The Kiss of Death




“As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.” 2 Chronicles 26:5b

It’s easy to take credit for things that go right and blame others when things go wrong. In this chapter we meet Uzziah, a sixteen-year-old who became king. Perhaps he was concerned about his youthfulness or perhaps he understood that he didn’t know enough to do a good job. Whatever the reason, Uzziah started out his reign by seeking instruction from Zechariah, a prophet, who taught him to fear God. And we see in our verse today that as long as Uzziah sought the Lord, God gave him success.

"But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall." 2 Chronicles 26:16a

I’m no different than Uzziah. I start out by realizing my inadequacies. This drives me to seek the Lord for help. God helps me and things go well. Then like Uzziah, I become prideful over my success. Pride is the kiss of death on any achievement. Sooner or later, I become a victim of my own arrogance and self sufficiency.

In verse 19 we see Uzziah in a nose-to-nose confrontation with the priests of the temple who confront him about his disobedience. Only the priests were to burn incense at the altar. Uzziah stubbornly continued in his own way, after all--he was the king! Maybe he thought God would overlook the rules. Maybe he thought God was wishy-washy about what was right and wrong. I’m sure he justified his actions.

God struck him with leprosy as he raged in the Lord’s temple. Verse 20 tells us that the priests saw the leprosy and hurried him out. “Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.” 2 Chronicles 26:20b

Uzziah acted like me. He obeyed after the consequences. Suddenly he saw his error. God was serious about his commands. Uzziah had brought the punishment down upon himself by his actions. Suddenly Uzziah became eager to obey. Perhaps he thought God would remove the punishment if he changed his actions. But it was too late. The Bible does not say whether or not Uzziah repented of his deeds. It does say that he lived away from the temple of the Lord until he died.

Lord, help me to believe what you say. Give me a willing ear to listen to needed advice. Protect me from the sin of pride. Help me to continually seek You and obey. Amen.