Yesterday we learned that as long as Uzziah did what was right in the Lord's eyes, he was given success. This doesn't mean Uzziah lived a perfect life but that he was committed to following the Lord and did not stray from the Lord into idolatry. But we were also told that in his later years he became prideful about the power and prosperity of his reign. He apparently began attributing some (or all) of his success to his own talent and intelligence instead of to the Lord. And, as King Solomon famously said, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18) Uzziah's pride is going to bring judgment upon him as we study the final years of his life.
We will look at the first part of verse 16 again and move ahead from there. "But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense." (2 Chronicles 26:16) Although the government of ancient Israel (or in this case the southern kingdom of Judah) was by definition a theocracy, there was some separation of church and state in that a king could not be a priest and a priest could not be a king. Here we find King Uzziah attempting to fill both offices, at least temporarily, likely for the purpose of commemorating a particular victory or celebrating a high holy day. It was not lawful for anyone but the priests to burn incense on the altar but Uzziah presumptuously takes this honor upon himself. It was his faithfulness to the Lord that led to his extreme success but now he has allowed success to go to his head. He considers himself so highly favored of the Lord that he thinks he can do no wrong.
I'm suddenly reminded of something that happened to me in the second grade. I had the impression that I was the teacher's pet. My teacher always spoke very highly of me to my mother and wrote extra notes in my report card to her about how pleased she was with me as a student. I had formed the idea that I was her favorite student; whether or not that was truly the case, I do not know. But there came a day when she felt it necessary to back up and go back over some material from our math books because a few students were still struggling a bit with the lesson from the day before. She instructed the whole class to sit quietly out of respect for those she was re-instructing. She said if she had already checked our work from the day before and found it to be correct, we could move on to the next page but not to ask any questions until she said so. I turned to the next page and immediately thought of a question. I knew she had said not to ask a question. I knew she had forbidden any of us to speak a word either to her or to each other for the next few minutes. But because I had convinced myself I was her favorite student, I presumed the rules didn't apply to me so I spoke up and asked my question. She marched over to my desk, pulled me up by my right arm, and spanked my bottom right there in front of everyone. (This was the school year of 1978-1979 and teachers still did that sort of thing, at least in the rural school district I attended.) You can imagine my humiliation, which is why I still remember this incident so many years later. King Uzziah is going to experience some humiliation but on a much greater scale.
When he enters the temple to burn incense, the priests are aware of his intention and they try to stop him, but he thinks of himself as the Lord's favorite and does not think the rules apply to him. Uzziah knows what the Lord said about only the priests being allowed to burn incense but at the same time he feels he is the Lord's favorite and that he can do as he pleases. "Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. They confronted King Uzziah and said, 'It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.' Uzziah, who had a censor in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord's temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him." (2 Chronicles 26:17-20)
If Uzziah had taken the words of the priests to heart and repented, I think he would have been able to leave the temple unharmed. But instead of listening to them he raged at them, maybe even threatening their lives. My humiliation for my minor schoolhouse infraction in front of my second grade class was temporary but Uzziah's humiliation for committing a major sin against the Lord will be permanent because Uzziah is in a position to influence the entire nation. If the Lord allows him to get away with blatantly sinning right in His face, so to speak, everyone might feel free to do as they please. "King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house---leprous, and banned from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land." (2 Chronicles 26:21)
Based on the chronologies provided for the kings in the Bible, scholars estimate that Uzziah lived for an additional eleven years with leprosy with his son serving as co-regent. Uzziah could no longer live in the palace with his family, his officials, and his servants. Uzziah could no longer appear publicly to give speeches or to command the army. He finished out his reign as a king in name only, with his son as the person the people recognize as their leader.
"The other events of Uzziah's reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. Uzziah rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in a cemetery that belonged to the kings, for the people said, 'He had leprosy.' And Jotham his son succeeded him as king." (2 Chronicles 26:22-23) Uzziah, like several other kings of Judah, began well and ended poorly. We don't all begin strong but it's important to finish strong. Uzziah is known for being a strong military leader, a strong political leader, and a strong economic leader. But unfortunately he is also known for committing a very public and presumptuous sin against the Lord and spending the remainder of his life out of the public eye, afflicted with what was one of the most dreaded and humiliating diseases of the ancient world. Attempting to go into the temple to perform the office of a priest was so disrespectful to the Lord---it showed such disdain for the holiness of the Lord---that he had to be prevented from being a further bad influence on the citizens. The Lord had to let the people of Judah know that no one, not even a king who had been highly favored up until now, had license to sin freely without consequences.
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