Problem with Power
As a society, we are enamored with the idea of power, but God reminds us in the Bible who ultimately is in power...Him. My reading today in 2 Chronicles is a great reminder that we only have power, of any kind, because He has allowed us to have it. If we forget, where our power comes from, and turn from God, we will end up with a power outage!
In 2 Chronicles 25:2, it is noted about King Amaziah of Judah, "He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly." This phrase struck me as how many times do I go through the motions for God, but I'm only responding halfheartedly. As a result, King Amaziah turned from God and brought back gods from the people of Seir. He was later killed in a conspiracy.
His son, Uzziah, then took over as king in 2 Chronicles 26:5, "As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success." And he became rich and powerful. In his pride, the king decided to go into the temple of God and burn incense, which was not in his job description, and the priests tried to tell him so, but he got angry with them and as his anger raged, leprosy broke out on his forehead. 2 Chronicles 26:5 says, "His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until her became powerful. 16 But after Uzziah became powerful his pride led to his downfall...21 King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died."
Due to the leprosy, King Uzziah was kicked out of the palace and his son, Jotham, took over as king. In 2 Chronicles we hear this of his son, "Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God." There's a problem with power, our human flesh just can't handle it. We get full of ourselves, rather than the God Almighty who gave us our positions.
In 2 Chronicles 25:2, it is noted about King Amaziah of Judah, "He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly." This phrase struck me as how many times do I go through the motions for God, but I'm only responding halfheartedly. As a result, King Amaziah turned from God and brought back gods from the people of Seir. He was later killed in a conspiracy.
His son, Uzziah, then took over as king in 2 Chronicles 26:5, "As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success." And he became rich and powerful. In his pride, the king decided to go into the temple of God and burn incense, which was not in his job description, and the priests tried to tell him so, but he got angry with them and as his anger raged, leprosy broke out on his forehead. 2 Chronicles 26:5 says, "His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until her became powerful. 16 But after Uzziah became powerful his pride led to his downfall...21 King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died."
Due to the leprosy, King Uzziah was kicked out of the palace and his son, Jotham, took over as king. In 2 Chronicles we hear this of his son, "Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God." There's a problem with power, our human flesh just can't handle it. We get full of ourselves, rather than the God Almighty who gave us our positions.
Proverbs 21:4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin!
Even in death, when Uzziah was buried, he was separated even though he was buried near his fathers...because leprosy actually means sin...and sin always separates. I love how you inspire me to study. Thank you my friend.
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