2 Chronicles 26:1-23

11. THE REIGN OF UZZIAH (Chapter 26)

TEXT

2 Chronicles 26:1. And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah. 2. He built Eloth, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers. 3. Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jecholiah, of Jerusalem. 4. And he did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. 5. And he set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the vision of God: and as long as he sought Jehovah, God made him to prosper.

6. And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities in the country of Ashdod, and among the Philistines. 7. And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gur-baal, and the Meunim. 8. And the Ammonites gave tribute to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad even to the entrance of Egypt; for he waxed exceeding strong. 9. Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them. 10. And he built towers in the wilderness, and hewed out many cisterns for he had much cattle; in the lowland also, and in the plain: and he had husbandmen and vinedressers in the mountains and in the fruitful fields; for he loved husbandry. 11. Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men, that went out to war by bands, according to the number of their reckoning made by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains. 12. The whole number of the heads of fathers-' houses, even the mighty men of valor, was two thousand and six hundred. 13. And under their hand was an army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. 14. And Uzziah prepared for them, even for all the host, shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and bows, and stones for slinging. 15. And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and upon the battlements, wherewith to shoot arrows and great stones. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.
16. But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up, so that he did corruptly, and he trespassed against Jehovah his God; for he went into the temple of Jehovah to burn incense upon the altar of incense. 17. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of Jehovah, that were valiant men: 18. and they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It pertaineth not unto thee Uzziah, to burn incense unto Jehovah, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honor from Jehovah God. 19. Then Uzziah was wroth; and he a censer in his hand to burn incense; and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy brake forth in his forehead before the priests in the house of Jehovah, beside the altar of incense. 20. And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out quickly from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because Jehovah had smitten him. 21. And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of Jehovah: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land. 22. Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write. 23. So Uzziah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings; for they said, He is a leper: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.

PARAPHRASE

2 Chronicles 26:1. The people of Judah now crowned sixteen-year-old Uzziah as their new king. 2. After his father's death, he rebuilt the city of Eloth and restored it to Judah. 3. In all, he reigned fifty-two years, in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah, from Jerusalem. 4. He followed in the footsteps of his father Amaziah, and was, in general, a good king so far as the Lord's opinion of him was concerned. 5. While Zechariah was alive Uzziah was always eager to please God. Zechariah was a man who had special revelations from God. And as long as the king followed the paths of God, he prospered, for God blessed him.

6. He declared war on the Philistines and captured the city of Gath and broke down its walls, also those of Jabneh and Ashdob. Then he built new cities in the Ashdob area and in other parts of the Philistine country. 7. God helped him not only with wars against the Philistines but also in his battles with the Arabs of Gurbaal and in his wars with the Meunites. 8. The Ammonites paid annual tribute to him, and his fame spread even to Egypt, for he was very powerful. 9. He built fortified towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, and the Valley Gate, and at the turning of the wall. 10. He also constructed forts in the Negeb, and made many water reservoirs, for he had great herds of cattle out in the valleys and on the plains. He was a man who loved the soil and had many farms and vineyards, both on the hillsides and in the fertile valleys. 11. He organized his army into regiments to which men were drafted under quotas set by Je-iel, the secretary of the army, and his assistant, Ma-aseiah. The commander-in-chief was General Hananiah. 12. Twenty-six hundred brave clan leaders commanded these regiments. 13. The army consisted of 307,500 men, all elite troops. 14. Uzziah issued to them shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and slingstones. 15. And he produced engines of war manufactured in Jerusalem, invented by brilliant men to shoot arrows and huge stones from the towers and battlements. So he became very famous, for the Lord helped him wonderfully until he was very powerful.
16. But at that point he became proudand corrupt. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the forbidden sanctuary of the Temple and personally burning incense upon the altar. 17, 18. Azariah the high Priest went in after him with eighty other priests, all brave men, and demanded that he get out. It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense, they declared. That is the work of the priests alone, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to this work. Get out, for you have trespassed, and the Lord is not going to honor you for this! 19. Uzziah was furious, and refused to set down the incense burner he was holding. But look! Suddenlyleprosy appeared in his forehead! 20. When Azariah and the others saw it, they rushed him out; in fact, he himself was as anxious to get out as they were to get him out, because the Lord had struck him. 21. So King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death and lived in isolation, cut off from his people and from the Temple. His son Jotham became vice-regent, in charge of the king's affairs and of the judging of the people of the land. 22. The other details of Uzziah's reign from first to last are recorded by the prophet Isaiah (son of Amoz). 23. When Uzziah died, he was buried in the royal cemetery even though he was a leper, and his son Jotham became the new king.

COMMENTARY

Uzziah is also called Azariah (2 Kings 14:21, Isaiah 6:1). When Amaziah was murdered, Uzziah, only sixteen years of age, was installed as king of Judah. There appeared to be no contest for the throne as there had been in the days of Joash. Eloth was located at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba. It was a very strategic port. Solomon's Ophir navy used this as a home port. Jehoshaphat had attempted and failed to establish a navy at Eloth. Uzziah was concerned about the economic welfare of his people. He was granted a long reign of fifty two years. The queen mother's name was Jecholiah. From the time of Bathsehba, the queen mother exercised great authority in Jerusalem. Uzziah received a good report from the chronicler. The good in Amaziah's reign was remembered as a model for Uzziah's kingship. Amaziah's failures were not recalled. Zechariah appeared as a man of God. He had understanding in the vison of God. He was a seer like Samuel had been (1 Samuel 9:9). Zechariah's relationship to Uzziah is not detailed. The prophet most likely served as a counsellor to the king. The historian knew the full record of the king's life. As long as Uzziah sought Jehovah his government was stable, but the day came when his heart was lifted up. A summary of Uzziah's achievements is given in 2 Chronicles 26:6-15. The Philistines were always insisting upon their right to control the coastal plain along the Mediterranean. Even Abraham and Isaac had encounters with this people in their day. More recently they had allied with the Arabians in conflict against Jehoram. Gath is renowned in Bible history as Goliath's home. It was about twenty five miles west of Bethelehem and about fifteen miles from the coast. Jabneh was about thirty miles northwest of Jerusalem and five miles from the coast. Ashdod was near the Great Sea about ten miles south of Jabneh. Uzziah attacked these three villages and brought them under subjection. Certain Arabians had taken control of territory at Maon, a village about fifteen miles south of Hebron. The Meunim lived at Maon. Nothing more is known about Gur-baal. The historian recorded the fact that God helped Uzziah in his conflict with the Philistines. The Ammonites lived on the border of the desert. Their capital, Rabbath, was about twenty five miles east of the Jordan river. These descendants of Lot were forced to pay tribute to Judah. The fame of Uzziah spread even to Egypt in these good years of his reign. He fortified Jerusalem. The gates of a walled city were very necessary and they were also vulnerable to attack. Towers or forts were built at the corner gate on the west side of the city and at the valley gate which probably opened on the valley of Hinnom on the west or south side of the city. The walls of Jerusalem were often extended and strengthened by enterprising kings. Uzziah was very sympathetic with the farmers and herdsmen among his people. Towers were necessary to protect against raiding bands. The wilderness area in Judah was the region west of the Dead Sea, the area around Bethlehem and Tekoa. The lowland was the foothill region (Shephelah) in Judah between the mountains and the coastal plain. Those who kept vineyards, cultivated barley, wheat, flax, and tended olive trees were especially blessed because Uzziah loved husbandry.

As Uzziah gave attention to the internal development of his kingdom, he did not neglect military provisions. He had an army of three hundred seven thousand five hundred men. Those were organized under twenty six hundred officers. Jeiel, Maazeiah, and Hananiah were responsible to the king for these military registrations. Uzziah is described as a strong military leader who had the respect of the soldiers. Not only did he provide for his men conventional weapons of war, such as spears, bows, and slings; he also produced machines designed to hurl great stones and propel arrows with super-human force.[68] He attained wide fame through the invention and use of these improved military tools. The chronicler leaves the impression that Uzziah was marvelously helped by Jehovah.

[68] Spence, H. D. M., The Pulpit Commentary, II Chronicles, p. 315

The sin of the king and the judgment that followed is the subject of 2 Chronicles 26:16-21. The great military leader, the strong friend of his country-men, the king who trusted God became proud and took upon himself liberties that did not pertain to him. He dared to presume to fill the office of priest by going into the Temple (he entered the Holy Place) and standing by the altar of incense just at the door of the Oracle to burn incense on the sacred altar.[69] Azariah was the chief priest (2 Chronicles 26:20). He, along with eighty regular priests, contested Uzziah's action and charged him with trespass against God. The historian observed that these were valiant men. They dared to accuse the king. They predicted that Jehovah would dishonor Uzziah. Instead of repenting and retreating, the king was furious against his accusers. As he proceded to burn the incense (the pot or pan was in his hand), the dread disease of leprosy erupted in his forehead. It rose like the sun. His anger turned to mortal fear. With the priests behind him the king hurriedly left the Temple. Lepers were forced to live apart from the regular community and outside the cities and villages. Since Uzziah was a king, he lived in a separate house. He was stricken by Jehovah. Very likely, leprosy caused his death. Never again could he go to the Temple. He was unclean. Jotham, Uzziah's son and prince regent, took over the official functions of government.

[69] Schukz, Samuel J., The Old Testament Speaks, p. 207

Uzziah had begun well. His life closed with the ex-king broken in body and spiritually bankrupt. In the very year of Uzziah's death Isaiah experienced his vision of God (Isaiah, chapter 6). The prophet Isaiah wrote an account of Uzziah's life. As he had to live apart from others in the latter years of his life, so in his death, even though buried in the royal cemetery, he was placed in a plot apart from the honored kings of Judah.