Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Uzziah
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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2 Kings 15:2-5
Uzziah is the third successive king of Judah who failed to remove the high places from the land. Like his father, Amaziah, and his grandfather, Jehoash, Uzziah "did what was right in the sight of the LORD," but also like them, his ending was worse than his beginning. From II Kings 15:2-5, one receives the impression that the leprosy directly resulted from Uzziah's failure to rid the realm of idolatry. However, the record in II Chronicles reveals more of the story. Uzziah "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" (II Chronicles 26:5). His downfall, like his father's, had its roots in worldly greatness and success. He vanquished the Philistines, Arabians, and Meunites in battle, and due to his reputation, the Ammonites paid tribute to avoid a similar fate (II Chronicles 26:6-8). Out of his small kingdom, he mustered and equipped an army of over 300,000 men that "made war with mighty power" (verse 13). As II Chronicles 26:15 summarizes, "So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong." Yet, like most men, Uzziah was unable to handle such strength: "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" (II Chronicles 26:16). During his reign, God began sending the recorded prophets. Uzziah's death is noted in Isaiah 6:1, and thus the first five chapters specifically deal with Judah during his reign. In Isaiah and Hosea appear a strong indication of the state of the people and the leadership. Isaiah writes that "from the sole of the foot [of the sinful nation] even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; they have not been closed or bound up, or soothed with ointment" (Isaiah 1:6). Hosea similarly writes about the nation burning incense to the Baals (Hosea 2:13), offering sacrifices and burning incense on high places (Hosea 4:13), sacrificing to the Baals (Hosea 11:2), and "the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel" (Hosea 10:8). While Uzziah did not directly participate in the idolatry, by "entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense," we can see pagan influences creeping into a previously righteous reign. In God's law, only the priests were authorized to offer incense to God (see Numbers 16:35, 40). However, in the pagan religions, essentially anyone—and especially the king—could burn incense to his god (see Jeremiah 32:29; 44:15-25). Thus, in his pride, Uzziah borrowed a page from the pagans' playbook, even while ostensibly worshipping God. Uzziah was raised in an environment that included his father burning incense to the gods of Edom. The high-place paganism that he allowed to continue would likewise have shaped the way he approached the worship of the true God. Thus, when his heart was lifted up by worldly greatness, he apparently felt free to overlook God's clear instructions regarding sacrifice and incense. That way of worship was the norm all around him—what harm could it do? Not only did he try to worship God on his own terms, but he became enraged when the priests—God's representatives—challenged him. His string of successes seems to have given him delusions of infallibility: Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And 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. And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the LORD had struck him. King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. (II Chronicles 26:19-21) Uzziah's upbringing in a multicultural environment, combined with a strong taste of untempered power and a lack of defeat, contributed to his ambivalence toward the high places in the land and his presumptuous imitation of their practices. Though he did not participate in it, the paganism he tolerated later influenced his worship of God, who would in no way accept this mixture of the holy and the profane.
David C. Grabbe
The High Places (Part Four)
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2 Chronicles 26:4
The chronicler does not even compare Uzziah to David but to his father, Amaziah, whose life did not end well, though he started fine. Uzziah seems to have followed in Joash's footsteps: “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” (II Chronicles 26:5). Joash sought God while Jehoiada the priest lived. Now another strong priest, who, as the margin says, understood the fear of God, steered Uzziah in the right direction. As long as Uzziah had this righteous guidance, God helped him with victories over surrounding nations, bringing him fame and prosperity (II Chronicles 26:9-11). The record of his early reign concludes, “So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong” (verse 15). However, upon reaching the zenith of power and fame, he plunges toward his nadir; the butterfly turns into a worm: “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” (II Chronicles 26:16). Uzziah presumptuously disregarded God's Word, for it says that only the priests could perform this responsibility. Success after success spoiled his character. He became arrogant, filled with inordinate self-esteem. In his pride, he tried to emulate the despotic Oriental kings around him, who were their nations' high priests as well. But God had purposely separated the two offices within Israel. What was the result of his flagrant presumption? First, the priests tried to stop him from his foolish act (II Chronicles 26:17-18). In his overweening pride, Uzziah's reaction was rage. The priests had challenged his authority! Was he not the mighty king of Judah? It appears he felt that he had become infallible and invincible. The chronicler relates the disastrous ending of the tale: Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And 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. And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the LORD had struck him. King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. Then Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land. (II Chronicles 26:19-21) Josephus adds an interesting postscript to the story, though it is not clear if he is correct or not. He writes that the earthquake the prophet Amos mentions in Amos 1:1 occurred when Uzziah invaded the Holy Place. Moreover, he says that the shaking tore the sanctuary's roof, and a ray of sunlight pierced the Temple, striking Uzziah in his forehead. When the sunbeam disappeared, leprosy remained. Tradition says this was the hand of God, showing His displeasure with Uzziah's presumptuous pride. We see a king who started marvelously but faltered and failed along the way. Like Amaziah, when confronted with the truth of his sin, he refused to repent, doubling down with anger and threats. God humbled him for the rest of his life. He had sought glory and fame, and he had to live with shame and loneliness for about another decade before he died. II Chronicles 26:23 records that he was buried with his fathers but separated from them in the field because “they said, 'He is a leper.'”
John W. Ritenbaugh
Three Missing Kings (Part Two)
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2 Chronicles 26:5
Is this not reminiscent of Joash, who sought God in the days of Jehoiada? Here is Zechariah, another strong priest, who had understanding in the visions of God. As long as Uzziah sought the Lord, God made him prosper. God helped him against the Philistines, giving him many victories.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Why Three Kings Are Missing From Matthew 1
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2 Chronicles 26:16-21
What is God's reaction to presumptuous sin? There is no mercy! He immediately struck Uzziah with leprosy, and the man was cut off. It sounds like he was cut off from just about everything for the rest of his life. He pretty much lost his crown—lost everything. He certainly lost his health, all because he sinned presumptuously. Ambition is not a trait that impresses God—certainly not presumptuous ambition. He is looking for a humble man who will stay where God has put him and do what God tells him to do. Uzziah was king over God's people Israel. Was that enough? No! To Uzziah, he wanted to be a priest as well. It was his strength (verse 16), his pride, that drove him to do this presumptuous act. His heart was lifted up within him to make him think that he was worthy of more than what God had given him. He became discontent with his place. He was dissatisfied with what God had given him (his position as king); and he took to himself a position that was somebody else's. God would never give him the authority to be a priest: He was a Jew, and the law says that only a son of Aaron could be a priest—a Levite. Uzziah knew that! But in spite of all the warnings, all of what God says, and in spite of what the priests themselves told him—he did it anyway. Is it not interesting that he was struck with leprosy in his forehead? That should tell us something. What does leprosy stand for? What is it a symbol of? Defilement! It is a symbol of uncleanness—of being impure. Remember in the Pentateuch, all those rules about if somebody had a spot then they were to remain outside the camp? And they were to wash and do all various things. What they were looking for was leprosy. All the things that they had to do—all the washings, all the inspections, and everything else—were to certify whether the person was clean or unclean. God put this uncleanness—this mark of defilement—right on Uzziah's forehead, where he could not hide it. What is right behind the forehead? The mind is the seat of intellect, as well as the seat of our character. The mind is where it is all being stored. That is where we think. God put this mark on this man's forehead to show that his character had been defiled—by presumptuousness, by this overweening pride that he was greater than what God had made him. This is why presumptuousness is such a terrible, damnable sin—because it defiles character that has been built. It ruins it, to the point that God cannot work with it any more. He says that person shall be cut off from His people. There is no sacrifice for this kind of sin. That is how serious presumptuousness is.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Presumptuousness
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2 Chronicles 26:16
Uzziah presumptuously disregarded God's Word, which says that only the priests were to do this responsibility. Success after success had spoiled his character. He became arrogant, conceited, filled with inordinate self-esteem. His heart was lifted up with pride, and he tried to emulate the Oriental kings around him and become a priest also.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Why Three Kings Are Missing From Matthew 1
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2 Chronicles 26:19-21
Josephus relates an interesting story, although there is no telling how true it is. He writes that the earthquake mentioned by Amos in Amos 1:1 (where the prophet writes that he prophesied two years before the earthquake), occurred when Uzziah entered the sanctuary. Further, he says that the roof of the sanctuary was torn or rent by the quake, and a ray of sunlight drilled into the Temple, striking Uzziah in the forehead. The shaft of light was quickly obscured, but the leprosy remained. Tradition says that this was the hand of God, showing His displeasure at the presumptuous pride of this man, whom He had blessed so greatly and who now felt infallible, above doing wrong, and that his word had become law. Again, we see a man who started out marvelously, but when confronted late in life with the truth and told to repent for turning away—God was trying to save him from his destructive course—Uzziah refused.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Why Three Kings Are Missing From Matthew 1
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Ezekiel 18:24-28
There is an individual responsibility. God never condones sin nor grants license for anyone to disobey His commands. This is not speaking about our transgressions done out of weakness or ignorance. These are transgressions that are done as a way of life with knowledge that one is doing wrong. However, God always allows the sinner to repent. He will always chase after the sinner with His Word, giving him the opportunity to turn around. We see that in the lives of the kings Joash, Amaziah, and Uzziah. God always leaves the door open for a sinner who desires to repent. If he does not repent, his mind eventually becomes set, seared, and over time, repentance becomes impossible.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Why Three Kings Are Missing From Matthew 1
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Matthew 1:7-11
I Chronicles 3 contains a counterpart to Matthew's list, at least his middle section covering the kings of Judah, that is, the family of David: Solomon's son was Rehoboam; Abijah was his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, Amon his son, Josiah his son. The sons of Josiah were Johanan the firstborn, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, and the fourth Shallum. The sons of Jehoiakim were Jeconiah his son and Zedekiah his son. (I Chronicles 3:10-16) From David to Zedekiah, twenty-one kings reigned in Judah. But in Matthew's list, only the names of fifteen kings appear. Three of the six left out, the three who followed Josiah (Shallum/Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah), were of the same generation, brothers—blood relatives, of the same family line. However, two of them, Shallum and Zedekiah, are not direct ancestors of Jesus and so are not included, providing a logical reason for their absence. Matthew further disparages this generation by skipping over Jehoiakim and naming his son, Jehoiachin or Jeconiah, as Josiah's son (his literal grandson). In addition, a renegade queen, Athaliah, is not on either list. She was the granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel (II Chronicles 22:2), and a truly evil woman. She usurped the throne following her son Ahaziah's death by killing all his heirs. She deserves exclusion, yet some of the most evil kings of Judah are on the list as part of Christ's ancestry. Another three kings whose names appear in the king list in I Chronicles 3 fail to appear in Matthew's list. Which three kings they are is not entirely clear because of a confusion of names. There are two possibilities. The kings in question appear in I Chronicles 3:11-12: “Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son.” The first possibility is that Matthew excluded Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah from his list because of their connection to Athaliah. The second possibility is that he left Joash, Amaziah, and Azariah off his list. The last of these kings is better known as Uzziah. Why did Matthew drop them from Jesus' family tree? Rather than excluding them due to their connection to Athaliah, he may have omitted them to draw attention to a disastrous flaw these three men had in common. God does not tell us which is the correct answer. Either of the two possibilities would be a good enough reason for their absence from Matthew's list. The second, however, has greater application to Christians living and growing today. We are not descended from or have any direct connections to Athaliah, but we may well have a similar spiritual problem to what Joash, Amaziah, and Uzziah had.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Three Missing Kings (Part One)
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Matthew 1:8
Who is this man, Uzziah? The King James Version reads “Ozias,” which is closer to the Greek version of the name. To answer this question makes things very interesting. We will pick up the trail of these names in the reign of Jehoram: And they [an army of Philistines and Arabians] came up into Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king's house, and also his sons and his wives, so that there was not a son left to him [Jehoram] except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. (II Chronicles 21:17) This invasion was devastating for Jehoram. He lost all his wives and sons except the youngest, Jehoahaz. In II Chronicles 22:1, after the ignominious burial of Jehoram, the people of Judah crowned a new king: “Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place.” Just four verses earlier, the chronicler names Jehoram's youngest son “Jehoahaz,” and here he calls him “Ahaziah.” Are these two different men or the same man with two names? The latter is the correct answer since, in both cases, he is identified as the youngest son. Over a couple of years, his name changed from Jehoahaz to Ahaziah. It is most likely that his birth name was “Jehoahaz,” but he took “Ahaziah” when he ascended the throne. (In my lifetime, Britain's Prince Albert, Duke of York, took the regnal name of George VI. His given name was “Albert Frederick Arthur George,” and before his ascension to the throne, he was always known as “Albert” or called by his nickname, “Bertie.”) This king's name becomes more complicated in II Chronicles 22:6: Then he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick. Beyond the fact that the king of Israel is also named “Jehoram” as Ahaziah's father was, the text calls the king of Judah “Azariah”! This person cannot be a different king of Judah because no other sons of Jehoram remained alive. This king obviously has three names: Jehoahaz, Ahaziah, and Azariah. And the confusion continues! In II Chronicles 25:27, another name crops up: “After the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.” This verse recounts the death of Amaziah. When a king dies, a new king ascends to the throne, and II Chronicles 26:1 relates who followed Amaziah: “Now all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father, Amaziah.” Amaziah's son, Uzziah, now sits on David's throne. II Kings 15:1 contains a parallel account of this event: “In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, became king.” Amaziah's son is here called “Azariah.” This Azariah is the same man as Uzziah, the son of Amaziah, in II Chronicles 26. Other details in both accounts verify this (he ascended the throne at sixteen, and his mother was Jecholiah of Jerusalem). The book of Matthew, written in Greek, uses the Greek equivalents of these Hebrew names. In ancient Hebrew, the vowels are not written. This omission of vowels can easily lead to confusion when the consonants of names in lists like Matthew's genealogy are similar. This confusion of names sets up an intriguing situation. If the “Uzziah” or “Ozias” of Matthew 1:8 is the king variously called “Jehoahaz,” “Azariah,” or “Ahaziah,” and not the “Azariah” or “Uzziah” of II Kings 15:1 and II Chronicles 26:1, it means three kings in a row have been left off Matthew's list.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Three Missing Kings (Part One)
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Find more Bible verses about Uzziah:
Uzziah {Nave's}
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