2BC BIBLE STUDY NOTES
Wednesday in the Word
Second Baptist Church
March 22, 2023
2nd Chronicles 26
Verses 1-2. From our previous lesson, we recall that Judah had been ransacked by King Jehoash of the northern kingdom after the king of the Southern Kingdom, Amaziah challenged him to a battle. This was a mistake on Amaziah part. He was so prideful and arrogant that he assumed his previous victories were due to his own military prowess and strength. He was wrong. His success was due to the hand of God. Amaziah was ed not to attempt a fight with the northern kingdom, but he decided to consul his advisers instead of the man of God. His defeat was overwhelming. The king of the North pillaged Jerusalem leaving the city in ruins. King Amaziah was imprisoned and upon his release 15 years later, he was killed by old enemies. The next king was chosen by the people. The people chose Uzziah, one of the sons of Amaziah to rule. Uzziah was blessed with much success as king. He was able to rebuild the town of Elath. Elath was destroyed years before by the Edomites.
Verses 3-5. The text says that Uzziah was 16 when he became king and reigned for 52 years. This is an exceptionally longtime for a king to reign. As long as he sought the Lord, he was successful. This is the recurring theme that the writer wants the Israelites who are returning from exile to remember. Their success or downfall would rest on their willingness to seek and obey the Lord. We learn that a prophet by the name of Zechariah (different from the prophet of the book of Zechariah) was delivering the word of God to the king. Some Jewish scholars believe this Zechariah is an ancestor to the one in the book of Zechariah.
Verses 6-15. When Uzziah was faithful to the Lord, he found success. He found success on the battlefield fighting the old enemies of the Israelites. Uzziah expanded his empire into the Philistine and Ammonite territory. He became so powerful that other nations were paying taxes to Judah. These victories allowed the nation to be at peace on all sides. The kingdom of Judah was respected as far as Egypt. His army was well trained and had disciplined leaders. They were prepared for battle and ready at a moment’s notice. His success continued with the rebuilding of the city walls that were destroyed during the end of his father’s reign. He even built towers at certain strategic places on the wall with new and innovative weapons. Uzziah was known as a man of the soil and God gave him favor with the land and livestock. He built towers, dug wells, and had great numbers of livestock. The land was fertile, and crops were bountiful. He had success on every side. When you have success on every side, the trick is to never forget who gave you the success. The challenge for any successful leader is to maintain your humility to the very end. Arrogance and conceit have been the downfall of many leaders. Verse 15 says, he was greatly helped, until he became powerful. That term “helped” is a reference to the Lord’s hand of favor. It was the Lord who ‘helped” him. Once he became powerful, Uzziah made some costly mistakes.
Verses 16-18. Toward the end of his life, Uzziah got the idea that he could override the protocols of the temple and priesthood and enter the inner chamber and burn incense before the Lord. The King decided that no place was off limits to him. Azariah the priest, along with 80 other priests, confronted the king and told him that he was not allowed to enter or burn the incense. It took courage to confront a king, an heir of King David, a commander of the armies of Judah. Yet Azariah the priest knew that King Uzziah’s crime was so great that it justified this confrontation. The altar of incense is first mentioned in Exodus chapter 30 as one of the items inside the Holy Place of the tabernacle. The altar of incense was placed before the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. On the other side of the veil was the Ark of the Testimony, where the presence of God was (Exodus 25:22). Aaron was instructed to burn incense on the altar each morning and at twilight, every day, as a regular offering to the Lord (Exodus 30:7-8). Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest was to put blood on the horns of the altar of incense to cleanse it. The altar of incense was called “most holy to the Lord” (verse 10). The altar of incense was “most holy.” Uzziah wasn’t even supposed to touch anything in that room.
Verses 19-20. Before he was confronted, the king had picked up a censer in his hand to light the incense. While he was raging at the priest who confronted him, leprosy broke out on his forehead. With his head full of pride and fury, Uzziah began to see leprosy break out upon his head. No doubt he first saw the problem in the faces of the horrified priests who looked at the leprosy as it first appeared on his face. The leprosy even rose on his forehead; so, as he could not hide his shame; though it is probable it was also in the rest of his body. The painful skin disease appeared, and the priest ushered the king out of the temple. The text says he was anxious to leave at that moment as well. Uzziah would not listen to the Biblical commands and customs that forbade him to enter the temple and offer incense. He would not listen to the rebuke and warning from the priests. Yet he did listen to the judgment of God against him. On top of the pain that leprosy caused, one had to enter forced quarantine until death. The king entered the inner chamber of the temple, and now he was not able to even enter the community. His head had become too big, and now his head bore the witness of his disobedience.
Verses 21-23. We are told that Uzziah never recovered from his leprosy and had to live the rest of his days banned from the temple courts that were open to all. His disobedience in entering a place he was not allowed ended up causing him to be banned from the place in the temple courts where everyone was welcomed. He died and was buried near the other kings.
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