SEEKING TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT “IN THE EYES OF GOD”

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen
years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.
(2 Chronicles 26:1)

MEDITATION:
When we read the bible, we can learn a lot from King Uzziah. He was
sixteen years old when he became king (succeeding the reign of his
father, Amaziah when he died). His father, Amaziah, did what was right
in the “eyes of God” (which means his decisions were probably not made
based on any popular ideas or desires from other people).

When Uzziah became king, he also sought was right in “the eyes of God”
(just like his father did). This shows the influence fathers can have on their
children. Granted, some children will choose to go in a different direction,
but those who love their fathers will have a desire to be like them.

Uzziah had a good friend and mentor named Zechariah who taught him a
lot about the fear of God. This must have encouraged Uzziah to pursue the
things that pleased God (in the same way his father did).

As long as he continued to seek the Lord, God gave Uzziah success in all
that he did. Why would God do that? Because He wants the best for those
who diligently seek Him.

Some of the ways God helped Uzziah:
    – He rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah.
    – He tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod.
    – He rebuilt towns near Ashdod and other places.
    – He had victories over the Philistines,
      the Arabs (living in Gur Baal), and the Meunites.
    – He built towers in Jerusalem and fortified them for protection.
    – He built towers in the wilderness
      and dug many cisterns for collecting rainwater for the animals.
    – He had many livestock in the hills and the fertile lands.
    – He loved farming and appreciated the crops they would create.
    – He developed a well-trained army who was ready for wars:
          – His army consisted of 2600 leaders and 307,500 fighting
            men to support the king in defending against any enemies;
          – Uzziah equipped his army with shields, spears,
            helmets, coats of armor, bows, and slingshots.
    – He developed many devices which could be used in the
      towers to defend against any attacks from others.

Uzziah’s fame had spread far and wide and the people supported
him. But then, things began to change for Uzziah. After his fame
spread and his popularity increased, he became prideful.
God hates egotistical pride:
    Proverbs 16:18, Isaiah 13:11, Daniel 5:20, Amos 6

Uzziah’s pride caused him to become unfaithful to God (the One who
gave him the successes in his life). As a result of his pride, he entered
the temple of the Lord to burn incense. The high priest, Azariah,
and eighty other priests followed him as he entered the temple and
courageously warned the king that it was not right for him to burn
incense to the Lord.

Why was burning incense such a big deal? Because God had
consecrated the descendants of Jacob as the ones designated
to burn incense to the Lord.

Additionally, the priests advised him to leave the sanctuary
immediately because he was being unfaithful to God, and as
a result of his sinful act, the Lord would not accept his incense.

Full of pride, Uzziah became angry with them for telling him he
could not do what he wanted to do. This resulted in the downfall
of Uzziah as God reacted to his selfishness and defiance of His
guidelines. While he was raging at those who were trying to
warn him, he was stricken with leprosy.

When the priests saw what was happening they rushed him out of
the sanctuary because they could see God’s wrath being unleashed
on Uzziah, and they knew that if he didn’t leave he would probably
die there in the Temple due to his rebellious actions. Since Uzziah
realized his leprosy was from God’s wrath for his sin, he was eager
to leave the Temple and did not resist as the priests rushed him out
of the Temple.

For the rest of his life, Uzziah did not live as a king in the finest
facilities with the luxury of many servants and a strong army.
Instead, he lived in a separate house and was banned from the
Temple forever. Since he could not rule as king, his son Jotham
was given full charge of the palace and governed the people of
the land. Upon his death, Jotham replaced Uzziah as the new king.

We can see that as long as Uzziah sought to “do what was right in
the eyes of God”, he lived a good and successful life. But when pride
entered his life, he no longer sought to do what pleased the Lord,
but instead chose to do what pleased himself, and as a result he lost
everything and died a miserable death separated from others and
banned from the Temple.

ACTION:
God does not show favoritism, so we need to understand that what
happened to Uzziah (both good and bad) can happen to us as well.
If we “seek to do what is right in the eyes of God”, then we can
anticipate His blessings.

However, if we stop “seeking to do what is right in His eyes”, then just
like Uzziah, pride will creep into our lives, and when that happens, we
can expect to become rebellious and selfish. When we shift our focus
from pleasing our Heavenly Father to pleasing ourselves, we will begin
to violate His commands and become the object of His wrath.
    In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
    in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
    (Psalm 10:4)

In addition, we can see how our lives as parents, can have an influence
on the lives of our children. We can make all kinds of claims through
our words, but our children can see past them and understand who
we really are and the true desires we have.

We see that Uzziah initially followed in the footsteps of his father,
but he allowed arrogant pride to invade his thoughts and changed
his direction (and he experienced the tragic results of his choices).
It should cause us to take a look at our own actions and determine
the impact we are having on our own children.

We should not forget that our influence continues even when our
children have become adults. They may make choices that are not
in their best interest, but it should not cause us to change our own
focus in order to gain their favor. We have to continue “seeking
to do what is right in the eyes of God”, and not what is right in
the eyes of mankind (including our own family members).

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, help me to learn from Your Word how
my choices not only affect my life, but also the life of my
children. I pray that You will help me to keep my focus on
doing what pleases You. Thank You for showing me in the
life of Uzziah the consequences of allowing arrogant pride
to enter my life, and how it can cause me to stop seeking
what is right in Your eyes. Help me to use the valuable
spiritual gifts You have given me, in the way You want
me to use them to serve You and point others to Jesus.”

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