And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. 2 Samuel 6:6-7
“Don’t sweat the small stuff” is a mantra used as a defense against overthinking things and becoming anxious about matters of little importance in the grand scheme. Overall, this is good advice in most areas of life. Many of us can recall times when we wasted time, energy, and mental/emotional capital on matters that look so small in hindsight. So, we are well served to spend such efforts on the greater matters of life.
Unfortunately, there is a growing trend in the Lord’s church towards setting aside concern for the finer details of our service to God as revealed in Scripture. This is the product of many different factors in church history as over a period of time concern for carefully keeping His will has given way to a much looser approach to such things. This is manifest by laxity in a host of matters concerning the church: drinking, unscriptural marriages, immodest dress, uncouth discourse, prioritizing secular events over spiritual events, etc.
While we must acknowledge that some matters are weightier than others and should be given greater priority such as justice, mercy, and faith (Matthew 23:23a), we ought to be diligent to keep these without neglecting the finer points of His will (Matthew 23:23b). While neglecting the weightier matters of the law is clearly of greater consequence, this in no way removes the imperative of honoring the less weighty matters in Scripture. Furthermore, we are not in a good position to look into the covenant and determine the weight of the things revealed, so our best policy is to take it all seriously.
A good example of this reality is found in the story of Uzzah when king David set out to bring the ark of God back from its twenty-year sojourn with the Philistines. As David and his entourage collected the ark from the house of Abinadab, they placed it on a new cart driven by Uzzah and Ahio (2 Samuel 6:1-4). This was a time of great joy for David and company because the ark of God was the earthly dwelling place of “…the Lord of Hosts who dwells between the cherubim.” This was more than a fine piece of historical Israelite furniture. It signified God’s presence with them, making it the fundamental, weightier matter in this instance.
Though zealous for this “weightier matter” of returning God’s presence to Israel, David and company overlooked a critical part of the transportation process. When they set out with the ark, they placed it on a new cart (2 Samuel 6:3). As they arrived at Nachon’s threshing floor, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put out his hand to prevent the ark from falling. Such a precious item ought to be protected. Uzzah had good intentions, but God struck him dead for his error (2 Samuel 6:6-7). David, not understanding the outburst, became angry and fearful of God (2 Samuel 6:8-9).
God made such a big deal out of Uzzah touching the ark, not because He is temperamental or vindictive, but because showing reverence for the “weightier matter” of His presence with the ark was handling it as He instructed. Having settled down from these traumatic events, David either remembered or finally became informed that only the Levites were to carry the ark and in a very specific fashion (1 Chronicles 15:1-2, 12-15; Exodus 25:12-15).
For whatever reason, David previously did not sweat the small detail of how the ark was to be carried. He was only interested in the “weightier matter” of bringing God’s presence back to Jerusalem. This he should have done without neglecting the others. As we approach our service in life and our worship towards God, we must keep the “weightier matters” of justice, mercy, and faith at the foundation of it all, but we must sweat the small stuff when God does, knowing this is the outworking of proper reverence to His name.