RE: Why Did Uzzah Die For Touching the Ark?
July 5, 2015 at 12:57 pm
(This post was last modified: July 5, 2015 at 1:05 pm by Jenny A.)
Don't touch holy things no matter how innocently, nor how good your intentions, or you will die. One more stupid, arbitrary law. Simple enough except it is the sort of rule only a highly vane, self important, insecure person would ever make such a rule. I see no reason to excuse god.
But, what interests me about the story is that touching the ark is one of the few cases in the Bible where someone is struck dead by god. Generally the "crime" is such cases is not one of the crimes to which people ordinarily assign the death penalty. Right off the top of my head I can think of the following god executions: Onan for not impregnating his sister-in-law or practicing birth control depending on who's reading the story; Lot's wife, for looking back at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; general undefined wickedness in the case of Noah's flood; having a stubborn ruler in the case of all those first born Egyptian sons; general undefined wickedness in the case of Onan's elder brother; having an adulterous father in the case of David's infant son; making fun of an old man in the case of the children teasing Elijah.
And where is the free will of man in all this death by god? Nowhere apparently. But should a man rape, murder, torture, or steal, then it's all about free will. Even the very first fratricide got off with banishment and a special mark protecting him from strangers.
Another question----What ever happened to the ark? It's gone. Apparently though it was important enough to tell us that touching it is death, but explaining what happened to it is no importance. It's last mentioned in 2 Chronicles 35 and 2 Kings 23 when King Josiah of Judah orders its return the temple in Jerusalem. Forty years later, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon captured Jerusalem and raided the temple. He returned, within the decade and took what was left in the temple, and then burnt Jerusalem to ground. 2 Chronicles 35; 2 Kings 23. Did god allow it to burn? Did Nebuchandnezzar take it without touching it? What? And why given god's willingness to kill people over loading it on a cart and then touching it to keep it from falling why would god let either of those things happen? Because the Israelites were being bad? Silliness.
But, what interests me about the story is that touching the ark is one of the few cases in the Bible where someone is struck dead by god. Generally the "crime" is such cases is not one of the crimes to which people ordinarily assign the death penalty. Right off the top of my head I can think of the following god executions: Onan for not impregnating his sister-in-law or practicing birth control depending on who's reading the story; Lot's wife, for looking back at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; general undefined wickedness in the case of Noah's flood; having a stubborn ruler in the case of all those first born Egyptian sons; general undefined wickedness in the case of Onan's elder brother; having an adulterous father in the case of David's infant son; making fun of an old man in the case of the children teasing Elijah.
And where is the free will of man in all this death by god? Nowhere apparently. But should a man rape, murder, torture, or steal, then it's all about free will. Even the very first fratricide got off with banishment and a special mark protecting him from strangers.
Another question----What ever happened to the ark? It's gone. Apparently though it was important enough to tell us that touching it is death, but explaining what happened to it is no importance. It's last mentioned in 2 Chronicles 35 and 2 Kings 23 when King Josiah of Judah orders its return the temple in Jerusalem. Forty years later, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon captured Jerusalem and raided the temple. He returned, within the decade and took what was left in the temple, and then burnt Jerusalem to ground. 2 Chronicles 35; 2 Kings 23. Did god allow it to burn? Did Nebuchandnezzar take it without touching it? What? And why given god's willingness to kill people over loading it on a cart and then touching it to keep it from falling why would god let either of those things happen? Because the Israelites were being bad? Silliness.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
