There’s little verse in 2 Chronicles 26:5 that is the key to the whole chapter. It says:
“And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper.”
That tells you everything you need to know about Uzziah’s success and his failure.
We don’t know much about this Zechariah. He’s not the prophet that wrote the book later in the Old Testament. This one had “understanding in the visions of God.” That means he had spiritual insight. King Uzziah looked to him like a mentor. A man of God who could help him keep his heart in check.
Uzziah was blessed because he did walk in the counsel of the godly. But when he stopped follow the counsel, pride walked in.
Everything Was Going Great… Until It Wasn’t
Let’s skip ahead to verse 16, the turning point.
“But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction…”
That’s the danger. Not weakness. Strength. Success can be more dangerous than struggle. Uzziah wasn’t partying, chasing idols, or marrying heathens like other kings. He was doing fine, until he got full of himself.
Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
He got so big in his own eyes that he thought he could step into a role that wasn’t his. He walked into the temple and tried to burn incense, something only the priests were allowed to do.
That brings us to verse 18.
- Pride Will Make You Ignore Correction
“And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord…
These were valiant men, priests, men with backbone. They told the king to stop. They tried to help him. But Uzziah wouldn’t listen.
That’s what pride does. It turns godly correction into noise. And you start to think, “I know better.”
Galatians 6:1 says, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one…”
But you can’t restore someone who won’t be restored.
2. Pride Will Leave a Mark
Then you get to verse 19, and it gets worst.
“Then Uzziah was wroth… and the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests…”
God marked him. Right there in front of the priests. On his forehead. The very thing he lifted up in pride, his face, his head, God put a mark on.
It’s no small thing to push past God’s boundaries. You might still have your crown, your army, your buildings, your success, but God can put something on your life that you can’t shake off.
James 4:6: “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”
3. Pride Will Cut You Off From Fellowship
Then comes verse 21: “And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD…”
That’s the worst part. Not the sickness. Not the loss of leadership. Not the isolation. It’s that he was cut off from the house of the LORD.
He couldn’t go into God’s presence anymore. He lost fellowship. And that’s what pride always does. It cuts the heart off from God, little by little.
1 John 1:6 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.”
Lessons We Can’t Miss
Here’s what I see from this:
1. You need spiritual people around you (verse 5). If you get rid of them or stop listening, you’ll fall.
2. Pride usually hits when things are going well (verse 16). You think you’ve got it all figured out.
3. Pride makes you unteachable (verse 18). You stop taking correction.
4. Pride will leave scars (verse 19). God will deal with it.
5. Pride cuts you off from God (verse 21). Not always physically, but spiritually.
Uzziah is also called “Azariah” in 2 Kings. Same guy. His name means “The Lord is my help.” That’s ironic, isn’t it? The one who was helped by the Lord forgot the Lord was his help.
Also, when Uzziah died, that’s when Isaiah saw the Lord in Isaiah 6. It says:
“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord…” (Isaiah 6:1)
Sometimes a man has to fall for the real King to be seen clearly.
Uzziah started strong. He sought the Lord. He listened to a man of God. He built, he fought, he led, and he prospered.
But then pride crept in.
And it cost him everything that mattered.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
“Who… humbled himself…” (Philippians 2:5, 8)
The only way to avoid Uzziah’s end is to start every day humbling ourselves before the Lord. Stay teachable. Stay surrounded by godly people. And stay near to the One who truly prospers.
