I really wanted to wait on this article until later on, but I just can’t help myself. We’re going through Chronicles right now in our adult Bible class at Hillside, and Uzzah makes an appearance in 1 Chronicles 14, so it’s on my mind.
Plus, the mention of the Merarites and the duties that they’re associated with in Numbers makes this an interesting connection.
Not at first though, obviously. After all, the Merarites are simply talked about in Numbers 4:29-33 as the ones responsible for moving the hardware for the Tabernacle: the poles, boards, sockets, bars, and other paraphernalia.
It’s not until you get to Numbers 7 that the connection gets interesting. That chapter is a flashback to when Moses set up the Tabernacle at the end of Exodus. Numbers 7 explains that when he consecrated it, he also gave ox carts to help with the transportation of the Tabernacle.
Notably, Moses gives carts to the Gershonites and the Merarites, but not to the Kohathites. And who was in charge of those two families? Ithamar. Eleazar was over the Kohathites, who transported the ark and the holy objects by carrying them.
So here’s a possible scenario as it plays out in Uzzah’s death. The Merarites and the Gershonites, operating under Ithamar’s supervision, carry their heavy loads via ox cart. The Kohathites, seeing how much less effort it is to walk next to an ox rather than carry the holy items, opt to put their load on the cart as well. The ox stumbles, and Uzzah dies.
Is that what actually happened? We’ll never know, but these two chapters in Numbers do set the stage for why the Ark was on a cart to begin with. And if Ithamar had done his job as a supervisor, he would’ve told the Kohathites to keep the Ark off the wagon! It’s all his fault!
It’s obviously unfair to blame Ithamar for what happened. He would’ve been dead for a few hundred years by this point, anyways.
What it does show is the value of leadership. At some point, the reverence towards God in Israel dipped to a point that even the ones tasked with moving the Tabernacle itself decided to take shortcuts. That’s what Nadab and Abihu did, and, just like Uzzah, those two paid for it with their lives.
We can’t take shortcuts in regards to our work with God. Doing it His way may not always be the easiest route in our eyes, but it’s the only acceptable route. Why devote our lives to Him if we’re not going to abide by all of His rules?
