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SPEAKER_00Welcome to today's episode of the Bible Journey Daily Podcast. It's great to be with you here again as we continue our study time together through the Book of Two Chronicles. Today we continue to explore recorded history, yes, but we will also attempt to expose the spiritual patterns that can shape the rise and fall of any Christian believer. Today's episode I've titled The Cause of All Spiritual Failure. And now that sounds like an ambitious title, doesn't it? Whenever we hear of spiritual failure, whether it is in a leader, a friend, a family member, or even experience it in our own lives, we instinctively should ask the question What happened here? What caused this failure? What people tend to do is point to the surface issues, the things like the love of money, the moral compromises that we or people might make, the pressures that come on people in leadership, the temptations that lie behind money or success, or even the temptations that can lead to unfaithfulness in marriage. And no doubt these are all very real factors, but behind all these symptoms and all these actions lies a deeper fundamental problem. The root cause that I would say only the Bible truly exposes, and it does so repeatedly. And today in the Old Testament there is this story that illustrates, I believe, with remarkable clarity what's going on here. It's the story of a king who began, well, brilliantly, he prospered greatly, but then pretty much collapsed spiritually. And his downfall is not mysterious and it's not complicated, it's plain for everyone to read and see. It was rooted as it always is in one single underlying cause, the same cause behind every spiritual failure in every generation. And that call I suggest is revealed in 2 Chronicles chapter 26. Because in this episode, we're going to look at this new king Uzziah's failure. We're not just examining the symptoms of what he did, we're not just tracing the secondary effects, we're looking at the core reason. We're going after the root cause, the underlying spiritual condition that leads to collapse, no matter how strong the beginning someone may have. So settle in. There's some important insights to be gained today, I believe, in 2 Chronicles chapter 26 as we explore the cause of all spiritual failure. Welcome to today's episode. The opening verse tells us that all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was 16 years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amazaiah. Amazaiah's death had left Judah without a clear succession plan. There is no indication that Amaziah prepared his son for leadership, so the people themselves step in and elevate young Uzziah to the throne. Now he's only 16 years old, he's a teenager, yet he will reign for 52 years, one of the longest reigns that we see in Judah's history. But a chronological challenge arises out of this verse. Amaziah, we know reigned from 796 to 767 BC, and if Uzziah began his reign in 790 BC, that means he co-reigned with his father for 23 years. But the chronicler seems to say Uzziah became king after Amaziah's death and that he was only 16 years old at the time. So how do we recognize this? Well, when you dive deep into the commentaries, you find several of them offer a very helpful solution. And I'm inclined towards it. They say early in Amaziah's reign, the leaders of Judah feared instability because of Amaziah's unwillingness to prepare him for leadership. So they appointed Uzziah at age 16 as a sort of vice regent, second to the king. And it was probably from that point forward, around 790 BC, until his death, that the father and son effectively had kingly authority together. Primarily through the father, secondarily through the son, and that overlapped then for 23 years. Then after Amaziah died, Uzzaiah reigned alone for 29 more years, totalling the 52 that's mentioned here. Now this explanation fits both the historical data and the chronicle writer's narrative. But the main point, however, is simple. Uzziah became king and his reign was long, influential, and initially blessed. Verse 2 tells us he rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amazaias rested with his ancestors. Now Elath, or Eloth, as it was called in some regions, was a strategic port on the Gulf of Akpa, and it was a vital trade route. Uzziah restores that trade route to Judah, thereby strengthening the nation's economic and indeed their military position. This is a strong beginning. Verses 3 to 5. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. His mother's name was Jekoilah, and she was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success. So this is the main focus of Isaiah's early life. He seeks the Lord. He listens to Zechariah, a prophet who is understood to be able to interpret the vision of God, and he walks in obedience to that. And as long as we see him seek the Lord, God enables him to prosper. Now, of course, you've been following with me through this series of two chronicles, you'll recognise this familiar pattern here. A king is seen to begin well, in this case he listens to God's prophet, he obeys his word, and God indeed blesses him. So Uzziah's reign is marked early on by devotion, humility, and obedience. And verse 6 then goes on to describe Uzziah's military victories that arise out of holding on to that perspective. It tells us he went to war against the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jebna and Ashdod. He then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who lived in Gerbal and against the Mayunites. The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah and his frame, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt because he had become very powerful. So he's doing well. He defeats the Philistines, he breaks down their fortified walls of their cities, and he builds towns in their territories. And it also tells us he subdues the Arabs and the Mayunites, and his frame is spreading wide and far. In fact, it reaches as far as Egypt. God is helping him, God has strengthened him, and God is expanding his influence. And then he begins his building projects. Verse 9. Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the angle of the wall, and he fortified them. Verse ten continues, he also built towers in the wilderness, and dug many cisterns because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working in his fields and vineyards and in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil. So he strengthens Jerusalem's defences first, he builds towers at strategic points, he fortifies the city. So but this guy is not only a warrior, he's also an agricultural visionary. It says he builds towers in the deserts, and he builds wells there, he expands the livestock operations, developing farmland and vineyards, and he oversees massive agricultural projects. And the chronicler adds this little beautiful detail at the end saying he was a man who loved the soil. So Uzzaiah is a king who delights in cultivating the land, the land that God ultimately gave his people. Then verses eleven through fifteen describe his building up of the army. It says Usah had a well trained army, ready to go out by divisions according to their numbers, as mustered by Jael, the Secretary, and Mesai, the officer under the direction of Hananane, one of the royal officials. The total number of family leaders over fighting men was two thousand six hundred. Under their command was an army of three hundred and seven thousand five hundred men trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies. Uzziah provided shield, shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows and sling stones for the entire army. In Jerusalem he made devices invented for the use on the towers and on the corner defences so that soldiers could shoot arrows and hurl large stones from the walls. He spread frame far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became power. So Uzeah here is overseeing the development of for its day an advanced military force with using the most advanced technologies available at the time. Early forms of catapults, experts suggest, even defensive machines. His fame is spreading far and wide, and then comes the key phrase, he was greatly helped until he became strong. Now that sentence is the entire hinge of this chapter. It tells us, it points to the fact that Isaiah's strength here is coming from God. His success is God given, and his prosperity and effectiveness was God enabled, and his rise therefore was God empowered. But there's also a hint of what is coming next. He was greatly helped until he became strong. So we've got strength, success, prosperity, but of course these can become dangerous and they can lead to pride. So it is only through the period when he's obedient to God and God's word that he grows in strength. So there's the first tiny little hint here that pride may be a cause of future spiritual failure. Now the build up of his army is impressive, of course it is. He reorganizes Judah's whole military force and it mentions the fact that they're highly trained. So this is a well equipped army of over three hundred thousand soldiers and over two and a half thousand officers. This is no ragtag militia here. This is a disciplined, elite fighting force in its day. And the chronicler notes that he provides the army with shields, spears, helmets, and body armor. He gives them bows and slings for stones. Now the details here reflect the prosperity and strength that Judah is enjoying under his reign, but it is ultimately under God's blessing. And this pioneering of advanced military technology, that's interesting. This is not remember referring to supplying individual slings like those used by David against Goliath. It's an early use of catapults and defensive machines, remarkable innovations for the ancient world at that time. But the Hebrew word translated marvelously, greatly, depending on your translation, saying he became marvelously or greatly strong, means more than just strong, it means extraordinary, surpassing strength beyond normal human ability. Everywhere Isaiah turns, he appears to be blessed. We see him fight successfully against Philistines, subdue Arabs and Ammonites, he increases Judah's defenses, he assembles this amazing army, he builds cities, and that amazing agricultural development, his fame is spreading far and wide for all that he is doing here. This is the documented rise of Uzziah. But as I noted at the beginning today, this chapter will fall into two parts, his rise and his fall, and the turning point comes now in our next verse 16, because pride begins to take root. It tells us. 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. Now that sounds okay, doesn't it? But this is the moment, friends, where everything changes. Uzziah became strong and his heart has become proud, and he's beginning to take credit for what God has given him, and he's beginning to forget the source of his strength, and he's exalting himself before God's word. One commentator I read noted if Uzziah had remained remembered the meaning even of his own name, Uzziah, which means Yahweh is strong, he wouldn't have fallen in this way. But Uzziah's great power here has led to a great sense of pride. And pride leads to temptation. And this time we see it because he enters the temple to burn incense. Why is that a problem? Because that's something only priests were permitted to do. The Mosaic law was clear in this. Only the sons of Aaron may burn incense in the holy place. Kings may offer sacrifices in the courtyard, but they may not go in and burn incense in the sanctuary. So this act is a direct violation of God's command. Now Usaiah is not just making a confused mistake here. He's not misinformed. He is being prideful and rebellious. His strength, his physical strength, and his the security he has created in the nation, is now blinding him spiritually, and his success is deceiving him. His pride has convinced him that he can literally do no wrong. But the priests in the temple, they confront him. It says Azariah, the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord, followed him in, and they confronted King Uzziah and said, It is not right for you, Isaiah, to burn incense to the Lord. This is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful, and you will not be honored by the Lord God. So these eighty priests, described rightly as courageous men, they confront the king. This is an extraordinary act of courage, really, because they're risking their lives to defend the holiness of God's house. And they tell him plainly, effectively, you're trespassing here. You have no right to be here, even though you're king. You will receive no honor from the God from being here. They tell him to get out of the sanctuary. So these priests are not intimidated by Uzziah's earthly power, and they're not impressed by his frame or his position either, and they're not swayed by the success that the land is experiencing. They stand for God's holiness even against the king. And this is the moment when Isaiah could have repented. He had that opportunity, he could have humbled himself, he could have realized that he'd overstepped the mark and you know stepped back. He could have listened, but for pride always is inclined to refuse correction. And pride is the root cause of his spiritual failure, and I would contest of all spiritual failure. The text continues. This is one of the most dramatic moments in the Old Testament. It's very visual, isn't it? Uzziah is furious. He's in a rage, he's ranting, he's holding the censor, ready to burn that incense, and to do it despite of what they're saying. He's raging at the priests, these men who dared to confront him, and in that very moment God strikes him with leprosy. But so before he can even burn the incense, the incense judgment is seen to fall. And the leprosy, did you notice, appears on his forehead, meaning it was visible to everyone present. And then it says, when Azariah, the chief priests, and all the other priests looked at him and they saw he had leprosy on his forehead, they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because he knew the Lord had afflicted him. So the priests hurry and rush him out, and Uzziah himself rushes out because he knows what's just happened, he knows that the Lord has struck him, and he also knows that leprosy renders anyone ceremonial unking, and he cannot remain in the temple. He cannot worship, and he cannot possibly lead worship as he was wanting to do here. Verse twenty-one, King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died, and he lived in a separate house, lepros and banned from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land. So Uzziah's leprosy is lifelong from this point forward, and he is quarantined in a separate house from the for the rest of his life. He is cut off from the temple, the very place that he once strengthened and protected, but now he cannot even enter the courtyard and he cannot worship along with God's people. Never mind lead worship. He also cannot really effectively rule as king anymore, and so his son Jotham becomes the acting ruler. You see, Uzeah's leprosy is an outward sign of that inner of that inward uncleansiness, a visible symbol of the pride that had corrupted his heart. And then it tells us in verse 22 the other events of Uzziah's reign from beginning to end, are they not recorded by the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoth? Now Isaiah records his reign, and Isaiah remembers likely around twenty two years of age when Isaiah died. That's what the Bible experts and historians have calculated, and it is he who will record the history of his reign. Now he will have drawn from official documents and other eyewitness accounts, but since he was young, these final events he witnessed, but he was probably too young to observe all of Uzziah's early years, so he would have drawn it from other eyewitnesses as well. And then in verse 23, we're told that Uzziah is buried. It says Uzziah rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in a cemetery that belonged to the kings. For the people said he had leprosy, and Jonathan his son succeeded him as king. So Isaiah is buried. What it's saying here is buried near the royal tombs, but not actually in them. So even in his death now he's set apart. His leprosy has excluded him from the honour even given to some of the more basic kings. And this was a guy, remember, who began well and who prospered greatly. He rose to great heights, but ultimately he did not finish well. So that's the story. And what can we learn from the story? Well, as with Joash and Amisia before him, Uzziah began well, but he did not end well. But I think Uzziah's story can give us a deeper insight. Yes, he began well, but it was his pride ultimately that led to his fall. He deliberately disobeyed God, and he thought he knew better than God, and he thought he could do what God had expressly forgiven. So the spiritual lesson here is that sense of pride in our own position and our own place, in effect, usurping God is the root cause of all sin. Uzziah's rein that we've witnessed today actually forms a three part sort of tragic trilogy. That we witnessed across these last few chapters. We've seen Joash, who began well and ended poorly. We then yesterday saw Amazai began well and ended poorly, and today Uzziah begins well and he ends really poorly. These stories stand together to show how difficult but still how important it is to try and hold confidence and right standing with God from the beginning to the very end. And they reveal the root cause of spiritual failure is always pride. Now we've talked about adultery, we've talked and seen idulterally. Adultery, we've talked about the love of money, we've talked about moral compromise, but beneath all of these sins lies this deeper root. The root cause of spiritual failure biblically is positioned as pride, both Old and New Testament, and indeed Jesus' teaching himself does that. Paul warns us in 1 Timothy chapter 3, verse 6 that pride was actually the sin of Satan, the sin that led to his downfall and expulsion for heaven. Pride says, I will take the place of God, I know better than God, I can do what God forbids, I don't need to listen to the word of God, I can stand in the holy place of God on my own merit. And Uzziah is an illustration, a perfect illustration of this truth. He thought he could enter that holy place, he thought that he could burn incense in the altar, he thought that he could step in and take the priest's role, he could rewrite God's command, and in doing so he was effectively saying that he could take the place of God, which is the very essence, the heart of pride. Of all the sins, pride is the one that we must avoid most fiercely, friends. But yet, with God's help and the insight of his word, like we've read today, the insight that it can bring, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, I know we can all have a real hope of doing that. And that is good news, indeed. Thanks for being with me today. Thank you again, friends, for joining me in this episode of the Bible Journey Daily Podcast. Uzziah's story really does remind us that pride is the root cause of all spiritual failure. It is the sin beneath and behind every other sin, the poison beneath every spiritual collapse and the danger that lies behind every success as well. Now, in our next episode, we move into 2 Chronicles 27, where we will meet Joseph, a king, unlike his father, who remains faithful and steady. His story will help us understand what it means to walk humbly with God and what it means to finish well. And that'll be good news after this trilogy of failure. But until then, may the Lord keep your heart before him, your worship pure, and your confidence rooted in him and his strength, not your own. So once again, a heartfelt thank you for every one of you who support or listen to this podcast. Please, friends, consider sharing it and recommending it to others. 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