A Reflection on 1 Chronicles 13

We Don’t Take This Seriously Enough…

August 3, 2026

The Ark of the Covenant carried on poles through rings

Over the last 4 weeks, I’ve had the story of Uzzah (from 1 Chronicles) come up 4 separate times. When something (seemingly) comes up out of nowhere, and comes up over and over again, taking note is the wise approach, particularly when it comes from the word of God. (Edit: as I was writing this, it had been 3x in 3 weeks, then, the story was referenced yet again). What I’m about to write is not hyperbole for emotional effect (quite the opposite, as some of the lessons of this story will teach us), but early this morning (8/3/2026 – Mon) after finishing up where I had been reading in Acts, the story about Uzzah crept back into my mind (again, because of the 3 separate times it came up). Without looking, my brain put my fingers more towards the front end of the Bible, (I had up until this point, hadn’t remembered that the story was in Chronicles, but reasoned that it was an Old Testament account), and that’s exactly where it opened up — but… it wasn’t on the story, but the first thing I see is the name “Uzzi” (1 Chronicles 6:6), so…. Off the bat, it looks like I’m in the wrong place. So, in one quick turn of a few pages… And without any knowledge that I’m close….. BAM…. there it is… I see the heading “David Attempts to Move the Ark”…. I know I’m there, and there’s zero chance it can be by accident.

Here’s a short summary of the story — but I encourage you to read all of 1 Chronicles 13:

King David initiates what should be the crowning spiritual celebration of his early reign: bringing the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem. The energy is high, the music is playing, and thousands of leaders have gathered to celebrate. Then, at a place called the threshing floor of Chidon, the oxen carrying the Ark stumble. Uzzah reaches out a hand to steady the Ark—a split-second reflex driven by good intentions—and is instantly struck dead by God.

The celebration grinds to a halt. The worship instruments go quiet, David responds with a mix of anger and sheer terror, and the place is renamed Perez-Uzzah (“Outbreak Against Uzzah”).

The threshing floor of Chidon — the instant before Perez-Uzzah

What a story! So, there’s A LOT going on here… A WHOLE lot! I think a natural first question is — Why would God strike dead a man whose only aim was to prevent the Ark from touching the ground?

Answer: Because God is holy. And Uzzah, even with his good intentions, is a product of the fall, and has sin. And God can’t be in contact with OR in the presence of sin. (Which is why we needed Jesus to come and clean us of our sin). RC Sproul pointed this out in a sermon where he outlines a subtle arrogance to Uzzah’s actions — he assumed his touch was somehow cleaner than that of the ground… a dirt or mud that had never rebelled against its creator.

Uzzah’s hand on the Ark was also in direct violation of HOW God instructed that the Ark be transported — with poles slid through rings, and bearing the weight with the poles upon the shoulders. King David made a catastrophic mistake in his leadership process: he sought the counsel of his military leaders, yet he completely neglected to consult God’s Word. Even here, King David’s intentions may have been noble, but his actions of moving the Ark by Oxen on a cart maximized convenience when they knew better. When the Philistines had returned the captured Ark to Israel they brought it on a cart tied to cows; they didn’t know any better… but the Israelites… they did know; and when they employed a secular, but practical method, but was a shortcut and a violation of God’s instruction, they paid the price.

In our modern context we are arrogant enough (sometimes) to believe that our plans and ways, even when good intentioned, are superior to God’s way, and that we don’t take his holiness seriously enough. When we suffer from the pride of life, and talk about ourselves to gain favor, or boast, (*even if the overall message is well intentioned*), we have to ask ourselves — are we doing it God’s way? Even when we post that face filtered picture with our “Jesus is King” shirt, who are we really trying to draw attention to? When we sing that pop “worship” song with the rising drum cadence and lyrics adorned with the words “I”, “me”, and “my”, just loud enough to be noticed by the person next to us… it’s worth the question, are we doing it for Him? Or us, and our desire to be noticed? Just like the Pharisees, we love the praise of men more than we love the praise of God. But we very much need to continuously remember Galatians 1:10, and work to it, His way; not ours.

“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? … If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Galatians 1:10