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2
Chronicles Chapter Twenty-six
2 Chronicles 26
Chapter Contents
Uzziah's good reign in Judah. (1-15) Uzziah's attempt to
burn incense. (16-23)
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 26:1-15
(Read 2 Chronicles 26:1-15)
As long as Uzziah sought the Lord
and minded religion
God made him to prosper. Those only prosper whom God makes to prosper; for
prosperity is his gift. Many have owned
that as long as they sought the Lord
and kept close to their duty
they prospered; but when they forsook God
every
thing went cross. God never continues either to bless the indolent or to
withhold his blessing from the diligent. He will never suffer any to seek his
face in vain. Uzziah's name was famed throughout all the neighbouring
countries. A name with God and good people makes truly honourable. He did not
delight in war
nor addict himself to sports
but delighted in husbandry.
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 26:16-23
(Read 2 Chronicles 26:16-23)
The transgression of the kings before Uzziah was
forsaking the temple of the Lord
and burning incense upon idolatrous altars.
But his transgression was
going into the holy place
and attempting to burn
incense upon the altar of God. See how hard it is to avoid one extreme
and not
run into another. Pride of heart was at the bottom of his sin; a lust that
ruins many. Instead of lifting up the name God in gratitude to him who had done
so much for him
his heart was lifted up to his hurt. Men's pretending to
forbidden knowledge
and seeking things too high for them
are owing to pride
of heart. The incense of our prayers must be
by faith
put into the hands of
our Lord Jesus
the great High Priest of our profession
else we cannot expect
it to be accepted by God
Revelation 8:3. Though Uzziah strove with the
priests
he would not strive with his Maker. But he was punished for his
transgression; he continued a leper to his death
shut out from society. The
punishment answered the sin as face to face in a glass. Pride was at the bottom
of his transgression
and thus God humbled him
and put dishonour upon him.
Those that covet forbidden honours
forfeit allowed ones. Adam
by catching at
the tree of knowledge which he might not eat of
debarred himself of the tree
of life which he might have eaten of. Let all that read say
The Lord is
righteous. And when the Lord sees good to throw prosperous and useful men
aside
as broken vessels
if he raises up others to fill their places
they may
rejoice to renounce all worldly concerns
and employ their remaining days in
preparation for death.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 2 Chronicles》
2 Chronicles 26
Verse 10
[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.
Towers — To guard his cattle from the inroads which the
Arabians were accustomed to make: and to give notice of the approach of any
enemy.
Verse 16
[16] 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.
Into Jerusalem — Into the holy place
where the
altar of incense stood
and into which none but the priests might enter
much
less offer incense.
Verse 18
[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.
Withstood — Heb. stood up against Uzziah
not
by force
or laying hands upon him to restrain him
for in the next verse you
still find the censer in his hand; but only by admonition and reproof
which
follows.
Neither
… — Expect that God will punish thee
or put some brand of infamy upon thee for this presumption. But this they
express modestly
because they considered that he to whom they spake
though an
offender
was their sovereign.
Verse 19
[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.
His forehead — So that he could not hide his
shame: though it is probable it was also in the rest of his body.
From beside — By a stroke from an invisible
hand coming from the altar; that he might be assured this was the effect of
God's displeasure.
Verse 20
[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.
Thrust — Not by force
which needed not
for he voluntarily
hasted away
as it follows; but by vehement persuasions and denunciations of
God's farther judgments upon him
if he did not depart.
Verse 21
[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.
His death — God would have this leprosy to be
incurable
as a lasting monument of his anger against such presumptuous
invaders of the priest's office.
Dwelt
… — As he was obliged to do by law
which he durst not now
resist
being under the hand of God
and under the fear of worse plagues
if he
did not so.
For — He dwelt in a several house
because he might not come
into the temple or courts
nor consequently into any publick assembly. So the
punishment answered the sin
as face does to face in a glass. He thrust himself
into the temple of God
whether the priests only had admission: and for that
was thrust out of the very courts of the temple
into which the meanest of
his
subjects might enter. He invaded the dignity of the priesthood
to which he had
no right
and is for that deprived of the royal dignity
to which he had an
undoubted right.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 2 Chronicles》
26 Chapter 26
Verses 1-23
Verse 5
And as long as he sought the Lord
God made him to prosper.
Soul prosperity
I. The seekers of
the Lord.
1. Every real seeker of the Lord must be a heaven-born soul (John 3:8). This involves the bestowment
of a Divine existence
the creating of a new nature (2 Peter 1:4). This is the nature
that habitually seeks after God.
2. Seeking the Lord includes--
II. Their
experience of prosperity. If you ask a worldling what constitutes prosperity he
will say
“Many excellent bargains
good customers
ready money
quick returns
the accumulation of property
health
friends
extended connections
and the
like.” But what is Christian prosperity?
1. Spiritual growth.
2. Triumphant victories. The life of a Christian is the life of a
conqueror.
3. The taking of spoils from the vanquished foe. The most valuable
lessons are often learnt from the heaviest calamities.
III. The extension
of prosperity: “As long as he sought the Lord.” (Joseph Irons.)
The secret of strength and its perils
I. We have the
marvellous help which Jehovah gives to a rightly-purposed man
and its
consequences. No one can suppose that Judah was very prosperous before the
accession of that king. For
not only had it been humbled at the battle of
Beth-Shemesh
but Jerusalem itself had been ravaged and partially dismantled.
And
considering the extreme youth of the king
only sixteen years of age when
he came to the throne
one would naturally have expected to read of the gradual
increase of the disorders of the kingdom through the contests of opposing
factions
and of its gradual diminution and enthralment through the successes of its
enemies. But
on the contrary
the first thing recorded of Uzziah is that “he
built Eloth and restored it to Judah”; and thenceforward
throughout the
greater part of his reign
the story of no single disaster or defeat interrupts
the current of prosperity. First of all the Philistines
and then the Arabs
the Mehunim
and the Ammonites were compelled to restore to Judah the cities
they had before appropriated
were
indeed
in some instances reduced to the
condition of tributary nations. And the internal administration of the country was not
less fortunate than its external relationships. Jerusalem was refortified
and
for the first time in Biblical history we read of “engines
invented by cunning
men
to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks
to shoot arrows and great
stones withal.” And “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 vinedressers in the mountains and in Carmel; for he loved husbandry.”
Everything shows that the kingdom reached a condition of prosperity such as it
had not known since the days of Solomon. And the explanation of it all is the
marvellous help of the Almighty. You may see it in almost all aspects and
exigencies of life--the wonderful help of God making s Christian prosperous and
strong. It is quite true that we sometimes trouble ourselves
as Uzziah must
have often in those difficult years troubled himself
with the thought that we
have no inherent ability for the work which God gives us to do
whether it be
work of service or of sanctification. But in that imagination we are altogether
wrong
and therefore wrong in letting ourselves be depressed and unnerved by
it. For the Scriptural doctrine always is that it is the marvellous help of God
that makes a man strong
that no man is or can become strong
in any religious
sense of that word
apart from such help. “Work out your own salvation
for it
is God that worketh in you.” There can be no other explanation of the
prosperity of Uzziah
his conquest of difficulties greater than ours
his
faithfulness under burdens heavier than ours
than simply that God
because of
his faith in God
helped him. And in all times
when duty
sorrow
responsibility
or doubt presses upon ourselves
we can adopt a course that has
never failed
and resolve
“I will seek unto God
and unto God will I commit my
cause
which doeth great things
and unsearchable
marvellous things without
number . . . to set up on high those that be low
that those which mourn may be
exalted to safety.”
II. The peril of
prosperity
which was too great a peril for uzziah. His splendid career elated
him
and “his heart was lifted up to his destruction.” Instead of reverent
praise to God for having helped him so marvellously
he began to flatter himself with the thought
that his success had been achieved by his own wisdom and skill
and “he transgressed
against the Lord
and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the
altar of incense.” It is easy to find excuses for Uzziah
which are sufficient
to protect him from our blame
but not sufficient to reduce the heinousness of
his sin in the sight of God. It might
for instance
be said that his old godly
counsellor Zechariah had lately died. Or it might be said that he was but
imitating the conduct of his father
of Jeroboam
of the idolatrous kings
around him. But
whatever our charity may dispose us to urge in palliation
the
fact remains that he showed his gratitude to God for the marvellous help he had
received by setting at nought the express commandment of God. For when Korah
Dathan
and Abiram were destroyed
their brazen censers were made into broad
plates for a covering of the altar “to be a memorial unto the children of
Israel” (so runs the law) “that no stranger
which is not of the seed of Aaron
come near to offer incense before the Lord.” Nor can Uzziah have forgotten that
law. It was
indeed
when he became wrath with the faithful priests who
reminded him of it
and pressed forward with his censer
that that moment “the
leprosy rose up to his forehead
” and
conscience-smitten
he hastened out of the
temple. Just think of the contrast which that sin caused between the earlier
and the later parts of Uzziah’s reign. There is another place in the Old
Testament where that warning is embedded in associations of even greater
interest than these--the song of Moses in the thirty-second chapter of
Deuteronomy. The marvellous works which God had wrought for Israel are
enumerated first. Then follow the ungrateful exaltation of Israel in their own
eyes
their desertion of God
and the wrath they thereby brought quickly upon
themselves. It is just a type of the process that takes place in many hearts.
First of all
God blesses us
enables us to do what otherwise we could not
possibly have done
makes us great in control over ourselves
and perhaps
also
in influence over others. We
in some crisis of temptation
listen to the
whisper that it was our own hand that made us strong; self-complacency begets
presumption; until at last conscience smites us; we know ourselves to be
leprous in spirit in the sight of God
and the self-built fabric of prosperity
crumbles in a moment. Blessed for us if the Lord gives us what He gave
Uzziah--seven quiet years for penitence
thought
and humbler service. It may
be well to linger a little upon the different stages of this process
which
sometimes leads a godly man from strength to leprosy. Obviously pride was at’
the bottom of Uzziah’s sin. Uzziah seems to have thought
“Philistines and
Ammonites
it’s I have defeated them
and my name which they applaud and fear
even to the entering in of Egypt. My father left the kingdom circumscribed
so
reduced that he had to give hostages to Joash; I have made it great and free.”
And still whenever by the help of God we have done any useful work
we are
liable to a similar temptation
to attribute to ourselves the credit of having
done it
and in our self-complacency to forget and to dishonour God. There is
nothing but sin
failure
and ruin to be found in yielding to that temptation.
For the immediate and necessary consequence of pride is presumption
which
though it may not take the exact form it took in the case of Uzziah
may take
an equally sinful form. One form it often assumes now
in the case of men whose
real knowledge of God is very defective
is that of patronising the Gospel. But
much as that habit of thought requires to be guarded against
it is probably in
other directions that most of us are more apt to err. The remembrance of what
we have done by the help of God prompts us to attempt what we have to do apart
from His help
with confidence in ourselves as sufficient for it
with a
neglect of Divine aid as more or less unnecessary and superfluous. Any particle
of the pride which leads us to attribute to ourselves the success of the past
whatever the particular form or particular associations of that pride
is a
mistake even according to human judgment
an element of weakness which will
grievously impede us
and a sin in the sight of God. And
whilst that principle
teaches us what is forbidden
it teaches us also what is enjoined. Pride always
means folly and failure. And therefore trust in God
the more perfect and
supreme the better
means wisdom and success. It was whilst Uzziah “looked unto
God” that he was marvellously helped and made strong. And it will be in
proportion as we trust in Jehovah that we shall have vigour to finish and
patience to bear whatever He gives us to endure or to do. (R. W.
Moss.)
Destroyed by prosperity
I. Uzziah’s
prosperous career. “He was marvellously helped till he was strong.” His good
fortune
as the world would call it
dated from his seventeenth year. It was a
trying position for a mere boy to be placed in; for the cares and
responsibilities
as well as the temptations and luxuries
of a royal palace
demand a ripe wisdom and strength of moral purpose rarely found at so early an
age. But God’s grace could qualify even so young a man for the task; and I am
struck with the fact
that almost every one of the good kings of Judah was
quite a youth when he succeeded to the throne. There is no reason why the
season of young manhood should be given up to passion and frivolity. It was a
great advantage to the young Uzziah that he had the loyal attachment and
confidence of his people. But what mainly guarded him from the dangers around
him
and kept him steady on his throne
was a sincere piety. Never forget the
quarter from whence all true prosperity must come. Success does not depend on
yourselves alone. Still less does it come from chance. Take God with you into
all the affairs of life. Look to Him to bless your business. Ask His help in
every fresh enterprise you undertake.
II. His marvellous
presumption. “But when he was strong
his heart was lifted up to his
destruction.” It requires special grace to keep a man right when he has had a
career of unbroken prosperity. One day
when the celebrated George Whitfield
was about to commence
the service
an intimation was read out from the desk below: “The prayers of
the congregation are desired for a young man who has become heir to an immense
fortune
and who feels he has much need of grace to keep him humble in the
midst of his riches.” Nothing tries a man so much as the favour of fortune and
the flattery of the world.
III. The note of
warning. As there are many kinds of prosperity
so there are many kinds of
presumption. A man may be “lifted up to his destruction
” for example--
1. By the pride of money. It does not take a large fortune to make
some people “purse-proud “--and very disagreeable people these are.
2. The pride of intellect. I wish to put you on your guard against a
current which is running very strong in our day. I mean the tendency to set up
the reason against religion. Perhaps I might mention--
3. Pride of wit. Now I go in for a sunny
cheerful religion. God has
put within us a faculty of mirthfulness
which He did not mean us to suppress.
There is no necessary connection between dulness and piety
between a long face
and a new heart. True
but there are some men who are hardly ever serious. (J.
T. Davidson
D. D.)
The rise and the fall
To be successful or prosperous
to get on in the world
or to be
strong
is what every one
be his position what it may
longs for and struggles
after. Prosperity is a relative term. A king is prosperous or strong when from
strength of character and purity of life he has secured the confidence and love
of his people
and the respect of neighbouring sovereigns and nations. A
merchant is prosperous when his dealings are followed by remunerative gains. A
minister of Jesus Christ is prosperous when he benefits souls and instructs
men’s minds
and leads them to think of something higher and more lasting than
the passing show of the world. To be prosperous
to be strong
is in one word
to get on in one’s own department
and at one’s peculiar work. Whatever success
be ours we ought to acknowledge that God has been with us. It is just here that
men are so often thoughtless and ungrateful
and have their heart lifted up to
destruction. We see this often in the case--
1. Of individuals.
2. Of families.
3. Of Churches.
4. Of nations. (W. Mackintosh Arthur
M.A.)
Uzziah-his sin and punishment
Rightly to apprehend Uzziah’s sin
we must remember through what
barriers he had to break before he could resolve to do this thing. He had to
disregard the direct command of Jehovah that the priests alone should burn
incense on His altar. He had to despise the history of his people
to reject
the solemn lessons that he had learned from childhood. He was defiling his own
sacred things; the Jewish history was the history of his own people
the
charter of his own blessings; the temple and the priesthood were the solemn
ordinances of his own worship. He was impiously defying the holy name by which
he himself was called.
I. Prosperity and
pride. “Uzziah did that which was right in the sight of the Lord
according to
all that his father Amaziah did. 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.” The results of godly training and holy companionship
are often seen in the prudence
and diligence
and sobriety which command
success and reputation. The modes of life which the influence of the gospel
forms
which are the tradition of Christian households
are just those which
conduce to happiness and honour. Mere worldly prosperity is often the prelude
to daring impiety. It is a perpetual question how to “remove” the “hireling”
spirit out of the Church. Men whose ships bring them wealth
whose plans in
business succeed
come to fancy themselves fit for any place of responsibility
in the Church. Churches love to pay honour to men of wealth; choose for places
of special service
not those of pure heart
and fervent faith
and lowly
self-denial
but those who have succeeded in business
and whose plans
it is
therefore thought
must needs be followed. Uzziah was a good king
but he was a
bad priest; he was not the priest whom God had chosen. Men whose godliness
and
integrity
and Christian conduct have won them respect are most valuable helps
in all Christian activities. But mere worldly success is a poor standard by
which to measure these things
and ought never to be allowed to secure to any
voice and direction in Church affairs. “It appertains not to these to burn
incense unto the Lord.” It is a matter of personal experience how prosperity lifts
up the heart
and lures us to destruction. “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
II. Pride and
punishment. “Here now
” you may be ready to say
“is something in the story
which is simply Jewish
quite foreign to the life of to-day. Do you mean to say
that God visits men with judgments now? Is there anything here to come home to
the hearts of Englishmen?” I do say that God is judging us; the same God who
judged His people of old. There is in this very part of the narrative something
to set us thinking on the mysteries of our daily life
and to help in their
interpretation. Suppose
now
a physician had given us a purely medical report
of this incident. Suppose he had told us that there was in Uzziah an
unsuspected taint of leprosy: a taint which
if he had been careful of himself
especially avoiding strong passionate excitements
might never have developed
into actual symptoms of disease. Hereditary or constitutional disease may often
lurk for a lifetime unsuspected
till some circumstance favours its
development
and instantaneously it works itself out in all its power. Of all
such favouring circumstances
strong passionate excitement is the surest; in
the heat of pride the seeds of sickness are frequently quickened. What stories
are more impressive or more common than those of men suddenly stricken down on
the eve of the gratification of their pride
in the first thrill of triumph
in
the very fever of unbridled ambition? A man has been all his lifetime amassing
wealth; satisfied at length
he builds himself a lordly mansion
that he may
rank with the nobles of the land. He builds
but he never enjoys it--he is
found some morning smitten with impotence; and the palsied speech-muscles
refuse to articulate a word. A statesmen is summoned to the royal
presence-chamber; at the council-table the blood-stain at his lips declares
that honours and life will soon be laid together in the dust. A student is
called to preside over some learned body; his brain gives way
and the asylum is
henceforth his home. Instead of leprosy
read paralysis or haemorrhage
or
softening of the brain
and it is
just a narrative from our daily press. Say what we will
this is true
that
pride and passion
unregulated ambition and impious recklessness
do terribly
punish those whom they enslave. The Jewish story interprets the English life.
If Englishman trace these things to natural causes
and go no further
while
the Jew says
“God has smitten him
” the Jew is right and the Englishman is wrong. It is a sign
of unbelief and folly to refuse to trace God’s hands
save in events that are
utterly unintelligible. God’s great work is to reveal
not to hide Himself. It
is part of His order of nature that bodily pains should often reveal and rebuke
the workings of an ungodly soul. The hour of pride is often
too
an hour of
terrible revelation of hidden spiritual taints; which of us has not found
secret sine leaping to light in the heats of unbridled passion? We flattered
ourselves that God made us to prosper because we sought Him. Our seeking of Him
became a tradition of the past
a memory; we thought we had overcome our
temptations
laid aside our easily besetting sin; and
even while we boasted
we fell before God and men. We have thanked God we were not as other men;
suddenly we have had
to change our boasting
we have known ourselves the chief of sinners. As long
as we seek God
He will make us to prosper; but only so long. Keep we ever near Him
ever
following Him
ever obeying and trusting Him
and we shall be “marvellously
helped and be strong.”
III. Punishment and
shame. Hope concerning Uzziah is given in the record of his hasting to go out
of the temple. His proud heart was broken; he was smitten with shame. There
needed not “the priests
the valiant men
” to thrust him out: “Yea
himself
hasted also to go out
because the Lord had smitten him.” It may have been mere
terror that drove him forth
the force of circumstances
and not a convicted
penitent heart. His self-abasement may have been as godless as was his
exaltation. It may have been so; but it may have been far otherwise. Assuredly
God intended it to be otherwise. Of the seven years that he spent in the
“several house” we know nothing; of this we may be sure
that during all those
years God was seeking to restore and save his soul. In solitude
while his son
was over his kingdom
and regents were doing the work God had taken from his
hands
he might have learnt many a lesson he had not learnt upon the throne.
The dignity and service forfeited through pride may be never regained. A stain
may cling to the name; the reputation long held honourable
and lost through a
shameful fall
may not even after
death be recovered. Sons may blush more over the dishonourable
grave and the one terrible sin of their fathers than they triumph in the glory
of a whole life. Impiety is a fearful thing
and has a fearful curse. (A.
Mackennal
B.A.)
The religious element necessary in commonwealths
We need more than animals to make a commonwealth worth preserving;
we need more than bodies
and more than what is usually
but too narrowly
denominated practical substance; we need the religious element
the spiritual
force
that marvellous telescopic faculty that looks away beyond the visible
into that which is unseen. We need to have ghostly men among us; men who see
the metaphysical in the literal; men who know that nothing is true that is not
metaphysically true; men who insist that we see nothing with the naked eye
and
that vision is a heart-gift
an inward faculty
a sublime treasure entrusted to
men of God. Thus the Church will always have an important part to play in the
upbuilding of the State
in the government of kings
in the direction of great
affairs. (J. Parker
D.D.)
Verse 10-11
For he loved husbandry.
We cannot always follow the pursuits we love
Is there anything more distressing than to be compelled to do the
thing we have no heart for? Many a man in the city would leave his occupation
to-morrow if he could find bread in the thing he really loves. And many men are
in positions that look lofty
and that are amply rewarded
for which they care
nothing; they would rather be at home attending to the garden
watching the bees
reading noble books. But we cannot do what we would like to do. Herein is part
of our discipline
which is part of our education. We must have the will broken
somewhere. No man can
reach the full stature of his manhood
and realise all that is sweetest in
life
until his will has been cut right in two. (J. Parker
D. D.)
Verse 15
For he was marvellously helped till he was strong.
Marvellously helped till strong
Two kinds of help
natural and supernatural.
1. A time when we cannot help ourselves. Infancy.
2. A time of growth
when we can help ourselves. Youth
manhood.
3. When thus strong the supernatural help ceases.
Not less provision made on that account. There is joy and
co-operation with God. As an earthly father requires to be obeyed and served
beholds strength and disposition to co-operate
so the heavenly Father
etc.
(G. Matheson.)
Prosperity
I. Uzziah’s
prosperity.
1. The particulars of his prosperity.
2. The author of his prosperity. This was God (Uzziah signifies
“strength from Jehovah.”) “He was marvellously helped.” God helped him against
his enemies
and in all he undertook. It might have been otherwise. Instead of
victory he might have experienced defeat. His building and agricultural schemes
might have proved unsuccessful. It is always well to set the Lord at our right
hand. We may plough and plant
but He only can cause the seed to germinate
and
grow
and fructify. We may contrive and work
but He only can bless our endeavours.
3. The secret of Uzziah’s prosperity. It is distinctly set forth in
the fifth verse of this (26) chapter
“He sought God in the days of Zechariah
who had understanding in the visions of God: and so long as he sought the Lord
God made him to prosper.” What is there that God cannot do for a man who takes
Him into his counsels? He can help him “marvellously.” He can exalt valleys and
level mountains
make crooked places straight and rough places plain. He can
bring clients into the office and ready-money customers into the shop. He has
the hearts of all men in His hands
and all the forces of the universe; and He
can do whatsoever
He will.
II. Uzziah’s pride.
1. His prosperity made him proud. “His heart was lifted up.” A great
change for the worse was wrought in him. Whether it was brought about suddenly
or gradually we are not told. We assume that Uzziah did not become proud all at
once. He who had formerly recognised God as the prime cause of his splendid
achievements became wilfully blind
and we shall soon see what effect this had
upon his conduct.
2. His pride led him into presumption. The tendency of pride is to
make men giddy
and as the result their vision is beclouded
their judgment is
perverted.
III. Uzziah’s
punishment.
1. He was resisted in his attempt to do that which was unlawful;
resisted by the proper guardians of the temple. Azariah
the high priest
seeing what he was about to do
went in after him
and with him fourscore
priests of the Lord
who were valiant men. No time was lost (verse. 18).
2. He was smitten with leprosy. “The leprosy rose up in his forehead
before the priests in the house of the Lord.” There was the bright scaly spot
which told its own terrible tale--the mark of God’s disapprobation
and it was
on his brow
where all could see it.
3. He was thrust out of the temple as unclean. It was not necessary
however
to use force; conscious that God had smitten him
he hurried out
self-condemned
probably shrieking out his woe
and cursing his folly.
4. He was separated from society (Leviticus 13:46).
5. He
being a leper
was buried alone. Josephus tells us that he
“was buried by himself in his own garden.” In all likelihood his resting-place
was a field or garden adjoining the usual burial-place of the kings.
Lessons:
1. God is the giver of prosperity.
2. Prosperous men are in danger of becoming proud.
3. Pride is often followed by presumption.
4. Presumption is sure of punishment. (J. Baker Norton.)
Verse 17-18
It appertaineth not unto thee
Uzziah
to burn incense unto the
Lord.
We must abide within our limitation
The great temptation of some natures is to try to do the very
things for which they are least qualified. There is a marvellous irony in human
genius in this matter. It would seem to be an inscrutable mystery that men will
persist in attempting to do the thing which they cannot do
and which they were
obviously never meant to do. Whenever a man is out of place he is guilty of wasting strength. A
man can only work well within his own limit. No man should strain himself at
his labour
be he poet
or musician
or divine
be he prophet or merchantman;
he should keep easily within the circle he was appointed to occupy
for all
stretching is weakening
all effort that is above the line of nature tends to
destruction
both to the worker and of the influence which he ought to exert.
Know your own place
and keep it. (J. Parker
D. D.)
The folly of self-will
God has sacred places
God has allotted specific duties to men;
every man will be wise in proportion as he sees his own calling
and makes his
calling and election sure. Reward lies along that line. Leave your native
heath
take your life into your own hands
say you will create a sphere for
yourself and do as you please
and you shall be stung with disappointments as
with a cloud of insects. Say you will insist upon having your own way in the
world
and every rock you strike will but injure the hand that smites it. But
live and move and have your being in God. Say
“Lord
not my will
but Thine be
done; make me door-keeper
or lamp-lighter
or hewer of wood or drawer of
water
or a Zechariah having learning in Thy visions and power of reading all
the apocalypse of Thy providence: what Thou wilt
as Thou wilt
as long as Thou
wilt: Thy will is heaven.” It is towards this end that all Christian education
must tend. (J. Parker
D. D.)
Uzziah’s pride punished
I. His reign as
king. This was pre-eminently successful. The Arab hordes on his south-east
borders were subdued
and the Ammonites were reduced to tribute. He was no less
vigorous in defensive than offensive operations. He paid as great attention to
the arts of peace as of war. He was the special patron of agriculture; he dug
wells
built towers in the wilderness for the protection of the flocks
and
cultivated rich vineyards.
II. Uzziah’s sin.
Uzziah was ambitious; he was not willing that any in his realm should enjoy
prerogatives denied to him.
III. Uzziah’s
punishment. Henceforth the most menial subject would not exchange places with
the leprous king. As lessons taught by this narrative we learn--
1. Prosperity is dangerous. The record of Uzziah does not stand
alone. Prosperity seldom draws men to God. Gratitude does not increase in
proportion as God’s favours multiply. A man’s piety is not usually increased by
his becoming rich. It is seldom men are more religious in health than in
sickness. “Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept Thy Word.”
2. God is to be approached reverently. Uzziah seems to have thought
that by being a king
successful and famous
he had earned the right to enter
the holy place and offer sacred incense. It is often expected that God will
accept worship if the display of wealth mingle with it largely. Does not the
ability to offer such choice incense gain for one the right to lift the sacred
veil and stand where God hath said His Priests only should enter
and “the
stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death?” Uzziah thought that God would
not exclude a favoured king from that sacred presence. Men often think that it
is possible to find some incense wafted from a worldly censer which shall ascend
as fragrance to the unseen holy. But what had Uzziah’s kingdom to do toward
fitting him to perform a priestly act? Man’s approach to God is through Christ.
In the Old Testament dispensation
not even a symbol of His person or work
could be accepted or admitted into the holy place
other than that which God
had appointed.
3. Sin
though in high places
must be rebuked. It seemed a bold act
for the priests to say to Judah’s king
“Go out of the sanctuary
for thou hast
trespassed.” They were the humble ministers of religion
and he the proud and
pampered king of a victorious people. He had transcended his limit
and must be
rebuked
though he be a king. Such invasions of religion are not rare. The
world is always ready to take religious duties into her own hands
to tell how
God is to be worshipped
what doctrines are to be preached
what duties
prescribed
what faults are to be rebuked
and what allowed. She enters with a
regal tread
and speaks with imperious voice. What shall be done? Does and will
the Church stand firm in her antagonism to wrong and sin
though they stand in
kingly pride to offer polluted incense on her sacred altars?
4. Men may be blinded to sin
till they see its consequences. It is
not probable that Uzziah realised his guilt till the “leprosy rose up in his
forehead.” Then he hasted to go out of the sanctuary. Perhaps he feared other
and severer judgments would follow. Had God stayed His retributive hand
and
the king been suffered
with no leprous spots
to leave the altar as proud and
ambitious as he entered
his guilt would have been as great. The smitten
forehead
like a detective
laid the offender under arrest
and thus exposed
him; but it did not create or increase his sin. Many
guilty of the most
grievous wrongs
think themselves respectable
and claim the confidence of
others
till some providence uncovers their evil deeds. It is a mistake to
suppose that all the criminals are in prison. A bad men is as bad on one side
of iron bars as on the other. (Monday Club Sermons.)
Verse 19
Then Uzziah was wroth.
Impatience of reproof
How often is the sinner only provoked to greater wickedness
by the obstacles which Divine grace opposes to his wrong-doing! How few men
will tolerate the suggestion that their intentions are cruel
selfish
or
dishonourable! Remonstrance is an insult
an offence against their personal
dignity; they feel that their self-respect demands that they should persevere
in their purpose
and that they should resent and punish any one who has tried
to thwart them. The most dramatic feature of this episode
the sudden frost of
leprosy in the king’s forehead
is not without its spiritual antitype. Men’s anger
at well-merited reproof has often blighted their lives once for all with
ineradicable moral leprosy. In the madness of passion they have broken bonds
which have hitherto restrained them and committed themselves beyond recall to
evil pursuits and fatal friendships. (W. H. Bennett
M.A.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》