II Kings 15:5-7
“But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.” (II Chronicles 26:16)
Uzziah served the Lord for many years after he became king, until Zechariah‘s death, and God blessed him. His army was so strong no one dared to attack them, and he had built a strong infrastructure and economy.
Unfortunately, like so many people, he became proud of his success and began to believe it was because he was smarter and better than others. There is an old saying to the effect that success destroys almost as many people as failure. Proverbs 11:2, 16:18 and 29:23 all warn of the consequences of pride, that it results in shame and destruction.
Like Saul in I Samuel 13, and Korah in Numbers 16, he decided he had the right to take over the priest’s duties. After all he was God’s man.
“And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, 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; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God.” (II Chronicles 26:17-18)
Azariah, and eighty of the bravest priests dared to stand up to the Uzziah and his government and tell him that he was wrong in taking that authority to himself. God had designated that only Aaron’s descendants were to be allowed to perform that function. His doing so was sin and would not result in God’s pleasure.
“Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar.” (II Chronicles 26:19)
Rather than acknowledge God’s command on this matter, Uzziah lost his temper. God caused full blown leprosy to appear on his forehead while he was angry and telling them they had no authority to stop him.
Today, in America we have two groups demanding that they be allowed into the ministry, despite the fact that God’s word forbids them taking the office. Public opinion and Governmental pressure is being applied to force churches to accept both homosexuals and women as pastors and preachers, and only a few are daring to stand against the pressure. They become extremely angry at the Idea they should be refused that office. As Azariah warned Uzziah, it is not going to please God, it‘s not going to turn out well.
“And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him. 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: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.” (II Chronicles 26:20-21)
“And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house. And Jotham the king's son was over the house, judging the people of the land.” (II Kings 15:5)
Under Jewish law, a leper was to be quarantined to prevent it being spread to others by physical contact. Uzziah had to be isolated from the rest of the people, living in a sanitarium for the rest of his life, and unable to even attend the regular religious services as a result of his sin. His son Jotham served as his surrogate for the remainder of his reign.
Like Uzziah, those who refuse to accept God’s authority in these matters need to be isolated from the church so they don’t spread their sin to others, regardless of government pressure or public opinion.
“Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.” (II Chronicles 26:22)
“And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?” (II Kings 15:6)
Both the Prophet Isaiah and the official records of Judah recorded many other details of Uzziah’s reign than scripture recorded. As I Corinthians 10:11 declares, the things that are included in scripture are relevant for us to learn from. As II Timothy 3:16-17 informs us, everything that is included in scripture is valuable. That other books were not included indicates God did not consider them of particular value.
The first six chapters of Isaiah are prophecies made during Uzziah’s reign, as were some of Hosea’s and some of Amos’. Toward the end of Uzziah’s reign there was an earthquake that Amos refers to. Zechariah 14:5 prophesied that during the tribulation there would be an earthquake that would affect Israel like the earthquake in Uzziah’s day. Revelation 6, 11, and 16 all describe the earthquake Zechariah prophesied about.
“So Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.” (II Kings 15:7)
“So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings; for they said, He is a leper: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.” (II Chronicles 26:23
Jotham served as surrogate for Uzziah until his death. After Uzziah died. Jotham assumed the throne as king. Although he had been a good king, because of his leprosy, and the risk of it spreading, Uzziah was not allowed to be buried in the royal cemetery in Jerusalem but in a separate private cemetery belonging to the royal family.
“But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.” (II Chronicles 26:16)
Uzziah served the Lord for many years after he became king, until Zechariah‘s death, and God blessed him. His army was so strong no one dared to attack them, and he had built a strong infrastructure and economy.
Unfortunately, like so many people, he became proud of his success and began to believe it was because he was smarter and better than others. There is an old saying to the effect that success destroys almost as many people as failure. Proverbs 11:2, 16:18 and 29:23 all warn of the consequences of pride, that it results in shame and destruction.
Like Saul in I Samuel 13, and Korah in Numbers 16, he decided he had the right to take over the priest’s duties. After all he was God’s man.
“And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, 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; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God.” (II Chronicles 26:17-18)
Azariah, and eighty of the bravest priests dared to stand up to the Uzziah and his government and tell him that he was wrong in taking that authority to himself. God had designated that only Aaron’s descendants were to be allowed to perform that function. His doing so was sin and would not result in God’s pleasure.
“Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar.” (II Chronicles 26:19)
Rather than acknowledge God’s command on this matter, Uzziah lost his temper. God caused full blown leprosy to appear on his forehead while he was angry and telling them they had no authority to stop him.
Today, in America we have two groups demanding that they be allowed into the ministry, despite the fact that God’s word forbids them taking the office. Public opinion and Governmental pressure is being applied to force churches to accept both homosexuals and women as pastors and preachers, and only a few are daring to stand against the pressure. They become extremely angry at the Idea they should be refused that office. As Azariah warned Uzziah, it is not going to please God, it‘s not going to turn out well.
“And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him. 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: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.” (II Chronicles 26:20-21)
“And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house. And Jotham the king's son was over the house, judging the people of the land.” (II Kings 15:5)
Under Jewish law, a leper was to be quarantined to prevent it being spread to others by physical contact. Uzziah had to be isolated from the rest of the people, living in a sanitarium for the rest of his life, and unable to even attend the regular religious services as a result of his sin. His son Jotham served as his surrogate for the remainder of his reign.
Like Uzziah, those who refuse to accept God’s authority in these matters need to be isolated from the church so they don’t spread their sin to others, regardless of government pressure or public opinion.
“Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.” (II Chronicles 26:22)
“And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?” (II Kings 15:6)
Both the Prophet Isaiah and the official records of Judah recorded many other details of Uzziah’s reign than scripture recorded. As I Corinthians 10:11 declares, the things that are included in scripture are relevant for us to learn from. As II Timothy 3:16-17 informs us, everything that is included in scripture is valuable. That other books were not included indicates God did not consider them of particular value.
The first six chapters of Isaiah are prophecies made during Uzziah’s reign, as were some of Hosea’s and some of Amos’. Toward the end of Uzziah’s reign there was an earthquake that Amos refers to. Zechariah 14:5 prophesied that during the tribulation there would be an earthquake that would affect Israel like the earthquake in Uzziah’s day. Revelation 6, 11, and 16 all describe the earthquake Zechariah prophesied about.
“So Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.” (II Kings 15:7)
“So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings; for they said, He is a leper: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.” (II Chronicles 26:23
Jotham served as surrogate for Uzziah until his death. After Uzziah died. Jotham assumed the throne as king. Although he had been a good king, because of his leprosy, and the risk of it spreading, Uzziah was not allowed to be buried in the royal cemetery in Jerusalem but in a separate private cemetery belonging to the royal family.
So many sins stem from the sin of pride, which is not surprising given Lucifer's history. Individual pride is bad enough, but when church leadership decides that their own "wisdom" supersedes God's unchanging authority, they should not be surprised when His wrath is unleashed.
ReplyDeleteThanks as always for the clear exposition of Scripture, and God bless,
Laurie
Thanks, Laurie, and you are right. Sadly, it seems there is a growing number of church leaders who have decided they can overrule God.
ReplyDelete