The Death of Uzzah

1 Chronicles 13:5-11: “So David assembled all Israel from the Shihor in Egypt to Lebo Hamath to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. David and all the Israelites went to Baalah of Judah (Kiriath-jearim) to bring up the ark of God the Lord, who is enthroned between the cherubim—the ark that bears his Name. They moved the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it. David and all the Israelites were celebrating before God with all their might, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets. When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon (in 2 Samuel 6:6, it’s called Nachon), Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark, because the oxen stumbled. 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. Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez-uzzah.”

After the Ark of the Covenant was returned from the Philistines, it was brought to the house of Abinadab in Kiriath-jearim (1 Samuel 6:21; 7:1-2). By this point, about 80 years had passed, including at least: 20 years before Samuel became judge (1 Samuel 7:2), 12 years of Samuel’s judgeship (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 6, Chapter 13, Section 294), 40 years of Saul’s reign (Acts 13:21), and 7.5 years of David’s reign in Hebron.

The punishment Uzzah received seems too severe. Upon careful examination of the Bible, we find several important reasons:

Numbers 4:15 clearly outlines the regulations for moving the Ark of the Covenant: First, the Ark and all its furnishings were to be covered to prevent the people from casually viewing it. Second, it was to be carried by men, not by an oxcart, because the Lord delights in being served by people. Third, it was to be carried by the Kohathites, the Levites consecrated to serve the Lord. Fourth, no one was to touch the Ark or its holy objects, lest they die.

So what mistake did Uzzah make?

First, they did not follow the Lord’s command to cover the Ark, preventing the people from casually viewing it. If it had been covered, Uzzah could not have touched the Ark.

Second, they did not follow the Lord’s command to have the Levites carry the Ark. Instead, they used an oxcart, just as the Philistines had done when they returned the Ark.

Third, Uzzah may not have been a Levite and was therefore not authorized to move the Ark, much less touch it.

The Lord struck Uzzah to make all the Israelites understand that the Lord is not to be trifled with. Though the Lord is full of love and willing to show grace, He is also a holy and righteous God.

Uzzah “reached out and took hold of the ark” purely with good intentions to help God, but he did something God had forbidden. For the Law clearly stipulated: only the priests, descendants of Aaron, could touch the Ark; others were “not to touch the holy things, or they will die” (Numbers 4:15). “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). God’s “anger burned against him” because he lacked a heart of reverence.

Kiriath-jearim was located on a hill in the Judean hill country. The oxcart would have had to go downhill first and then uphill to Jerusalem. Curiously, there were no problems during the downhill and uphill parts of the journey. The problem occurred precisely on the flat “threshing floor of Kidon,” where a stumble was least likely. God did not initially send the prophet Gad (1 Samuel 22:5) or Nathan (2 Samuel 12:1) to stop David from transporting the Ark on a “new cart.” Instead, He caused the “oxen to stumble” on the “threshing floor of Kidon”—where it was least expected—and then, by striking Uzzah, taught David, the people, and us an unforgettable lesson: “God cannot be mocked” (Galatians 6:7).

After the Ark was brought to Jerusalem, it entered its “resting place” (2 Chronicles 6:41; Psalm 132:8, 14) and never left. After the Temple was destroyed, its whereabouts became unknown. It will not be seen again until the seventh trumpet sounds at the end of time, when “God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant” (Revelation 11:19).