Irreverence in Worship

Irreverence in Worship

December 18, 2014  Year B

Then the Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and God struck him dead on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there next to the ark of God. (2 Samuel 6:7, HCSB)

When I was a Boy Scout, I learned the Scout Law:

A Scout is: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.

That last word – reverent – was a quality associated with my worship to God. I promised that I would respect God and His ways.

In this passage, we have a man who didn’t respect God and His ways. When one looks at the event, you could get the impression that God is an angry God. “How dare that God would kill a man for helping an ox that was injured.” The problem though is not that Uzzah was being humane and God was not. Instead, the problem was that Uzzah knew what role he was to have in worship. There were certain people assigned to holding the ark during worship. Uzzah was not one of them. So when he reached out to help the ox, he stepped into the wrong place.

When you look at the next verse (2 Samuel 6:7), one might think that David was angry at God for killing Uzzah. I disagree. I think David was angry at Uzzah for disobeying God. Otherwise, how could David turn around and dance with all his might in worship, if he were at the same time angry with God?

David was upset that Uzzah didn’t take His worship seriously. Uzzah was too concerned about the “dressings” of worship, and less concerned about his own place in worship.

Application: When have I been more concerned about the style of music, the way worship is presented, and whether I thought it was correct or not? When have I been more worried about the settings of worship, and less concerned with spending time in worship? These questions I ask when I sense that I have been irreverent.

Prayer: God, please help me to recognize my place in worship. Help me to understand that just because the worship service is not how I want it to be, it doesn’t mean that I should stop my worship of You.