King Azariah of Judah Azariah also known as

King Azariah of Judah Azariah also known as Uzziah Lessons in Humility

King Azariah or Uzziah King Azariah is one of those men in the Bible who is known by two different names. In 2 Kings 15 he is mainly called Azariah but we may know of him by a different name, Uzziah. As we go thru the rest of this lesson we will simply refer to him as Uzziah unless the scriptures call him by Azariah We are introduced to him in 2 kings 15 as he becomes king in the place of his father Amaziah If we all we know about him was limited to 2 Kings then we would miss out on a great lesson for us today

Uzziah 2 Ki 15: 1 ¶ In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, became king. 2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. 3 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done, 4 except that the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

Uzziah was considered one of the good Kings of Judah. It says in vs 3 that he did what was right in the sight of the Lord. He had one shortcoming mentioned here, that he did not remove the “High Places” from the land. This was a common problem for many of the Kings of Judah. It is mentioned several times that the Kings did not remove the “High Places” As a general rule these were places used for idolatrous worship or a perverted type worship of God

Uzziah 2 Ki 15: 5 Then the LORD struck the king, so that he was a leper until the day of his death; so he dwelt in an isolated house. And Jotham the king's son was over the royal house, judging the people of the land. After reading about him doing what was right in the sight of God, this seems to come out of the Blue. God Struck Him With Leprosy! For the rest of his life. What possibly could have brought this terrible punishment on?

Uzziah • In order to get the full story about what happened to Uzziah we have to go over to the book of 2 Chronicles chapter 26 • 2 Ch 26: 1 ¶ Now all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. • 2 He built Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king rested with his fathers. • 3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem.

Uzziah 2 Ch 26: 4 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. 5 He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.

Uzziah 6 Now he went out and made war against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities around Ashdod and among the Philistines. 7 God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabians who lived in Gur Baal, and against the Meunites.

Uzziah • 2 Ch 26: 8 Also the Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah. His fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for he became exceedingly strong. • 9 And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the corner buttress of the wall; then he fortified them. • 10 Also he built towers in the desert. He dug many wells, for he had much livestock, both in the lowlands and in the plains; he also had farmers and vinedressers in the mountains and in Carmel, for he loved the soil.

Uzziah 2 Ch 26: 11 Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war by companies, according to the number on their roll as prepared by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains. 12 The total number of chief officers of the mighty men of valor was two thousand six hundred.

Uzziah 13 And under their authority was an army of three hundred and seven thousand five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. 14 Then Uzziah prepared for them, for the entire army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings to cast stones.

Uzziah 2 Ch 26: 15 And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong. 16 ¶ But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.

Uzziah We have we seen this same situation already a king becomes powerful then turns from God. Saul Solomon This very same thing happens with men today. This is one of the problems we have in Washington. Good men with good intentions become corrupted by power!

Uzziah He began to trust in what he had rather than in the One who gave it to him. This was the problem with the rich man who pulled down his barns and built greater barns to store his crops in Luke 12. The problem was not what he had but rather what he did not have and that was treasure in Heaven Uzziah’s problem was he began to trust in his own power and might these physical things rather than to rely on God. When we trust in physical things like wealth, power and fame instead of trusting in God we are making a serious

Uzziah 2 Ch 26: 17 So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the LORD-valiant men. 18 And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the LORD God. "

Uzziah 19 Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the incense altar Thank God for Azariah the priest and the 80 other priests that stood with him against this sin. Taking this stand against the King could have cost them their lives.

Uzziah 2 Ch 26: 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the LORD had struck him. 21 King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. Then Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.

Uzziah 22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz wrote. 23 So Uzziah rested with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings, for they said, "He is a leper. " Then Jotham his son reigned in his place. What a sad ending this was for someone who started off so good.

Lessons From Uzziah God hates the Proud Nothing could be more plainly taught in the scriptures The idea of being proud means we think more of ourselves or our accomplishments than we should Pr 16: 18 ¶ Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. Pr 18: 12 ¶ Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor is humility.

Lessons From Uzziah Pr 11: 2 ¶ When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom. Pr 16: 5 ¶ Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished. Jas 4: 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. “ Pride is why God sent Nebuchadnezzar to live like an animal in the field for 7 years

Lessons From Uzziah Always trust in and depend on God. Never trust in physical things such as wealth and power. 2 Ch 26: 21 King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. Then Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.

Lessons From Uzziah If anyone could have trusted in his physical accomplishments and power it would have been Uzziah In spite of all his physical power, might, wealth and fame he could do nothing to reverse the punishment of God. He died a Leper! The punishment that will be brought on us for not trusting in God will be far worse than leprosy

Lessons From Uzziah • We can’t worship God our own way. • If we look at what he was doing (trying to burn incense) to most people this would be a small thing. • God wants it done, it doesn’t matter who does it. Right? • Wrong! God wants it done the way he commanded and by whom he commanded! • Uzziah should have learned that lesson from King Saul offering a burnt sacrifice to God instead of waiting on Samuel.

Lessons From Uzziah At least Saul was able to come up with some good excuses. 1 Sa 13: 11 And Samuel said, "What have you done? " And Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 12 "then I said, 'The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD. ' Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering. " 13 And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. …

Lessons From Uzziah • If we learn our lesson from Saul and Uzziah, do we think God will be pleased with? • Women preachers and Elders in the churches today? • 1 Ti 2: 11 Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. • 12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. • Men serving as Elders or Deacons who are not qualified • They do not meet the qualifications set down in 1 Timothy 3 • The job needs to be done but only by one who is authorized!

Lessons From Uzziah Take a Stand against Evil Thank God for men like Azariah the priest and the 80 valiant priest with him. They were not going to tolerate Uzziah burning incense They took a stand against one of the most powerful Kings of their day and I believe were ready to die in order to prevent him from burning this incense. We need to be ready to take a stand against sin and against false doctrine creeping into the Lord’s Church

Conclusion Lets learn the lessons from the Old Testament Ro 15: 4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. With so many examples both good and evil we are going to be without excuse when we stand before God!