Chapter 364 of 1163

2 Chronicles 26

The starting point in Uzziah’s success was his seeking God and wanting to do His will (v. 5). Unlike his father, Uzziah was a man wholly given to the Lord. He believed and practiced Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1:1–3.

The turning point was his pride (v. 16). He became famous (vv. 8, 15) and strong, and God helped him wonderfully (vv. 7, 15); but he could not handle success. If God’s blessings do not humble us, they will eventually destroy us. It is true that “a man’s pride will bring him low” (Prov. 29:23; see also Prov. 11:2; 16:18).

The finishing point was his isolation as a leper (vv. 19–21). Not content to be a king, he also wanted to be a priest. He did not respect the boundaries God had established, so God shut him in a narrow place as a leper. God gives the wide places to those He can trust with freedom (Ps. 18:16–19).

Uzziah did not commit a gross sin of the flesh. He sinned in the realm of spiritual things. It is possible to disobey God in the temple with a censer in your hand, but if you do, expect God to deal with you drastically.

The Peril of Pride

In his pride, Moses lost his temper and was kept out of the Promised Land (Num. 20:1–13). Pride kept Joshua from seeking God’s will at Ai, and he lost the battle (Josh. 7). King Nebuchadnezzar’s pride turned him into an animal (Dan. 4), and Peter’s pride led to his denial of Christ (Luke 22:31–34). “No matter how dear you are to God,” said Charles Haddon Spurgeon, “if pride is harbored in your spirit, He will whip it out of you. They that go up in their own estimation must come down again by His discipline.”

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