Speaker 1: Life Audio how to enco morning their friends and faithful listeners,
Speaker 1: and welcome to the Bible explained on this lovely Monday morning.
Speaker 1: I am so excited that you're here to start out
Speaker 1: the week nice and strong by reading some Bible with me.
Speaker 1: We're gonna be talking about pride today and the story
Speaker 1: of King Uziah in Second Chronicles twenty six, one of
Speaker 1: the pride full kings that tries to become a high priest.
Speaker 1: All right, faithful listeners, we'll get into this topic in
Speaker 1: just one second. Here's a message from a sponsor real quick.
Speaker 1: But while this is playing, this is a great opportunity
Speaker 1: for you to grab your Bible out of the version
Speaker 1: that you prefer, and also your cup of coffee or
Speaker 1: your cup of tea to share with me. So while
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Speaker 1: favor listeners, Let's go ahead and read the entire chapter
Speaker 1: of Second Chronicles twenty six. It's kind of a long chapter,
Speaker 1: but there's a lot to talk about in Uziah's life
Speaker 1: because he reigned for quite a long time. Actually, interestingly enough,
Speaker 1: he was one of the longest reigning kings in Judah's history.
Speaker 1: So let's go ahead and read this together. I'll be
Speaker 1: reading from the World English Bible or the Web version.
Speaker 1: All of the people of Judah took Uziah, who was
Speaker 1: sixteen years old, and made him king in the place
Speaker 1: of his father Amasia. He built Elith and restored it
Speaker 1: to Judah. After that the king slept with his fathers
Speaker 1: Uziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign,
Speaker 1: and he reigned fifty two years in Jerusalem. His mother's
Speaker 1: name was Jakielia of Jerusalem. He did that which was
Speaker 1: right in Yahweh's eyes, according to all that his father
Speaker 1: Amasia had done. He set himself to seek God in
Speaker 1: the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the vision
Speaker 1: of God. And as long as he sought Yahweh, God
Speaker 1: made him prosper. He went out and fought against the
Speaker 1: Philistines and broke down on the wall of Gath, the
Speaker 1: wall of Jebnah, and the wall of Ashdod. And he
Speaker 1: built cities in the country of Ashdod and among the Philistines.
Speaker 1: God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians
Speaker 1: who lived in gaer Ball and the Mayunum. The Ammonites
Speaker 1: gave tribute to Uziah. His names spread abroad, even to
Speaker 1: the entrance of Egypt, for he grew exceedingly strong. Moreover,
Speaker 1: Usiah built towers in Jerusalem, at the corner gate, at
Speaker 1: the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall,
Speaker 1: and fortified them. He built towers in the wilderness, and
Speaker 1: dug out many cisterns, for he had much livestock, both
Speaker 1: in the lowlands and in the plains. He had farmers
Speaker 1: and vineyard keepers in the mountains and in the fruitful fields,
Speaker 1: for he loved farming. Moreover, Uziah had an army of
Speaker 1: fighting men, who went out to war by bands, according
Speaker 1: to the number of their reckoning made by j L
Speaker 1: the scribe and Messiah the officer under the hand of Hanania,
Speaker 1: one of the king's captains. The whole number of the
Speaker 1: heads of the father's houses, even the mighty men of Valor,
Speaker 1: was two thousand, six hundred. Under their hand was an
Speaker 1: army three hundred seven thousand, five five hundred who made
Speaker 1: war with mighty power to help the king against the enemy.
Speaker 1: Usiah prepared for them even for all the army shields, spears, helmets,
Speaker 1: coats of mail, bows and stones for slinging. In Jerusalem,
Speaker 1: he made devices invented by skillful men to be on
Speaker 1: the towers and on the battlements with which to shoot
Speaker 1: arrows and great stones. His name spread far abroad because
Speaker 1: he was marvelously helped until he was strong. But when
Speaker 1: he was strong, his heart was lifted up, so that
Speaker 1: he did corruptly and trespassed against Yahweh his God. For
Speaker 1: he went into Yahwei's temple to burn incense on the
Speaker 1: altar of incense. Azaria the priest went in after him,
Speaker 1: and with him eighty priests of Yahweh, who were valiant men.
Speaker 1: They resisted Uziah the king, and said to him, it
Speaker 1: isn't for you, Uziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but
Speaker 1: for the priests, the sons of Erin, who are consecrated
Speaker 1: to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you
Speaker 1: have trespassed. It will not be for your honor from
Speaker 1: Yahweh God. Then Uziah was angry. He had a censer
Speaker 1: in his hand to burn incense, And while he was
Speaker 1: angry with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his
Speaker 1: forehead before the priest. In Yahwai's house, beside the altar
Speaker 1: of incense, Azariah the chief priest and all the priests
Speaker 1: looked at him, and behold, he was lepros in his forehead,
Speaker 1: and they thrust him out quickly from there. Indeed, he
Speaker 1: himself also hurried to go out, because Yahweh had struck him.
Speaker 1: Uziah the king was a leper to the day of
Speaker 1: his death, and lived in a separate house, being a leper,
Speaker 1: for he was cut off from Yahwai's house. Jotham his
Speaker 1: son was over the king's house judging the people of
Speaker 1: the land. Now the rest of the acts of Usiah
Speaker 1: first and last, Isaiah the prophet, the son of amas wrote,
Speaker 1: So Uziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him
Speaker 1: with his fathers in the field of burial, which belonged
Speaker 1: to the king's for they said he is a leper.
Speaker 1: Jotham his son reigned in his place. Well, isn't this
Speaker 1: a shaker. There's another king here who doesn't quite do
Speaker 1: what he's supposed to do at the end of his life,
Speaker 1: because he gets very arrogant. It says in verse one
Speaker 1: that all the people of Judah took Uziah, who was
Speaker 1: sixteen years old, and made him king in the place
Speaker 1: of his father Amasia. Now we just finished talking about
Speaker 1: Amasia last week, and Amazia started out again as a
Speaker 1: very good king. He tried to follow Yahweh in a
Speaker 1: lot of different ways, but then once God gave him
Speaker 1: success in a battle against the Edomites, he started worshiping
Speaker 1: the Edomite gods, and God gave him several warnings to
Speaker 1: stop what he was doing or he would meet a
Speaker 1: bad end. Amasia did not listen to the warnings and
Speaker 1: in fact was very belligerent against the warnings and kind
Speaker 1: of just did whatever he wanted to do, and it
Speaker 1: ended in his downfall. Unfortunately, where Israel, the Northern tribes
Speaker 1: came and pretty much destroyed part of the Wall of Jerusalem,
Speaker 1: went in and pillaged it completely, including the temple of Yahweh,
Speaker 1: but they didn't kill him. He was left as a
Speaker 1: disgraced king for many years after that, actually, until eventually
Speaker 1: a few of his servants actually conspired against him and
Speaker 1: killed him. But scripture alludes to the fact that Amasia
Speaker 1: was not repentant even in the latter days of his life.
Speaker 1: So now Amasia has been killed and his son Uziah,
Speaker 1: who is sixteen years old, reigns in his father's place,
Speaker 1: and right off the bat it says he built Elath
Speaker 1: and restored it to Judah. After that, the king slept
Speaker 1: with his fathers. So Usiah was known for being a
Speaker 1: king that restored land back to Judah. He was actually
Speaker 1: a very successful king in the wealth of Jerusalem and
Speaker 1: of Judah as a whole. So we're going to talk
Speaker 1: about all that in just a second. It says in
Speaker 1: verse three that Usiah was sixteen years old when he
Speaker 1: began to reign, and he reigned fifty two years in Jerusalem.
Speaker 1: So he reigned I think the longest out of any
Speaker 1: of the kings, if I'm remembering correctly. Maybe Solomon reigned longer,
Speaker 1: but I didn't look that up, so I can't for
Speaker 1: sure say that. But Uziah certainly reigned some of the
Speaker 1: longest out of all of the kings in Judah's history.
Speaker 1: It says his mother's name was Jakielia of Jerusalem. He
Speaker 1: did that which was right in Yawai's eyes, according to
Speaker 1: all that his father Amasia had done. Now that's really
Speaker 1: important to note here that yes, Uziah did a lot
Speaker 1: of good things, and he did things that were good
Speaker 1: in God's eyes, but he did them to the same
Speaker 1: extent that his father Amasia had done. Not to the
Speaker 1: standard that the kings were supposed to meet, which was David.
Speaker 1: We know that David was pretty much the most righteous
Speaker 1: king in Israel's history, and God told the kings to
Speaker 1: emulate David with what they did basically walk in David's footsteps.
Speaker 1: And obviously we know that the most important thing David
Speaker 1: did during his reign was that he followed God his
Speaker 1: entire life and didn't try to make any idols for
Speaker 1: himself and did didn't turned towards the gods of the nations.
Speaker 1: He only worshiped God in and out. It actually says
Speaker 1: that David was a man after God's own heart, which
Speaker 1: is why he was the standard for the other kings.
Speaker 1: There's only a few kings in Israel's history that says
Speaker 1: that they followed after the footsteps of David. But kings
Speaker 1: like Amasia and Uziah only followed after the good things
Speaker 1: that their fathers had done. But unfortunately their fathers did
Speaker 1: some bad things towards the end of their lives. And
Speaker 1: Usiah was one of those kings. He only did things
Speaker 1: to the same standard that his father Amasia had done. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: it says in verse five, though, that he set himself
Speaker 1: to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had
Speaker 1: understanding in the vision of God, and as long as
Speaker 1: he sought Yahweh, God made him prosper. Now that Zechariah
Speaker 1: mentioned here is an unknown Zechariah. But whoever he was,
Speaker 1: he was a mentor of Uziah, and he also must
Speaker 1: have been a prophet because he had understanding in the
Speaker 1: vision of God. And it sounds like Zechariah was a
Speaker 1: great role model because Uziah set himself to seek God.
Speaker 1: In all the days of Zechariah, it says, as long
Speaker 1: as the king sought Yahweh, God made him prosper. And
Speaker 1: that's a very important verse. Back in the days of
Speaker 1: the Law, God would show himself through the prosperity of Israel.
Speaker 1: That was the way he worked. If Israel and Judah
Speaker 1: were in line with God, God would allow them to prosper.
Speaker 1: And the reason this was was because Israel was supposed
Speaker 1: to be the light to the world. The nations during
Speaker 1: this time believed in a lot of different gods. They
Speaker 1: believed in a God of the fields, they believed in
Speaker 1: a God of the mountains, a God of the sky,
Speaker 1: a God of the weather, a God of the sea.
Speaker 1: They believed in all these different types of gods, and
Speaker 1: they thought that if they got on these gods good sides,
Speaker 1: that these gods would bless them. And so that's why
Speaker 1: Ayahweh would bless Israel if they were in line with him,
Speaker 1: because this would show the rest of the ancient world
Speaker 1: that Yahweh was the one true God. Because ultimately, when
Speaker 1: these foreign peoples are praying to their bail gods or
Speaker 1: something like that, and Bail is not answering their prayers
Speaker 1: because he's a fake God. The people would look at
Speaker 1: Israel being very successful and they'd be like, what God
Speaker 1: are they worshiping? Why is that God blessing them? And
Speaker 1: this God we're worshiping isn't blessing us. So as long
Speaker 1: as Uziah was worshiping God, as long as he sought
Speaker 1: after Yahweh, it says God made him prosper because Israel
Speaker 1: and Judah were a light to the rest of the world,
Speaker 1: and that is how God showed his power and his
Speaker 1: supremacy through the rest of the world. But not to mention,
Speaker 1: God loves his people and He's going to bless those
Speaker 1: that love him as well. There's a in the Book
Speaker 1: of James that says draw near to God and he
Speaker 1: will draw near to you. As long as Uziah was
Speaker 1: drawing near to God, God would also draw near to Uziah.
Speaker 1: It says in verse six that he went out and
Speaker 1: fought against the Philistines and broke down the wall of Gath,
Speaker 1: of Jebnah, and of Ashdod. And he built cities in
Speaker 1: the country of Ashdod and among the Philistines. So, in
Speaker 1: other words, Judah was expanding its border into Philistine territory,
Speaker 1: and God was actually giving Uziah much success in this.
Speaker 1: When God first gave the promised land to the Israelites,
Speaker 1: the Israelites were supposed to take it for themselves, but
Speaker 1: they were never very successful in that because of their
Speaker 1: lack of faith in God's ability to help them. So
Speaker 1: they never quite took the land that they were supposed
Speaker 1: to take. And all of these people were living within
Speaker 1: the borders of Israel who should not have been living there,
Speaker 1: quite honestly, because they were not Israelites. They were part
Speaker 1: of cults and worshiped pagan deities, and they had no
Speaker 1: claim to the land that God gave his people. So
Speaker 1: Uziah was not wrong to take this land from the Philistines.
Speaker 1: Now there are verses where God tells the Israelites that
Speaker 1: they're not supposed to expand their borders too much because
Speaker 1: God gives pieces of land to each person, and God
Speaker 1: gave Israel to the Israelites, so they weren't supposed to
Speaker 1: expand their borders too much, but they were supposed to
Speaker 1: take their own land. Uziah was successful in taking back
Speaker 1: some of the land for Israel. It says God helped
Speaker 1: him against the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived
Speaker 1: in gare Bale and Mayunam. The Ammonites gave tribute to Isiah.
Speaker 1: His name spread abroad, even to the entrance of Egypt,
Speaker 1: for he grew exceedingly strong, it says. Moreover, Uziah built
Speaker 1: towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, at the valley,
Speaker 1: and at the turning of the wall and fortified them.
Speaker 1: So not only is he successfully taking land back for Israel,
Speaker 1: but he's also building fortified cities all around as well,
Speaker 1: so these invading armies can't easily take these cities back
Speaker 1: for themselves because these walls kept people out. And noticed
Speaker 1: that all of the glory in this is given to God,
Speaker 1: not to Uziah. Yes, Usiah obviously was the king and
Speaker 1: was doing all of these things. But God was the
Speaker 1: one truly giving Uziah success. So in this entire passage,
Speaker 1: God is completely glorified because we know where success comes from.
Speaker 1: It does not come from ourselves, It comes from God.
Speaker 1: And then it goes on to talk about how intelligent
Speaker 1: Uziah was as well. It says he built towers in
Speaker 1: the wilderness. He dug out many cisterns, for he had
Speaker 1: much livestock, both in the lowlands and in the plains.
Speaker 1: He had farmers and vine you'd keepers in the mountains
Speaker 1: and in the fruitful fields. For he loved farming. I
Speaker 1: think that's really cool. Actually, we get a little peek
Speaker 1: into Uziah's life and his passions, and apparently his biggest
Speaker 1: passion was farming. He loved it and he was good
Speaker 1: at it. It says. Moreover, Uziah had an army of
Speaker 1: fighting men who went out to war by bands according
Speaker 1: to the number of their reckoning made by jl the
Speaker 1: scribe and Messya the officer under the hand of Hanania,
Speaker 1: one of the king's captains. And then it mentions this
Speaker 1: really bizarre number and it says he had three hundred
Speaker 1: seven thousand, five hundred who made war with mighty power
Speaker 1: to help them or to help the king against the enemy.
Speaker 1: When I first read that number, I'm like, three hundred,
Speaker 1: seven thousand, five hundred, three hundred, three hundred and seven thousand,
Speaker 1: five hundred, Like, I honestly could not wrap my brain
Speaker 1: around what this number was. So I looked up this
Speaker 1: number in the expository's Bible CA commentary, and it says
Speaker 1: that this number was probably three hundred professional soldiers like warriors,
Speaker 1: together with seven five hundred men trained for war, so,
Speaker 1: in other words, elite soldiers and warriors and possibly spies.
Speaker 1: Uziah set these men up to keep the peace for Israel.
Speaker 1: So he was very organized. He understood a lot about war,
Speaker 1: about farming, and he was beginning to make Judah very great.
Speaker 1: Once again. It actually says that Uziah's fame spread so
Speaker 1: much so that all of these neighboring nations are bringing
Speaker 1: him tribute because they didn't want him bothering them. They
Speaker 1: were scared of him. They didn't want to go to
Speaker 1: war with him, so they would bring a tribute so
Speaker 1: that they didn't have to go to war. Essentially, not
Speaker 1: to mention, it also says that Uziah prepared for them,
Speaker 1: even all the army shields spears, helmets, coats of mail,
Speaker 1: bows and stones for slinging. In Jerusalem, he made devices
Speaker 1: invented by skillful men to be on the towers and
Speaker 1: on the battlements with which to shoot arrows and great stones.
Speaker 1: Now this is super interesting because the first catapult that
Speaker 1: we know of in archaeological history was discovered about two
Speaker 1: hundred years after the death of Uziah. But it very
Speaker 1: well could be that Uziah and his men were the
Speaker 1: ones who invented the catapult. Now, there is some debate
Speaker 1: on this text. Some people say that the Hebrew denotes
Speaker 1: more of a shield, kind of defensive thing that would
Speaker 1: stop hurling rocks and arrows from penetrating the walls of
Speaker 1: these towers, So it could be something like that that
Speaker 1: he invented, like a big shield. But if he invented
Speaker 1: the catapult, that's kind of pretty neat, I think. But
Speaker 1: the point of this is that God helped Uziah. He
Speaker 1: was very successful in pretty much everything that he did.
Speaker 1: It says in verse fifteen that his name spread far
Speaker 1: abroad because he was marvelously helped until he was strong.
Speaker 1: But when he was strong verse sixteen, his heart was
Speaker 1: lifted up so that he did corruptly and trespassed against Yahweh,
Speaker 1: his god, for he went into Yahweh's temple to burn
Speaker 1: incense on the altar of incense. Now we know that
Speaker 1: this was a wrong thing to do because only the
Speaker 1: Levites were allowed to be the priests. They were the
Speaker 1: only ones allowed inside the temple to offer incense and
Speaker 1: sacrifices to God. Here's what scripture says in numbers three ten,
Speaker 1: you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall
Speaker 1: keep their priesthood. But the stranger who comes near shall
Speaker 1: be put to death. That is how strongly God cared
Speaker 1: about the Levites being the only ones to sacrifice to him.
Speaker 1: We've definitely talked about why that was why the Levites
Speaker 1: were the only ones allowed inside the temple, so I
Speaker 1: won't talk about that here. But King Uziah was never
Speaker 1: supposed to be in there because he was not a
Speaker 1: leave He was from the tribe of Judah. Not to mention,
Speaker 1: a king was never supposed to be a priest or
Speaker 1: a high priest, because a king already had a bunch
Speaker 1: of power. There's a similar passage actually that talks about
Speaker 1: another king that tried to become a priest or a
Speaker 1: high priest. This is the account of First Samuel, chapter thirteen,
Speaker 1: verses five through fourteen. It says the Philistines assembled themselves
Speaker 1: together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen,
Speaker 1: and people as the sand which is on the seashore
Speaker 1: in multitude. They came up and encamped in Mickmash, eastward
Speaker 1: of beth Avon. When the men of Israel saw that
Speaker 1: they were in trouble, for the people were distressed, the
Speaker 1: people hid themselves in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in tombs,
Speaker 1: and in pits. Now some of the Hebrews had gone
Speaker 1: over the Jordan to the land of Goad and Gilead.
Speaker 1: But as for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and
Speaker 1: all the people followed him trembling. He stayed seven days
Speaker 1: according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel didn't
Speaker 1: come to Gilgal. Saul said, bring the burnt offering to
Speaker 1: me here, and the peace offerings. He offered the burnt offering.
Speaker 1: It came to pass that as soon as he had
Speaker 1: finished offering the burnt offering, behold Samuel came, and Saul
Speaker 1: went out to meet him, that he might greet him
Speaker 1: Samuel said, what have you done? Saul said, because I
Speaker 1: saw that the people were scattered from me, and that
Speaker 1: you didn't come within the days appointed, and that the
Speaker 1: Philistines assembled themselves together at Micmash. Therefore, I said, now
Speaker 1: the Philistines will come down on me to Gilgal, and
Speaker 1: I haven't entreated the favor of Yahweh. I forced myself
Speaker 1: therefore an offered the burnt offering. Samuel said to Saul,
Speaker 1: you have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment
Speaker 1: of Yahweh or God, which he commanded for you. For now.
Speaker 1: Yahweh would have established dear kingdom on Israel forever, but
Speaker 1: now your kingdom will not continue. Yahweh has sought for
Speaker 1: himself a man after his own heart, and Yahweh has
Speaker 1: appointed him to be prince over his people because you
Speaker 1: have not kept that which Yahweh commanded you. So that's
Speaker 1: the story of King Saul, the first king in Israel's history,
Speaker 1: who sacrificed the offering to Yahweh when he should not have.
Speaker 1: And the reason he did this was because he felt
Speaker 1: that he was losing power, so he tried to gain
Speaker 1: power for himself by becoming the high priest in place
Speaker 1: of Samuel, and Samuel said, because you did this foolish thing,
Speaker 1: I'm going to take the kingdom away from you. And
Speaker 1: that's essentially exactly what Uziah did. In Second Chronicles twenty six,
Speaker 1: it says his heart was lifted up. He became prideful,
Speaker 1: kind of like his father Amasia had done. After his
Speaker 1: successful battle, Uziah became prideful and wanted more power for himself.
Speaker 1: And the way a king could get more power was
Speaker 1: becoming the high priest. But the king was never supposed
Speaker 1: to be the high priest, because the king could not
Speaker 1: have absolute power. And that's what being the high priest
Speaker 1: would give the king over everything religious, and power over
Speaker 1: the people and the foreign affairs and the politics and
Speaker 1: all that stuff. The king could not have absolute power.
Speaker 1: The priesthood was for the levites to take care of
Speaker 1: and the Leevites only. It was not for anybody else,
Speaker 1: especially not the king. And Usiah, trying to take more
Speaker 1: power for himself, just belligerently, blatantly, goes into God's temple
Speaker 1: and starts offering the incense to God. It says the
Speaker 1: priests took courage and went after Usiah says they resisted him.
Speaker 1: It mentions that these priests were valiant men. That means
Speaker 1: that they were courageous, because I'm sure they were scared
Speaker 1: of the king. I'm sure they didn't want to confront
Speaker 1: the king, but eighty priests went after him, including the
Speaker 1: high priest who was named Azariah. They confront Usiah inside
Speaker 1: the temple and they say, you got to get out.
Speaker 1: This is not for you. Here's what they say. It
Speaker 1: isn't for you, Usiah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but
Speaker 1: for the priests, the son of Aaron who are consecrated
Speaker 1: to burn the incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for
Speaker 1: you've trespassed. It will not be for your honor from
Speaker 1: Yahweh God. Here's how Usiah responds. He becomes angry. It
Speaker 1: says he had a censer in his hand to burn
Speaker 1: the incense, and while he was angry with the priests,
Speaker 1: the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priest
Speaker 1: in Yawi's house beside the altar of incense. I've been
Speaker 1: really talking a lot recently about how God does not
Speaker 1: to judge people very often without giving them a warning first.
Speaker 1: He does not just strike people. He usually warns them.
Speaker 1: Uziah got his warning right here from the priests, and
Speaker 1: I wonder if he had humbled himself and been like, Wow,
Speaker 1: you're right, I shouldn't be doing this. This is not
Speaker 1: for me to do. I have sinned against Yahweh. I
Speaker 1: wonder if God would have had mercy and not given
Speaker 1: Usiah this terrible form of leprosy. But unfortunately, that is
Speaker 1: not how Uziah responds. Instead, he becomes angry with the prophets.
Speaker 1: And that is when God strikes Usiah. Was when his
Speaker 1: heart was against God and against the commandments of God.
Speaker 1: That is when God strikes Usiah with this leprosy. He says,
Speaker 1: Azraiah the chief priest, and all the priests looked at him,
Speaker 1: and behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and so
Speaker 1: they thrust him out quickly from there. Indeed, he himself
Speaker 1: also hurried to go out because Yahweh had struck him.
Speaker 1: So he was humbled immediately immediately. Usiah the King was
Speaker 1: a leper to the day of his death, and lived
Speaker 1: in a separate house, being a leper, for he was
Speaker 1: cut off from Yahwei's house. Jotham, his son, was over
Speaker 1: the king's house, judging the people of the land. So
Speaker 1: because Usiah got struck with this nasty form of leprosy.
Speaker 1: And this wasn't like the leprosy that would go away.
Speaker 1: This was like the bad form. He had to live
Speaker 1: in a separate house according to the laws of God,
Speaker 1: because leprosy was very contagious. And you know, the priests
Speaker 1: didn't want that inside the temple to God, and they
Speaker 1: basically grab Usiah and like throw him out of the temple.
Speaker 1: But he was right along with them. He was hurrying
Speaker 1: to go because he realized that he had just been
Speaker 1: struck by God. And unfortunately, Usiah followed in his father's footsteps.
Speaker 1: He became prideful in his success and started going against
Speaker 1: the commandments of God Amasia. His father did that by
Speaker 1: worshiping Edomite gods. But Usiah did this by trying to
Speaker 1: become a godlike figure himself, gaining absolute power for himself
Speaker 1: and not obeying the commandments of God. Now, it says
Speaker 1: the rest of the acts of Usiah first and last, Isaiah,
Speaker 1: the prophet, the son of Amos, wrote, So Usiah slept
Speaker 1: with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers
Speaker 1: in the field of burial, which belonged to the kings.
Speaker 1: For they said he is a leper. Jotham his son
Speaker 1: reigned in his place. So, unfortunately, because of usiah sins,
Speaker 1: he was not allowed to be buried with the other kings.
Speaker 1: He had to be buried in this separate field because
Speaker 1: leprosy was so dangerous and contaminating, so they didn't want
Speaker 1: his body even to contaminate some of the tombs of
Speaker 1: the kings. This is an unfortunate end for such a
Speaker 1: great king, and it shows once again that pride really
Speaker 1: does come before the fall. Faithful listeners, I'm going to
Speaker 1: play and add for you guys, and right after that,
Speaker 1: I'm going to give you some closing notes. It's really
Speaker 1: important to read chapters like this, these historical chapters, because
Speaker 1: they teach us a lot, especially when it comes to
Speaker 1: this topic of pride. Pride can cause so many issues
Speaker 1: in our lives. It is really the root of all evil.
Speaker 1: In both Amasia's case and Usiah's case, their pride caused
Speaker 1: them to start worshiping something that was not yeah, they
Speaker 1: had forms of idolatry in their hearts, even though their
Speaker 1: forms of idolatry looked very different. Amasia bowed down to
Speaker 1: foreign gods, Uziah bowed down to himself and was immediately
Speaker 1: humbled in the end where God said, you can't even
Speaker 1: rely on yourself when I strike you with this leprosy,
Speaker 1: because what happens to Iszia. Right after that, he can't
Speaker 1: even really be the king anymore. He's got to live
Speaker 1: in this separate house, and his son Jotham becomes the
Speaker 1: king in his place. Essentially, it says in verse twenty
Speaker 1: two that he lived in a separate house. He was
Speaker 1: cut off from Yahweh's house, and Jotham, his son, was
Speaker 1: over the king's house judging the people of the land.
Speaker 1: God took pretty much everything from Usiah in the end
Speaker 1: when his heart became so arrogant and so prideful. In fact,
Speaker 1: on the Bible Explained on Fridays, I just went over
Speaker 1: a similar topic with the members Psalm seventy five, where
Speaker 1: God is going to humble the arrogant people that lift
Speaker 1: their heads against him, and that, unfortunately, is what Uziah did.
Speaker 1: So we need to learn from passages like this in
Speaker 1: our own lives so that we don't make the same mistakes,
Speaker 1: especially if God starts to help us and we become
Speaker 1: complacent expecting more from God or just downrighte arrogant. Because
Speaker 1: of all the success we end up having all right,
Speaker 1: faithful listeners. I hope you guys enjoyed today's episode. I'll
Speaker 1: see all of you guys on the podcast tomorrow six
Speaker 1: am or whenever you choose to wake up and listen.
Speaker 1: Happy listening, and God bless. I just want to take
Speaker 1: a second to thank the team at Life Audio for
Speaker 1: their partnership with me on the Bible Explain podcast. In fact,
Speaker 1: if you go to lifeaudio dot com you will find
Speaker 1: dozens of other faith centered podcasts in their network. They've
Speaker 1: got shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and more.