A LIFE TO LEARN FROM Derek Westmoreland 2 Chron. 26:1-5, 16-21 HBC 8-27-17 Verse 5 says, He continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding through the vision of God; Please take your Bible and turn with me to 2 Chronicles 26. and as long as he sought the Lord, God prospered him. An epitaph (ep-i-taf) is a short statement intended to honor a Recognize the source of Uzziah’s blessings: God. deceased person. Oftentimes the epitaph summarizes the Notice the basis of Uzziah’s blessings: a humble heart that person’s life and/or refers to the person’s legacy. Sometimes sought to please the Lord. As long as Uzziah lived under the they are humorous such as “I told you I was sick.”; other times authority of the Lord and recognized the Lord as the One from they are memorable. whom all blessings flow, Uzziah would continue to prosper.

As we read the Bible this week we will arrive at 2 Chronicles 26 In verses 6-10 the specific examples of God blessing the on Wednesday. kingship of Uzziah are found. Every nation he went against, he In 2 Chronicles 26 we find Uzziah’s epitaph. Uzziah lived and defeated. The Ammonites gave tribute to him and his fame reigned as king of Judah in the 8th century BC. He is the king extended south all the way to Egypt. In addition, like David that the prophet Isaiah wrote about. before him, Uzziah had achieved great fame by subduing the 2 Chronicles 26:22 says, Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first Philistines. Verse 8 states that “he became very strong.” to last, the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, has written. According to verses 9-10, he improved the wall around Title: Read: vv. 1-5 Pray: Jerusalem by building watchtowers. He developed an irrigation system for his fertile fields that were throughout the I. THE RISE OF THE HUMBLE KING land of Israel. He built cisterns for his large quantity of In verses 1-5 we read that Uzziah became king of Judah when livestock. he was only 16 years old. He reigned as king for 52 years, All of these actions were signs of prosperity. therefore Uzziah never knew of adulthood without being the king. Verse 4 reveals that he did right in the sight of the Lord In verses 11-14 we read that part of Uzziah’s prosperity was a just as his father and his grandfather before him. well-trained and well-supplied army. Uzziah was able to arm his own army. Each soldier did not have to do so himself. This As a sidebar of information, as you read this week, realize that was a sign of prosperity; a sign of God’s favor. in 2 Kings, Uzziah is referred to as Azariah. The name Uzziah means “The LORD is my strength” and Verse 15 reveals that the catapult was invented during his reign. Azariah means “The LORD is my helper.” Essentially the same Verse 15- In Jerusalem he made engines of war invented by meaning. skillful men to be on the towers and on the corners for the Uzziah in 2 Chronicles and Azariah in 2 Kings are one and the purpose of shooting arrows and great stones. Hence his fame same man. spread afar, for he was marvelously helped until he was strong.

Uzziah’s success, fame, and riches surpassed all the kings Over the 52 years Uzziah reigned as king, his fame became before him; with the exception of Solomon. Uzziah was an significant. overtly blessed man.

As long as Uzziah humbly obeyed the LORD, the LORD made Those that want to take down statues believe they are entitled him prosper. because they don’t like all that the statues represent. It is not about race; it is about power. May we learn from the rise of the humble king. Pro-abortion women fight for the right to kill the unborn; not

II. THE DOWNFALL OF THE PRIDEFUL KING because they hate life; but because they want the entitlement. It 1. The arrogance of the king is THEIR body. It is about power. It’s about self-exaltation.

Verse 16- But when he became strong, his heart was so proud We live in an entitled culture. that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the Lord his A man is unhappy in his marriage so he divorces his wife. He God, for he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on tells himself, “I am entitled to be happy. God wants me to be the altar of incense. happy.” Notice the phrase “he was unfaithful to the Lord his God.” Uzziah fell into the entitlement trap. He had seen success for 40 This phrase reveals that Uzziah was a follower of the One true years and he began to think his success was because he was so God. He was a believer. The Lord was his God; yet he acted great and therefore he could do as he pleased. corruptly. He sinned against the Lord. Proverbs 16:18- Pride goes before destruction, The sin he committed was not the burning of incense. The sin And a haughty spirit before stumbling. was burning incense in the temple while not being a priest. Oh, the arrogance of the king. No one but the priests were permitted in God’s Law to do that. Numbers 16:40a- as a reminder to the sons of Israel that no 2. The rebuke by the priest layman who is not of the descendants of Aaron should come Verses 17-18a- Then Azariah the priest entered after him and near to burn incense before the Lord; with him eighty priests of the Lord, valiant men. 18 They Uzziah forgot his proper place, usurped the role of the priest, opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, “It is not for you, and violated God’s Word. Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Over the years of success, expansion, and blessing; Uzziah The priests were not wimps. They were valiant men that unknowingly allowed the secret enemy into his heart. The secret respected the Law of God. They openly opposed the king and enemy was pride. It was a subtle entry that suddenly became reminded him that he was not permitted to burn incense to the overt as he burned incense in the temple. Pride corrupts! Uzziah Lord. got to the point where he thought he was worthy to do as he pleased. We witness their boldness in the second half of verse 18. He could do no wrong! They say (Verse 18b) …Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the Lord God.” Ex. High school athlete that dominates and he may think he is Uzziah had served as king for over 40 years when the priests entitled to good grades. rebuked him. He had been successful time and time again as the The white nationalists at the Virginia rally believed they were Lord blessed him. Now they speak to him without fear or entitled to hate. reservation for he had been unfaithful and he will have no honor from the Lord. They spoke boldly and they spoke the truth.

Ponder knowing that what you have said is wrong but you will How did the king respond? not allow yourself to say the words “I was wrong. I am sorry. 3. The rebellious anger of the king Please forgive me.” If you are unwilling, then pride is not just Verse 19- But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning present in your heart; pride rules your heart. incense, was enraged; Even after the priest pointed out his sin, Uzziah did not repent. Have you ever witnessed a conversation where one person He was so prideful and distant from the Lord that he became continues to argue his or her point when everyone else in the enraged. room has come to realize the fallacy of the person’s argument? Even the one arguing has come to realize the error of his/her He thought he was entitled. He thought he deserved the right to point of view, but the individual has planted their flag of pride burn incense in God’s house. He thought he deserved the praise and therefore will not relent of their fallacy. that was only due the Lord. Don’t be enraged when wrong. Repent.

The reality is, we all sin. We are Uzziah. We all lean toward We have addressed the arrogance of the king, the rebuke by the selfishness and self-promotion. We all have to deny ourselves priests, and the rebellious and sinful response of the king. Now daily and put others before ourselves; and when we don’t we 4. The judgment of God need rebuke. Verse 19b- and while he was enraged with the priests, the We all sin, but our response when rebuked reveals more than a leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house failure to obey one time. It reveals the condition of the heart. of the Lord, beside the altar of incense. If being biblically rebuked for violating God’s Word enrages While Uzziah, who had served humbly and obediently for over you against the one that rebukes you then your act of anger is 40 years as king; not your only sin. It is instead, an outward expression of the while this Uzziah was enraged for being rebuked for violating arrogance that has overtaken you. God’s Law; he received his judgment; and his judgment was When biblically rebuked, whereby you have been shown your apparent to all. sin, leads you to reject the one rebuking you, then you are in a state of self-promotion. A state of believing, you can do no The fact that he got leprosy is not by accident. The leprosy was wrong. Who are you to think you never need rebuke? Are you a direct judgment by God. He did not accept the rebuke and one that while being rebuked either thinks or says, “do you repent; therefore he received judgment. Be thankful for rebuke, know who I am?” If you are one of those then you have a pride- for it is your last warning before judgment. filled heart. According to the Law, someone with leprosy was not allowed in Proverbs 26:12- Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? the temple. It is as if God was saying, “You think you can do There is more hope for a fool than for him. what you want in My house; now you will not even be allowed to step foot in My house.” When confronted concerning sin we each have a choice to make. We can either humbly acknowledge our wrongdoing and Verse 20- Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at repent; or we can reveal pride and become angry. him, and behold, he was leprous on his forehead; and they

hurried him out of there, and he himself also hastened to get out because the Lord had smitten him. Will it say? “He fought the good fight of faith.” The leprosy was clearly seen by the priest and the leprosy was “He finished his course.” clearly felt by the king. “He kept the faith.” “He denied himself.” Infectious diseases, like leprosy, made the individual “He took up his cross.” ceremonially unclean. As a result, the individual would not only “He followed Christ.” be unable to enter the temple but would also be taken and “He won souls.” placed in isolation. Verse 21 addresses King Uzziah’s isolation What will it say? when it says, King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death; Don’t let it say, “He started on fire and flamed out.” and he lived in a separate house, being a leper, for he was cut “He began well but finished poorly.” off from the house of the Lord. And Jotham his son was over the “His pride brought his downfall.” king’s house judging the people of the land. Let’s learn from Uzziah and not finish as he did. No matter how King Uzziah lost the privilege to enter the temple of God and long you have been faithful, God doesn’t owe you anything. lost the privilege of serving as judge to the people. In short, he lost power. From the time he received leprosy till Recognize that all that you have and all that you are is not due his death, Uzziah served as go-regent with his son Jotham. to you being great, but is due to the lovingkindness of God!

1. Uzziah spent the majority of his life as a humble and obedient Invitation to the saved. Sing. servant of the Lord God. Every human being is a spiritual leper and needs God to remove What Uzziah’s life teaches us is, faithfulness yesterday does not the leprosy; to remove the consequence of our sin. The leprosy guarantee faithfulness today or tomorrow. of your soul is only removed by the blood of Jesus and the Abide in Christ. Take up your cross DAILY and follow Christ. blood of Jesus is only applied to your soul when you

2. Uzziah allowed pride into his heart which led to an unholy acknowledge your sin and repent of your sin. God’s gift of action which tainted his legacy and led him to suffer physically salvation only comes to the guilty leper that humbly repents and and publicly for 11 years until his death. seeks healing. Verse 23- So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the grave which belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” And Jotham his son became king in his place.

3. Uzziah reigned for 52 years as king yet his entire reign is summed up in one chapter of the Bible.

4. Uzziah had 40 great and prosperous years as king; yet his epitaph read “He is a leper.” What will your epitaph read?