Colleen O’Steen
What comes to mind with mention of the Old Testament name, Ahio? Daring rescues? Honor of heroic measure? Chances are, the name doesn’t even ring a bell. Now his brother—there’s a guy we remember. Uzzah. We wouldn’t want to trade places with him, but you have to admit he made a name for himself.
As the two brothers transported the ark of God on a new cart for King David, we read that the oxen stumbled (2 Sam. 6). Uzzah touched the ark to steady it, and God struck him dead because of his irreverence. Ahio was right there. He could have reacted in the same way as Uzzah. He didn’t, and we aren’t told the reason. Maybe he didn’t see the ark begin to tip. Maybe he restrained his hand because of reverence for God’s command to never touch the ark. We don’t know, but whether it is through ignorance or purity, Ahio didn’t touch the ark, and he wasn’t struck dead.
He gets barely a mention, though. As Bible characters go, Ahio is pretty obscure. And the truth is, that’s the nature of restraint. It usually doesn’t get us much notice among our peers. Some forms of righteousness demand attention. But restraint is stopping before sin occurs. Restraint is avoiding the sinful act. That pure religion taught in James 1:27 is, in part, a lack of the world’s stain, keeping oneself unspotted. Restraint is a real snoozer in the eyes of the world, but, boy, is it a manifestation of great power for Christians.
As journalists say, “I want something interesting. Don’t give me dog bites man. I want man bites dog.” Stories about reformed “ark touchers” are what get attention—someone who was a hopeless alcoholic and then decides to change for the better. Or a criminal who turns his life around. They get the press. Those who never took a drink of alcohol, who don’t break the law—they can easily fade into the woodwork. People who restrained themselves from bowing to and kissing Baal weren’t making headlines in Elijah’s day, either. He thought he was the only one. Yet there were seven thousand.
They didn’t need to make headlines in order to get God’s attention. And it would benefit Christians to tuck that little tidbit away in their minds. Save it for the day when you’re at work, and someone is incredulous that you haven’t seen the latest R-rated and Oscar-winning movie. Or the day when your college buddies say, “Taking one drink won’t make you drunk. You ought to at least try it before you condemn it.” Or when you’re watching TV, and some celebrity’s divorce-sprinkled life seems curiously more exciting than yours. Remind yourself that’s the kind of excitement Uzzah got. And he didn’t make it out alive. While Ahio ended up the brother who no one remembers, he did learn the lesson of his life, and he escaped with his skin