King Uzziah (3)—Marvelously Helped - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2024

And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.
2 Chronicles 26:15

King Uzziah (3)—Marvelously Helped
Uzziah had greatly strengthened the nation's military capability. Bible scholars inform us that this period in Israel was a time of both military power and economic prosperity. As a result, Uzziah's "fame spread far and wide" (cf. vv. 6-8, 15). Jehovah had done this for the nation, no doubt as a direct result of Uzziah's early days when he "did what was right in the sight of the Lord" and when he had "sought God" (vv. 4-5).

The Bible, always providing a faithful account not only of the victories of God's people but also of their sins and failures, records that Uzziah "was marvelously helped till he became strong." Who was he helped by? Clearly he had been helped by God. Sadly, he was helped "until he became strong." Strength is not what we need but rather a consciousness of our weakness: "For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor. 12:10). There seems to be a direct correlation with the help Uzziah received from God coming to an end, and his loss of the sense of his own weakness. It is a solemn development in the life of one who had much potential and started his course under the godly influence of Zechariah and the prosperous blessing of God (v. 5)!

This newfound strength did nothing for Uzziah except make him proud: "But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction" (v. 16). Pride always leads to destruction (Prov. 16:18). In the case of Uzziah, he attempted to usurp the office of the priesthood, which was forbidden to him, and he was smitten with leprosy until his death (vv. 16-21). Pride and disobedience lead to disastrous results. Let us heed the lesson.

Brian Reynolds