Chapter 13:Distant Deity (Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado)

In this chapter, I learnt about the holiness of God and the heart posture I should adopt in His presence. There are 3 artifacts in the ark of the covenant. The gold jar of unspoiled manna represented God's provision, Aaron's staff (which budded long after it was cut) symbolised the power of God and the tablets were God's commandments. The ark also symbolised God's presence. In this chapter, one man lay dead and another was dancing before the ark. From these scenes, we can learn a how to have a right heart posture before God.



The man who lay dead was Uzzah. He was a priest, a descendant on Aaron. The ark has been kept in the house of his father. He had grown up with it. For 30 yrs the Israelites forgot abt the ark. David wanted to do something about it. Uzzah and Ahio were put in charge of transporting the ark. They load it on an ox-drawn wagon and begin to march. On a patch of unstable road, the oxen stumble, wagon shakes and the ark shifts. Uzzah, thinking the holy chest is about to fall off the wagon extends his hand to steady it. At this, Uzzah was struck down. He was struck down because he was lax before the holy. God gave specific instructions on how to transport the ark. Only the priests could draw near after they had offered sacrifices for themselves and their families. The ark was not to be lifted by hands but with acacia poles. The priests were not to touch the sacred objects or they will die. Uzzah should have known this. He was afterall a priest. Uzzah exchanged commands for convenience, instead of using poles, they used a wagon, and bulls instead of priests. Wee see no obedience. The question is not why God killed Uzzah, rather, we should ask ourselves why does He let us live? Uzzah's story sends a sobering and shuddering reminder to all of us, to be careful not to be lax with the holy. Don't become too familiar with God's presence. After all of this, David determines to get it right this next time round. The ark is successfully transported back and David danced in front of it.



A lesson I learnt the most from this chapter is to be reverent before a holy God. Be aware of His presence in my daily life and have a healthy sense of fear. The chapter sums up teaching us to have a reverent and joyful heart in God's presence.