DEVOTIONAL
Let’s continue the mini-series in 2 Chronicles 26. The same details can be found in 2 Kings 15 for reference. The nation of Judah changes kings from Amaziah to Azariah, who is also called Uzziah. Due to the luxury of a king that does not start with an “A” or “J” I will reference Azariah as Uzziah. Although kings change, the theme of pride leads to destruction for Uzziah too. Why did he not learn from Amaziah? We are a people quick to forget.
Uzziah takes the throne as a teenager at the age most kids learn to take control of a car to drive. Now, Judah is placed in his hands for Uzziah to learn how to steer a nation. No pressure, kid. The early years as king, what I love about Uzziah is he seeks wisdom from Zechariah the prophet to guide him in the ways of God. He recognizes he cannot do this on his own. It takes humility to seek wisdom. Uzziah starts out on the right foot. Remember that.
Uzziah did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done. He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success.
2 Chronicles 26:4-5
The prophet Zechariah tells Uzziah that God will make him prosper as king of Judah if Uzziah seeks God in all that he does (2 Chronicles 26:4-5). The passage does not define “when” Uzziah’s heart shifts away from God to himself during his fifty-two-year reign as king. I think for decades Uzziah reveres God as holy, all-powerful, and the source of his strength. Maybe the shift happens two, five, or ten years before he dies. We do not know. However, I want us to see in the life of Uzziah that pride builds slowly. In our lives, we may not recognize when pride sparks, but after something fans the flame, the heat is all-consuming. And we like it. We do anything to keep the flame burning until it turns around and burns us. Unfortunately, for Uzziah, it burns him to a crisp.
In the beginning, God helps Uzziah take back territories that were part of Judah (2 Chronicles 26:7). By the strength of God, Uzziah restores parts of Judah and builds towers and a strong army. This sends the message to other nations Judah is back on the map. We are no longer weak, but strong. And to whom do other nations accredit the strength to? Look with me at 2 Chronicles 26:8. The nations praise King Uzziah. The change has to be because Uzziah is king. And overnight, his fame spreads in verse 15.
Up to this point in the passage, Uzziah does not blatantly rebel against God, but things shift in verse 16 which says, “But when Uzziah was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.” Pride moves us to act uncharacteristically. Am I right? Uzziah elevates himself from built up pride and diminishes the holiness of God when he enters the temple to burn incense. This practice is sacred and set apart for the consecrated priests, but pride walks Uzziah up to the altar. Do you think he ignores or forgets the holiness of God in that moment? I have done both. And I talk to God a lot about the wrestle between wrath and mercy. In my life, God is very merciful to forgive my prideful acts and remind me of humility. However, God responds in wrath to Uzziah by covering his body with leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:19-21). A king with the reputation as strong and victorious stands unclean, weak, and consumed with leprosy. Does the outward disease that consumes Uzziah represent the inward disease of pride that spread from his mind to heart up to this point?
Another king takes another step farther away from God. Amaziah turns to the gods of Edom and is captured in battle. The pride in Uzziah swells to the point of defiance in the presence of God in the temple. Is this enough? Will God give Judah a king that holds fast to God at all costs? The hope is in the covenant God made with David to make a way for His people. And this is the mercy of God for us too.
Q: Where is your identity rooted this week? Is something or someone pulling you away from God like Uzziah’s pride did for him? Confess, ask for forgiveness, and talk to God about it.
Additional Reading: 2 Kings 15
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