daily java

Daily Java:

But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark. Then the Lord’s anger was aroused against Uzzah, and he struck him dead because he had laid his hand on the Ark. So Uzzah died there in the presence of God. David was angry because the Lord’s anger had burst out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means “to burst out against Uzzah”), as it is still called today. David was now afraid of God, and he asked, “How can I ever bring the Ark of God back into my care?” So David did not move the Ark into the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath. The Ark of God remained there in Obed-edom’s house for three months, and the Lord blessed the household of Obed-edom and everything he owned. (1 Chronicles 13:9-14)

David was full of his victories and his success as a king. He got to thinking that everything he did was good and that the Lord was going to bless him just across the board.

He decided that it would be a good idea to move the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem. He got a bunch of the Israelites together and asked them what they thought and they though tit would be a good idea too. everybody was in agreement and everybody was happy.

The only person he didn’t ask was God.

In spite of the fact that God had prescribed a way of moving the ark back in the Pentateuch, David decided he would make it a bit more ceremonial. He got a new wagon that had never been used to hold the ark while it was traveling. He even probably got matched oxen or mules to pull it and it all looked great.

The problem was, of course, the roads. They were not that good and the wagon carrying the ark hit a chuck-hole. Uzzah, one who had been chosen to walk beside the ark did what was natural. He reached out to make sure the ark didn’t fall. When he touched the ark, he dropped dead.

No one was supposed to ever touch God’s ark. In fact, the only time it was seen was when traveling and then it had a covering. It was as close to the holy presence of God as any earthly thing could be.

It scared David. He didn’t know what to do, so he just parked the ark at a man’s house for three months while he tried to figure what he had done wrong.

Uzzah probably never knew what he had done wrong, or at least never had the chance to regret touching that ark. But what he did was wrong and he died. He did it in a clear conscience but he died because, conscience or not, it was wrong.

The lesson? Just because you think you are doing the right things doesn’t mwan you are. You can do wrong with a clear conscience.

In Jeremiah 17:9-10, the prophet says:

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
    and desperately wicked.
    Who really knows how bad it is?
But I, the Lord, search all hearts
    and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
    according to what their actions deserve.

God is the only one who really knows what the heart should know and it is only in him that our hearts can be schooled in goodness.

Following your conscience can sound good, but it can lead you to death if your conscience doesn’t tell you what God wants you to know.