SEEK GOD AND FLOURISH

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In Christ, Mark

** Writer’s Note: Today I am currently overseas for a few weeks. I will try to post as well as I can but there may be a break in The Christian Walk if I end up without Internet access. If that happens, I will resume upon my return in early August.

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah rested with his ancestors.

Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. He 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.

He went to war against the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod. He then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites. The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful.

Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate and at the angle of the wall, and he fortified them. He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.

Uzziah had a well-trained army, ready to go out by divisions according to their numbers as mustered by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officials. The total number of family leaders over the fighting men was 2,600. Under their command was an army of 307,500 men trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies. Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows and slingstones for the entire army. In Jerusalem he made devices invented for use on the towers and on the corner defenses so that soldiers could shoot arrows and hurl large stones from the walls. His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful.

But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”

Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.

King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house—leprous, and banned from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.

The other events of Uzziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. Uzziah rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in a cemetery that belonged to the kings, for people said, “He had leprosy.” And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.

2 Chronicles 26

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7

These words of God from Solomon lay the fundamental foundation for our understanding of God and His expectations for living. Knowledge and discernment of Him, His word, and His will for us only comes when we first reverently and wholeheartedly respect Him above anything else in life. No other counsel is greater. And no other advice will lead us to the point of flourishing and exceeding except the guidance of our God Almighty, the Maker of things.

During the reign of King Uzziah, we find the words from Proverbs ringing true and coming to life as scripture gives us an account of his life.

Early on, life was good for Uzziah. Scripture tells us that like he, his father Amaziah, did right in the eyes of the Lord. He sought God and embraced Zechariah as a spiritual role model. In turn, Zechariah instructed Uzziah in the importance of fearing the Lord. As a result of his obedient seeking and following, Uzziah found himself blessed with success from God. Some of those successes included:

- He rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after his father passed away.

- He went to war against the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod.

- He rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines.

- He received God’s help against the Philistines and against the Arabs who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites.

- He received tribute from the Ammonites.

- He built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate and at the angle of the wall, and he fortified them.

- He built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.

- He had a well-trained army, ready to go out by divisions according to their numbers as mustered by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officials. The total number of family leaders over the fighting men was 2,600. Under their command was an army of 307,500 men trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies. Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows and slingstones for the entire army. In Jerusalem he made devices invented for use on the towers and on the corner defenses so that soldiers could shoot arrows and hurl large stones from the walls.

Yes, Uzziah flourished as he sought and found the Lord. His deep respect and reverence for His Father in heaven resulted in him gaining great fame, spreading as far as the border of Egypt. He had everything going for him.

But then, he blew it.

For if it’s true that we will flourish when we seek and find God, receiving His knowledge, wisdom, and blessing, then it’s equally true that we will not receive His favor and be under His judgment if we choose to reject and abandon Him.

This is what made Uzziah also like his father Amaziah. Both allowed their power and arrogance to consume them and turn them away from God. And both ended up losing life as a result. Indeed, being out of God’s good graces is not a place any of us should want to stray to.

In Uzziah’s case, we find that his pride led to his downfall as he became unfaithful to the Lord by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. It was common knowledge that the Lord’s commandments reserved the act for the priests but Uzziah, feeling he could do whatever he wanted as king, chose to perform the rite himself. That was a big mistake.

For after being warned by Azariah, the chief priest, and eighty other priests of the Lord that his actions were sinful and in direct violation of God’s law, we read where Uzziah became angry and started to rage at the priests before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple. This was a big mistake for the Lord then chose to pass judgment on Uzziah and did so in horrific fashion as leprosy broke out on his forehead, all in plain view of the priests. They quickly hurried the afflicted king out of the temple and Uzziah would be stricken with the disease until he died.  Until that time, God’s word tells us that he lived in a separate house—leprous, and banned from the temple of the Lord. His rule was effectively over as was his life. He was rendered unclean and unfit to be around anyone ever again. His choice to isolate himself from God led to God placing him in eternal isolation which is not a place anyone should want to be.

So friends, the choice is ours.

We can seek and discover God, following Him in obedience while receiving and accepting His direction and wisdom. This will lead to success and flourishing.

Or we can choose to allow ourselves to be overcome by our own pride and arrogance like Uzziah and his father Amaziah, finding ourselves out of God’s favor and squarely in His judgment.

I don’t know about you, but I would rather seek God and flourish, now and forever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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