DIVINE HOLINESS AND DIVINE JUSTICE

LEVITICUS 10:1–11

Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored

(Leviticus 10:3).

God had consecrated Nadab and Abihu as priests to assist their father Aaron, but they had offered “strange fire” before the Lord. We don’t know for certain what this meant, but we do know that “fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord” (Leviticus 10:2). It was then that Moses had to remind Aaron of what God had said, as we have quoted it above, and Aaron held his peace.

The holy throne of God

Another biblical story that shows the frightening holiness of God is found in 2 Samuel 6, the story of Uzzah the Kohathite. The Ark, which was God’s earthly throne, was being transported to Jerusalem in a great celebration. It was put on an oxcart, and the Kohathite priests were walking alongside the cart, watching over it. As the procession moved along one of the oxen stumbled, and the cart began to teeter. It looked as if the Ark of God might slide off the cart into the mud and be desecrated. Instinctively, Uzzah stretched forth his hand to steady the Ark.

And what happened? As soon as Uzzah touched the holy Ark of God, God struck him dead. We can understand this if we look at the history of the Kohathites. They were part of the tribe of Levi, which had been set apart to be responsible for the priesthood and other religious duties. The particular task of the family of Kohath among the Levites was to take care of the sacred vessels. One of the rules that was drilled into them from childhood was this: Never, ever, touch the throne of God. God had said, “If you touch it, you die” (Numbers 4:15).

The hand of man

What was Uzzah’s sin? He assumed that his hands were less polluted than the ground, and that it would be better for his hands to touch the Ark than for the ground to touch it. But there is nothing defiling about the earth. It was the hand of man that God did not want touching His throne. In a word, Uzzah broke the law of God, and God justly took his life.

CORAM DEO

God’s justice demands the death of each sinner. As He did with Uzzah. God could already have required this of you. Read Isaiah 53 and thank God that the just penalty for your sin was paid in full through Christ’s atoning death.

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