They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab’s house, which was on a hill. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab’s sons, were guiding the cart that carried the Ark of God. Ahio walked in front of the Ark. David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals. But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand and steadied the Ark of God. Then the LORD’s anger was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him dead because of this. So Uzzah died right there beside the Ark 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 the LORD, and he asked, “How can I ever bring the Ark of the LORD back into my care?” So David decided not to move the Ark of the LORD into the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath. The Ark of the LORD remained there in Obed-edom’s house for three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and his entire household.
2 Samuel 6:3–11 (NLT)
Terrified from the incident, David searched his soul and then inquired a budding young prophet in Jerusalem
Dear Nathan, the Prophet of the Most High,
I find myself penning this letter with hands that tremble and a heart churning with emotions that I can scarcely put into words. Yet, I must try, for I am in desperate need of your counsel. For I have glimpsed the holiness of God, and it has left me undone [1]. You may have heard of the incident with Uzzah. The man is dead, struck down by the very presence of God we sought to bring into Jerusalem.
I am a man of war, accustomed to the clash of swords and the cries of the fallen. Yet, this is a fear unlike any I have known. It is a holy dread, a reverent terror that has gripped me to my core. I am reminded that our God is not to be trifled with, that His holiness is a consuming fire [2]. I find myself asking: Have I been so wrapped up in the acts of worship that I’ve lost sight of the One I worship? What does it mean to truly worship a God so holy that even a well-intentioned act can result in death? How do we approach a God so pure that our very best intentions are like filthy rags before Him [3]?
I had thought that my love for God, my desire to worship Him, would be enough. But now, I see that such love alone cannot bridge the chasm between God’s holiness and man’s sinfulness. Who am I to stand in the presence of such holiness? Who am I to think that I can bring the Ark, the dwelling place of the Most High, into a city of sinners? I am angry, Nathan, but not at God. I am angry at myself for not understanding the gravity of what we were undertaking. We were not merely transporting a holy object; we were encountering the Wholly Other, the Uncreated One that even angels cover their faces.
Prophet Nathan, I beseech you, guide me in this time of spiritual crisis. How can I reconcile my fear of God’s holiness with my longing to draw near to Him? How can I lead a people in worship when I myself am paralyzed by awe and dread? How can I ever bring the Ark of the Lord back into my care? How do we approach Him without being consumed by His righteous judgment? My soul yearns to understand, to find a way to draw near without drawing His wrath.
As I ponder these things, I await your counsel. Guide me in the ways of the Lord, that I may serve Him with a heart of reverence and a spirit of humility.
In the fear of Isaac [4],
King David
Share with your friends “How do you think the fear of God’s holiness affects our worship? Is it strange that David is still drawn to God after this incident?”
[1] Isaiah also said that his life was undone when he saw God in Isaiah 6:5
[2] Hebrews 12:29 said that “God is a consuming fire”. The phrase “consuming fire” is also used in Deuteronomy 4:24, 9:3. In these passages, the phrase is used to emphasize God’s holiness and we are encouraged to worship Him with reverence and awe.
[3] Isaiah 64:6 says our best deeds are like filthy rags before God
[4] The Fear of Isaac is a phrase found in Genesis 31:42 and 53, where Jacob refers to God as “the Fear of his father Isaac”. It is one of the more obscure names of God in the Bible, but perhaps it is a proper attribute of God in this case.
“Have I been so wrapped up in the acts of worship that I’ve lost sight of the One I worship?” This thought deeply resonated with me. It’s often easy to prioritize expediency and efficiency in our tasks, sometimes overshadowing our reverence for God’s holiness. Reflecting on Uzzah’s story, I realize that his helpfulness outweighed his respect for God’s holiness, and I, too, can fall into this trap.
We serve a Holy God, and at times, our natural productivity can overshadow our awareness of His holiness. It’s essential to remember that the focus shouldn’t solely be on completing the task but on pleasing the One for whom we are doing it. This brings to mind Psalm 2:11 – “Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.” May we be granted the grace to experience the joy of rejoicing with reverence before His throne, all for His glory and our joy.
Our fear of God’s holiness affects our worship, because it prepares our hearts and minds to come before Him. We are reminded that He is holy and sovereign. He is worthy of our worship and praise. We come before Him to bow down and acknowledge Him as our Maker. David was reminded of this after the incident with Uzzah. It is not strange that he is still drawn to God afterwards. From time to time, we can forget His reverence and in doing so we can disobey Him or feel like we don’t need Him. This incident with Uzzah reminds us that we need to seek Him daily. We need to draw closer to Him. We need renew our minds and hearts to approach worship with a holy fear.
I think, more than anything, when David witnessed the incident, he understood that the God of Israel is the true God. He had known and experienced God through various events in his life, but it was the first time David experienced the Holy presence of God. This drew him even closer to God. We may know that God exists, but sometimes we doubt because we can’t see Him. However, for the sake of His glory and His beloved ones, God always has a way to reveal His glory and presence to His people. Realizing that our God is the utmost holy God shapes us to worship Him according to His will.
I think the fear of God’s holiness affects our worship by us having respect towards him. He is the almighty God that is our friend but he is also our creator and has our life in his hands. So I feel the fear we have feel as believers is like a fear of respect. I personally don’t think it’s strange that David is still drawn to God in this incident.
From today’s reading, I believe that fear of God’s holiness leads us to confirm that God is greater than human knowledge.Also, i think that it affects our worship a lot. So, this reminds me of the importance of showing love, respect, service, and devotion to God. And it makes sense that David was drawn to God by him. I think David’s heart and the Lord’s heart felt united.
The fear of God’s holiness affects our worship by reminding us he is mighty. His holiness is so strong and much that we are someone in fear of this much power. But, this should only change our perspective of the way we see this power. It is to remind us that God loves us with all his might. That is a lot of might. We should be blessed and happy and relieved that the father who watches over us is protecting us and is capable of anything. When we worship God we are able to fully surrender in his love and just allow him to fill us up with the joy.
From Becky:
The word “fear” appears in the Bible 367 times.
The fear of God will affect how we worship because we know that God can read our heart and our mind. Therefore, the outward gestures are not of importance. We can pretend outwardly to be righteous and good but God knows we are not. God’s holiness is not any match to our good deeds and no matter how we try we can never match God’s holiness. However, God still want us to strive to be holy, 1 Peter 1:15-16 – “But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” Therefore, fearing God will make us worship from the heart and be clean with God in all accounts as in asking God for forgiveness for any stumbling block that will hinder our worship so our worship to him is pure.
There are trials in our life that we say why would you allow this to happen to me God? We get mad at God momentarily but that doesn’t mean we walk away from our faith in God and reject Him. David is human and the flesh is weak so when things don’t go as planned such as witnessing God striking Uzzah’s sudden death David would be mad at God but in the end this makes David draw even closer to God than before. Momentarily tragedy doesn’t makes sense but God can use it to bring the good out of it and we learn from it and make our faith in Him stronger.
(from Vincent)
I think each individuals fears of God affects them in different ways. What I am curious is about is that in the Old Testament people yelled at God, fought God; all while fearing Him. How did they do that, knowing God can smite them? I think in this day and age we are reverting to a comfortability around God. How often did blasphemy and sexual misconduct occur before God smited them (old testament). I feel without a proper sense of fear, we cannot acknowledge God in true reverence and awe. I think it is great that David was drawn into God while fearing Him! It proved his Testimony and showed his devoted faith!