“And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.”
– 2 Samuel 6:6–7
2 Samuel 6:6–7 is a sobering verse. We see Uzzah reach out and touch the ark, as it seems to be unstable. And immediately God strikes him down. Why? Why such an extreme punishment for reaching out and touching the ark of God?
God, help us to treat you as holy, to honor you as holy, to worship you as holy, to glorify you as holy.
There’s a lot of background here that goes into this, both with the ark of God and this specific story. But in essence, Uzzah and others around him were treating the holy in a profane way. They were not honoring God and his name as holy.
2 Samuel 6:6–7 Reminds Us to Honor God
They were not living in fear of, in proper reverence and awe of God. I think about all the different ways that you and I feel temptation to do this all the time. To use God’s name in vain, in ways that don’t acknowledge his holiness. In ways that don’t acknowledge how awesome and righteous he is. Maybe not even in a way that is cursing, but even using his name lightly, is not honoring him. Or treating his presence in our lives lightly. Or coming before God in a way that is not worthy of his holiness and his glory and his majesty.
We all are prone every day to forget how holy and awesome God is, and to not walk in the language of Acts 9:31, to not walk in the fear of the Lord. So we pray, God help us to treat you as holy, to honor you as holy, to worship you as holy, to glorify you as holy.
2 Samuel 6:6–7 Teaches Us to Pray
Every day, when we come before you and we open your word, help us to see it as your holy word. Not just as words on a page like any other book, but as your holy word, to be obeyed fully with our lives. When pray, whether it’s before a meal, God help us not to be casual in our prayers before a meal, just to recite some rote words. God help us to think about, consider who you are as we pray to you from morning to evening and all throughout the day, knowing that our bodies are a temple of your holy spirit.
God, we pray that you would help us to live with holiness. Help us to honor you as a holy with every thought we have today. Help us to honor you with every desire, word and decision.
These Verses Leads Us to Pray for Unreached Nations
Help us to honor you as holy. God, we pray for the hallowing of your name. Just as Jesus, who taught us to pray, “Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name,” cause your name to be known as holy through our lives, through our families, through our churches. Cause everyone to rever your name and honored it.
We pray that you would cause your name to be revered and honored and glorified among the nations, among the Baloch of Pakistan. May the Somalis, and Afghanis, North Koreans all know your name. God, in all these different places, may they know your name. And may they exault the name of Jesus as holy. God, we pray that you would use our lives today toward that end. We pray all of this in light of 2 Samuel 6:6–7. Help us to walk in the fear of the Lord today. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
