Uzziah was only 16 years old when he became king of Judah. At the beginning of his reign he did was right in the Lord's eyes. As long as he followed the Lord he prospered and won victories over his enemies. He became very powerful. As his fame grew so did his pride. One day his pride grew so great that he decided to enter the Temple and burn incense on the altar of incense even though he knew this type of worship was reserved for the priests. When 81 of the Temple priests moved to prevent this sacrilege saying, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD," the king became enraged. While he was having his temper tantrum, the Lord struck him with leprosy. At this he left the Temple quickly because lepers were forbidden in the Lord's house. He lived as a leper in a secluded area of the Palace for the rest of his days while his son Jotham ruled in his place. When he died he was buried in a field near the royal tombs since the people felt the body of a leper should not lie with other bodies.
3 great prophets prophesied during Uzziah's lifetime - Isaiah, Amos, and Hosea. A great earthquake occurred during his reign which was so strong that Zechariah compared it to the earthquake which shall occur when the Lord returns with all his holy ones (Zech 14:5; Amos 1:1).
2 Kings 15:1,13, 30-34; 2 Chron 26; Mt 1:9
All scripture quotes are from the REB Bible unless otherwise indicated.
Comments© 1998 by Suzetta Tucker
To cite this page:
Tucker, Suzetta. "Jesse Tree Advent Calendar - December 19
- Uzziah." ChristStory Christian Bestiary. 1998. http://ww2.netnitco.net/users/legend01/19uzziah.htm
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