Return to Prosperity 2 Chronicles 26:1-23

So far, we’ve taken looks at three kings… Solomon, Asa, and then last week Jehoshaphat. And now this week, a fourth king, Uzziah. • If Solomon was the king who built the wealth, and Asa and Jehoshaphat the ones who secured the borders, Uzziah is the king who really gets to enjoy the wealth.

Under Uzziah’s reign Judah reaches enormous levels of wealth and prosperity…almost like nothing seen before.

So I’ve been praying that as we look at these words…at this man Uzziah…that his life will give us some helpful lessons in what real prosperity looks like, and how to get it. But, it’s one thing to be prosperous…another thing entirely to KEEP it.

Uzziah is the king, the man, at a time when it was sweet to be a king. He’s the one who really enjoys the prosperity…but, the prosperity is going to burn him to the ground.

And there are lessons for us, that warn us…and ones that encourage. [PAUSE] But we’ll get to that in a second…

Let’s look at this story, and let’s see more. 2 Chronicles 26:1… And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 2 He built Eloth and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers. 3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. 4 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.

Ok, so this is introductory stuff…let me explain a bit… Uzziah, is made king at 16 years old after his father, Amaziah dies…normal succession stuff… But what is exceptional, for any king, is that he would reign for 52 years!

A couple more things are helpful to see… Mention of the city Eloth in v2. That’s a port city on the gulf of Aqaba – why is that important? Port city – means water – means ships – means trade – wait for it…means $$$$$ Translation: Uzziah is taking the nation UP!

See this also…more importantly… v5… He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper. Zechariah (not the guy who wrote the book of the Bible…someone else, same name) instructs him in the fear of the Lord…which is a good thing…because he’s just eligible for his G2! Any 16-years old here? Wow, right?! I’m sure most 10th graders can do a great job as a king…maturity is rock solid in place. But just in case, he’s got help. BTW. How amazing to be raised this way…in the fear of the Lord…what a starting place…

But notice…this results in Uzziah seeking the Lord…and this terrific statement: as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper That last word…v5…prosper…you wanna hear something neat about that word? In the Hebrew, it carries with it the idea of forced entry. In other words, any would-be obstacles in Uzziah’s path to success, the LORD would kick down the doors. The Lord is battering down the walls of any opposition to his man, Uzziah.

Modern day battering rams are small [SLIDE]…

The hand of the Lord with you…now that’s some kind of Prosperity… Here’s the first point of today’s message: When it comes to prosperity, we must remember… 1. Prosperity comes from the Lord (v6-15) The Lord chooses to blow down any walls that stood in Uzziah’s way… Let’s look the next few verses and see what the Lord does…v6 6 [Uzziah] went out and made war against the Philistines and broke through the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities in the territory of Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. 7 God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in Gurbaal and against the Meunites. 8 The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread even to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong. I won’t do the map thing for you this time, but that’s South, West, and Eastern borders… Battles…border security…we are safe…and we will be safe… 9 Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate and at the Valley Gate and at the Angle, and fortified them. Those are battlements, defensive measures…Now that we’re secured, let’s develop! 10 And he built towers in the wilderness and cut out many cisterns, for he had large herds, both in the Shephelah and in the plain, and he had farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil. Now my people will be safe, and fed well…now let’s raise an army… 11 Moreover, Uzziah had an army of soldiers, fit for war…v1212 The whole number of the heads of fathers' houses of mighty men of valor was 2,600. 13 Under their command was an army of 307,500, who could make war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. Manpower in place, now we need weapons… 14 And Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and stones for slinging. 15 In Jerusalem he made machines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and great stones. Maybe even battering rams… Uzziah has developed the nation into a dangerous, and prosperous country. And his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong.

That’s a success story. That’s a story of prosperity. Everything you need:

 Wars won,  Battlements built,  Agricultural development,  Armies raised,  Weapons tech.

Bookending this success story…YOU SAW IT… …God made him prosper (v5) …for he was marvelously helped… (v15)

This is why you succeeded, Uzziah. This is why you’re strong, Uzziah. This is why you are prosperous, Uzziah…because the LORD kicked down the doors for you. Uzziah had all that he had, because of Someone else’s effort. In some ways we see this rather obviously in the world around us… It’s a very different thing to be born into wealth, and actually earn the wealth. Sometimes the family is blind to how good they have it, because they’ve nothing else. They were born on 3rd base, and sometimes they brag like they hit a triple.

They have all that they have, because of Someone else’s effort. But once we add the Lord to the picture, this blindness becomes true of us all. What do you have today? What’s in your life now? Wealth, health, family, career, home, cars, investments, clothing, skills, brains…a heart that is actually beating.

Can I ask you this question? Name 1 good thing you have that wasn’t given to you by God? Here’s what I came up with…on the screen for you [NO SLIDE, BLACK SCREEN] I know how this works though: • But I worked hard for what I have! I went through school, I put the investment, I made the risks, I worked the late hours… • I lifted the weight… I was dedicated when other weren’t… I figured it out, when others didn’t. • I was disciplined…I get some credit, right?

BUT …but how did you have the strength? How did you have the mind? Did you choose to be born where you were born? And when you were born? Did you choose to have the brains you have, the height you have, the muscle density you have, the gender you have, the skin color, the culture, the parents you have? Who beat your heart, and filled your lungs, while you used the body you didn’t make, with the mind you didn’t design, in the country you didn’t choose? WHO THEN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR PROSPERITY? WHO THEN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE? The apostle Paul hits this truth to the rich, cosmopolitan Corinthians…[SLIDE] What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? (1 Cor. 4:7)

Understand this, Prosperity comes from the Lord. If there’s boasting, it belongs to the Lord.

Earlier in the Old Testament, even before the ransomed Israelites from Egypt put their first sandal into the Promised Land, the Lord warns them… The Lord, who smashes the global superpower of the day, who plunders Egypt and delivers his once enslaved people, by the singular power of his hands…he warns his people…that time will pass…and they may forget all he’s done for them… [SLIDE] "Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17 Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' (Deut. 8:11-17) The Lord says to them, “Do not forget, that your prosperity comes from ME!” “I am the source…don’t think for a second that where you are is anything but because of my kindness and generosity to you.” “DO NOT THINK THAT IT’S BECAUSE OF YOU.”

But they forgot. Just like Uzziah forgot. Just like We forget.

2 Chronicles 26:16… [SLOWLY]16 But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. Uzziah became strong. Life was going really well. And then his heart started to lie to him. His heart told him that he, Uzziah, was the reason why he was so successful. Literally, his heart became high…He looked out at what he had done… He had won the wars, he had built the battlements, he built the army, and grew the crops. He had the cars, the cottage, the money, the success. He had the followers, he had the fans, He had the fame of nations. He had all the honor that could be given… But it wasn’t enough. He wanted more… But he would lose the most important thing, he could lose. Look what he did v16… Watch where his heart takes him… For he was unfaithful to the LORD his God and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. Wait what? To our eyes, this looks like the king walked into the temple and turned on the aromatherapy machine. What’s the big deal?

The offering of “incense” was explicitly a priestly role. This is not in a King’s job description. The incense symbolized the appeasing of divine wrath and justice and symbolized his presence.

On rare occasions, Kings may make provision for such offerings, but taking on a priestly role was forbidden, and not the way to gain “honor from the Lord God.”

In fact, the Old Testament was filled with occasions, where the offering of sacrifices was treated with disrespect with disastrous consequences!! Stories Uzziah would have grown up with! Think Saul, or the Sons of Korah, or Aaron’s sons, or Eli’s children…

But here’s Uzziah, thinking he can do whatever he wants! With all he’s accomplished, it’s not enough. He wants more. He’s treating the sacred with profanity, he’s making what’s holy into something common. He’s doing what he wants to do regardless of what God has said. MORE, MORE, MORE, MORE… His pride leads him to destruction…(Pr 16:18) The priests understand the gravity of what’s going on…and they rush to stop this! They rush to stop the king…v17… 17 But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the LORD who were men of valor, 18 and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the LORD God." These brave priests stand against the man…THE MAN of the nation… The man who can do anything is being told he can’t do something… Confronted, Uzziah has a decision to make: get out, or get mad. He chooses poorly. v19… 19 Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the LORD, by the altar of incense. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and [Uzziah] himself hurried to go out, because the LORD had struck him. Immediately he’s judged. Immediately leprosy appears on his forehead. No denying you’ve got it. It’s right there in the center of your face. A sign of judgment…to everyone for the rest of his life. It startles the priests, and the king, and they all run out. This is a panicked fleeing from the scene. Like a lightning bolt on a soccer field, it’s a wakeup call, and they run because they know it can get much worse.

Now watch this…for all his prosperity…for everything he’s accomplished… The man who wanted MORE, MORE, MORE… the Bible tells us that now Uzziah has lost the greatest thing he had…v21… 21 And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the LORD. And Jotham his son was over the king's household, governing the people of the land.

v21 records three losses, 1. He lost his house. He had to live alone. 2. He lost his position. Now his son Jotham becomes the public figure of the monarchy… And worst of all… 3. He lost access to the presence of the Lord in his life.

Still got the borders, the troops, the money, the weapons… but he’s lost access to the presence of the LORD. He’s lost the real prosperity in his life. And this is the second thing I’ll say… When it comes to prosperity, we must remember… 2. The LORD, Himself, is the Highest Treasure (v16-20) Uzziah’s pride took hold. His heart was lifted high. All the accomplishments, all the battles won, all the wealth, all the power…everything that God had broken down doors for the king to receive…all the prosperity…Uzziah takes and says, LOOK AT WHAT I’VE DONE!

All of that leads his heart to forget the Lord.

Does your first name have a meaning? Uzziah’s name meant, The Lord is my strength. But he didn’t believe that anymore. He believed that Uzziah is Uzziah’s strength.

And in a moment, he became one of the poorest men in his great kingdom.

Here’s the thing though…Uzziah knew what he lost. We don’t have much of the story, but we know he fled when the leprosy appeared…Lesson learned! And there’s good indication to believe there was repentance. The writer assesses his life as one of the good kings in the end, after all. Uzziah knew what he lost.

Here's my fear: That we may be in the same place, but unlike Uzziah…we don’t realize it. They’re lepers distanced from the presence of God, and they don’t even know it!

With hearts lifted up. Taking credit for what was given to us. Never satisfied, hearts are wanting more, more, more. And not knowing that we are living impoverished lives… • Prayer life is weak, and ineffectual…is God even there? • Time in the Word is nil…just opening it on Sundays…if even. • No community with other believers…no thanksgiving or worship to God… • No real joy…or peace…or stillness…lots of anxiety…lots of anger You could be a leper separated from the presence of God…and not even know it. [PAUSE]…Hold on a second…because there’s so much hope for you today if that’s you… Slowly realizing that there’s leprosy on your forehead… So much hope… Let me summarize what we’ve seen so far… Here’s some truth from Uzziah’s life for you: [SLIDE] 1. Everything you have comes from God. Stop taking credit for gifts you were given. a. Stop taking credit for the money you have, the home you have, the children you have, the brain you have, the body you have…GIFTS!!!!! Who opens up a gift on their birthday, and thanks themselves for the gift? “Aren’t I awesome!” Thankfulness is the only response that’s appropriate…thankfulness 2. You could have millions, and miss it all. You could be a leper…and not even know it.

Locked out from the presence of God. Still wealthy, still powerful, but without the greatest treasure.

Uzziah’s pride led him to reach beyond his role as king, to lay hold of the priesthood also. But that’s now how it works. Uzziah couldn’t be king, and priest. There was only One who would fill that role.

And here’s the good news for you…Quick story Mark 1 [SLIDE] And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, "I will; be clean." 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. (Mk. 1:40-42)

Listen, there is grace for you today IN JESUS. Grace for you who have left the greatest treasure to be found. Grace for those who’ve never found it. There is grace for the one who is seeking true prosperity! Not the money and the stuff this world offers…that’s not prosperity…real prosperity, real wealth, because your heart is set upon the Lord. Your treasure is the Lord.

If you come to him, implore him, confess your sins to him… God I’ve lifted my heart high…I’ve forgotten you…my thankless heart is ruining me…my pride is destroying me…I am far from you…please God help me… If you come to Jesus… even now…There is grace. The hands of a savior to touch you and make you clean.

Not just for you who are coming for the very first time…but for you who know this, who know better…God is calling you to RETURN TO REAL PROSPERITY. 3. You don’t have to have a penny to your name to be the wealthiest person in this world. a. If you have the Lord…and by that I mean…IF THE LORD IS THE GREATEST TREASURE OF YOUR LIFE…you have more than all the kings of this world. b. Because your delight is in the Lord, you can seek him, and he meets your needs…and even greater…LISTEN… You will understand, more than others, that your God will supply every need according to his riches…and so you seek him. You see…prosperity isn’t about how much you have…it’s about who you have. When the Lord is all you have…you come to the beautiful truth that the Lord is all you need. You don’t have to have a penny to your name to be the wealthiest person in this world

Let’s pray… For the searching heart…there’s nothing better than you!