I Did It My Way
II Samuel 6:5-8
“And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 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. And David was angry because the LORD had broken out against Uzzah.”
A couple years ago at the now annual VCRC Grill Master's Challenge, my family and I were floored by the Bellarde’s offering of “Picanha”. It’s basically Brazilian tri-tip, the same cut but with the fat cap on it, and then prepared differently. Daniela Bellarde was kind enough to give us the recipe and the meticulous step-by-step instructions on precisely how to prepare and grill the meat. So, my brother-in-law with clear, explicit, instructions in hand had his first go at it. But he couldn’t believe the instructions and so, more or less, he didn’t really follow them. “That much salt and garlic?! No way!” he thought. “Is that really how you cut it? Do I really grill it at that temp?” And so he modified the recipe, deviated from Daniela’s instructions, knowing better than generations of Brazilians, like Frank Sinatra, he did it his way.
The result? The dish was, ‘meh’, it was fine. But we wouldn’t have even known it was the same dish the Bellardes had fed the church. Anyways, lesson learned, my brother had another go at it, followed the directions to a T, and shocking! the picanha was other-worldly. Turns out the Brazilians knew what they were doing. The Brazilians knew better. He just had to follow instructions.
Now, God gave us the Law at Sinai; in Hebrew, it’s called the Torah. We typically translate ‘Torah’ as ‘law’ but I prefer the translation ‘instruction’. At Sinai God gave us instructions, instructions on how to be human, and how to have a relationship with Him. This Torah, these instructions, are not supposed to weigh us down but on the contrary, lift us up and liberate us to be our freest truest selves. God designed us and so he knows better than anyone what we need to be most fulfilled, the way to live that will make us most blessed. Toward that end he gives us instructions: live this way, it’s what’s best for you.
In the same vein, God gave Israel instructions on how they were to worship him, how they could approach and be close to him. But like my brother making the Picanha, as Frank sings, the Israelites often thought, ‘Nah, I’ll do it my way.’ That’s what happens here in our perplexing story of Uzzah and the Ark.
It is perplexing, isn’t it? What’s the big deal? So, Uzzah touched the ark. It seems if anything he was doing something noble and good, trying to sturdy and protect the Ark of the Covenant. And so, if you’re like me, if you’re like David, your tendency is to view God in this story as capricious and cruel. Why would he strike down Uzzah? Well, that very thought, that tendency to view God as the one who made a mistake, that tendency to side with Uzzah thinking ‘We know better’, is precisely why this story is so important.
You see, God had given Israel instructions on how to move the Ark. The Ark was supposed to be carried manually on poles (not an ox cart); it was supposed to be carried exclusively by the Kohathites (one of which Uzzah was not); and it was supposed to remain covered (not displayed). You see, the very fact that the Ark was about to tumble and be destroyed was the culmination of a whole series of offenses. David and Uzzah had all along been ‘doing it their way’, not God’s, and the final result was about to be the destruction of the Ark of the Covenant, the breaking of their relationship with God.
So, what’s today’s lesson? First of all, when Daniela gives you clear and concise instructions on how to make the most sumptuous piece of meat you’ve ever had, listen to her, and follow her instructions! But more importantly, when you’re trying to live a human life, listen to God’s instructions, his Torah. He made you and he doesn’t just know what’s best for you, he wants what’s best for you. So listen to him. And listen to him before it's too late and the Ark is tumbling over because you’ve been ‘doing it your way.’