2 Sam 6:3    They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill.

  

There are sometimes when ‘new' is not good and this was one of them. It seemed a good idea at the time, for surely new indicates that it hasn't been used before and surely something that hasn't been used for anything else is all right to use for God. All good, sound, logical, human thinking – that was wrong! Now it wasn't shown to be wrong until some way along the road to Jerusalem, the oxen that were pulling this new cart stumbled, presumably in a pot hole, and the cart looked like it might turn over, so good hearted Uzzah reached out to push the ark back on because it looked like it might slip off – and dropped dead! David was seriously upset with God!

 

But actually God can cope with us getting upset. He just waits until we think about it, work out what's wrong, and put it right. It took a while but David eventually got there! With a little enquiry, I suspect, he realised that God's law said that when the ark was transported it should only be carried by the Kohathites, a branch of the priestly family using long poles that went through rings on either side of the ark, so that they were nowhere near it. The point was that the ark was to be considered holy, the place where God appeared in the Tabernacle. The lesson is that when you come close to God you do things God's way, not in ways you think might be a good idea. Failure to do so, means you will be answerable to the Lord. Be warned!