Second Chronicles 26:1

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 26:1-5, “Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah.[2] He built Eloth, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers.[3] Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.[4] And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did.[5] And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper.” Uzziah was one of the good kings of Judah. He was king for a long time: fifty-two years. One value of a long life is more opportunity to do things for the Lord with a view on eternity. Some people only live for this life, and even though the things that they are doing might not be bad, they are only doing those things for themselves and their families. What value is that? Notice the phrases in verse five: “he sought God” and “he sought the Lord.” What are you seeking? That is a very important question. When you wake up in the morning, make sure that you are seeking the Lord. Put your eyes upon Jesus. Make sure that walking with Jesus and being in fellowship with Jesus is the most important thing at this moment. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Notice also the last phrase of verse five says that “as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper.” It works the same way with us. We can do nothing without Christ.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 26:6-15, “And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines.[7] And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gur-baal, and the Mehunims.[8] And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt; for he strengthened himself exceedingly.[9] Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them.[10] Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had much cattle, both in the low country, and in the plains: husbandmen also, and vine dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry.[11] Moreover Uzziah had an host of fighting men, that went out to war by bands, according to the number of their account by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the ruler, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains.[12] The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighty men of valour were two thousand and six hundred.[13] And under their hand was an army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.[14] And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones.[15] And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.” These verses tell us all of the success that Uzziah was having. And of course, we know why he was having such success. It says in verse seven, “God helped him.” That is exactly what we need, and we will have it too as long as we seek Christ first of all.

But there are temptations to take our eyes off of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Second Chronicles 26:16-23, “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.[17] And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men:[18] 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.[19] 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.[20] 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.[21] 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.[22] Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.[23] 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.” The first phrase of verse sixteen tells us why King Uzziah went bad and had a great spiritual downfall. It says, “But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction…” He could not handle success. God made everything work out so well for Uzziah, but it went to Uzziah’s head. By saying that “his heart was lifted up,” it means that he became arrogant and took the credit to himself for all of his successes. Stay humble. Recognizing your own great sinfulness would help. Recognizing that you owe everything to God would help too. What happens if a person becomes proud? The same thing that happened to Uzziah: destruction. It says in Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

What did Uzziah’s pride lead him to do that was so evil? He defied the Word of God and the will of God and he went into the temple and did things that only the priests were allowed to do. And then in verse nineteen Uzziah got very angry when the priests tried to get him out of the temple. But every life is in God’s hands, and God decided that it was time to put Uzziah in his place. Immediately Uzziah was stricken with leprosy. Of course, that meant that he would be an outcast and would be required to stay in a house by himself without contact with others. In effect he was no longer king, and he lived that way until the day of his death. It says in verse twenty-one, “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…” The lesson: stay humble. Do not let success go to your head.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 27:1-9, “Jotham was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok.[2] And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah did: howbeit he entered not into the temple of the LORD. And the people did yet corruptly.[3] He built the high gate of the house of the LORD, and on the wall of Ophel he built much.[4] Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers.[5] He fought also with the king of the Ammonites, and prevailed against them. And the children of Ammon gave him the same year an hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did the children of Ammon pay unto him, both the second year, and the third.[6] So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God.[7] Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.[8] He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.[9] And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.” As we have seen, several of the good kings fell away from the Lord at some point in their lives. This did not seem to have happened to Jotham, but there was another huge problem in Israel that Jotham nor any one else could fix. The people in general were becoming worse and worse no matter who the king was. Notice that it says in verse two that even though Jotham was doing right, it says, “And the people did yet corruptly.” The best thing that can happen to a nation is for the people to turn to God, and then when a leader is raised up out of the people, there will be a good leader to go along with a righteous people. Many times when there is a bad leader, it is because that leader was raised up out of bad people.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 28:1-5, “Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father:[2] For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.[3] Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.[4] He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.[5] Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.” Now you have the worst possible situation for a country: the people are evil and the leader is evil. That cannot end well, and we are talking about the people of Israel, that God raised up to bring His truth to the rest of the world. God’s displeasure showed up on the battlefield. They lost. Victory in any endeavor comes from God. Do not expect victory if God decides to make you the loser. Judah would lose to the northern ten tribes of Israel because that was God’s will in order to chastise Judah. God uses one wicked nation to punish another wicked nation. The ways of God are mysterious and past finding out.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 28:6-11, “For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.[7] And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king.[8] And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.[9] But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven.[10] And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the LORD your God?[11] Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you.” 120,000 killed in one day. That was a slaughter of the people of Judah. It would eventually get worse for Judah, if they did not repent. And it would get worse for Israel too if they did not repent. Israel would end up being destroyed even before Judah was destoyed. God wants all nations and all people to repent and be saved. God gave the victory to Israel and used them to punish Judah, but God had a message for Israel too. God sent the prophet Oded to Israel and to their capital city Samaria, with a message. The message is this: you also have sinned: just recently you took prisoners from Judah. That is wrong: release the prisoners. Clean up you own life. Start doing the will of God. That is God’s message to every nation: turn to Christ.

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