II Sam. 6:1-15 –
1 David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the LORD of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. 3And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, 4with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark. 5And David and all the house of Israel were making merry before the LORD, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 6And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. 8And David was angry because the LORD had burst forth against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah, to this day. 9And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?” 10So David was not willing to take the ark of the LORD into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11And the ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household.
12And it was told King David, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. 13And when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. 14And David danced before the LORD with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. 15So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the horn.
This is a fairly well known account of King David bringing the ark of the covenant, which had been in the possession of the Philistines, back to Jerusalem. Uzzah was killed because he unlawfully touched the ark which was being unlawfully carried. If it had been carried properly, Uzzah would not have had to reach out and brace it.
Note that in verse 13 after Uzzah is killed, and after David has been angry and afraid, that the ark is again retrieved and carried properly.
There is no record of God telling David why Uzzah was struck dead. There is no record of an answer to David’s question in v. 9 “How can the ark of God come to me?” David, or someone, must have gone to the Scriptures to discover how the ark was to be legitimately carried. The thing to note is that God does not respond to David’s question. The reason He does not is that He has already told the people of Israel how the ark is to be carried. God will not speak to us directly where the Word of God has already spoken. We are obligated to know the Word of God and we should not expect God to give us direct revelation just because we are ignorant of the Scriptures.
Search the Scriptures. This is how God speaks to us. Given II Timothy 3:16f it is highly doubtful that God will ever speak directly to us. The Word thoroughly equips us for every good work. What more do we need than that?
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