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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. ...

End of Guest excerpt:
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© 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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