To Be Continued...
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· 23 viewsGod calls us to live a fiathful life that ends as it began...
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Transcript
To Be Continued...
To Be Continued...
Let me give you a quick briefing: Today, I’m going to tell you about a king who led Israel to the top of the world. I’m also going to tell you about how that king was struck with a disease and was thrown out from that kingdom. And I’m also going to tell you about the invention of motor engines in our Bible.
And then we’re going to talk about how when God makes something, IT DOES NOT FAIL.
Are you ready?! Let’s go!!!
Text
3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. 4 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. 5 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.
42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
Intro
“Cancel Culture”
One unfortunate reality of our social media saturated world is that one moment of weakness or one indiscretion can literally ruin a person’s life forever. It’s increasingly becoming known as “cancel culture.”
In a sort of brutal way, our society is learning that being a good person “most of the time” really does not count for all that much in the end.
But there is something we need to remember today: we serve a God of grace!
He’s a God of SECOND CHANCES! Yes, He’s the God of judgement, but He’s also our God of grace!
And so it doesn’t matter what you’ve done - He’s there to pick you up today!!!
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Yet, it is vitally important that in this social era where we are daily rocked by scandals from the most unimaginable places, that we as the people of God learn again the importance of faithfulness.
And that’s really the core of this lesson today: How do we ensure that our lives are truly consistent and faithful to God?
By looking at the telling of the life of King Uzziah in the books of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, we will explore how the scriptures call us to faithfulness and the path to developing it.
Body
The Rise and Fall of Azariah
Early Success
Just before the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel to Assyria, the divided nation enjoyed a long period of prosperity with Jeroboam II reigning in the north and Uzziah/Azariah (variant spellings of the same name) reigning in the south.
Now, during this period of time, Assyria was occupied with internal issues.
The writer of Chronicles, who gave us a description of Uzziah’s reign, points out that he largely followed Jeroboam II’s example:
7 God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabians who lived in Gur Baal, and against the Meunites. 8 Also the Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah. His fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for he became exceedingly strong.
With newly expanded borders, the kingdom’s extent almost matched what it was like under Solomon, at time known as the “Golden Age.”
The writer of Chronicles added another clue to the greatness of the area by mentioning that Uzziah’s fame had spread all the way to the border of Egypt!
That type of description is similar to what was said of King David’s successes.
It appeared that the “glory days” had returned in spite of the division in the kingdom!
Some of Uzziah’s successes include the defeat of long-standing enemies of Judah. He rebuilt and fortified the city of Jerusalem. They had abundant livestocks, crops, and a large and powerful army.
The note in the text about the creation of “engines” that stood upon the towers has intrigued generations of scholars!
15 And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.
Some think it may have been a type of catapult, but that was a later invention and didn’t use both stones and arrows.
On scholar suggests that “engines” are better understood to be a defensive mechanism, a kind of shield “used to cover defending troops as they repelled enemies seeking to scale the walls.”
And through all of this description of Uzziah’s reign, the uniting catchword is strong.
And that word strong appears in close proximity to the word help, referring directly to divine aid and support.
So - the story of Uzziah’s stunning success, as told by the Chronicler, is a story of divine blessing from God, rather than just personal achievements.
Final Demise
But… all of the sudden… the story of Uzziah takes a sharp turnaround...
16 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.
It’s the third appearance of that word strong, but this time it’s not referring to divine blessing. It’s referring to pride...
He perverted the blessings of God in his life. Instead of acknowledging God as his help - the one who obviously made it all possible - he claimed these blessings were markers of his own power and ability.
You know, King David didn’t do that type of thing at all. Yes, he had his problems. But in Psalms, we many times read him referring to God as “My Help,” “My Rock,” “My Shield,” and “My Refuge.”
And the worst part was that because of Uzziah’s pride, he decided he would take responsibilities forbidden to the king - that of the priest - and was struck down as a leper in the Temple of God.
And because of his leprosy, he was driven not only out of the Temple, but also out of Judean society altogether. He lived the rest of his days in a “house of separation.”
So check this out… that phrase “house of separation” has been found in other old writings, where it is used as a description of the underworld, the home of the dead...
…in other words, because of his pride, Uzziah became a “walking dead man”!
Almost Succeeding is the Worst Tragedy
What… a… tragedy!
Uzziah had an opportunity to be the “next David,” to restore the former glory of the kingdom of Israel. He had everything he needed to be successful: a long period of international peace, agricultural abundance, international trade, and - most important - the blessing and favor of God!
What more could a king ask for???
Yet, the tagline of Uzziah’s life would have to be: “He almost succeeded.”
Even with all the material benefits and the spiritual advantages, Uzziah’s life ended in dramatic failure.
Puzzling Perspectives
The Reign of Azariah/Uzziah in 2 Kings
In a way, the Old Testament will give us “evaluations” of Kings that came and went. Each one is usually compared to King David or King Jeroboam.
And there is only one piece of criteria for success: …faithfulness to God’s covenant.
And there is only one test for that faithfulness: worship of God and God alone.
The writer of Kings gave Uzziah a positive evaluation, saying:
3 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done,
But he added one more thing:
4 except that the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
So, we are led to see that though Uzziah was a good king overall, he did not measure up to the faithfulness of the ideal King David.
The only other information provided about the reign of Uzziah is found in verse 5:
5 Then the Lord struck the king, so that he was a leper until the day of his death; so he dwelt in an isolated house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the royal house, judging the people of the land.
Coming on the heels of what appears to be a positive evaluation of Uzziah’s reign, this statement has a shocking effect, especially since there is no explanation offered.
Clearly, Uzziah did something that brought about divine displeasure and a judgment of leprosy, but the writer said nothing more.
The Reign of Azariah/Uzziah in 2 Chronicles
Now, the writer of Chronicles took a much greater interest in the reign of King Uzziah. In fact, the Chronicler added key pieces of information.
First, he included the fact that Uzziah recovered a port that would have reopened Judah to international trade. This would have invited the readers to think of Uzziah as a new sort of Solomon!
Second, the writer acknowledged that Uzziah “sought God,” but added that it was only for a certain amount of time: “in the days of Zechariah.” It goes on to say “As long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.”
This reminds me of King Joash, who, like Uzziah, also followed God as long as the priest Jehoiada was present to guide him. But as soon as Jehoiada died, Joash ceased to follow the Lord with all of his heart.
And the final addition was the sin that caused Uzziah’s leprosy. His specific violation was that he entered into the sacred precincts of the Temple, intending to offer incense as a priest (the Law did not give him this authority).
But Uzziah was not judged for offering incense; he was judged instead because of his prideful spirit.
Self-Reflection is Vitally Important
And so you have two tellings of the same story, one in more detail than the other.
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And what is most noticeable in the Chronicles version of Uzziah… are all the allusions and connections to the stories of other kings who began well but ended badly…
Solomon, Saul, Jeroboam, Joash...
In every single case, the root problem was a false sense of accomplishment that gave birth to pride and arrogance.
The real tragedy of Uzziah’s life is that he simply became another king who “forgot where he came from.”
“Self-reflection” is SO IMPORTANT!
Fallen Heroes - A Call to Reflection
Humans Not Heroes
We can draw some key truths from this story of King Uzziah.
First, we can be thankful that the story of the king is in the Bible. Perhaps one of the most wonderful things about scripture is how down-to-earth it is about human nature.
All of the kings of Israel were not comic-book superheroes or Hollywood movie stars with superpowers or unbelievable good looks and charm. …they were real flesh and blood.
And there’s no attempt to cover up any successes or failures - they are there for all to see. And that honesty is both an encouragement and a warning today. According to our deeds (all on display), God will either say, “Well done,” or “Depart from me.”
The writer of Chronicles clearly wanted people to know all of the details, and for Israel to hopefully see that if it was to succeed, it had to address this pattern of early success followed by pride and falling away!
Pastor and I had an extended discussion this week about people who started out and went for awhile, on fire for God. But at some point, the absence of their love for the truth came through, and they turned away from God.
They started, it seemed, very well. But they ended very bad.
And I remember saying in that conversation: Every once in a while, maybe every year or so, I check myself and see: am I more sold out to the Apostolic truth today than I was before???
We Must Begin and End Well
I want to tell someone what the truth of this story is: It’s not enough to simply begin well; we must also end well, maintaining our faithfulness to God!
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
When our God establishes something, IT LASTS!
11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
His word accomplishes what it was sent for!
And one thing that God personally established was THE CHURCH!!!
Although it is in question for many Christians, The Church was built for THIS day!
The world was changing in the New Testament Church… they continued...
Facing confusion, quickly changing political climate, and unrest… they pushed past persecution - and exploded!
And at the outset of - at the first mention of - the church, Jesus turned to Peter and gave him what was the Revelation of the Church, when He said:
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Notice that He said “I will build MY church!”
And not only that, but He said that His church, built by His hands will not see death!
The world changed then… they continued!
The world changes today… we must continue!
I believe that there are probably times in which we are met with an obstacle and as the church, we go, “OH NO!!!” As if it’s already over. We back up into our shell.
Sis. Kierstin and I watched a skit one time where all a guy said was “OH NO!”
When we get on the line with God and tell Him about the things we’re experiencing, do you think He says, “OH NO!”?
NO - HE SAYS, “OH YES!!!!! YOU ARE IN THE TIME OF REVIVAL!!!!! AND I HAVE BUILT MY CHURCH FOR THIS MOMENT!!!!!”
I believe it’s time to MAKE REVIVAL PERSONAL!!!
Sometimes we talk about it real broadly. “The church needs revival.” Well we need to find the place where we say first, “I NEED REVIVAL!”
The challenges seem enormous...
We can become so distracted that we are removed from our objective and purpose...
This odd day we’re living in can rob our freedom of worship, our desire to worship, and our joy altogether!
But don’t you DARE allow a world in turmoil to hinder your praise today!
PAUL wished he was YOU! And he can’t be!!!
GOD’S GOT HIS CHURCH TODAY! AND IT IS ESTABLISHED!!!!!
Conclusion
So what do we do?
Be the voice of God in the Earth
“Accentuate the positive” (God’s power at work)
Take the Great Commission seriously
Be hearing, willing, and ready!