Steadying the Ark

I love the Old Testament, it is so full of vengeance and violence. It's my favorite book of scripture.  This weekend I was reminded of  a story from the  2nd Book of Samuel.  If you aren't really up on some of your bible stories, I'll give you a little refresher.


Do you remember the Ark of the Covenant?  You know, the one Indiana Jones searched for? OK, well that was actually made my Moses, and the Levites who had the Priesthood where the only ones who could carry the ark or touch it.  The ark was small enough that it was carried with two posts through each side and a Levite at each corner.  It was carried by the Israelites as they wandered through the desert for 40 years.  It was covered while they transported it, and when they camped it was in the Tabernacle in the Holy of Holies and approached only by the head of the Levites. It contained the tablets that Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai and possibly the rod of Aaron and a few other reliquaries.  It was created after Moses came down and found the Israelites had created the Golden Calf, the Israelites needed a symbol to be carried before them, so Moses was commanded to make the Ark to remind the Israelites of the covenant they had made as the chosen people.  Hence the name the Ark of the Covenant. (short and not the full history of the Ark, you really should read the entire Old Testament to get to know the Ark for yourself)


Anyway, the Ark was taken before the army and used to clear opposing peoples.  It moved all over and when David went to move the Ark after he became King they placed it on a cart.  As the cart moved the oxen shook it and a  man named Uzzah stretched forth his hand to steady the ark, so the Lord "smote him there for his error". Poor Uzzah assumed that the Lord needed his help, even though he knew that he wasn't supposed to touch the Ark.


Sometimes in our own lives we think we know when the Lord needs us to steady the ark. In reality, the Lord hasn't asked anyone to steady the ark, all he has asked is for us to do our jobs.  See we think we know way more than we actually do, the Lord wasn't going to let the Ark fall, and He just needs us to do whatever he asked us to do.  No need to take on the rest, just do your little piece of the puzzle.


The Savior said, "Come, follow me" NOT "why don't you go ahead and clear the path".