David regards the transfer of the Ark as a matter for all the people, so he summoned people from the whole land for the event. At the same time, the admission that no one consulted the Ark in the days of Saul is astonishing. Indeed, this bears striking witness to Saul’s apostasy.

Uzzah’s death may seem strange and undeserved, for in trying to prevent the holy object from falling from the cart, he meant well. But as we know, even with the best of intentions it is possible to act wrongly. If one can receive an electric shock through an ignorant handling of electrical equipment, then it is all the more dangerous to treat a holy object with undue familiarity when it must be handled with special reverence. If something seems right to us and we intend to do “what is best” according to our own understanding, that does not mean that the Lord sees the situation as we do.

At the same time, the blessing received by Obed-edom showed that Uzzah’s death was not an expression of wrath against the whole people and that the Lord continues to bless those who remain faithful to Him.