WEEKLY REFLECTION by Pastor Lap Dinh on ‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭26‬:‭16‬-‭21‬

“But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was untrue to the Lord his God, for he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Then Azariah the priest entered after him, and with him eighty priests of the Lord, valiant men. They opposed Uzziah the king 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 have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been untrue and will have no honor from the Lord God.” But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the altar of incense. Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous on his forehead; and they quickly removed him from there, and he himself also hurried to get out because the Lord had stricken him. King Uzziah had leprosy to the day of his death; and he lived in a separate house, afflicted as he was with leprosy, for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. And his son Jotham was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.” ‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭26‬:‭16‬-‭21‬

When people think they are king of their own life and have the power to do whatever they wish, their hearts become arrogant. Naturally, they will act corruptly and become untrue to what the Lord has instructed and guided them. In the OT context, God designated roles in His temple to the appointed priests, and even kings were not allowed to enter and burn incense. In this case, Uzziah was untrue and did not honor the Lord; he received instant judgment from the Lord with leprosy until the day of his death, which removed him from the presence/house of the Lord.

One proud moment of a king led him to “irreversible” consequences—being excluded from God’s presence and His community, slowly wasting away in shame and guilt, and perhaps experiencing an emotional “hell-like” suffering even before the agony of death arrived. But now in Jesus Christ, God has offered sinful humanity an opportunity to “reverse” the “irreversible” sin of pride—wanting to be king in life. By the death of Jesus, He took away our shame, guilt, and suffering, and reversed the deserved eternal death into the gift of eternal life by grace.

Thank You, Lord. How marvelous is Your work. How great is Your love. Amen.