Last week I was reading in 2 Chronicles about a time when King Uzziah decided to burn incense to the Lord. He went into the temple and we are told that the priest with 80 other courageous priests followed him in and confronted him. They informed Uzziah that only priests, descendants of Aaron, were to burn incense to the Lord. Uzziah was full of pride and began to argue with them. God struck him with leprosy which he had for the rest of his life.
On the surface this looks like a drastic measure. After all isn't burning incense a form of worship? Why should Uzziah be denied that right? But in reading the passage there are 3 things that stand out. First and foremost we are told that Uzziah's pride led to his downfall. This tells me that he wanted to perform duties that God had established for someone else. He wanted to be in a role outside of the one that God had established for him as king. It seems like a harmless thing - maybe even a good thing - but it wasn't what God had in mind for him. And his motivation for this was not to honor God, but to exalt himself.
Second it shows me that God does have a plan and a role that he establishes for different people. In this case it was based on lineage, but it can also be based on other "arbitrary" things such as gender. Does this devalue a person? No, in some ways it emphasizes each persons value because we do have a role that is unique to us. Do I understand all of this always? No, but my faith that God knows what is best leads me into acceptance. Bottom line is that I need to constantly, with humility be open to do whatever God has in mind for me to do. Scary and comforting at the same time, isn't it
Third, it indicates that it takes courage to speak out when people are going against God's plan. I can really relate to this one. In our day and age we like to bend to society. It's often hard to speak out against the little things that creep in. I don't want to be legalistic or drive someone away. These are valid concerns. But the overriding concern should always be God's Word. After all that's who we are here to please, not ourselves. Which gets back to the pride issue. Amazing, isn't it?
On the surface this looks like a drastic measure. After all isn't burning incense a form of worship? Why should Uzziah be denied that right? But in reading the passage there are 3 things that stand out. First and foremost we are told that Uzziah's pride led to his downfall. This tells me that he wanted to perform duties that God had established for someone else. He wanted to be in a role outside of the one that God had established for him as king. It seems like a harmless thing - maybe even a good thing - but it wasn't what God had in mind for him. And his motivation for this was not to honor God, but to exalt himself.
Second it shows me that God does have a plan and a role that he establishes for different people. In this case it was based on lineage, but it can also be based on other "arbitrary" things such as gender. Does this devalue a person? No, in some ways it emphasizes each persons value because we do have a role that is unique to us. Do I understand all of this always? No, but my faith that God knows what is best leads me into acceptance. Bottom line is that I need to constantly, with humility be open to do whatever God has in mind for me to do. Scary and comforting at the same time, isn't it
Third, it indicates that it takes courage to speak out when people are going against God's plan. I can really relate to this one. In our day and age we like to bend to society. It's often hard to speak out against the little things that creep in. I don't want to be legalistic or drive someone away. These are valid concerns. But the overriding concern should always be God's Word. After all that's who we are here to please, not ourselves. Which gets back to the pride issue. Amazing, isn't it?
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