What Is Uzziah\'s Worldview in 2 Kings 15?

Uzziah

King Uzziah (Azariah) reigned for more than fifty years. He ascended to the throne at age sixteen. His life is described in 2 Kings 15:1-7. Uzziah was the son of Jecoliah of Jerusalem and Amaziah, who was the King of Judah. It was the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam. Uzziah's worldview was shaped by that of his father. "He did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done," (2 Kings 15:3). Uzziah practiced in accordance with the law, burning incense and making the appropriate sacrifices. However, the Lord afflicted King Uzziah with leprosy. He was henceforth made to sleep in a separate house to avoid contaminating others. During this time, Uzziah's son Jotham would reign in public "judging the people of the land," (2 Kings 15:5). When King Uzziah finally died, he was buried in the same place as his fathers in Jerusalem. Jotham remained King.

In addition to his brief synopsis in 2 Kings, the Book of Chronicles also details the life and times of King Uzziah. In 2 Chronicles 26, a similar synopsis of the life of King Uzziah is given. Before the King had leprosy, his worldview was primarily shaped by that of his father. Uzziah was raised to be King and therefore his worldview was that of someone destined to be powerful. When he ascended to the throne at the young age of sixteen, Uzziah would have not known any differently than to be King. Unfortunately, though, Uzziah's father was an insufficient role model for someone who would serve under the Lord. In spite of this, Uzziah was able to "do right in the sight of the Lord," taking all the good he learned from his father to apply it to his leadership (2 Chronicles 26:4).

One of the first military campaigns that King Uzziah undertook also shaped the young King's worldview. He "warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities in the area of Ashdod and among the Philistines," (2 Chronicles 26:6). During this military campaign, God clearly helped him, and at this point, Uzziah acted in accordance with the will of the Lord (2 Chronicles 26:7). King Uzziah believed that he could make Jerusalem and his entire kingdom more strong and powerful, and he did. "his fame spread afar, for he was marvelously helped until he was strong," (2 Chronicles 26:15). The power enhanced Uzziah's worldview.

Like most tragic heros, however, King Uzziah suffered from the sin of pride. Believing himself to be so great that he could take the place of the High Priests, Uzziah stepped right up to the temple and started to burn incense in the alter of incensed, where he was forbidden to go. "But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the Lord his God, for he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense," (2 Chronicles 26:16). Believing overly much in his own power and glory, King Uzziah developed a dysfunctional worldview with himself, rather than God, at the center. God gave the King leprosy as a result, teaching him who was boss.