And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the LORD God.”
2 Chronicles 26:18 NKJV
Uzziah became a king at the age of sixteen. The interesting thing is that the people of Judah made him king instead of his father. They did not mind that he was still young. It was after they killed his father that they enthroned him. This begs the question, ‘What did Amaziah, his father, do’? We are not considering Amaziah, but you can read his account in chapter 25. Great lessons can be learned as we trust God to open our eyes that we may see.
The reign of Uzziah was quite an interesting one. He was just a teenager who was trusted with leadership. Can you imagine the pressure he must have had to pass through? His father already messed up. He was going through the adolescent stage with all the behavioural tendencies. Everyone was watching him closely. However, what was in his favour was that he sought the Lord. He reaped the benefit of the scriptures that say ‘they that wait upon the Lord’. Because Uzziah sought the Lord, the Lord helped him. He became famous, and his prosperity knew no bounds. He had a great army and resources at his disposal.
However, after becoming strong, his heart was lifted to his destruction. He did what was not his duty, and his end was disheartening. There are great lessons for us to learn from this man’s life. Firstly, age is not a barrier for God. You can be used by God regardless of how old you are. Another is that you can live above teenage tendencies. All you need to do is seek the Lord. In seeking the Lord, he shows you the path you should take. Seek the help of the Lord. At such a young and crucial age, Uzziah sought the Lord. It was in his seeking that he prospered. Do you want to prosper? Seek the Lord.
But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.
2 Chronicles 26:16 NIV
Another great lesson is how his life spun out of control. After he received strength, he lifted his heart against God. He no longer saw the need to seek the Lord. He started engaging in things that were not for him. The strong admonition today is, ‘Pride is not for you’. Stop that! It is not for you, dear child of God. When you stop seeking God, you will start doing what is not for you. You cannot avoid lifting your heart against God. The result, however, is destruction. Uzziah was still famous after the fact, but the news was that he was a leper. So, cry out to God for mercy today. Lord, help me not to do what is not in your will for me.