41 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
41 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
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title = "2 Chronicles 26:1–23"
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date = "2025-05-05"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/2Chronicles26.1-23)
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With Amaziah deposed for being unfaithful to the Lord, his son Uzziah is set up as king in his place.
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Like his father and grandfather before him, Uzziah starts off very well.
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He is faithful to the Lord and "set himself to seek God" (_v. 5_).
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For as long as he did seek God, the Lord made him, and through him the land, prosper.
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He made war against Judah's enemies, knocking down the walls of their cities and building cities in their territory.
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The Ammonites paid tribute to him so that he would not conquer them.
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He built tower fortifications so that any who did try to attack would have a harder time defeating Judah.
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The herds and flocks increased so that there needed to be more cisterns to collect water for all of the animals.
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Fields and vineyards yielded much produce "for he loved the soil." (_v. 10_)
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Because of all this, the army was able to grow strong in numbers, prowess, and equipment.
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Even technological advancements were made in the invention of siege engines to be placed on top of the towers.
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Judah was well on its way to becoming a major power in the Levant again.
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Then, at the height of his power, like his father and grandfather before him, Uzziah does something kind of stupid.
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While Saul had the reason of being impatient and not waiting on Samuel to make the sacrifice, Uzziah appears to take the job of offering incense to the Lord completely on his own.
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The only reason we were given is that Uzziah was unfaithful to the Lord.
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Clearly there are many different ways that can happen, because it does not seem that Uzziah set up idols anywhere.
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On the other hand, it seems he thinks more highly of himself than he does the Lord God, because he flouts the Law of Moses in order to burn incense.
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Only the priests, of the line of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi, were to give offerings on any of the altars of the Lord.
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Azariah and eighty other priests confronted Uzziah to tell him so.
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Instead of repenting and acknowledging his fault, Uzziah became angry, completely convinced of his own self-righteousness.
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At this point, the Lord struck him with leprosy so that the priests witnessed the skin of his forehead change.
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Whatever skin condition the word "leprosy" describes in the Bible, it always made a person ritually unclean and unable to participate in the worship of Yahweh.
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Sometimes this was only temporary, but others were permanent afflictions.
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For his pride, Uzziah was given a chronic disease that prevented him from ever coming back to the Lord's house.
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He couldn't even fulfill his role as king to govern the people, because no one could enter his house or they would become unclean too.
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In his place, Uzziah's son Jotham reigned while his father was still alive.
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* * *
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Help us always remember that You are our strength and our success.
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