FRAMEWORKS:
2 Chronicles 26: Uzziah of Judah
[Introductory
Notes: This
chapter records in brief the reign of Uzziah. He started off well
under the mentoring of Zechariah and became strong and powerful,
but in later life his pride led him astray and the Lord struck
him with leprosy and he had to live in isolation while Jotham
his son reigned in the palace in his stead.]
v.1-5
Uzziah's reign
v.1
Then
all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was
sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.
v.2
He
was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah
rested with his ancestors.
v.3
Uzziah
was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem
for fifty-two years. His mother's name was Jekoliah;
she was from Jerusalem.
v.4
He
did what was right in the eyes of the Lord,
just as his father Amaziah had done.
v.5
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.
v.6-8
His triumphs over the Philistines
v.6
He
went to war against the Philistines and broke down the walls of
Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod. He then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and
elsewhere among the Philistines.
v.7
God
helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who lived
in Gur Baal and against the Meunites.
v.8
The
Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far
as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful.
v.9-15
He built up the country and the army
v.9
Uzziah
built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate
and at the angle of the wall, and he fortified them.
v.10
He
also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, because
he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had
people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the
fertile lands, for he loved the soil.
v.11
Uzziah
had a well-trained army, ready to go out by divisions according
to their numbers as mustered by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah
the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal
officials.
v.12
The
total number of family leaders over the fighting men was 2,600.
v.13
Under
their command was an army of 307,500 men trained for war, a powerful
force to support the king against his enemies.
v.14
Uzziah
provided shields, spears, helmets, coats of armour, bows and slingstones
for the entire army.
v.15
In
Jerusalem he made devices invented for use on the towers and on
the corner defences so that soldiers could shoot arrows and hurl
large stones from the walls. His fame spread far and wide, for
he was greatly helped until he became powerful.
v.16-20
Pride leads him astray and ends in leprosy
v.16
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.
v.17
Azariah
the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord
followed him
in.
v.18
They
confronted King Uzziah and said, ‘It is not right for you, Uzziah,
to burn incense to the Lord.
That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been
consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have
been unfaithful; and you will not be honoured by the Lord
God.'
v.19
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.
v.20
When
Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him,
they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried
him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord
had afflicted
him.
v.21-23
His last days
v.21
King
Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He
lived in a separate house – leprous, and excluded from the
temple of the Lord.
Jotham his son had charge of the palace and
governed the people of the land.
v.22
The
other events of Uzziah's reign, from beginning to end, are recorded
by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.
v.23
Uzziah
rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in a cemetery
that belonged to the kings, for people said, ‘He had leprosy.'
And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.
Continue
to Ch.27