I have some thoughts on King Uzziah that I’d like to share today.

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.

2 Chronicles 26:5 (NIV)

In the introduction of King Uzziah, we are told the Lord gave him success as long as he sought him. Then, we discover that Uzziah changed his attitude later on.

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.

2 Chronicles 26:16 (NIV)

Early in his life, Uzziah was learning about the Lord. We are told that Zechariah “instructed him in the fear of God.” When I think about Uzziah, I’m reminded of myself. When I was first saved, I knew nothing about the Lord, and I clung to his word with all of my heart. After years of study, I thought I had a handle on God’s word. I wanted to do God’s will and tell others about him. However, as I “matured” in my faith, I took the success in my life for granted.

My assessment of that period of my life doesn’t come from any self-awareness at that time. No, it comes long after that period where I, like Uzziah, had become “powerful” in my mind and fell. Unlike Uzziah, I fell, and the Lord picked me back up.

As Christians, we must be careful to remain humble and remember who we serve. We have to remember why we are here. King Uzziah became so powerful that he thought he could make up his own rules. No one but the priests could offer incense on the altar, but that didn’t stop Uzziah from trying to do it for himself. When Uzziah was confronted by the priests and told that what he was doing was wrong, he didn’t accept it.

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.

2 Chronicles 26:19 (NIV)

After breaking out in leprosy, Uzziah separated from other people. He lived in his own house and was banned from the temple. In my fall, I didn’t break out in leprosy or anything so obvious. Still, I did stop attending church and seeking fellowship with my brothers and sisters.

As Christians, we are not called to live separate lives from other Believers. If we’ve once been in fellowship and now are not, we should examine why. Perhaps, like Uzziah, we’ve become “powerful” and prideful.

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