2 Chronicles 26-28
The kings of Judah after Amaziah were…
- Uzziah was called Azariah in 2 Kings 15. The commentaries say that Uzziah was his coronation name. He became king at 16 and ruled well, while under the tutelage of Zechariah, who “instructed him in the fear of the Lord.” (2 Chronicles 26:5) Uzziah reigned 52 years. Sadly, he is best remembered for two things: his sickness and his death. In his latter years, Uzziah decided to take incense into the temple, as if he were a priest. The high priest told him to leave the temple, but Uzziah, in his pride, lost his temper. At that moment, he became leprous and remained a separated leper to the end of his life. His death is best remembered as the marker for Isaiah’s call to ministry. Look at Isaiah 6; it begins, “In the year that King Uzziah died…” The rest is history.
- Jotham, Uzziah’s son ruled in his place, and may have ruled while Uzziah lived with leprosy. He too ruled well and righteously.
- Ahaz, however, was a very different story. It’s easy to remember that Ahaz was a wicked king, because his name is so similar to Ahab, the quintessential wicked king of the northern kingdom. Ahaz gives Ahab a run for his wicked money. He was so idolatrous that he shut down the temple of Jerusalem and opened altars to idols in “every corner of Jerusalem and every city of Judah.” (2 Chronicles 28:24-25) But worst of all, he offered his son as a human sacrifice to Baal in the valley of Ben Hinnom. His sixteen year reign was sixteen years too long. We’ll read more of Ahaz in the prophecy of Isaiah.
Will there ever be another king like David? (I remember asking a similar question when we were reading through 2 Kings; do you remember the answer?)
We’ll find out tomorrow!
Pastor Gary
No comments:
Post a Comment