As we saw yesterday - how we start out is not the most important thing, it’s how we finish that is the more important again. Praise God for accountability! Uzziah at least accepted this fact. Take a look.
2 Chronicles 26: Uzziah Reigns in Judah
1 And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah.
2 He built Eloth and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers.
3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
4 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.
5 He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.
6 He went out and made war against the Philistines and broke through the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities in the territory of Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines.
7 God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in Gurbaal and against the Meunites.
8 The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread even to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong.
9 Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate and at the Valley Gate and at the Angle, and fortified them.
10 And he built towers in the wilderness and cut out many cisterns, for he had large herds, both in the Shephelah and in the plain, and he had farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.
11 Moreover, Uzziah had an army of soldiers, fit for war, in divisions according to the numbers in the muster made by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king's commanders.
12 The whole number of the heads of fathers' houses of mighty men of valour was 2,600.
13 Under their command was an army of 307,500, who could make war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.
14 And Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and stones for slinging.
15 In Jerusalem he made engines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and great stones. And his fame spread far, for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.
Uzziah's Pride and Punishment
16 But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the LORD his God and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.
17 But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the LORD who were men of valour,
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. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the LORD God."
19 Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the LORD, by the altar of incense.
20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the LORD had struck him.
21 And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the LORD. And Jotham his son was over the king's household, governing the people of the land.
22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz wrote.
23 And Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the burial field that belonged to the kings, for they said, "He is a leper." And Jotham his son reigned in his place.
2 Chronicles 27: Jotham Reigns in Judah
1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok.
2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD according to all that his father Uzziah had done, except he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people still followed corrupt practices.
3 He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD and did much building on the wall of Ophel.
4 Moreover, he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and forts and towers on the wooded hills.
5 He fought with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed against them. And the Ammonites gave him that year 100 talents of silver, and 10,000 cors of wheat and 10,000 of barley. The Ammonites paid him the same amount in the second and the third years.
6 So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God.
7 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
8 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.
9 And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and Ahaz his son reigned in his place.
Things to think about…
1. You can see the prosperity and welfare of Judah and Jerusalem going up or down depending on whether the heart of the king seeks after the Lord or not. Uzziah sought the Lord and was blessed as a result, 2Chr 26:5. We need to continue to pray for our leaders at all levels; local, state and federal. But more than this, can I ask that you particularly pray for me and all pastors who preach the word of God. We are nothing without the Spirit of Christ. If the sermons aren’t hitting you – YOU NEED TO PRAY! Uzziah was blessed by God when he sought the Lord. This is true for our Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Prat the Lord keeps his heart from pride.
2. Uzziah’s fame spread because the Lord made him strong, 2Chr 26:8,15. Fear of the Lord fell upon all the surrounding nations. This also happened at Pentecost. Is this the case for the people of Ipswich/Brisbane, regarding Christians and the church generally? I think we know the answer. Let’s pray that God does a new work in our day where He gets the glory from those who presently do not know Him.
3. Accountability is one of the most merciful gifts the Lord has given to the church. We should never fear the truth. We will be judged by it, so let’s start embracing it now. Uzziah in 2 Chr 26:16-23 dropped the ball spiritually. His pride got in the way and he thought he could approach God any way he liked – not true. Our God is a holy God. We have Christ and His payment on the cross gives us full and free access into the Father’s presence, but we need to make sure we never come to Him with our own agenda. No wonder we have spiritual leprosy in our day! What accountability partners/spiritual mentors do you have in place? When did you last speak with them?
4. Uzziah is the last of 3 successive reigns that didn’t finish well. Uzziah suffers from leprosy the rest of his life and is buried in his the burial field that belonged to the kings, but was not buried in the Valley of the Kings, because he was a leper. Uzziah’s heart was kept through leprosy. Paul was afflicted with a messenger of Satan to keep him from pride and conceit, 2 Cor 12:7. Such afflictions can be a mercy upon the soul. Death is shameful due to sin, but we rule and reign in heaven with Christ for eternity free from sin.
5. Isaiah the prophet is mentioned in 2Chr 26:22. Isaiah was called to ministry in the year Uzziah dies, Isa 6:1. It says that Isaiah recorded all that Uzziah did. The only other historical narrative we have of Uzziah is in 2Kings 15:1-7. He is referred to as Azariah in 2 Kings 15:1-7, but Uzziah in vs 32. It is a brief passage and not likely the account that the Chronicler refers to here in 2 Chr 26:22. Some references that we have in the scriptures refer to books or accounts that we no longer have, but were known at the time of writing. This gave the reader at the time an authenticity and cross reference to the events.
6. 2 Chr 27 is a short chapter on the life of the godly king Jotham. Very short and sweet. This king honoured the Lord and the Lord blessed him. He only reigned 16 years then departed to be with his Saviour. Is length of life important to you? Have you thought about how long you might live? I am sure you have. Is it fair that the Lord cuts off the godly and doesn’t even give them even the standard three score and ten? God can do what He likes and if we die we of course go to heaven, which the Apostle Paul says is far better, Phil 1:23. But what are your thoughts on this? A long and prosperous life in Christ and then to depart to be with Him, surely this is far better still? Pray that however long the Lord gives you that all your years may be in service Him.
7. It is interesting to note that both Jotham and his father Uzziah built the gates and the wall, 2 Chr 26:9, 2Chr 27:3. Remember 400 cubits (200 metres) of the wall of Jerusalem was destroyed by Israel when they attacked Judah, 2Ch2 25:23. While the wall may have been rebuilt earlier, here we see the kings fortifying the wall. We must repair the areas of our life where we are vulnerable and build upon them to make us strong against the attacks of the enemy. Bible study/ home groups/ hearing good preaching at church are all parts of building upon the walls of our faith which make us strong.
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the school holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Title was “You win, but don’t deserve it” from 2 Chronicles 13
1. Abijah only reigned in Judah for 3 years. The description of this man in 1 Kings 15:1-3 is not very flattering, yet in 2 Chronicles 13 we see the Lord bless his faith and obedience. When you read the passage in 2Chr 13 what does the Lord use to bring about such a great victory for Abijah? What does Abijah say and do that honours the Lord?
2. Jeroboam lost 500, 000 men. What do you remember about the character of Jeroboam, what was he known for? What was Jeroboam’s legacy?
3. Israel never recovered after losing 500, 000 men. Judah would attract people from Israel back to worship the one true God. This is still the case today. Even though Abijah was not wholly true to the Lord, he was still blessed. Do you see some similarities of Abijah in your own life? In what way?
4. Pray for prayer points and for each other.
Prayer Points
1. Peace to rest over Ukraine.
2. Pray for new people as they settle into life at CBC.
3. Upcoming Australian elections – pray for the Lord’s choice of MP’s.
4. Continue to pray for the flood clean-up as well as the money donated to help.
5. Folk sick with Covid – relief and healing.
6. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
7. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Worship on Sunday – thankyou team.
2. The rain this week and the inevitable flooding in NSW and QLD.
3. More visitors to CBC over the weekend.
4. God’s word affecting people for Christ
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Members meeting 22nd May after the service.
2. Remember to check your duty rosters.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for May...
Q. 3. Will Christ come again? A. Yes; at the last day Christ will come to judge the world.
