2 Chronicles 26:1 – 23 Uzziah Reigns in Judah (2 Kings 14:21, 22; 2 Kings 15:1-7)
“All the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. Uzziah was the one who rebuilt Eloth and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah rested with his fathers.
Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done. He sought God throughout the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. And as long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success.
Uzziah went out to wage war against the Philistines, and he tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. Then he built cities near Ashdod and among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabs living in Gur-baal, and against the Meunites. The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, for he had become exceedingly powerful.
Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the angle in the wall, and he fortified them. Since he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain, he built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns. And since he was a lover of the soil, he had farmers and vinedressers in the hill country and in the fertile fields.
Uzziah had an army ready for battle that went out to war by assigned divisions, as recorded by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officers. The total number of family leaders of the mighty men of valor was 2,600. Under their authority was an army of 307,500 trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies. Uzziah supplied the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and slingstones. And in Jerusalem he made skillfully designed devices to shoot arrows and catapult large stones from the towers and corners. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped until he became powerful.
But when Uzziah grew powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. Then Azariah the priest, along with eighty brave priests of the LORD, went in after him. They took their stand against King Uzziah and said, “Uzziah, you have no right to offer incense to the LORD. Only the priests, the descendants of Aaron, are consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully; you will not receive honor from the LORD God.”
Uzziah, with a censer in his hand to offer incense, was enraged. But while he raged against the priests in their presence in the house of the LORD before the altar of incense, leprosy broke out on his forehead. When Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him and saw his leprous forehead, they rushed him out. Indeed, he himself hurried to get out, because the LORD had afflicted him.
So King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He lived in isolation, leprous and cut off from the house of the LORD, while his son Jotham had charge of the royal palace to govern the people of the land.
As for the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from beginning to end, they are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. And Uzziah rested with his fathers and was buried near them in the field of burial which belonged to the kings; for the people said, “He was a leper.” And his son Jotham reigned in his place.”
Consider Uzziah. King Uzziah ascended to the throne at the age of sixteen and ruled for fifty – two years. In the beginning, Uzziah was under the tutelage of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. Uzziah did well for decades, conquering the Philistines tearing down their cities, and building new cities in their territory. Uzziah rebuilt Eloth on the Red Sea and strengthened the walls of Jerusalem by building new towers.
Uzziah was a farmer at heart and had extensive agricultural holdings extending even into the desert. To provide water for these farms and vineyards, Uzziah constructed towers in the desert and many cisterns. Uzziah was also a brilliant military man and an innovator, constructing what might have been the first catapults for military use. Uzziah’s army was highly organized, well disciplined, and well equipped.
Things were going very well for Uzziah until he was in his sixties and let his pride get the better of him. For some reason, Uzziah decided that he didn’t need the priests but that he could be his own priest. Flushed with all his successes, Uzziah forced his way into the temple, intending to burn incense on the altar of incense, a duty reserved for the priests and no one else. When the priests confronted Uzziah, he refused to leave and erupted in a rage until suddenly sores broke out on Uzziah’s forehead where everyone could see it. As soon as the leprous sores appeared, the priests told Uzziah and rushed him out of the temple.
No leper was allowed to enter the temple under any circumstances; in addition, lepers were social outcasts. Uzziah went from being a proud ruler flaunting his power to a leprous has – been forced to spend the remainder of his life in isolation. Uzziah’s son Jotham had to assume rulership, and when Uzziah died, he could not even be buried in the kings’ tombs but only could be buried near them because of his leprosy. Truly, Uzziah’s pride and rebellion ruined his life!
APPLICATION: Uzziah was an amazing man. The prophet Isaiah begins his description of God’s call on his life by dating it to the year in which Uzziah died. Most of Uzziah’s reign, he did extremely well. But power can be very corrosive and twist the best of people into warped caricatures of themselves. Why else would someone who began by fearing the Lord wind up forcing his way into the inner part of the temple to burn incense on the altar of incense?
Why would Uzziah want to burn incense on the altar of incense in the first place? This altar was situated just outside the veil that screened the ark of the Testimony before the mercy seat. The high priest was to burn incense on this altar twice a day when he trimmed and filled the lamps. This altar was most holy to the Lord. (Exodus 30:1 – 10) Only certain priests were allowed to burn incense on this altar as God had commanded Moses. Even the most pagan of Israelite kings had never made such a demand before.
Uzziah’s inexplicable breach of holy practice suggests that he might have been locked in a power struggle with the priests. Perhaps Uzziah was oppressing the poor or doing something else that caused the priests to try to correct him. In such a case, Uzziah might attempt to demonstrate that he was as powerful as the priests. Had Uzziah put down his censor and left the temple as soon as the priests tried to stop him, he might have survived unscathed. But Uzziah sealed his fate by refusing to leave and raging against the priests. Was Uzziah drunk? As Uzziah exploded in anger, leprosy erupted on his forehead, immediately making him an outcast for the rest of his life. God Himself acted to prevent Uzziah from ever entering the temple again since lepers were barred from the temple.
Many times we throw around the term “the fear of the Lord” without understanding what that actually means. Galatians 6: 7 tells us, “Be not deceived; God will not allow himself to be sneered at. For whatever a man sows, that is what he will reap.” It is true that God is patient and that He wants all people to repent; however, there is a point of no return for each of us, individually and collectively. C. S. Lewis tells us that at some point, either we tell God “Thy will be done,” or God will tell us “thy will be done,” indicating that we have rejected God and He is honoring our tragic choice.
How did Uzziah feel as he languished in some remote corner of the palace, cut off from his family and friends for the rest of his life with servants veiling themselves and sliding trays of food just inside the door to his chambers? Remember, lepers were untouchables. For the remainder of Uzziah’s life, he had to live without any human touch whatsoever, a major sensory deprivation. Uzziah’s sins of arrogance and rebellion brought a bitter end to what had previously been a glittering career as king. Did Uzziah repent and beg God’s forgiveness? One can only hope so.
Notice that Uzziah fell into sin when he was older, not when he was a teen – aged king. One of the temptations lurking for all of us as we age is the tendency to assume that our years have given us some special wisdom and power. But sadly, there are just as many foolish older people as there are foolish young people. Moses prayed in Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, that we may get us a heart of wisdom.” If Moses, who walked with God and who saw God more clearly than most of us, felt this need, we too should pray for wisdom as we age.
The lesson is clear: Fear and respect God. Remember that all power, all authority, all success in any endeavor, comes from God and that we are not self – made people, no matter how much we think so. A popular worship chorus says, “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up.” Let us humble ourselves and worship God, the only one truly worthy of worship!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to realize that everything good comes from You and that You are our Source of light and life. Thank You for all the times You have empowered us to achieve. Help us to remember that You are the Source of those achievements. Teach us to number our days, that we might get hearts of wisdom. In the mighty and precious name of King Jesus. Amen.
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