2 Samuel 6:7

forhis error The Hebrew word occurs nowhere else, but if genuine, may best be rendered thus, or as in the margin, for his rashness. The reading of Chronicles, "because he put his hand to the ark," sounds like a substitution for an expression which had already become obscure.

God smote him there forhis error As before at Beth-shemesh (1 Samuel 6:19), an act of irreverence towards the Ark was punished with death. Such a penalty for a well-meant and natural action seems to us at first sight strangely severe. But it must be remembered that one of the great lessons which the nation of Israel had to learn was the unapproachable Majesty of the holy God. The Ark was the symbol of His presence, and the Levitical ordinances were designed to secure the strictest reverence for it. It was to be carried by the Levites, but they might not come near until it had been covered by the priests, nor touch it except by the staves provided for the purpose, upon pain of death (Numbers 4:5; Numbers 4:15; Numbers 4:19-20). It is probable that Uzzah was a Levite, and if so, he ought to have known these injunctions: but in any case, as the Ark had been under his charge, he ought to have made himself acquainted with them. Perhaps he had come to regard the sacred symbol which had been in his house so long with undue familiarity. Nor was David free from blame in allowing such a neglect of the Law. The occasion was an important one. It was the first step in the inauguration of a new era of worship, in the newly established capital of the kingdom; and if these breaches of the divine ordinances had been left unpunished, the lessons they were intended to teach might have been neglected. Uzzah's death was necessary for a solemn warning to David and the people. "By this severe stroke upon the first violation of the law, God impressed a dread upon the hearts of men, and gave a sanction to His commands that no man should attempt upon any pretence whatever, to act in defiance of his Law, or boldly to dispense with what God has established." (Bp. Sanderson, quoted by Bp. Wordsworth.)

If such reverence was due to the symbol, with how much greater reverence should the realities of the Christian Covenant be regarded? See Hebrews 10:28-29.