All That Isn’t Enough

As rulers go, King Uzziah was about as good as it gets. In 2^nd Chronicles 26, we read about his rule. Taking the throne at sixteen years of age, he ‘did right in the sight of the LORD’. He defeated some of Israel worst enemies and forced others to pay tribute. His fame spread across the region. He improved the infrastructure of the cities, was a friend to the farmer, and strengthened the military. He not only increased the manpower of his nation but brought in new technology and innovation as well. You name it, religion, power, prestige, technology, defense, agricultural; he excelled in them all during his reign.

Except at the end.

In 2 Chronicles 26:16 we read:

But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.

He wanted to go and lead the worship. He was a king, a respected man, a dedicated follower, so why not? Because the priest said God had told them to do it. It wasn’t his place. Of course, this made Uzziah irate. Who were these priest to tell him what he could and could do!

Then the Lord made his feeling know. He stuck Uzziah with leprosy. Now this great leader was forced out of the palace, out of the house of the Lord and out of power.

Pride goes before the fall.

It doesn’t matter what we accomplished, how faithful we seem, the skins we have on the wall, when we think we can overrule God’s plan, we are in error. We see it today. She is a good a speaker as any man, why should she be allowed to use her talents as a preacher? He a great leader, he should be an elder even if he had more than one wife. He does more than anyone else, why shouldn’t he be a deacon even if he doesn’t have children?

Why? Because God doesn’t allow it. It might make folks mad but that’s a pride reaction, not a faith one. Maybe the best way to view it is in an earlier statement about Uzziah, in verse 5, “and as long as he sought the LORD, God prospered him”.

Pride says my way it best. Faith says God way is. If we want to really succeed, It has to be God’s way.

Comments

Why Does A Lion Tamer Use a Chair?

Ok, I know you have seen the image. A lion tamer enters in the cage of the beast and forces it to obey his commands using a whip, a gun and a chair. Now you can see how the whip and gun could come in handy but you might be wondering why a chair would intimidate an animal as powerful as a lion? Clyde Beatty taming a lion with a chair It's not that the lion is afraid of the chair -- it's that the lion is confused by the chair. Cats are single-minded, and the points of the chair's four legs bobbing around confuse the lion enough that it loses its train of thought. Casually put, the chair distracts the lion from wanting to claw the lion tamer's face off. The powerful creature could destroy the chair in moment’s notice but instead it is distracted into submission. It’s not too much different than how Satan controls us today. By the power of God we could overcome anything that he would use to subdue us. We can overcome the evil one (1 st John 2:13-14). ...

The Right to Arm Bears

In the book of 2 nd Kings 2, we have one of the most unusual, violent and curious passages in scripture. It involves the prophet Elisha siccing a couple of bears on some kids that were mocking his bald head. As a guy that is a little light on top that has been around some surly kids, I can feel for the guy. But seriously a bear attack? On kids? What is going on? ….young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!" When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number. 2 nd Kings 2:23-25 It might help to explore the passage a bit more. The baldhead statement: This was an identifying mark of the prophet as opposed to Elijah who was hairy (1st Kings 1:8) a jab to say you are not him. The taunt to go up: Elijah has just been taken into heaven by the Lord a sight seen by ...

The Mighty Gulf

It is hard to get people on two sides of an issue to come together. Each has their own viewpoint, their perceptive, their own foibles, their own understanding. To gain any common ground there must be something in common. Something or someone that can bridge the gulf between the two. Could there be a greater gulf than there was between God and man? How could a holy perfect God find a way to connect to the fallen, imperfect mankind? How can one without temptation connect to those who are beset by it? How could limited mortal beings understand an omnipotent eternal God? In 1 Timothy 2:5, we read, “ For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus .” The phrase mediator here describes a person that bridges the gap, a go-between. Jesus was one who could stand in both worlds. A perfect holy one who can understand our temptations, a man who would die yet live eternally, One who was God yet became flesh and dwelt among us. ...

Ecclesiastes 12:10

Search This Blog