The Hand That Reached Out

To understand what happened to Uzzah, you need to know how the Ark was built. God designed it so that nobody would ever have to touch it.

Gold rings. God told Moses to cast four gold rings and fasten them to the Ark's four corners (Exodus 25:12).

Long poles. Two poles of acacia wood, covered with gold, slid through the rings. The poles were never to be taken out (Exodus 25:13–15).

Always ready. Because the poles stayed in, the Ark could be lifted at any moment without anyone touching the box itself. God made sure the problem never needed to happen.

God's throne. God said He would meet with Moses above the gold lid, between the cherubim (Exodus 25:22). That is why 2 Samuel 6:2 calls Him the Lord of Hosts, “who dwells between the cherubim.”

The carriers. God gave the job of carrying the Ark to the Kohathites, one family of Levites. He warned them not to touch the holy things, or they would die (Numbers 4:15).

Covered first. Before the Kohathites lifted anything, Aaron and his sons covered the Ark with the veil and other coverings (Numbers 4:5–6). Even the carriers did not see it or handle it bare.

No carts. Moses gave carts and oxen to other Levite families for the tabernacle's heavy pieces. He gave none to the Kohathites, because they carried the holy things on their shoulders (Numbers 7:6–9).

Hundreds of years old. These rules were written down long before David was born. They were in the Law that Israel already had.

A borrowed idea. When the Philistines sent the Ark back, their priests put it on a new cart pulled by two milk cows (1 Samuel 6:7–8). They did not know God's Law.

Israel copied it. In 2 Samuel 6, “they set the ark of God on a new cart” (6:3). It was new and clean, but it was still the wrong way.

Doing it right. Later David said the trouble came because they had not asked God how to carry the Ark (1 Chronicles 15:13). The second time, the Levites carried it on their shoulders with the poles, just as Moses had commanded (1 Chronicles 15:15).

What we learn. God's Word often answers our questions before we ask them. We can read it, ask God for help, and do things His way.

What to do. This week, before you do something for God, look for what the Bible says about it. Ask a parent or teacher to help you find it.

Uzzah's story gives us a hard picture: a man puts out his hand toward what is holy, and he dies. It shows the gap between a holy God and sinful people.

A gap. The whole tabernacle was built around that gap. A thick veil hid the Most Holy Place, where the Ark stood. Only the high priest went in, once a year, carrying blood (Leviticus 16). It all said the same thing: you cannot just walk up to God.

Holy. Isaiah saw the Lord and heard, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3). Then he cried, “Woe is me, for I am undone!” (Isaiah 6:5).

Catching. God's Law taught another lesson. Uncleanness was catching. If you touched a dead body or an unclean thing, you became unclean too (Leviticus 5:2–3; Numbers 19:11). It only traveled one way, from the unclean thing to you.

Outside the camp. A person with leprosy had to live outside the camp and warn people to stay away (Leviticus 13:45–46). Nobody touched him.

Then Jesus came. A leper knelt before Jesus and said, “If You are willing, You can make me clean” (Mark 1:40).

Jesus touched him. “Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him” (Mark 1:41). Jesus said, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

Backwards. Everyone expected Jesus to become unclean. Instead, “immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed” (Mark 1:42). The touch went the other way. Clean came out of Jesus and into the man.

Again and again. Jesus took a dead girl by the hand and raised her (Mark 5:41). He touched the coffin of a widow's son and brought him back to life (Luke 7:14). What should have made Him unclean was made whole.

The cost. Jesus could touch the unclean because He came to carry our sin. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The veil torn. When Jesus died, “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51). God opened the way from His side.

What we learn. Uzzah reached toward holiness and died. Jesus reached toward uncleanness, and it was healed. He crossed the gap from God's side.

What to do. Jesus is not afraid of your sin. Bring it to Him and ask Him to make you clean. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9).