Saturday
What happens to us when we seek the Lord? The Chronicler gives us the answer.
Look at 2 Chronicles 26:5b. “As long as he (Uzziah) sought the Lord, God gave him success.” Uzziah was one of the good kings of Judah and because he sought the Lord, the land knew peace and prosperity. Was he always perfect – no. But he pleased God in his early years and was granted the honor of reigning for 52 years. His weakness came from a lack of thankfulness to God and his sense of pride. Are you noticing a pattern here with the kings? Because God had blessed him with great fame and success, he started buying into his own greatness and became filled with pride. Because of his pride he thought he was good enough to perform the duties of a priest. He should have known better than to do this. In trying to act like a priest he took on a role that God had not given him permission to do. Azariah and eighty other priests confronted Uzziah. Rather than recognizing his sin (like David did years before) he got angry. His punishment was swift and because of his leprosy, he was denied ever entering the temple again. I think things would have been so much different for Uzziah if he had only repented and turned his heart back to God and away from his foolish pride.
God wants us to love, honor and obey Him for the rest of our lives. We must run the race with perseverance to the very end. (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Blessings
Pastor Kathy