure, such an interpretation would be by 21st-century Gentile American standards and not the standards of the Israelites or early Jews – which is why it seems the author of the text or subsequent Jews have little to no “problem” with the punishment – but, I have to ask as a 21st-century Gentile American: Would God rather have the Ark literally fall off the cart and lay on the ground for all eternity?
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The closer one gets to God, the more dangerous it is. This is shown time and time again in the Torah. There is a concept of holy “zones” that we see.
 
cerad said:
Mostly as an observer. I get quite a chuckle out of many of the threads. Especially the evolution ones. But I think that might be a bit off topic.
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What a form of entertainment!!

**I can personally tell you that 99.9% of us are not on here for scientific reasons. You must be part of that .1%!

I could spend just as much of my time “chuckling” how off Atheists are on what the Catholic Church believes – on what Christians believe.
 
Epistemes said:
And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims. And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart. And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals. And 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. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. (2 Samuel 6:2-7)

While I understand that the Ark of the Covenant was an embodiment of God’s presence with the Israelites, that if someone approached the Ark then such a person would effectively be in God’s presence, and that there were certain commandments concerning presentation and handling of the Ark, I do not understand why God is so unmerciful when it comes to Uzzah touching the Ark.

As I read the text, no matter what translation, it appears to me that Uzzah only touched the only in order to protect it and prevent it from falling off the cart “for the oxen shook it.” It appears that Uzzah is punished with death for something that would and could be easily interpreted as a potentially meritorious action. Sure, such an interpretation would be by 21st-century Gentile American standards and not the standards of the Israelites or early Jews – which is why it seems the author of the text or subsequent Jews have little to no “problem” with the punishment – but, I have to ask as a 21st-century Gentile American: Would God rather have the Ark literally fall off the cart and lay on the ground for all eternity?
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I think it is one way of God saying that “the way to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Something can seem right, while at the same time being a grave sin.

People try to justify sin all of the time, by saying it is an act of compassion. Such as “This child would be born into poverty. Let us end the chance of him suffering in the future by ending his life now.”
To some, that seems like a good, compassionate thing to do for that child. Yet, it is certainly a grave sin.

The people were told NOT to touch the Ark of the Covenant. They were not told to keep from touching it unless they felt there was a need to do so.

I believe that God was trying to teach us that He means what He says!!!
His laws are not open for debate. They are to be obeyed!

The man’s temporal life was ended. He belonged to God, and God chose to use him to get the point across.

I wonder how many people stood in awe of the intimate power of God, of the awesomeness of His Presence after that. God certainly had a reason. And the man’s soul was not lost, only his temporal body.
 
John_Walsh said:
God had commanded all concerning the ark including the manner in which it was to be transported. Loading the ark onto an unstable cart pulled by oxen was their 1st grievous offense. It was to be carried by Levites using poles that were made to specification through rings. Many legs of men are far more stable than an ox cart. The maner they chose would be akin to disrespectfull handling of the Eucharist.

Reading through the Old Testament prior to your mentioned incident resulted in immediate death.
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Which gives another example of how important it is to treat the Eucharist with all respect and reverence. People should be reminded of this story.
 
CalCatholic said:
Hey cerad,
Your absolutely right, things are much safer in a secular society.
We have Communist China, The former Soviet Union (40 million dead) and Adolf Hitler at Nazi Germany (6 million + dead), for a few shining examples, and that is just in the 20th Century
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Don’t forget the 50 million, 500 thousand unborn babies legally murdered in the USA alone in the past 35 years.

Yes, I can see how some would believe that humans are infallible and that God is wrong. Can you see my sarcasm dripping?
 
cerad said:
Might want to check your history a bit. Nazi Germany killed a lot more than 6 million. I have always been puzzled by the Nazi’s. Sometime in in the early 1930’s millions upon millions of life long Catholics suddenly converted to atheism and started acting all immoral and nasty. Then about 12 years later, poof, they all became Catholics again. Very strange but very much off topic.
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huh?
 
Jesus_N_Cherie said:
Don’t forget the 50 million, 500 thousand unborn babies legally murdered in the USA alone in the past 35 years.

Yes, I can see how some would believe that humans are infallible and that God is wrong. Can you see my sarcasm dripping?
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Thanks for the reminder, unfortunately abortion is backed by some religious people also.
 
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JPUSC said:
I think if they’ve gone through all that trouble to protect it, it is very likely that it is the Ark. Plus, the keepers of the shrine hold some legitimacy as they are apostolic Christians. It’s like how Roman Catholics accept the Relics of the True Cross, Shroud of Turin and the Veil of Veronica to be authentic.

Haha, how come the Orthodox get to have all the cool stuff the rest of us aren’t allowed to see, like the Ark and Miracle of the Holy Fire? :ehh:
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How do we know they really are legit miracles, have they been confirmed by the Catholic Church?
cerad said:
This is the kind of thread that supports Richard Dawkin’s argument that even moderate religious believers are dangerous. Killing someone for touching a magic box is just plain nuts no matter how you frame it.
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Given this is a true occurance, why do you think Uzzah died?
 
Valke2 said:
The closer one gets to God, the more dangerous it is. This is shown time and time again in the Torah. There is a concept of holy “zones” that we see.
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Any contact with the Divine was considered dangerous to one’s health to"see the Face of God" was to die How can the finite stand in front of the Infinite? How can Ultimate Truth , Justice and Love not wither those with feet of clay.? Metaphorically getting closer to God means doing His will and speaking His word. If you do- you could wind up in a cistern like Jeremiah -it’s not the popular thing to do and can cost you much.😉
 
adstrinity said:
How do we know they really are legit miracles, have they been confirmed by the Catholic Church?
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I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt considering they are an apostolic Church with valid sacraments recognized by the Catholic Church. I think I read the Miracle of the Holy Fire was something shared by all Christians until the split.

Plus, there have been other miracles outside of the Catholic Church such as the apparitions of Our Lady of Zeitoun. But then again, those apparitions received approval from both the Coptic and Roman Catholic Churches.
 
Ruthie said:
In addition to what the other posters have replied, I see the story of Uzzah as a prefigurement of Mary’s perpetual virginity. She carried our Lord in her womb; she was the Ark of the New Covenant. For Joseph to “touch” it would be blasphemous in general, and very dangerous for him in particular!

Ruthie
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Exactly. It’s like someone else grabbing your wife’s crotch in order to keep her from the mud. Only you have the right to grab her crotch–for others to do so it would be like basphemy.
 
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