Seeing David’s respect for divine authority, we must contemplate another mystery. Where is the fairness in all this? God strikes Uzzah down for doing something different from the law. Yet David introduces a new range of music never mentioned by Moses in the law.
Does David act on his own authority as the current king? Is David adding to Jewish worship whatever he happens to like? Many today find that easy to believe. They picture God as an easy-going, jovial old fellow who doesn’t care much how things are done. After all (they reason), it’s the heart that matters, not anything external. As long as the heart is sincere, it can express itself in any form of worship it wishes.
But Uzzah’s death causes us to rethink loose ideas about God. What is Uzzah doing when God strikes him? He is trying to steady the ark! Surely Uzzah means well. He acts on impulse, not to desecrate the ark, but to rescue it from a bad fall. God’s harsh action against Uzzah shows that God looks for more than good intentions. God insists on obedience to His way, not other ways. He proves that to us in Uzzah’s case, as in many other cases (1 Samuel 13:8-14; 15:1-23; Matthew 7:21-23; 21:28-31; James 2:14-17).
For a deeper study of the importance of obedience, see the course Balancing Faith and Works.