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Category: Shemini

Zeal and Devotion not Enough!

Vayikra (Leviticus) 9:1-11:47 | Sh'mu'el Bet (2 Samuel) 6:1-7:17

Shemini recounts the story of the mishaps of Nadav and Avihu, two sons of Aaron who brought a strange fire to the Lord in the Mishkan. The point of their story is to teach us that God cannot be worshipped in just any manner. He has a set order that must be followed. He has an established way in which He is to be approached. When people do not adhere to that pattern, they are liable to judgment. This certainly happened to Nadav and Avihu--they lost their lives over their sin of presumptuousness.

It was the same way with one incident in this Haftarah. When the Ark of the Covenant was being carried in a cart and it looked like it was going to fall, Uzzah reached out to help prevent it from falling. In doing so, he touched the Ark.

But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God. (2 Samuel 6:6-7)

However noble and sincere Uzzah's action may have been, it was against God's set order which dictated that only the high priest was allowed to touch the Ark. Consequently, as with the presumptuousness of Nadav and Avihu, Uzzah also lost his life. This episode, then, is a commentary on the parasha, providing another example of what happens when man takes matters into his own hands and ignores God's stated order for things.

But was it Uzzah's fault? King David also made some grievous mistakes that day. We are told in II Samuel 6:8-9,

And David became angry because of the Lord's outburst against Uzzah, and that place is called Perez-Uzzah to this day. So David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, "How can the ark of the Lord come to me?"

Uzzah cannot be faulted for touching the Ark. Had he not, the Ark would have tumbled from the cart and hit the ground. Uzzah gave his life to keep the Ark of the Lord from being profaned.

Uzzah's death made David angry. Perhaps he was angry with himself. He should have realized that the Torah expressly forbade the Ark be carried in a cart. Rather, it teaches that the Ark was to have been carried by the cohanim. (See Numbers 7:9 and 4:15.) For some reason, David ignored the clear teaching of the Torah and had it carried in the cart. David may have been angry "that he had not prepared a better method by which to transport the Ark." Uzzah's death was no one's fault but David's.

Just as Nadav and Avihu had let their zeal to serve God supersede their observance of His commandments, David had allowed his zeal and devotion to blind him to the commandments. His heart was in the right place. But God's holiness is a consuming fire and His laws are as much for our protection as they are for righteousness.

There are many who believe that it does not matter how one worships God or serves Him, as long as his heart is in the right place. This week's Torah portion and the story in the Haftarah both teach us that it does indeed matter. Intent upon worship, Nadav and Avihu mixed pagan elements into their worship of God. Uzzah had good intentions. He meant to save the ark from disaster. David had the right heart. He wanted to bring the Ark to Jerusalem in order to restore the worship of God. But all of these men learned a bitter lesson.

Mere devotion is not good enough. Good intentions are not sufficient. Devotion must be blended with knowledge. Devotion without knowledge can be disastrous. Knowledge without devotion is vanity. The desire to be loyal to God must be tempered with the knowledge of how God expects us to be loyal to him. Just any old way will not do. God gave specific instructions that govern how we are to be devoted to Him.

After the incident with Uzzah, when David finally retrieved the ark for its entry into Jerusalem, he did so using poles and priests as prescribed by Torah. Protected by the parameters of Torah, he was able to bring it safely into Jerusalem. He led the way before it, dancing in joy and thanksgiving.

© 2009 First Fruits of Zion. All rights reserved. We encourage you to share this material with your friends for further personal study. However, This material may not be republished, in print, electronically, or any other form without our prior permission.

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