God has often counseled us to remember. Moses’ last sermon to the children of Israel before they entered the promised land was an admonition to remember; remember how the Lord rescued them from captivity in Egypt, how He parted the sea for their escape, how He spoke to them from Sinai, how he led them, protected them, and fed them for forty years in the wilderness. Moses ended his discourse with the warning that if they forgot, it would result in dire consequences. The stories in the Bible are given to us as examples and as a guide as to how we should live. We need to remember faithful Abraham and repentant David as examples of godly behavior. We are told by Jesus to remember Lot’s wife as an example of misplaced priorities. We should remember the tragic lives of head-strong Samson, of egotistical King Saul, of and profligate Belshazzar. Above all, we should remember the perfect life of Jesus, of how He humbled Himself to become a servant and Savior of mankind. More recently we are told that we need not fear for the future unless we forget the way God has led His people (Christ Object Lessons).
The tragic story of Uzzah is given to us to illustrate the importance of obeying God’s instructions to the letter God had given strict instructions as to how the ark of His presence should be reverenced and handled. Only the priests of the tribe of Levi were allowed to touch or even gaze upon it. When the tabernacle was moved during their travels in the wilderness, the ark was to be covered and carried between two poles by the Kohathites. Thus, on this particular occasion. The rules had been disregarded, and the ark was placed on an oxcart. Somewhere along the bumpy road the cart was shaken and in the jostling the ark was in danger of toppling off. It happened that Uzzah was walking along side, and he reached out his hand to steady the ark in direct disregard of God’s command. He was instantly stuck down by a display of divine judgment as an example of how particular God is when it comes to obedience. Those who observed this display of the Lord’s anger were filled with fear.
What can we learn from this brief account of Uzzah’s experience? Should we not also be filled with a fear of God’s displeasure? It is a dangerous thing to presume upon God’s goodness and mercy or to justify disobedience in favor of expediency. "God can accept no partial obedience, no lax way of treating His commandments. By the judgment upon Uzzah He designed to impress upon all Israel the importance of giving strict heed to His requirements." (MS 17, 1891 - E.G. White). It is a dangerous thing to trifle with God. All of His commandments are important, and we are not free to pick and choose.
forget how particular God is. The death of that one man led to the repentance of all Israel and prevented the inflicting of judgment on the whole nation. It is hoped that this will also call us to repentance wherein we have presumed upon God’s mercy and will give us pause in the future, and that God’s people will not suffer the consequences of presumptuous sins. How important it is that we remember the way God has led us and that we "remember Uzzah."
