Year 3, Day 325: 2 Chronicles 26

Uzziah as King

Uzziah is also known as Azariah in the account found in 2 Kings.  Azariah is an alternate spelling for the name, so there is no need for concern between the different accounts.  Furthermore, the chronicler is writing a few hundred years after Uzziah lived, meaning that linguistic differences are also sure to occur.

Uzziah is said to have sought the Lord, at least in his youth.  In fact, he is said to have followed the Lord as Amaziah had done.  However, it would seem that Uzziah actually had more in common with his grandfather, Joash.

Remember Joash?  He was the boy king who was faithful to God under Jehoida.  But when Jehoida died, Joash was swayed away from the Lord into the worship of Asherah.  We have the same situation going on here with Uzziah.  So long as Zechariah was guiding him and directing him to seek the Lord, Uzziah did right.  But the day comes when he no longer seeks the Lord.

I think this story speaks into the heart of why spiritual mentoring and spiritual relationships are important.  There is an old cliché.  Two heads are better than one.  Having people to help you think through important decisions can be important in life.  Having people who can walk beside you through joys and troubles can be beneficial.  When left to our own thinking, we end up succumbing to our own logic.  In this issue we can see the logic of Ephesians 4:10.  If two people walk together, they can help each other when they fall.  But if a person walks alone, who will help him when he falls down?

We can see this in evidence here in this story.  When Uzziahs listen to Zechariah, he seeks the Lord and his ways are true.  But when his heart goes elsewhere, he forgets to seek the Lord and he falls from grace.

Uzziah’s Success

When Uzziah looks to the Lord, things do go well indeed.  Uzziah is aided by the Lord to extend his territory into the land of the Philistines.  Uzziah is aided by the Lord to extend his territory towards the border of Egypt.  Uzziah is aided by the Lord against the people of the Arabian Peninsula.  Uzziah’s flocks grow, his wealth increases, his ability to provide for his people grows.  With the guidance of the Lord, Uzziah’s army grows, his fame grows, and his power is strong.

When we listen to the Lord, He can prosper us.  When we turn to God, humble ourselves before Him, and follow His ways for life He can do His will through us.  The key isn’t working out of my strength.  The key is working out of my humbleness and availing God to me in the way that He empowers me.  God desires us to lead out of our humbleness, not out of our strengths.  This is what we see here in Uzziah.

Uzziah’s Stumble

Unfortunately for Uzziah, he doesn’t stay this way.  He doesn’t remain focused upon the Lord.  He allows other things to creep into his vision and take his attention away from God.

Uzziah’s success is actually his downfall.  Verse 16 is clear on this point.  Uzziah grows proud, and this pride leads to his downfall.  Uzziah considers himself bigger than he truly is and he takes too much personal credit.

Uzziah goes into the temple of the Lord and intends to burn incense.  The only problem with this is that burning incense in the temple was a duty specifically reserved for a priest, not a king.  This move is so offensive that the high priest Azariah and 80 other priests stand up to oppose him.  They tell Uzziah to leave and to not do what is not for him to do.

Uzziah becomes angry.  As he becomes angry, God strikes out against Uzziah.  His forehead breaks out in leprosy.  All of the priests can see the leprosy.  In a single act of anger, Uzziah becomes unclean in the temple of the Lord!  Imagine the priests’ reaction when the iconic symbol of uncleanliness occurs in the most sacred space known to mankind!  No wonder they usher him out of the temple immediately.  To his credit, Uzziah hurries himself out of the temple, too!

Unfortunately for Uzziah, he remains leprous for the rest of his life.  He cannot live in his palace anymore.  He is forced to live in a separate dwelling so that his leprosy doesn’t affect others around him.  In a single moment of pride before the Lord, Uzziah’s life changes.  Yes, we can indeed go and be angry before the Lord.  But when we opt to be angry before the Lord we must accept the consequences, too.  Uzziah learned that lesson the hard way.

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