=12.= Consider the fate of Uzza, the Israelite who met sudden death through the anger of God, because he put forth his hand to steady the ark of the covenant lest it fall.[571] This he did in spite of the law that none but the priests might touch the sacred accompaniments of the ark; we read that not even the appointed bearers of the vessel were allowed to touch its holy parts, on pain of death.[572] [571] I Chron. xiii, 10. [572] Num. iv, 15. =13.= Think also of Saul the King of Israel, who had been called from the farm to be made a monarch favored of God. When the Philistines were marshalled against Israel in Michmash, Saul waited for Samuel,[573] under whose hand he had received his kingly anointing,[574] and to whom he had looked in the days of his humility for guidance; he asked that the prophet come and offer sacrifices to the Lord in behalf of the people. But, growing impatient at Samuel's delay, Saul prepared the burnt offering himself, forgetting that though he occupied the throne, wore the crown, and bore the sceptre, these insignia of kingly power gave him no right to officiate even as a door-keeper in the house of God; and for this and other instances of his unrighteous presumption, he was rejected of God and another was chosen in his place. [573] I Sam. xiii, 5-14. [574] I Sam. x. =14.= A striking instance of Divine jealousy concerning holy functions is shown in the dreadful experience of Uzziah, king of Judah. He was placed upon the throne when but sixteen years old; and, as long as he sought the Lord, he was greatly prospered, so that his name became a terror unto his enemies. But he allowed pride to grow in his heart, and indulged the delusion that in his kingship he was supreme. He entered the temple and essayed to burn incense on the altar. Shocked at his blasphemous action, Azariah, the chief priest of the temple, and fourscore priests with him, forbade the king, saying:--"It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests, the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense; go out of the sanctuary, for thou hast trespassed." At this rebuke and condemnation from his subjects, though they were priests of the living God, the king became angry; but immediately the dread scourge of leprosy fell upon him; the signs of the horrible disease appeared in his forehead; and, being now physically an unclean creature, his presence tended the more to defile the holy place. So Azariah and his associate priests thrust the king out from the temple, and he, a smitten thing, fled from the house of God never again to enter its sacred precincts. Concerning the rest of his punishment we read, "And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord."[575] [575] II Chron. xxvi.