The King Who Stays Small

The common theme through 1 and 2 Kings is this, the king that honors the Lord is stronger for the long haul. The king that doesn't is found short on time. 

In 2 Kings 15, we come to one of the great kings of Israel. His name is Azariah. Isaiah refers to him as Uzziah. Uzziah's accomplishments are incredible and they are listed in 2 Chronicles 26. The list is impressive as Uzziah was blessed in every endeavor he set out to accomplish. Why? Because he pursued the God of heaven. 

2 Chronicles 26:5 (ESV) 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.

The book of 2 Kings briefly sums up his success with this introduction:
2 Kings 15:1–2 (ESV) In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He 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.

The length of his reign is impressive. His tenure of 52 years was longer than all other kings is Judah other than one. What 2 Kings 15 does is turn quickly from Uzziah's reign to mark out the number of kings (5) that had ascended to the throne and died in Israel during his reign. The contrast in the chapter is pretty stark. Each king of Israel is struck down in heinous events...

Concerning Zechariah (after only 6 months):
2 Kings 15:10 (ESV) Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him and struck him down at Ibleam and put him to death and reigned in his place.

Concerning Shallum (after only one month):
2 Kings 15:14 (ESV) Then Menahem the son of Gadi came up from Tirzah and came to Samaria, and he struck down Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and put him to death and reigned in his place.

Two kings later concerning Pekahiah:
2 Kings 15:25 (ESV) And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him with fifty men of the people of Gilead, and struck him down in Samaria, in the citadel of the king’s house with Argob and Arieh; he put him to death and reigned in his place.

Concerning the next king, Pekah:
2 Kings 15:30 (ESV) Then Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah and struck him down and put him to death and reigned in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.

Theologians consider this season for the northern kingdom the countdown to their destruction. Sadly, there are no righteous kings in the Northern kingdom of Israel. It began with Jeroboam and got worse from there. The Northern Kings did not have a David to follow and therefore were vindictive, evil, and consumed by one another throughout the narrative. Without the prophets Elijah and Elisha, the people would have been destroyed far sooner.

Back to Uzziah... Sadly, as with all Kings, Uzziah's reign ended. His lack of tearing down the high places and his own pride came at a cost. 
2 Kings 15:5–7 (ESV) And the LORD touched the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the household, governing the people of the land. 6 Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 7 And Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Jotham his son reigned in his place.

Now the statement of verse 5 is further unpacked by the details of 2 Chronicles. Uzziah, in spite of his great accomplishments eventually fell into pride and fell from his place of authority. Sadly this once great king devolved into a sad report on the dangers of success. For we can rely on the Lord to get success as Uzziah did, but when we have it, we might be very well tempted to forget the Lord. 

The life you are living is not necessarily defined by how you started or where you came from. It is defined by who you follow and what you believe about yourself before God. If you believe, as Azariah did in his younger years that the Lord is your hope and salvation, that He alone can make you prosper, you will save yourself from a proud heart and a sudden fall. May God give you His strength to stay small in your own eyes so that He is magnified in your life. 

 


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