Christmas time is exciting for so many reasons: time with
family, great food, time to relax, and we get to celebrate the birth of our
savior. That is usually the order of
things isn't it? Family, food,
…Christ. It is so easy to do this
because we forget what salvation is about.
What is salvation? It is usually
explained as, “Well, God loved me so much, that He sent Jesus to save me from
my sins.” When explained like that, what
is salvation about? It’s about me. It’s about what I want, what I need. It is any wonder then that we spend Christmas
doing what we want to do?
This view point on salvation has a major oversight. We overlook God and who He truly is. Whenever we tell people about God, we tell
them the things that they want to hear.
God loves you. God wants a
relationship with you. God sent His Son
Jesus to die for you. If you accept Him
as your savior, He will save you from hell.
Accept Him? God needs OUR
acceptance? The Creator of the universe is begging for us, His creation, to
choose Him? Our picture of God we create
is a man centered god, a god who bases all of his actions on mankind.
Is this really an accurate picture of God? Why don’t we tell people the story of Uzzah
when we talk about God? First Chronicles
13 tells the story of when David became king.
He decided to bring the Ark of the Covenant, Israel’s most sacred
vessel, back to a central place in Israel.
The ark was a wooded chest, covered inside and out with gold. It had four golden rings on its corners so
that it could be carried with poles. The
ark was made exactly as God had commanded.
It was symbolic as the throne of God.
In the tabernacle it was kept in the Holy of Holies. Before David’s reign as king, Saul had taken
it to battle and it was captured by the philistine army. It had been returned to Israel, but it had
remained on the outskirts of the country in a small village. So when David became king he said, “Let’s
bring it back to Jerusalem. Let’s put
God’s glory at the center of our nation.”
So they put it on a cart pulled by oxen and guided it towards
Jerusalem. It was such an extremely
joyous occasion. David and all the
Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and
harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.
Then suddenly one of the oxen stumbled.
The ark slid a little and looked like it might fall off. Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark
so it wouldn't fall into the mud. Then
it says that, “The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down
because he had put his hand on the ark.
So he died there before God.”
Frustrating story isn't it?
Preaching about that story probably wouldn't draw a crowd would it? Where is the God’s love in this story? Where is His kindness? His patience?
This story is hard for us to comprehend because it offends our
definition of justice. The punishment doesn't fit the offense. Uzzah tried to
do something good, keep the ark from falling in the mud, and he was struck dead
for it.
To understand Uzzah’s offense, we must look back at what God
commanded Israel’s priests when He gave the instructions for the creation of
the tabernacle. He told them that these
items were dedicated to the Lord and that they were holy. The Arc of the Covenant was not to be
touched. For that reason God had it
built with rings so that it could be carried by poles. God specifically said that those carrying it
cannot touch it or they will die! It was
Uzzah’s duty to carry the ark. He knew
he was never supposed to touch it. Let’s
ask the question of why was it on a cart to begin with? Why weren't they carrying it like God had
commanded them to?
When Uzzah reached out to touch the ark to keep it from
falling into the mud, it was an act of defiance and arrogance. He knew it was supposed to be carried with
poles—he put it on a cart instead. He
knew it was never to be touched—he touched it.
Why did he touch it? To keep it
from falling in the mud. In his mind he
thought that his hand was less polluted than the mud. He felt he was cleaner and more holy than the
dirt. But does dirt disobey God? Does mud ever arrogantly defy the commands of
the Holy God? Never. Man, on the other hand, has the audacity to
think that he is wise enough and holy enough to defy God’s commands at it will
turn out okay. The Holy Ark wouldn't be
polluted by dirt; it could only be polluted by sinful man’s touch.
Our Christian culture is offended by this story. “He just disobeyed once. Why couldn't God just forgive him and tell
him not to do it again? How could God do
that?” These are probably common
thoughts. We don’t understand biblical
stories like this because we don’t understand holiness and justice. We don’t understand that to be holy means to
be completely separated from sin.
Holiness can have NOTHING to do with sin of any kind. God hates sin. God hates it when mankind becomes so arrogant
that he thinks he knows better than his Creator. God hates it when someone thinks just this
once won’t matter or that it’s not a big deal.
Defying God’s commands is spiting in the face of the all powerful, all
knowing Holy Creator.
Now look back at the story of Uzzah and his act of arrogant
defiance against God’s commands. God
said, “You touch it, you die.” He
touched it, and he died. That is
justice. He received the punishment he
deserved.
Why is God’s justice so offensive to us? Because we feel like we don’t deserve
it. We were told God is loving and
merciful, so we expect that those are His only qualities and that He has to
extend mercy to everyone. But God is
holy. He hates it when we defy his
commands, and He is just, meaning He HAS to give punishment when punishment is
deserved.
That is what is so amazing about Christmas. God Himself became a man, to take our
punishment for our defiant disobedience of His commands. He humbled Himself and became a human
being. He came to earth to take upon
Himself the holy wrath that you and I deserve.
That’s not justice. We defy Him,
and He becomes a man to take the punishment Himself. That’s humility, that’s mercy, that’s God,
and that is what Christmas is about. God
coming to earth to show us once again, that only He is truly worthy of praise
and honor.
