Let’s examine the third Torah principle that was violated when handling the Ark.
This was the error that cost Uzah his life.
The Ark is NEVER under any circumstances to be touched by human hands.
That’s why metal rings were formed into the Ark so that carrying poles could be inserted.
These poles were to stay intact and not be removed.
On top of that, the Ark was to be covered in cloth so it couldn’t be viewed.
This covering also served as a reminder the Ark was not to be touched.
Everything I mentioned here underscores the great gulf separating man from God.
God is intrinsically holy, man is not.
This leads to another fundamental Torah teaching that’s been completely forgotten in our day and age.
HOLINESS IS CONTAGIOUS AND CAN BE TRANSFERRED BY PHYSICAL CONTACT!
This ain’t superstition…
And it ain’t something that has been done away with.
I went deep into this way back when we were in the Book of Leviticus.
So check out those lessons if you wanna review those principles.
One of the biggest examples from Scripture of what happens when we violate God’s Torah principles is found in the Book of Numbers.
Remember Korah and his rebels who rebelled against Moses?
Here are the Scripture references:
“Then fire came out from Adonai and destroyed the 250 men who had offered the incense.
Adonai said to Moshe, ‘Tell Eleazar the son of Aharon the cohen to remove the fire pans from the fire and scatter the smoldering coals at a distance because they have become holy. Also, the fire pans of these men, whose sin cost them their lives, have become holy, because they were offered before Adonai. Therefore, have them hammered into plates to cover the altar. This will be a sign for the people of Isra’el.’
El‘azar the cohen took the brass fire pans that the men who had been burned to death had offered, and they hammered them into a covering for the altar, to remind the people of Isra’el that an ordinary person, not descended from Aharon, is not to approach and burn incense before Adonai, if he wants to avoid the fate of Korach and his group — as Adonai had said to him through Moshe.”-Numbers 16:35-17:1-5
Korah and his followers decided they had just as much right to access the Tabernacle as God’s priests.
Big mistake!
They brought their own unauthorized fire pans to the Tabernacle and ended up being roasted on the spot!
Again, why did this happen?
Because their fire pans touched something holy.
In other words, the pans contracted God’s holiness despite not being authorized to do so!
There are only two ways to deal with an unauthorized object that accidentally contracts God’s holiness through physical touch.
It has to either be set apart for God…
Or DESTROYED!
Ya feeling me here?
When Uzzah touched the Ark, he unknowingly contracted a degree of holiness he was unauthorized to possess.
So, he was struck down and killed.
Now you might be thinking, couldn’t he have just let the Ark fall off the cart onto the ground?
I guess the short answer is yes, but I don’t think God would’ve allowed it.
I believe the Lord would’ve supernaturally stopped the Ark from falling onto common ground.
Anyway, the big lesson to be learned here is the consequences of what happens when we ignore Scripture and try to take matters into our own hands, EVEN IF WE HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS!
Ya feel me?
So just to make sure we’re clear.
Contracting unauthorized holiness isn’t about sinning…
Nor is it about picking the lesser of two evils.
For example, lying to save an innocent life might be the lesser evil.
But lying to the Lord—or about God—is a whole different matter.
The Torah has separate categories for how humans should deal with each other and how humans should deal with God.
Mixing these two categories up can be fatal…
As Uzah experienced first-hand.
I heard a story about a Rabbi who was talking to archaeologists digging around at Shiloh, and when they told him they found many broken shards of dishes and glasses, he started to dance. They asked why he was so happy, and he said they found where the Tabernacle had been set up!
He knew because when we bring a friendship offering, it is the only one where the person bringing the offering shares in the meat, but they have to eat it in a holy place. That meant right there, at the Tabernacle, and when they finished eating they broke the dishes they used because the meat of the sacrifice was holy, and it transferred holiness to the dishes. Holy things cannot have contact with common things, so the dishes used to eat the holy friendship offering were destroyed, there in the holy place.
I don’t how true this story is, but it does demonstrate what you are saying about how holiness is transferred, as is uncleanliness.
Your story makes perfect sense to me and aligns with Torah principles governing how holiness is contagious.
Thanks for sharing.