A PROMISING RULER. (2Ch_25Verses 4, 5.)
1. A worshipper of Jehovah. "He did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his father Amaziah had done," i.e. until he declined into idolatry (2Ch_25:14). "He was a good man, and by nature righteous and magnanimous, and very laborious in taking care of the affairs of his kingdom" (Josephus, ’Ant.,’ 9.10. 3); but his devotion to religion, while sincere, was, like his father’s, imperfect (2Ch_25:2). "The high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places" (2Ki_15:4). See the confirmation of this in the minor prophets (Hos_8:14; Hos_12:2; Amo_2:4).
2. A seeker after God. "And he sought God."
(1) How? By observing his worship, keeping his commandments, honouring his prophets, and studying his Law—the only true way of seeking God still.
(2) When? In the days of Zechariah, "who had understanding," or "gave instruction", "in the vision of God." Nobler distinction than the former, better employment than the latter, can no man have.
(3) How long? Until Zechariah died, after which his fervour declined, the remembrance of his teacher faded, his devotion to Jehovah and the true religion diminished. So Joash behaved wisely and religiously while Jehoiada lived (2Ch_24:17). Human goodness too often short-lived (Hos_6:4).
(4) With what result? Prosperity, which kept pace with his piety. "As long as he sought Jehovah, Elohim made him to prosper" (verse 5)—a remarkable combination of words, which perhaps teaches that, whilst prosperity or success is from God, the Supreme Being as such, it is never conferred upon good men except on the ground that they are worshippers of him as the covenant God of grace and salvation.
3. A pupil of Zechariah. "Zechariah had understanding," and perhaps gave him instruction "in the vision [or, ’seeing’] of God." That this Zechariah was neither the priest whom Joash slew (2Ch_24:20), nor the prophet who lived in the second year of Darius (Zec_1:1), is apparent. That he possessed that special gift or capacity of beholding God in vision which pertained to the prophetic calling cannot be inferred from the Chronicler’s statement, "since this beholding of God, of which the prophets were conscious only in moments of highest inspiration, cannot be thought of as a work of human activity and exercise" (Berthcau). Most probably he was one who, like Daniel (Dan_1:17), "had understanding in all visions and dreams," and who acted as Uzziah’s counsellor and teacher.
III. A BRILLIANT WARRIOR. (Verses 2, 6, 7, 8.)
1. The fortification of Eloth. (Verse 2.) His father’s conquest of Edom (2Ch_25:11, 2Ch_25:12) had either not been pushed as far as this important harbour-town upon the Red Sea (see on 2Ch_8:17), or the town, though taken, had been given up and not annexed to Judah in consequence of Joash’s defeat of Amaziah (2Ch_25:23). On attaining to the throne, Uzziah rectified his father’s oversight by capturing the town, erecting it into a fortress, and restoring it to Judah. Without it Edom was of little consequence to Judah. This exploit, which happened in the early part of Uzziah’s reign, was probably that from which he derived his name Azariah (2Ki_14:21, 2Ki_14:22); while its introduction at this stage in the narrative, before the chronological statement which follows it (verse 3), may have been due to a desire on the part of the Chronicler to introduce Uzziah to his readers as the well-known monarch who had conquered, recovered, and fortified Eloth (Berthcau).
2. The war against the Philistines and Arabians. (Verses 6, 7.) These had together invaded Judah upwards of eighty years previously (2Ch_21:16), and Uzziah may have purposed to inflict upon them chastisement for that aggression (Keil); but the assumption is as rational that Uzziah either dreaded or experienced a combination against himself similar to that which had assailed Jehoram, and that, either (in the former case) taking time by the forelock, he fell upon his enemies ere they could strike at him, or (in the latter case), meeting the emergency with courage, he repelled the attacks they made upon him. His success in dealing with the Philistines was complete. He broke down the walls of Gath (see on 2Ch_11:8), which, formerly taken from the Philistines by David (1Ch_18:1), had latterly been recovered, most likely in the reign of Jehoram; the wall of Jabneh, here mentioned for the first time, but probably the town in Judah named Jabneel in the days of the conquest (Jos_15:11), Jamnia in the period of the. Maccabees, at the present day Jabneh, eighteen miles north-west of Gath, "situated on a slight eminence on the west bank of the valley of Sorek (Wddy es Surar), about four miles from the sea coast" (Warren, in ’Picturesque Palestine,’ 3:161); and the wall of Ashdod, one of the principal cities of the Philistines (1Sa_5:1), and now a village called Esdud, after which he erected cities in the domain of Ashdod and in other parts of Philistia. In like manner, he was entirely victorious over the Arabians in (Gur-baal—not the city Petra (LXX.), but perhaps the town of Gerar (Targum)—and the Meunims, who dwelt in Mann (1Ch_4:41).
3. The submission of the Ammonites. These, whose settlements lay east of the Dead Sea, and who, in Jehoshaphat’s time, had come up against Judah (2Ch_20:1), were now so reduced that they rendered tribute to Judah, as the Moabites did under David (2Sa_8:2), and the Philistines and Arabians under Jehoshaphat (2Ch_17:11).
4. The extension of his fame to Egypt. Not merely the report of his splendid victories travelled so far as the land of the Pharaohs, but the boundaries of his empire reached to its vicinity. An inscription of Tiglath-Pileser II. shows that the northern people of Hamath attempted to free themselves from the Assyrian yoke by going over to Azariah.
IV. A GREAT BUILDER. (Verses 9, 10.) In addition to the fortress at Eloth and the cities in Philistia, he erected towers.
1. In Jerusalem.
(1) At the corner-gate, i.e. at the north-west corner of the city (2Ch_25:23).
(2) At the valley-gate, i.e. on the west side, where the Jaffa gate now is.
(3) At the turning of the wall, i.e. at a curve in the city wall on the east side of Zion, near the horse-gate. This tower commanded both the temple hill and Zion against attacks from the south-east.
2. In the desert, or wilderness. The place was "the steppe-lands on the west side of the Dead Sea" (Keil); the object, the protection of his flocks and shepherds against attacks from robber-bands, whether of Edomites or Arabians.
V. AN ENTHUSIASTIC HUSBANDMAN. (Verse 10.)
1. An extensive cattle-breeder. He had much cattle in the re,on just mentioned, in the lowland between the mountains of Judaea and the Mediterranean, and in the fiat district on the east of the Dead Sea, from Arnon to near Heshbon in the north. For the use of these animals he hewed cisterns in each of these localities.
2. An ardent agriculturist. He kept farmers and vine-dressers upon the mountains and in the fruitful fields. "He took care to cultivate the ground. He planted it with all sorts of plants, and sowed it with all sorts of seeds" (Josephus).
VI. AN ABLE GENERAL. (Verses 11-15.)
1. He organized the army.
(1) The number of fighting men was reckoned up by Hananiah, one of the king’s captains, assisted by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the steward, two officials practised in writing and the making up of lists. The total force, according to their estimation, was 307,500 (370,000, Josephus)able-bodied and thoroughly disciplined troops, with 2600 heads of fathers’ houses, mighty men of valour, who acted as superior officers or divisional commanders.
(2) The entire host was arranged into bands, detachments, or army corps, each father’s house, perhaps, composing a regiment, and a group of these a battalion.
(3) Whether these army corps served in rotation (Jamieson) is not stated.
2. He armed the soldiers. For all the host he prepared the necessary weapons for offensive and defensive warfare—for the first, spears, bows, and slings; for the second, shields, helmets, and coats of mail; or perhaps, for the heavy-armed troops, shields, spears, and helmets; and for the light infantry, bows and sling-stones. The mention of "sling-stones," it has been thought (Bertheau), was intended to indicate the completeness of his preparations, as in the late France-German war Marshal Leboeuf declared the French army to be ready for the projected campaign down to the "shoe-buckle." Besides furnishing each soldier with a set of weapons, Uzziah collected a store of such "that he might have them in readiness to put into the hands of his subjects on any exigency" (A. Clarke)
3. He fortified the capital This, which Joash of Israel (2Ch_25:23) had weakened, he strengthened by placing on the towers and battlements of its walls ingenious machines—"engines invented by cunning men"—to shoot arrows and great stones withal, like the catapultae and ballistae of the Romans.
LESSONS.
1. The beneficial influence of parental piety—it tends to reproduce itself in the children.
2. The true Source of all prosperity, whether temporal or spiritual—God.
3. The necessary condition of all permanent prosperity for individuals or communities—religion, seeking God.
4. The unspeakable advantage to kings and subjects of having as their counsellors men who have understanding in the visions of God.
5. The obvious wisdom of sovereigns and their people devoting attention to the cultivation of the soft.
6. The lawfulness, in nations as in individuals, of taking due pre- cautions for safety.—W.
2Ch_26:16-23
Uzziah the leprous.
I. UZZIAH’S TRANSGRESSION.
Pride. "His heart was lifted up." This the inevitable tendency of too much material and temporal prosperity (Deu_8:13, Deu_8:14). Exemplified in Amaziah (2Ch_25:18, 2Ch_25:19; 2Ki_14:9), Sennacherib (2Ch_32:31; 2Ki_18:19-35), Nebuchadnezzar (Dan_4:30-34; Dan_5:20).
(2) Ignorance. He perceived not that his heart was being lifted up "to his destruction." Had he foreseen the consequences of his rash act, he might have paused. But questions of right and wrong must be determined without regard to temporal results. Only none need remain in ignorance of this, that the path of holiness is the path of safety (Pro_3:17), whatever be its external issues; and that the way of disobedience, however promising to appearance, is and must be the way of peril and doom (Pro_4:19).
2. The nature of it. "He went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense," i.e. he took upon himself the priestly function of ministering before Jehovah in the holy place. Whether in doing so he conceived himself to be following in the steps of David and Solomon (Thenius, Ewald, Stanley) may be doubted. It is not clear that either of these sovereigns ever offered incense in the sanctuary proper, though they frequently officiated at the offering of sacrifices in the outer court on the occasion of religious festivals (Bertheau, Keil, Bahr). More likely is the view that Uzziah desired to ape the potentates of the world generally, as e.g. those of Egypt, who, as supreme priests (pontifices maximi), with other priests to aid them, conducted temple-worship in honour of the gods. In any case, what he did expressly violated the Divine Law, which reserved the privilege of entering the holy place and ministering therein exclusively for the priests (Exo_30:7, Exo_30:8; Le Exo_16:2, Exo_16:12, Exo_16:13; Num_18:1-10). The statement of Josephus (’Ant.,’ 9.10. 4) may well be authentic, that the occasion which tempted Uzziah to forget himself was the celebration of some high national festival.
3. The aggravations of it. He committed this offence:
(1) When he was strong; when his empire was at the height of its splendour, and himself at the top of his fame; when his kingly magnificence was in full bloom, and his regal heart had everything it could desire—in short, when he ought to have been supremely contented and happy, without aspiring after more.
(2) Against that God through whose assistance he had climbed to the pedestal of earthly renown on which he stood, thereby furnishing a proof of monstrous ingratitude quite on a level with that of his father Amaziah (2Ch_25:14).
(3) In spite of the remonstrance of Azariah the priest and eighty colleagues, who, going into the sanctuary after him, courageously reminded him of the heinous character of his proposed action, as an invasion of the province Jehovah had set apart for the Aaronic priesthood, fearlessly commanded him to leave the sacred edifice, and warned him of the peril he incurred in thus defying the ordinance of God. Men who have God upon their side have no need to be afraid of kings. Nothing emboldens the human spirit like a consciousness of right (Psa_27:1).
(4) With ebullitions of kingly rage. According to Josephus, he threatened to kill Azariah and his colleagues unless they held their peace (Pro_19:12; Pro_16:14). Wrath often leads to murder.
II. UZZAIAH’S PUNISHMENT. (Verses 19-23.)
1. Sudden. The Lord smote him (2Ki_15:5)where he stood, within the holy place, censer in hand, attired in a priestly robe, fuming at Azariah and his eighty assistants, ready, in defiance of one and all, to go through with the unhallowed project he had in hand. Foolish Uzziah! Jehovah, who all the while was looking on (2Ch_7:16; Hab_2:20), simply stretched forth his invisible finger, and the daringly sacrilegious act was arrested. According to Josephus (’Ant.,’ 9.10. 4), at that moment a great earthquake shook the ground, splitting the mountain on which the city stood, and making in the temple dome a rent, through which the sun’s rays, shining, fell upon the king’s face, insomuch that the leprosy seized on him immediately (cf. Amo_1:1; Mic_1:4; Zec_14:5).
2. Severe. The leprosy brake forth (or rose as the sun) in his forehead. The same punishment inflicted on Miriam for speaking against Moses (Num_12:10), and on Gehazi for lying to Elisha (2Ki_5:27). The severity of the stroke measured the greatness of the sin for which it fell.
3. Conspicuous. "The chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous." The signs and tokens of this plague had been laid down in the Law of Moses (Lev_13:1-59.). Like the mark upon Cain’s brow (Gen_4:15), the spot upon Uzziah’s forehead proclaimed him an object of Divine wrath. Many suffer on account of their transgressions whose chastisement is not visible to their fellow-men; that Uzziah’s was perceptible to Azariah and his colleagues was a woof of the heinous character of his offence, while it served as a warning to others. One of Jehovah’s purposes in inflicting punishment on evil-doers is to convince beholders of the horrible iniquity of sin, and deter them through "the terror of the Lord" (2Co_5:11.) from its commission.
4. Humiliating. The priests thrust the stricken king from the sacred dwelling; yea, the king himself "hasted to go out." Moreover, he was henceforth as an unclean person, out off from the congregation of Jehovah (Le 13:45, 46; Num_5:2), and, because of the infectious nature of his malady, lodged in "several house," i.e. a lazar-house, or infirmary. As the leprosy, in its spreading, wasting, corrupting, loathsome, contagious, incurable character, was a hideous emblem of sin, so the exclusion of the leper from the congregation, and his isolation from the society of his fellows, was an impressive picture of the fate reserved for unpardoned sinners (Psa_1:5, Psa_1:6). It must not, however, be assumed that Uzziah died in impenitence.
5. Fatal. It ended in death, as all sin does (Eze_18:4; Rom_6:23). Yet sin is not incurable by Divine power any more than leprosy was. As Miriam, Naaman, and the man who came to Christ (Mat_8:2) were cleansed, so may the sinful soul be renewed (1Jn_1:7).
6. Posthumous. Uzziah’s punishment followed him after death. His people buried him, indeed, but not in the royal mausoleum, only in its neighbourhood, in the field of burial which belonged to the kings, lest his leprous dust should defile that of his fathers.
LESSONS.
1. The danger of prosperity.
2. The sin of pride.
3. The unlawfulness of will-worship.
4. The certainty that God can punish sin.
5. The hopelessness of those who die in sin.—W.
