“And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, [being] a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son [was] over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.” (2Ch 26:21 AV)
This is a bit sad. After a sordid string of kings, Uzziah, as his father before him, did right in the sight of God. Uzziah reigned for 52 years. Uzziah was the second longest reign of any Judean king, including David and Solomon. Uzziah was a king who involved himself more in the prosperity of Judah than he did fighting unnecessary battles. His father had died in battle when he didn’t have to. Uzziah loved husbandry. He built cities and cultivated the land. Then something unfortunate happened. He went into the temple and attempted to offer incense on the altar. He was not a priest. Like Saul, he offered a sacrifice that was not his job to do. This one mistake made him a leper from that point on. He was separated from the people, so his son had to reign in his stead. Uzziah’s mistake was in not listening to the Levites when they attempted to remove him from the sanctuary. Rather than admit his fault and leave, he got angry and offered the offering, anyway. Had he repented and left, he may have spared himself a painful death. What is amazing to me is that this one act sullied an otherwise perfect life of service to the LORD. Had this king refused this one temptation in pride, he would have passed as one of the greatest of all kings. What we do at the end is just as important as what we do at the beginning and middle.
The older we get, the more we want our lives to matter. If we are not careful, the goal of relevance and legacy may harm an otherwise faithful life. This is not as uncommon as one might think. Many men have compromised in areas of ministry because they don’t want to pass into the next life with the assumption others will see them as a failure. They want to pass on into the next life while overseeing a building program. They wish to be seen as one who is always gaining ground and never losing it. Uzziah was a bit different. He crossed a line because he saw himself as beyond the detailed rules of worship. God blessed him for faithful and godly service, and he meant well. Surely the LORD wouldn’t care about a silly little rule like restricted access. After all, like Cain, he was offering his best. Why would God make a big deal about it? In his older years, the king allowed the details to slip. They were not as important to him. I have seen this more times than I care to remember. Men in their older years lost their once held deep convictions. Doctrine remains the same. But separation fails. They invite music, pop culture, and modern forms of ministry into their churches because they fail to see the importance of purity in service. At one time, they stood against those things. Now, it doesn’t matter anymore. They have earned the right to compromise.
This is not so with God. God’s holiness is something He does not surrender. The king has no business inside the sanctuary. That room was for priests only. Not only priests, but those who had gone through ritual cleansing and preparation. The king was at fault in both cases. He was not a priest, and he never went through the cleansing process. In today’s world, who would care? After all, the sacredness of our houses of worship has all but disappeared. They are houses of entertainment. They are not houses where the broken hearts of God’s people come to get right with a God who deserves their contrite hearts. The common and uncalled can stand behind a pulpit. Stories and humor are more important that Spirit led preaching. Affirmation is the only theme of today’s sermons. Long gone are the days of preaching on sin, repentance, and humility. Now, God must justify Himself. My, my, my! We have come a long way. We are doing what Uzziah, Saul, and Cain did. We have allowed the demands and standards of God to become irrelevant, substituting God’s holiness with our heart and judgment. Watch out. Leprosy is soon to follow.
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