When Pride Rules In Place Of God

When Pride Rules In Place Of God

Uzziah (Azariah) was sixteen years old when he became king of Judah (2 Kings 14; 2 Chronicles 26). His reign spanned more than half a century and was characterized by his faithfulness to the Lord. “He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper” (2 Chronicles 26:5). The king was able to subdue the Philistines, Arabs, Meunites, and Ammonites with his fame reaching even the palaces of Egypt. His army was a super power of his day lead by 2600 “chief officers of the mighty men of valor” and 307,500 soldiers “that made war with mighty power” (2 Chronicles 26:12-13). It was an army of well trained and well equipped soldiers who could defeat any foe. What began as a period of righteousness and favor from God would end with the defeat of human pride.

Being the king of a powerful army makes one feel invincible. Marching against the Philistines and defeating them with great power can excite the blood of man. Realizing that no power can overthrow you, the spirit of man begins to falsely listen to the siren calls of self-indulgent arrogance. Uzziah looked upon his well-trained, well-disciplined fighting machine of death and breathed deeply in his own power. The king of Babylon later in history would fall to the same lie of Satan: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty” (Daniel 4:30). Nebuchadnezzar and Uzziah were charmed by their own power and the honor they were given by the world.

The text says of Uzziah, “But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense” (2 Chronicles 26:16). The reason he was strong was not because of his own might but the power of God. He failed to listen to the admonition of what Isaiah declares in Isaiah 31:21 – “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord!” Ironically people of God need to have strong hearts but the strength of heart should come from the Lord and not one’s self.

Uzziah was so emboldened he decided that he did not need any man to serve as intercessory to God and that he could change the law of God to fit his own power. If he was powerful enough to destroy any man on the face of the earth then most likely God Himself would bow before him. He enters the temple of God to burn incense which was forbidden by any but the Levites. Azariah the priest along with 80 other priest withstood the king for committing such an abomination (2 Chronicles 26:16-18). What courage these priest had to stand against such a powerful king but they knew they must serve God and not men (Acts 5:29). The king became furious. How dare these puny priests defy the great king Uzziah? Did they not know who he was and how powerful he was? He now regarded the servants of the Lord as nothing in his own eyes. The Levites were the descendants of Aaron the High Priest but to Uzziah they were nothing.

The angels of God are amazed by the pride of men (Psalm 8:5). In the midst of his fury, Uzziah came face to face with Jehovah. “While he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the incense altar” (2 Chronicles 26:19). He was a leper until the day he died. The great king of the super-power Judah would be cut off from everyone because of his pride. Even in death he was buried in the field of burial which belonged to the kings because he was a leper (2 Chronicles 26:21-23).

How sad when men leave their hearts of trust in the Lord to lean upon their own understanding. “My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones” (Proverbs 3:1-8). Pride is the center of man’s fall with shame, strife, foolishness, destruction, evil and dishonor.

All rebellion against the Lord is rooted in selfish pride to do what I want to do. Satan first tempted Eve to challenge the word of God by asking, “Has God indeed said” (Genesis 3:1)? In other words Eve, ‘You should rely upon your own wisdom and reject the counsel of God. Obviously God does not know what He is doing so you must take charge of your life. Live for the now. Do what you want to do. Enjoy life on your terms.’ And that has been the lie of Satan to exalt the pride of man over the favor of the Lord. Uzziah filled himself with his own pride and lived a leper shunned by man.

Why are there so many different avenues of faith in the world? Why are there so many churches? What reason can be found for men failing to worship the one true God? How does man live with himself in his rejection of the Bible and the truth of Jesus Christ? Why do men fill themselves with the passions of the flesh? The foundation of sin is pride. As in the final days of the Judges, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). But like Uzziah all men will find that life is not about the pride of man but the final word from the Lord. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

Death is a reminder that God is in charge. Man cannot control his destiny because the breath he possesses is held in the hand of God (Daniel 5:23). What is man that makes him fill himself with such arrogance that he can escape his Creator? Submitting to the Lord is all we can do for we are all subject to His power. Try as we might we cannot resist the judgment of God. “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil” (James 4:13-16).

And The King Listened To Them

And The King Listened To Them

Joash (Jehoash) was seven years old when he became king. He was nearly killed in the slaughter of the royal heirs of the house of Judah by Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah. Jehoshabeath (Jehosheba) the daughter of Ahaziah rescued Joash hiding him in the bedroom of his nurse. For six years he lived in the house of God while Athaliah reigned over the land (2 Chronicles 22:10-12; 2 Kings 11). Through the courage of Jehoiada, the high priest (and his uncle), Athaliah was killed and Joash was crowned king.

The reign of the boy king would last forty years. He is remembered as one of the good kings of Judah. “Joash did what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest” (2 Chronicles 24:2). He repaired the Temple of God restoring it to “its original condition and reinforced it” (2 Chronicles 24:13). This golden time of Judah was filled with the burnt offerings presented in the house of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

The story of Joash takes a tragic turn when Jehoiada dies at the age of 130 years. Following his death, the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. Their actions seem to show their lack of honor and respect to Jehoiada the priest. Immediately following the death of Jehoiada Joash decides to following the advice of his leaders in contrast to all Jehoiada had stood for and established throughout the land of Judah. “And the king listened to them. Therefore they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the Lord; and they testified against them, but they would not listen” (2 Chronicles 24:17-19).

No one can doubt the influence of Jehoiada as long as he lived. The people honored this priest by burying him in the “City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and His house” (2 Chronicles 24:16). Sadly it seems the tomb was barely sealed when the people decided to abandon all of the good done by Jehoiada and pursue their fleshly desires. The Lord sent many prophets to the king and the people to turn them back to righteousness but they would not listen. Finally the “the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, ‘Thus says God: Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He also has forsaken you.' So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son; and as he died, he said, ‘The Lord look on it, and repay!’" (2 Chronicles 24:20-22).

By the providential hand of God Joash is rescued as a baby from death and hidden for six years. At the age of seven he is made king and under the tutelage of a great man of God is known for the good he does for the kingdom of God. Almost immediately at the death of his mentor, the king lets loose the passions of the people and murders the son (his cousin) of his best teacher and guide. No explanation is given for this severe change of heart save his willingness to listen to the people rejecting the counsel of Jehoiada.

John the apostle wrote in the Revelation how the example of those who die in the Lord live through their lives imprinted upon those who remain. But the key to that influence is following the right counsel of those who show righteousness in their lives. Jehoiada had a profound impact upon Joash but only while he lived. The Lord blessed the king as long as he followed the righteous counsel of his uncle. At first he listened to the counsel of his leaders and followed their advice. But why would he reject the continued counsel of the prophets sent to him by the Lord? When so many righteous people are advising the king to make better choices would he not listen? Would not the volume of righteous notes of exhortation bend the ear of the king to do the right thing? His frustration seemed to increase when Jehoiada’s son also condemned the king for his unrighteous life. Now the boy king resorts to murder. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).

There are many children of Joash today. Those who under the careful guide of parents live a life of righteousness and then leave the Lord when that influence dies. Sadly how often at the death of the parents or grandparents the family deteriorates into moral decay as children leave the Lord, their mates and the example of faithfulness left as a legacy by those who stood for truth.

A lesson is found in Joash about whom to receive advice. He listened to the wrong crowd and the nation suffered for it. “If a ruler pays attention to lies, all his servants become wicked” (Proverbs 29:12). Solomon listened to the wrong crowd (2 Chronicles 10:6-19).  The Chronicles tell of the last days of Joash the king with mournful tones of defeat. “For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men; but the Lord delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash. And when they had withdrawn from him (for they left him severely wounded), his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died. And they buried him in the City of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings” (2 Chronicles 24:24-25).

Who will you listen and seek advice? The advice of men will not bring you happiness. Jesus asked the twelve if they would leave him and Peter replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Only the Lord has words of eternal life and not the counsel of men. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful” (Psalms 1:1). History proves with each generation the wisdom of men brings misery and the knowledge of God brings hope. Godliness is profitable for this life (1 Timothy 4:8) because our Creator has given us the words of real truth.

Lessons From The Son Of Abijah

Lessons From The Son Of Abijah 

In the days of the divided kingdom of Israel and Judah, few kings of Judah were righteous kings. Among the few good kings, Asa son of Abijah was one of bright stars of the people of God. He did what was “good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God” (2 Chronicles 14:2) removing the trappings of idol worship and commanding Judah “to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment” (2 Chronicles 14:4). But more than giving commands Asa proved his own devotion by example. When Zerah the Cushite marched out against Judah with a vast army and 300 chariots, Asa “cried out to the Lord his God, and said, "Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!" (2 Chronicles 14:11). Judah destroyed the army of Zerah (2 Chronicles 14:12-15).

Following the great victory over Zerah, Azariah son of Oded came and prophesied to Asa reminding him that “the Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you” (2 Chronicles 15:2). Azariah confirmed to Asa the blessing and curse of the Lord (Romans 11:22) when men choose to follow the will of God and when they chose to follow their own will. This gave Asa courage (2 Chronicles 15:8) as he continued to purge the land of unrighteousness. Because of the power of God working in the land of Judah large numbers of people had come over to Asa when they saw the Lord his God was with him (2 Chronicles 15:9).

Declaring their faithfulness to the one true God, Asa assembled all Judah and Benjamin together in Jerusalem to enter a covenant to seek the Lord with all their heart and soul. This covenant was emphasized in a most remarkable manner: “whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman” (2 Chronicles 15:13). Asa was not a man after God’s heart in word only but in action. The righteous sought the Lord “with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around” (2 Chronicles 15:15).

The story of Asa that began with such promise however had a tragic end. For unknown reasons the king used the wisdom of man to protect the land against the army of Baasha king of Israel. Making a treaty with Ben-Hadad with the silver and gold Asa had put in the temple of God, Asa sealed his final years with war. Hanani the seer warned Asa that rejecting the council of God for his own wisdom was folly (2 Chronicles 16:7-9). Had the king forgotten the great victory over the Cushites and Libyans? “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).  Angered the king put Hanani in prison and brutally oppressed some of the people.

“And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. So Asa rested with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign” (2 Chronicles 16:12-13). There are lessons to learn from the son of Abijah.