Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

for it nearby, at the house of Obed-Edom.
God Requires Precise Obedience
The fate of Uzzah was a divine judgment for disobeying a very
clear command. No one except the priests, the descendants of
Aaron, were to touch the ark or even look at it unless it was covered.
God's instructions were that, "The sons of Kohath shall come to bear
them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die."
(Numbers 4:15). The priests were to cover the ark, and then the
Kohathites must lift it by the rods that were placed in rings on each
side of the ark. They should bear the ark "on their shoulders."
(Numbers 7:9). There had been an inexcusable disregard of the
Lord's directions.
David and his people had started doing a sacred work with glad
and willing hearts, but they had not done it in keeping with the
Lord's directions. The Philistines, who knew nothing of God's law,
had placed the ark on a cart when they returned it to Israel. But the
Israelites had a plain statement of the will of God in these matters,
and their neglect of these instructions was dishonoring to God. Since
God's law had been ignored, Uzzah had a lessened sense of its
sacredness. With unconfessed sins in his heart, and in the face of the
divine prohibition, he had dared to touch the symbol of God's
presence. God cannot accept partial obedience or careless ways of
treating His commandments. By leading the people to repentance,
the death of Uzzah might prevent judgments on thousands.
643