Passion and exuberance is not enough to qualify as worship. True worship requires much more.

Imagine the scene. Coming down from Abinidab's house on the road towards Jerusalem, thirty thousand men of Israel escorting the ark of God in a joyful procession. Banners and streamers are everywhere.

Singers are lifting their voices; musicians of all kinds are playing their instruments; and dancers and twirlers are rejoicing before the Lord with all their might. Parents and children, servants and people of influence, all look on with joy and excitement as the house of Israel worships the Lord at the coming of the ark of God.

David, the newly established King of Israel, is leading the procession in worship, ushering the ark back into the center of Israelite culture and consciousness.

There in the middle of the crowd is the ark. It's golden brilliance reflecting the sun as it rides on a new cart. Abinidab's sons, Uzzah and Ahio, are walking along side as attendants on this momentous occasion.

Suddenly, the ox stumbles.
Uzzah reaches out his hand to steady the ark and the crowd gasps; instruments are abruptly silenced; dancers come to an awkward halt; singers' voices trail off and the celebration is unexpectedly and dramatically turned to grief. Uzzah is dead.

David is stunned. How could this wonderful event end like this? How could their worship go unnoticed by the Lord? Worse yet, why would He punish them for it? As this story unfolds in II Samuel 6 and I Chronicles 13-15, we find several points of note for our modern day worship.

Honorable motives are insufficient. It appears that David wanted to honor the Lord by bringing the ark back to Jerusalem and into prominence with the people of God. The ark had been neglected during the reign of Saul and had recently been returned by the Philistines who had captured it during a battle with Israel.

David wanted to lead Israel back to its foundation of worship and to restore Jerusalem as the worship center and capital of Israel-the City of David. He was making worship a priority again for the people of Israel.

Unfortunately, David's motives were not enough to appease God's wrath. David was trying to do a good thing, the wrong way. Tragically, Uzzah, in reaching out to catch the ark, was also found guilty of possessing zeal without knowledge (Rom. 10:2).  Whether it was from years of common interaction or just ignorance, a well-intentioned act became the touch point for God's discipline.