But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put out his hand to steady the Ark. Then the LORD’s anger blazed out against Uzzah, and he struck him dead because he had laid his hand on the Ark. So Uzzah died there in the presence of God. -1 Chronicles 13:9-10
My granddad and I were very close growing up. I used to spend lots of time with him in his workshop building all kinds of cool things from birdhouses to bunk beds to drum risers and speaker cabinets.
Granddad working
I remember one time wanting to build “the perfect” guitar cabinet for my guitar arsenal. So for the next few months he and I built a total of 5 different ones. The first three were pretty lousy as we really didn’t know what we were doing. Then…after looking into the insides of my buddy Kevin Lyle’s vintage Marshall 4×12, I got the vision! We went on and built two smokin 4×12 cabinets ready for the road! They were awesome!
Years later after taking a long sabbatical from the music industry, I decided that I needed money more than I needed these big speaker cabinets. So I sold both of them for a lousy monetary trade. I regret it to this day. Luckily I thought about my mistake in time to allow my granddad and I to build one more cabinet (although a much smaller version this time) before he passed away just about a year later.
Have you ever decided you were going to do something that would require a great deal of time, effort, and maybe even money just to later find out that it was not the right thing to do at the time? Sometimes we get our minds set on something that we want to do and in the rush of wanting to get it done, we forget to consult God on what He thinks of our plans. In 1 Chronicles we find David doing just that.
David identified a problem that he felt needed to be dealt with immediately. He recognized that the Ark of God had been neglected and as a result the people of Israel had fallen far away from God. So he called together and consulted with all of his officials, including the generals and captains of his army. He then addressed the entire assembly of Israel by saying “If you approve of this and it is the will of the LORD our God…[Let us] bring back the Ark of our God.” So in modern terms David used the old, “If it is the Lord’s will.” However, he apparently didn’t consult the LORD to really find out what the LORD’s will was.
Uzzah trying to keep the Ark from falling
As we read on we see where Uzzah in his determination to keep the Ark from falling, reaches up and touches the Ark. Now on the surface it is puzzling to understand why God would then strike Uzzah dead since he was obviously trying to do the “right” thing by saving the Ark from certain disaster. However, God had given explicit instructions for transporting the Ark many years before. He also had given strict warning that if any man were to touch the Ark it would be punishable by death. (Numbers 4:5-15).
David was angry with God and himself because his plans ended in a man’s death. He then grew fearful of God and realized that he had made the mistake of not consulting God before carrying out his plans. He left the Ark there in that area until God was ready to direct him on what to do three months later.
Often times we do exactly like David. Maybe it’s a job change, or the purchase of a new car, or maybe even going on a mission trip. We get something in our heads and we grow confident in our actions after consulting those close to us who are easy to tell us what we want to hear. Then like Jimmie Johnson screaming towards another NASCAR championship race, we take off for what we think is the best thing to do. Then later we realize that it really wasn’t such a good idea after all.
Spend some time in prayer. Spend some time reading God’s word. Many times the true confirmation in your plans is right at your fingertips and God is just waiting for you to ask Him so He can reveal what the real plan for your situation should be. I know if I had consulted Him way back then I would still have two of the best Custom Lee cabinets no one could beat.
-Robbie
P.S. If anyone out there reading this comes across a 4×12 custom built guitar cabinet with the stained image of “Lee” across the front of it, drop me a line. I know they have to be out there somewhere still! :0)
When I came back he was still there so I asked him if he would mind if I played a couple of songs with him to try and help him make a few extra bucks. He was cool with it so we played “Peace, Love and Understanding” and “Walking On Water”. It was cool. We had a few people walk by and stop and give him some money.
