1 Chron 13:9-10 – And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark, and he died there before God. ESV
Uzzah was a Levite priest who was charged with bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. In this story they were using a cart pulled by oxen, when God had instructed that priests they were supposed to carry the Ark on poles threaded through it. Both David the king and the priests were being disobedient.
In the story, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah violated God by putting his hand out to steady the Ark. The Ark was where God manifested His presence to the nation of Israel at that time, and it was as if Uzzah was trying to help God do the job of taking care of Himself when he touched the Ark. Even if Uzzah had the best of intentions he still presumed that God couldn’t take care of the situation. For his transgression, Uzzah was struck dead.
Isn’t that so like us in recovery? We reach out to try to do in our lives, and worse than that, in the lives of those in our recovery fellowship, what God has reserved for Himself. For example, we engage in conviction (of sin, righteous and judgment, see John 16:8-11) or trying to bring rest into someone’s life (Mt 11:28-30). Fortunately, God doesn’t strike us down like He did poor Uzzah, but we can be sure that He does try to communicate that He does not appreciate us playing God in another person’s life. He may do that directly through the Holy Spirit, or through His word, but most likely He does it through others around us who gently tell us something. Stop trying to fix other people, stop doing God’s job!
