It is written that "the wrath of Yahweh burned against Uzzah, that He smote him, because he put his hand to Ark of the Covenant and thereby died" (1 Ki.13:10, ISRV). David was displeased with Yahweh but was at the same time afraid (vv.11-12). This is one of those 'tough' passages of Scripture that has lain on the shelf, to be periodically brought down and returned. I understand it in my head but not in my heart.
We wrestle with so many 'hard to understand' principles and histories. Wise is the man who knows how to deal with them constructively whilst remaining temporarily ignorant. Living with unanswered questions is one of those secrets of contentment. Fools rebel against El Elyon (the Most High), demanding to 'know'. It is a rejection of faith - it is to discard the way of salvation (by trusting) for the illusion of 'knowledge'.
Now David was wise enough to "fear" - his displeasure did not cross the line into rebellion. He knew better. We need not be ox-headed and simply storm the throne of Yahweh. The decision is folly, the result painful in the end.
When the shepherd has gone, the wolves move in. Watch out! Be as though the shepherd has never gone! When Christ ascended, there was temptation to disobedience and return to what was before. We see it all the time, don't we? Strike the shepherd, and the sheep scatter. Nevertheless the sheep know the shepherd's voice.
You are alone without me a while, as you shall be again one day - but my voice is speaking to you through these pages, connecting you to invisible spirit. So it is with THE Shepherd. He remains though He is unseen.
It is easy to be angry, but better to subdue it with fear, as David did. And what was his question? "How shall I bring the Ark of Elohim to me?" (v.12, ISRV). He had watched the Ark kill Uzzah, which he thought was unjust because the man was just trying to steady it, and yet ... and yet he still desires the Ark to come to him.
We should not miss the profound truth hidden in this story. Recall that Abraham was angry once, because Yahweh demanded the life of his son - the seed-bearer of Messiah - and yet he sought to bring Yahweh to him. Love must overcome through trust even when trust apparently seems 'undeserved'. When we start getting angry with our Head, we abandon His right to be trusted no matter what. Job learned this ... painfully:
"And Yahweh answered Job, and said, 'Should a reprover contend with the Almighty?'" (Job 40:1, ISRV).
Now what is the answer? Yahweh asks you to give it, just as He did Job:
"Let him who reproves Eloah (God) answer it" (v.1b, ISRV).
So what do you say? Give a philosophical discourse on morals? Did Abraham answer Yahweh with Torah? No! And neither did Job. Rather, the latter answered:
"See, I am insignifcant, what would I answer You? I LAY MY HAND OVER MY MOUTH" (Job 40:3, ISRV)
Job knows it is futile to argue with the Maker. But Yahweh is not finished:
"Would you also set aside My judgment? Would you pronounce Me wrong, and you be declared righteous?" (Job 40:8, ISRV).
Yahweh then goes on to make an amazing comparison. He asks if Job would try to capture Leviathan:
"Would he (Leviathan) keep on pleading with you? Would he speak softly to you? Would he make a covenant weith you to be taken as a servant forever? Would you play with him as a bird? Or leash him for [the amusement of] your young girls?" (Job 41:3-5, ISRV).
Now it does not matter whether Leviathan is a dinosaur or a powerful demon, the principle is the same: Leviathan is A LOT bigger!
Yahweh says:
"Any expectation of him is disappointed" (Job 41:9a, ISRV).
This is a discourse on the proper attitude we as humans should have towards anything greater than ourselves by recognising our proper station. Yahweh is Master over Leviathan. If contending with Leviathan is ridiculous, then contending with El Elyon - even if we think we are right - is shere madness. And He tells us the Source of our madness in no uncertain terms:
"He sees all that is haughty. He is sovereign over all the sons of pride" (Job 41:34, ISRV).
We do not 'win' by being more 'knowledgeable' than others. We win by being submitted in the right way. Job said:
"Who is it that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I declared but I did not understand, matters too marvekous for me, which I did not know" (Job 41:23, ISRV).
Job made a transition here - a quantum leap in spiritual growth:
"I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You" (Job 52:5, ISRV).
How come Job "sees" when he still does not understand the reason for all his suffering? What actually does he "see"? Now if you can grasp this, you have been propelled to great spiritual heights! How are we to view the conclusion of this great book? Is it just: "You know better, so I shall shut up"? Does that sound like "seeing"? What was it that David "saw" after Uzzah's death? Why was his wrath converted to fear? Where did Job's friends go wrong? And what lesson might wives profitably learn in respect of their relation to their husbands as lords and masters over them? (1 Pet.3:6)
"Job died, old and satisfied with days" (Job 42:17, ISRV).
What was the cause of his latter satisfaction?
The answer is simple: obedience in spite of not having all the answers, and in the knowledge that Yahweh always knows best even when He apparently contradicts Himself. We may not always understand, let alone see, all the 'causes'. There is more to the death of an Ark-bearer than the steadying of a hand. There is more to the suffering of a faithful servant than the loss of family and property even if we don't want to see it. There is more to the infinite than the finite eye perceives.
The death of Yah'shua on the Cross must have seemed meaningless and futile to those who witnessed it at the time. They saw only with their natural eyes - as the Jews did then, and still do - and not with their spiritual. I am sure they came up with a list of all the good He could have done had He remained. Doubtless Job wondered about what his dead children might have accomplished had they lived. I'm sure he did. How do I know that? Simply because Yahweh ordained it, and Yahweh is just and glorious. They did not die simply as actors in a drama especially set up for Job - they too had purpose. We may not know what it was, but we have no choice but to believe so without reproving El Elyon (the Most High) and declaring ourselves more righteous than Him! Is that not to "see"? And in so "seeing", does that not remove us from the temptation to rebell and fall because of pride as Satan once did?
Now the world would call me naïve, blind, fanatical, stupid ... for believing such a thing. But they do not have my satisfaction or repose. I am not hopping about the lower brances of the tree, resless and unsure (see The Two Birds). Am I brainwashed by delusional thinking? I think the fruits of my life have to bear witness for or against that. I, for one, have nothing more to say on the matter.
This is one of the overcomings ... of learning to trust completely when our deficient 'logic' and 'knowledge' cries against it. There is, if you like, a heavenly 'supra-logic'. Seek it and find contentment.
(From the Diary of Lev-Tsiyon, 23 October 2003, England)
