why was king uzziah struck with leprosy

No matter where you are at seek God today and He will order your life, and make you successful. The account of Uzziah in Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews makes a connection between the earthquake mentioned at the beginning of the Book of Amos and Uzziah being struck down with leprosy after he offered a sacrifice in the temple. This shows a level of humility and willingness to learn. Azariah was a good king, the son of another good king. I read it on Google while researching on the life of King Azariah (which was how I stumbled on Sandys writeup as well). When God has NOT called him to that. In the earlier part of his reign, under the influence of a prophet named Zechariah, he was faithful to God and "did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord" (2 Kings 15:3; 2 Chronicles 26:45). Gods mercy prevails over His judgment because it is not His will that anyone should perish. Instead of being content to use his own gifts in subjection to the Lord and fill the place allotted to him, his restless nature made him yearn to do what God had forbidden. The Bible doesnt say when he was born or when he died, but these dates can be. When the priests attempted to send him from the Temple, the king became angry and was immediately stricken with leprosy. Popularity:5171. For other uses, see, Albright, William F. (1945). 7. Then Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land. Uzziah of Judah (Hebrew: ), also known as Azariah, was the king of the ancient Kingdom of Judah. The dates given in the infobox below are those of Thiele,[3] except the starting date for the Amaziah/Uzziah coregency is taken as one year later than that given by Thiele, following Leslie McFall. Daniel is known as Daluyah in the Septuagint. His dates are uncertain due to the fact that some analysts believe he ruled in place of his exiled father Amaziah for several years before reigning . In the midst of defying the Chief Priest, Uzziah was struck with leprosy. He rebuilt the defenses of Jerusalem, modernized the army, and retook Gath. 45:5) may well be pressed upon every one of our hearts. 21 And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land. Look at all that he did. [3] Pekah became king of Israel in the last year of Uzziah's reign. Moreover, he says that the shaking tore the sanctuary's roof, and a ray of sunlight pierced the Temple, striking Uzziah in his forehead. Feel free to ask me down in the comment section and Ill do my best to add it here and answer it! He was famous and recognized. is that the King knew he was doing wrong. He was also one of the longest reigning kings - 52 years. Egyptologists must determine the existence of a coregency from a comparison of chronological data, just as Thiele and those who have followed him have done from the chronological data of Scripture. He lived in a separate house leprous, and banned from the temple of the LORD. Coregencies are well attested in Egypt,[16] and in giving the year of their reign, the timelines of the pharaohs do not relate whether it is measured from a coregency. Whom did Uzziah king of Judah foreshadow, and why was Uzziah struck with leprosy? The Azaria variation is much more often given to girls. Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. UZZIAH - From Royalty To Leprosy 2 Chronicles 26 1. As mentioned in the highlights for Amos 1, Josephus says that the huge earthquake of Uzziah's reign (Amos 1:1; Zechariah 14:4-5) accompanied this punishment. In his overweening pride, Uzziah's reaction was rage. As Christian we want our house (we are the temple of the Holy Spirit) to have all its doors closed. He reigned for 52 years. Answer. And Jotham, his son, was over the king's household, governing the people of the land. Which king in the Bible was struck with leprosy? The Kings pride blinded him to the need of humility (v. When the priests attempted to send him from the Temple, the king became angry and was immediately stricken with leprosy. 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). He was one of David's descendants and had a long and prosperous reign. How easy for us to forget that we have no might, no power, no sufficiency in ourselves! God be praised. His strength was envied by other Over 200 years later, the prophet Zechariah predicted a future earthquake from which the people would flee as they fled in the days of Uzziah (Zechariah 14:5). The Leper King of Judah is one dude that I really look forward to meeting. As long as you are proud you cannot know God. He pushed the borders of Judah to the southern extent of Davids empire, and fortified them. Unfortunately, his contempt for the settled norms and traditions of governance. When the priests attempted to send him from the Temple, the king became angry and was immediately stricken with leprosy. Not all of the coregencies for the kings of Judah and Israel are as easy to identify as the Uzziah/Jotham coregency indicated by 2 Kings 15:5, but those who ignore coregencies in constructing the history of this time have failed to produce any chronology for the period that has found widespread acceptance. For a time Uzziahs life was one long record of success such as few kings have known. This was a crime in Israels days, and the reason is that it points to the Real High Priest, Jesus. This period was the last 11 years of the king's life. Azariah (Hebrew: zaryh, Yah has helped) is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish history, including: Abednego, the new name given to Azariah who is the companion of Daniel, Hananiah, and Mishael in the Book of Daniel (Daniel 1:67). (II Chronicles 26:19-21). He was confined to a house, until the day of his . More Information on H. A. Ironside. died and the godly instruction ceased. Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1997, nos. Edwin R. Isaiah 6 is the sixth chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Why did God strike King Uzziah with leprosy? Lastly, afflictions dont have to diminish your fruitfulness. According to the Second Book of Samuel, the Levite Uzzah touched the Ark with his hand in order to steady it, and God instantly killed him. Both comments and pings are currently closed. Revealing to all his folly. What does King Uzziahs biography mean for modern believers? TimesMojo is a social question-and-answer website where you can get all the answers to your questions. It specifically says that the leprosy (an infectious disease that causes severe, disfiguring skin sores and nerve damage) even appeared on his forehead. We will have to know something about his reign and also what he meant for Israel, and his death also marks another section in the book of Isaiah. All this is most suggestive and may well speak to us, we who are called to contend for the faith in the present difficult days. God helped King Uzziah defeat the enemies of Israel. These evil spirits can use other individuals or our personal weaknesses to bring destruction, sabotage, fear, and more into our lives. 7:3; 8:2), together with sources that tell us that Isaiah was the cousin of King Uzziah, suggests he was of a family of high rank. The calendars for reckoning the years of kings in Judah and Israel were offset by six months, that of Judah starting in Tishri (in the fall) and that of Israel in Nisan (in the spring). Azariah (Hebrew: zaryh, Yah has helped) is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish history, including: Abednego, the new name given to Azariah who is the companion of Daniel, Hananiah, and Mishael in the Book of Daniel (Daniel 1:67). POLITICALLY Uzziahs leadership resulted in amazing successes. You can read his story in 2 Kings 14:21-22, 15:1-7, and 2 Chronicles 26, He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fearof God. This left Uzziah only 17 years of a sole reign of Judah. He was smitten of the Lord, as Miriam and Gehazi had been before him. . How different the attitude of the two men. Its from within those times and places of difficulty that we see that the Lord is all of these things for us, and more. Like Solomon, he began well and ended badly. In the meantime a great earthquake shook the ground, and a rent was made in the temple, and the bright rays of the sun shone through it, and fell upon the king's face, insomuch that the leprosy (Hebrew: tzaraath) seized upon him immediately (Josephus Flavius, Antiquities IX 10:4). Pekah became king of Israel in the last year of Uzziah's reign. Chileab (Hebrew: , l) also known as Daniel, was the second son of David, King of Israel, according to the Bible. God can manifest success in so many ways. Was King Uzziah and Isaiah related? Both speak of sin: the former in its grossness as the lusts of the flesh; the latter in its more subtle, though less obnoxious form in the eyes of man, but even more hateful to God the lusts of the mind. Do Men Still Wear Button Holes At Weddings? What instruction from God will prevent us from ruining success Consequently their children have What happened? The books of the history of the kings of Israel and Judah make fascinating . The ray hit the king's face, and he was instantly afflicted with leprosy. All of his successes And Uzziah the king was a leper to the day of his death, and dwelled in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land. King Uzziah (783-742 BC) reigned in the ancient kingdom of Judah, which had splintered from the kingdom of Israel. The king had a great army of men of valor, who fought with mighty power and helped him defeat his enemies. Three Missing Kings (Part Two). Thats a very significant amount of time. a. While Second Kings gives a very brief sketch of the life of King Azariah, the book of Second Chronicles goes into considerably more detail. The Gospel of Matthew lists Uzziah in the genealogy of Jesus. (Cf. 752-759 - The Watchtower1966 Who can trust his own heart? 1 Amaziah's son, Uzziah, now sits on David's throne. He was able to conceive Unfortunately, it always leads to a downfall, which is painful to deal with. It was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Your relationship with God will give you fulfillment in life, and His righteousness will produce godly fruit in you. Numbers 5:2,3 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: . He attempted to burn incense in the Temple, an act restricted to priests. He attempted to burn incense in the Temple, an act restricted to priests. According to its script, it is dated to around 3070 CE, around 700 years after the supposed death of Uzziah of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. Atlanta, 2004, 15359, 219. Nevertheless, Uzziah was considered a great king in Judah. 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. Uzziah immediately reminded them that he was the king and could do as he liked. And yet Scripture is very definite about giving credit to the Lord for afflicting Azariah with leprosy. New Living Translation So King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. When the priests attempted to send him from the Temple, the king became angry and was immediately stricken with leprosy. So, here we are! Leviticus 13:46 All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be. His success was not from his strength or wisdom but came to him divinely. Why Three Kings Are Missing From Matthew 1. Louisville lands commitment from in-state back Azariah Israel. "I am willing," he said. He became arrogant, filled with inordinate self-esteem. And yet the book of Kings summarizes his entire life in just seven short verses. She has spoken in churches in California, Oregon, Texas, and Mexico and has been featured in Guidepost Magazine and All Recipes Magazine. seek them not, (Jer. D. Ussishkin, "Lachish" in E. Stern, ed., Nadav Na'aman, "Historical and Chronological Notes on the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah in the Eighth Century BC", Leslie McFall, A Translation Guide to the Chronological Data in Kings and Chronicles,, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings. The King was an intelligent military tactician. Like Uzziah, we need to be concerned about the defense of the gospel. The tragedy is stated in 26:15b until is the point of The king's son Jotham was put in charge of the royal palace, and he governed the people of the land. A prevalent opinion in Old Testament times that we see even in some passages of the New Testament is that disease and affliction is assumed to be a judgment by God on the sin in a persons life. SBL Academia Biblica 12. Uzziah was undoubtedly one of the most successful of the kings of Judah in terms of his military victories and his diplomatic and building achievements, while also overseeing a period of considerable prosperity (and the archaeological evidence supports the biblical material). In the case of Uzziah, however, the statement that after he was stricken with leprosy, his son Jotham had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land (2 Kings 15:5) is a fairly straightforward indication of what in modern terms is called a coregency. He didnt take down the high places. He had sought glory and fame, and he had to live with shame and loneliness for about another decade before he died. And he made provision for the storing up of food in case of siege. and construct weapons. I would love to hear what you are learning about King Uzziah. Thiele dates Uzziah's being struck with leprosy to 751/750 BCE, at which time his son Jotham took over the government, with Uzziah living on until 740/739 BCE. 2 Chronicles 26:5 tells us that as long as King Uzziah sought the Lord, God made him prosper. was to be conducted. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. In fact, they might enhance them. 1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. A 523 error means that Cloudflare could not reach your host web server. strengthened his kingdom and improved the economic status of his nation. An interesting fact about Uzziah is revealed in 2 Chron 26:15. And is the founder of Think About Such Things. 3) It was all due to his PRIDE! His son Jotham was in charge of the palace of the king, governing the people of the land. According to the Strongs Concordance Uzziah means My strength is Jehovah in Hebrew. Amaziahs influence upon young Uzziah was important. The King dismissed those whom God refused to recognize (this Unclean! Attractive design ideal for your home, office, church . He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the L ORD. 2022 - 2023 Times Mojo - All Rights Reserved The Leper King, forced to live in seclusion from his people, had an illustrious career as king: He rebuilt the defenses of Jerusalem, modernized the army, and retook Gath. Some writers object to the use of coregencies in determining the dates of the kings of Judah and Israel, saying that there should be explicit reference to coregencies if they existed. We dont have to suffer judgment like King Uzziah because God gives us the option to repent. He was buried in a separate grave "in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings" (2 Kings 15:7; 2 Chronicles 26:23). due to Amaziah's failed reign, and King Uzziah reigned with his son Jotham for 10 years, from 750 to 740 B.C. Translations of Azariah. The priests knew the King was 2 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.". As a consequence of his pride and unfaithfulness,God struck Uzziah with leprosy which he suffered from till the day he died, cutout from his people and banned from God's holy temple. Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became annoyed by the resistance of the priests. also admitted the need to do right in the sight of the Lord BUT they (2 Kings 15:3). If youve read the gospels you have some idea of what the lifestyle of a leper was and what their standing was in the community. While leprosy was a common skin disease in the ancient world and which was perceived as highly contagious, Uzziah's condition was a direct judgment from the Lord. Therefore he was smitten in the head. Phonetic spelling of Azariah. As long as he sought theLord, God gave him success. After announcing in 2 Kings 4:21 that he became king, a brief summary of Azariah's life and reign appears in 2 Kings 15:1-7. And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the Lord. Not only did he wal in the ways of his ancestor David (34:2), but he destroyed all the idols in Judah. The year was 739 B.C. Thiele dates Uzziah's being struck with leprosy to 751/750 BCE, at which time his son Jotham took over the government, with Uzziah living on until 740/739 BCE. For he was cut off (Psalm 88:5; Isaiah 53:8) from the house of the Lord.--This ground of Uzziah's dwelling in a sick house is added by the chronicler. He entered the Temple to burn incense on the altar of incense. Melissa is a passionate minister, speaker and an ongoing learner of the Bible. Lawrence J. Mykytiuk. Who sinned? His projects and programs were successful We dont have to fear them because God promises to be with us wherever we go. The LORD struck the king with leprosy, which lasted until the day he died. According to the biblical record, Uzziah's strength caused him to become proud, which led to his destruction. What does the name Uzziah mean in Hebrew? in a miserable destiny. Kileab (or Daniel), second son, whose mother was Abigail from Carmel. [9] The provenance of the tablet previous to this remains unknown and was not documented by the convent. Because he thought he could modify Gods expressed His long reign of about fifty-two years was "the most prosperous excepting that of Jehoshaphat since the time of Solomon." . According to the Bible, he was an unprincipled and ambitious ruler, often engaged in war with his own subjects. So King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. Uzziah recognized the importance of the principle later enunciated, In time of peace prepare for war. Therefore he fortified Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah. An interesting illustration But Gehazi, because of his greed, had brought a dreadful judgment upon himself. What the Bible says about c. PERSONALLY Uzziahs fame spread throughout then entire known document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thank you for breaking down this lesson on the life of King Uzziah in simple format for everyone to understand. To the day of his death he dwelt apart from the congregation of the Lord; cut off from Jehovahs house. Why did God strike King Uzziah with leprosy? In fact, biblical descriptions of ara . His early life of dependence on God, his terrible failure, his judgment and his death may all alike speak loudly to our souls. Its right there in the passage. Faithfully, Azariah warned and entreated, rebuking him too in Jehovahs name. Please see my disclosure policy for details. recognizing that Gods commands must be followed. Though he did not forsake the Lord at the height of his power, he was driven by pride to transgress against the Lord by attempting to do something which he was not permitted to do. Once pride entered his heart things went south for Uzziah. Then his pride led to his downfall. 16a). My desire is to deepen my relationship with my God. cost to others. And here's the kicker: "The Lord afflicted the king with leprosy until the day he died, and he lived in a separate house.". It specifically says that the leprosy (an infectious disease that causes severe, disfiguring skin sores and nerve damage) even appeared on his forehead. In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign. Geologists believe they have found evidence of this major earthquake in sites throughout Israel and Jordan. Uzziah was suddenly struck with leprosy before he had offered the incense (2 Chronicles 26:19), and he was driven from the Temple and compelled to reside in "a separate house" until his death (2 Kings 15:5, 27; 2 Chronicles 26:3). When King Uzziah died Isaiah surrendered his life . 2 kings 15:1-4 NIV. Oh, for grace to imitate his virtues, and avoid his error, that thus we may be kept in the hand of our God for blessing, and not have to fall under His government because of pride and disobedience! his biography does not end on the note of success but of failure. In 1931, an archaeological find, known as the Uzziah Tablet was discovered by Professor E.L. Sukenik of the Hebrew University.