Chapter 19 teen Uzziah
Somewhere around 750 years before Christ all the people of
Judah took Uzziah (also called Azariah) and made him king in place of his
father who was killed because he had turned away from following the Lord God
Jehovah. Uzziah was only sixteen years old at the time, but, as the Bible tells
us, he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He sought God and received
instruction in how to revere (fear) the Lord. And as long as he sought the
Lord, God gave him success.
Imagine a sixteen-year-old in charge of armies, going to
war, and rebuilding towns. Uzziah became famous and very, very powerful. Well,
that’s not always a good thing, is it? After Uzziah became powerful his pride
led to his downfall. What do you think happened? Remember, as long as he sought
God, God gave him success. Uzziah was unfaithful to God; his pride led him to
do something arrogant, self-centered, and stupid. Ah, now that sounds like a
teenager. Uzziah entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of
incense. “No, no, no,” the priests told him. “It’s not your place to burn the
incense. Only the consecrated priests can do that. Leave the sanctuary.”
Well, young Uzziah got angry and raged at the priests . . .
and . . . [scary suspense music] Uzziah broke out in leprosy on his forehead.
Uzziah ruled for 52 years, but he lived in a separate house, leprous and
excluded from the temple, until the day he died. There’s a lesson there that is
just too obvious.
Next Saturday teen Jehoiachin – yea, try to pronounce that!
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