On Day 2 of this “Wild God, Wild Kids-31 Days Looking at God’s Heart” series I shared how a store clerk reached out to touch the cheek of my 5month old baby. My gut jumped: hands off Lady- he’s not yours!–but I live in a (ahem) civilized world where kindness is (ahem) important so I accepted the touch, reasoning he was brightening her day (that’s not his job, Lady…! Chill Jasmine.)
My brain says suppress these ferocious feelings since they’re not ‘soft and sweet’ like “good Christians” should be, but something else in me says the flare-ups are part of my God-given, God-DNA.
When King David went to bring the famous Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem it must’ve been like
the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (or Carnival Optocht for the Dutch readers). But things got bad fast and someone died.
That Ark was -mistakenly- carried on a cart pulled by oxen, and when they stumbled a priest reached out to steady the Ark….BAM!
..the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah (the priest), and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God… (2 Samuel 6:7)
I always had trouble with this severe reaction to pretty standard, courteous reflex.
Come on, God! He was just keeping the Ark from falling over!
If deep in Uzzah’s heart the Ark was just a glorified “box,” God knows, but maybe this exchange is way more significant than that…
The Ark was symbolic for the very Presence of God -symbolic because God envelops everything we see thus cannot be “boxed.” (But God knows we like to “see,” so this was a tangible representation).
But what if the Ark not only symbolized God’s Presence, but you, me and every other human being on the planet? The Bible teaches that God lives in us (Galatians 2:20) and we in Him (Acts 17:28) and God so identifies with us He says “As much as you did to the least of these, you did to Me…” (Mattthew 25:40).
So now look at Uzzah’s casual touch:
If no one can see God and live (Exodus 33:20), how much less if someone dare touch Him!
When Uzzah touched the Ark he was casually touching GOD Himself, but also–and maybe worse as we are the apple of God’s Eye (Zechariah 2:8)– Uzzah was touching, symbolically, you and me- Sons and Daughters of God. (I’ll write more on the symbolism of the Ark in a separate post).
Our Divine heritage is hard to fathom.
But my kids are a real part of me whether they believe it, or understand it, or not.
Whenever they suffered, I suffered more. When they were blessed, I was blessed more…
I could be wrong, but I believe God never wanted a hand, eye, word or even a thought to come near you if it wasn’t motivated and filled with #1Cor13 Love.
The act of “Touch” can especially be dramatic as it crosses the boundary of this flesh we live in.
For anyone who was ever abused, mentally/emotionally/verbally/physically…: remember what God did to Uzzah–and I’m pretty sure Uzzah didn’t even have malice in his heart. How much worse to those who purpose and act out evil against fellow human beings, especially children?
God’s response to poor Uzzah gives a dramatic glimpse of His Ferocious Passion for you. And if we consider all the evil in this world, from thought to deed, it’s not hard to imagine God’s Fierce Wrath:
“It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.” (Deuteronomy 32:35)
When speaking about Aslan, the allegorical figure for God in The
Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Mr. Beaver noted, “…He’s wild, you know. Not like a tame lion… ”
Our God may be Extreme, but the good news (literally, gospel) is He’s on our Side (Romans 8:31). It wasn’t easy, but Jesus proved it.
Keep Hope and know, God will ‘throw down’ for you.
Read more about God Identifying with His Kids-
“Rejection, Anger, Empathy, Love- What they did to you they did to Me”
Day 10: Rejection-When a shopkeeper refused my then-3yr. old son access to a toilet.
Day 11: Blessing –When a pizza maker blessed my kids at a restaurant.
Want to better understand your divinity? Check:
Day 14: God’s Halloween Costume
Day 1: Born to be Free
This is day 23 in the “Wild Kids, Wild God – 31 Days Looking into God’s Heart” Series.
I use He/His as pronouns for God, but recognize God with male and female ‘identity’ for lack of a better word as evidenced by the Bible and the human race. Read more here.
Dear Jasmine,
I loved the insight given here in the teaching of Uzzah and the Ark of the Covenant. That is defiantly one of the most difficult stories in the Old Testament to figure out. Your showing how the Presence in the Ark is now the Presence in us through Christ is really good and powerful.
Cheers,
Leah
Thanks so much Leah for reading and sharing/encouraging. Feel free to pass the insight on to others…though I am aware there is sensitivity for those who have been abused by eg priests/pastors….but its my heart that they see how precious they are and how much that was NOT God..
Love to you
Insightful.
I never thought about it that way before and found your concept helpful to my understanding.
Thank you, Jasmine!
Blessings, always!