2 Samuel 6:6-9 - The Lord's anger burned against Uzzah

6:6,7

Then disaster struck. The oxen stumbled and Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark. He touched the ark and the Lord struck him dead. To us this seems unduly harsh, but it is a warning that certain things are holy, and there are things that we must not do. The root of the problem here was David making plans without observing the requirements of the Law. Num 4:15 explicitly forbad touching the ark.

6:8,9

David was angry. We are not told precisely why he was angry. Was he angry with God? Angry with himself? Whatever the case, he was afraid of the Lord. Maybe this was a good reminder to him, a humbling experience. However, he also reacted by thinking that there was now no way he could ever bring the ark back. When the Lord rebukes us we can go into despondency, acutely aware of our guilt. However, we should remember that the Lord disciplines us as a father, and He does so in order to produce a harvest of righteousness (Heb 12:11).