King Uzziah was one of the top five powerful Kings after King David, he was famous and a good King, everything he did was successful when he obeyed the Lord. He built cities, he did agriculture, he loved the soil, he invented war machine. He was a powerful King of Judea.
The top five kings were Solomon, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, Hezekiah, Josiah.
Sadly he ended not well, from king to be a leper and living in isolation as leprosy hit him.
Here are lessons on pride :-
1) Pride comes before a fall - God opposes the proud and show grace to those who are humble.
2) Exercise cautious when things are going well - we have passed the test of adversary and also passed the test when times are good. We are very vulnerable to temptations during the good and properous times.
3) We need to develop respect for God's guidelines. We supposed to follow the instructions from God. Society of separate sovereign - the priest (tribe of Levi) and the king (tribe of Judah).
The only person who was both King and Priest was Melchizedek - Psalm 110:3-4
“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.” Psalm 110:4
To prevent us from violation to God's instruction is meant for our good.
4) Those who failed to learn from history is condemned to fail. King Uzziah would know the story of how Saul attempted to offer sacrifice before Samuel arrival and he lost his kingdom.
5) Do not be conform to the pattern of the world. Do not desire to be like contemporary, the other nations kings around King Uzziah might have divine king.
6) Pay attention to the divine warning. God often gives warning and call out to us so that we will not sin against Him.
Isaiah 6:1-5 King Uzziah was so famous that his death was used as a marker in event calendar in the history of Judea. In the year that King Uzziah's death, Isaiah wrote that he saw the Holiness of God. Could it be that King Uzziah became the god, the supreme leader, that the people could not see God.
Uzziah became king at 16 years old and he ruled for 52 years.
1) Pride always takes what is not given. Out of the position of dissatisfaction, we ask for something else.
2) Pride causes God to oppose you. This is the position we should not be in because we cannot never win when God opposes us.
Luke 14:11 - For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
3) Pride is a prison that will isolate you from others. Pride devalues everybody in the room. Humility says "There you are." Pride says "Here I am." Philippians 2:4 - Not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
4) Pride not only isolate you from the others, it isolates you from God.
Psalms 10:4
In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
Authority is a moral issue. When we should not to be under the authority of God, then it is a moral issue. Leprosy fall under the authority of the priests. It is not a punishment but a correction / discipline from God to Uzziah.
5) The key to the prison of pride is humility. We should live in humility.
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