Uzziah
[Read 2 Chronicles 26:1-23]
As long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.
We don’t hear much about Uzziah. When we do, it’s usually in that part of Isaiah in which he describes his theophany and which starts out, “In the year that King Uzziah died…” This section from 2 Chronicles tells a bit more about him: that he became king at the age of 16, that he reigned for 52 years and that his reign was considered second only to that of King Solomon. It was characterized by conquest, but also by building and by advances in agriculture. It was a prosperous time. The name Uzziah means “Yahweh is my strength”. But, according to the text, Uzziah forgot that and his successes led to pride which led to overreaching which led to his downfall. He was afflicted with leprosy and had to leave the throne. That is an all-too-human temptation. We need to remember that God is our strength; we accomplish nothing on our own.
Uzziah was also an ancestor of Jesus, listed in the genealogy of Matthew. Even the most committed Bible readers are often tempted to skip those genealogies, but for earlier people, those lists anchored their identity and their place in history. In Matthew’s case, it reminded readers of their Messianic hope and helped them keep sight of God’s project of promised redemption. Certainly those genealogies reminded readers that God was always present and working in history. That reminder is just as necessary today as it was when Matthew was writing.
The Rev. Barbara Sajna
St. Luke’s Episcopal – Sister Bay
As long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.
We don’t hear much about Uzziah. When we do, it’s usually in that part of Isaiah in which he describes his theophany and which starts out, “In the year that King Uzziah died…” This section from 2 Chronicles tells a bit more about him: that he became king at the age of 16, that he reigned for 52 years and that his reign was considered second only to that of King Solomon. It was characterized by conquest, but also by building and by advances in agriculture. It was a prosperous time. The name Uzziah means “Yahweh is my strength”. But, according to the text, Uzziah forgot that and his successes led to pride which led to overreaching which led to his downfall. He was afflicted with leprosy and had to leave the throne. That is an all-too-human temptation. We need to remember that God is our strength; we accomplish nothing on our own.
Uzziah was also an ancestor of Jesus, listed in the genealogy of Matthew. Even the most committed Bible readers are often tempted to skip those genealogies, but for earlier people, those lists anchored their identity and their place in history. In Matthew’s case, it reminded readers of their Messianic hope and helped them keep sight of God’s project of promised redemption. Certainly those genealogies reminded readers that God was always present and working in history. That reminder is just as necessary today as it was when Matthew was writing.
The Rev. Barbara Sajna
St. Luke’s Episcopal – Sister Bay
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