2 Chronicles 26:1-23

2 Chronicles: God desires loyal people

The *Kingdom called Judah

2 Chronicles Chapter s 10 to 36

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 26

Uzziah wins with God’s help – 2 Chronicles 26:1-15

v1 Then all the people in Judah made Uzziah king instead of his father Amaziah. Uzziah was 16 years old. v2 He built again the town called Eloth. He made it part of Judah again after Amaziah died.

v3 Uzziah was 16 years old when he became king. He ruled for 52 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah, and she was from Jerusalem. v4 He did what was right in the opinion of the *LORD. He was doing as his father, Amaziah had done. v5 Uzziah obeyed God while Zechariah was alive. Zechariah taught him to be afraid of God and to serve him. And as long as Uzziah obeyed the *LORD, God gave success to him.

v6 Uzziah fought a war against the *Philistines. He broke down the walls of their towns called Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod. He built new towns near Ashdod and in other places among the *Philistines. v7 God helped him to fight against the *Philistines. God helped him against the Arabs who lived in Gur Baal. And God helped him against the people called Meunites. v8 The people in Ammon paid taxes to Uzziah. He became very powerful and his fame spread even to the border of Egypt.

v9 Uzziah built tall buildings for defence in Jerusalem and he made them strong. He built them at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate and at the place where the wall turned. v10 Also, he built tall buildings for defence in the desert. He dug many wells because he had many animals both in the low land and in the plain. He had farmers who worked in his fields and *vineyards in the hills. And he had farmers who worked in the good fields of the plain. Uzziah loved to farm the soil.

v11 Uzziah had an army of soldiers ready for war. Jeiel was the king’s official and Maaseiah was the king’s officer. These men counted the soldiers and they put them into groups. And Hananiah, one of the king’s officers, was the leader of the army. v12 2600 family leaders were over the soldiers. v13 They commanded an army of 307 500 men. This army was a powerful force to fight on behalf of the king against his enemies. v14 Uzziah gave to his army *shields and *spears. He gave to them special hats, *armour and bows. He provided stones for their *slings. v15 In Jerusalem, he made machines that clever men had designed. He put these machines in the high buildings that defended the city. He put them on the corners of the city’s walls. With these machines, the people could shoot arrows and large stones. Uzziah’s fame spread to places a long way away. The *LORD helped him to become strong.

Verses 1-5 Amaziah died in about 767 *BC. But Uzziah ruled in Jerusalem from about 790 *BC. That was about 23 years before Amaziah died. This may have been because Amaziah was a prisoner of King Jehoahaz for some time. Uzziah became king at 16 years of age and he ruled for 52 years. He became king about three years after Jeroboam II became king in *Israel at the age of 24 (2 Kings 15:1). Uzziah had another name. It was Azariah. (See 2 Kings 15:1.)

Uzziah built again the town called Eloth. Eloth was a port on the Red Sea in the territory of Edom. Uzziah made Eloth a part of Judah. It was important for Judah’s trade with countries in the east.

Uzziah was loyal to the *LORD for most of his life. But he did not remove the high places for *worship from Judah (2 Kings 15:4). While Zechariah was alive, Uzziah obeyed the *LORD. We do not know who this Zechariah was. But he taught Uzziah to be afraid of and to serve the *LORD. And as he obeyed the *LORD, the *LORD gave success to him.

Verses 6-8 Uzziah defeated the *Philistines. He broke down the walls of three of their towns. Gath was about 20 miles (32 kilometres) west of Hebron city. Jabneh was a small port near the town called Joppa. Ashdod was near the sea directly west of Jerusalem. Uzziah built new towns in the *Philistine territory so that he could control the *Philistines from those towns.

Uzziah defeated the Arabs and the people called Meunites. These Arabs lived in Gur Baal. We do not know where Gur Baal was. But it was probably to the south and east of Judah. The Meunites were a people from *Mount Seir in Edom. They may have come from a town called Maon. Maon was about 12 miles (19 kilometres) south and east of the city called Petra.

In all of these battles, the *LORD helped Uzziah.

There were people from the family of Ammon who lived to the east of the Jordan River. They paid taxes to Uzziah. And his power and authority extended even to the border with Egypt.

Verses 9-10 The Corner Gate was probably at the north and west corner of Jerusalem. The Valley Gate was at the south and west of Jerusalem. And the place where the wall turned was at the east of Jerusalem. Uzziah built buildings for defence at these three parts of the city. He repaired the damage that Jehoash had done in the time of Amaziah (25:23). Also, Uzziah built buildings for defence in the country.

Uzziah was very interested in his farms. These were in both the low lands and in the hills. He employed farmers to look after his animals, his fields and his *vineyards. Each of these activities depended on the supply of water. So, Uzziah dug many wells.

Verses 11-15 Uzziah appointed three chief officers. Jeiel was in control of the organisation of the army. Maaseiah’s job was to make sure that the army obeyed the orders from the most important officers. And Hananiah was the chief officer of the Army. He was over the 2600 family leaders. They in turn were officers over the army groups. The whole army was 307 500 men.

Uzziah gave to the army all the *armour and the *weapons that they needed. Also, he had new machines that the soldiers could shoot arrows or large stones from. He put these machines for use to defend the city and the towns.

Uzziah becomes proud – 2 Chronicles 26:16-23

v16 But Uzziah became proud of his power, and this caused him to *sin. He was not loyal to the *LORD his God. He went into the *LORD’s *temple to burn *incense on the *altar of *incense. v17 Azariah and 80 other brave priests who served the *LORD followed Uzziah into the *temple. v18 They told him that he was wrong. They said to him, ‘It is not right for you to burn *incense to the *LORD. That task is for the *descendants of Aaron. The *LORD has appointed them to burn *incense. You must go out of this holy place because you have not been loyal to the *LORD. What you are doing will get you no honour from the *LORD.’

v19 Then Uzziah was angry. In his hand, he held the pan that priests burn *incense in. He stood by the *altar of *incense in the *LORD’s *temple. And the priests were there as well. When he was angry with the priests, immediately a skin disease appeared on the front of his head. v20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned toward Uzziah. They looked at him and they saw the skin disease in the front of his head. So, they hurried him out of the *temple. And he rushed out of the *temple because this disease was a punishment from the *LORD.

v21 King Uzziah had the skin disease until the day that he died. He had to live in a separate house. He could not go to the *LORD’s *temple. His son Jotham was in control of the palace, and he ruled the people in the country.

v22 The *prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz wrote down all the other things that Uzziah did as king. That record shows his actions from the beginning to the end. v23 Uzziah died and they buried him near his *ancestors. They buried him in the field for graves that belonged to the kings. He had a grave near theirs. The people said, ‘It is because he had a skin disease.’ And his son Jotham replaced him as king.

Verses 16-23 When Uzziah became proud he went into the holy place in the *LORD’s *temple. Only the priests should go into that place. And he decided to burn his own *incense on the *LORD’s *altar. In this way, he did what was wrong. Only the priests could burn *incense on the *altar. God gave this task to them (Exodus 30:7-8; Numbers 16:40). Anyone else who came to this *altar should die (Numbers 18:7).

Azariah with 80 priests came to him. They told him that he should not do this thing. They told him to go from the holy place. And they told him that he was not loyal to the *LORD. So, Uzziah was angry with the priests. He held in his hand the pan that priests burn *incense in. Then the *LORD punished him with a skin disease in his head. The priests hurried him out of the *temple. And Uzziah rushed out. From that day, he could not touch other people. And he had to live in a separate house away from other people. (See Leviticus chapter 13.) He could not go again to the *LORD’s *temple.

For the rest of Uzziah’s life, his son Jotham ruled on his behalf. Jotham had control of the royal palace. This was from about 751 *BC until Uzziah’s death in about 738 *BC.

The *prophet Isaiah made a record of Uzziah’s rule. Isaiah saw a *vision of God in the year that Uzziah died (Isaiah 6:1). Also, he did have *visions about Judah during the rule of Uzziah (Isaiah 1:1). Maybe he wrote the record before he became a *prophet. Perhaps he collected the information and he wrote the record later.

When Uzziah died, they buried him near the graves of his *ancestors. Because of his skin disease, they could not bury him with his *ancestors. But the people gave honour to him as a good king.

kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It means that God has always been.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
Philistines ~ people who lived to the south and west of Judah. They were a nation that fought with the *Israelites.
vineyard ~ a place where grapes grow.
grape ~ a fruit that people make wine from.
shield ~ soldiers carried shields in their hands for protection in battle; they were like covers to protect the body from swords or from other weapons. Solomon’s shields of gold were probably not for use in war.
weapon ~ a tool of war; people use it in attack or in defence when in a fight (like a sword or a gun).
spear ~ a long and thin weapon of war, like a sword but they usually threw it.
weapon ~ a tool of war; people use it in attack or in defence when in a fight (like a sword or a gun).
armour ~ what a soldier wears to protect himself in battle.
sling ~ a weapon to throw stones.
weapon ~ a tool of war; people use it in attack or in defence when in a fight (like a sword or a gun).
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
mount ~ a short word for mountain; small mountain.
weapon ~ a tool of war; people use it in attack or in defence when in a fight (like a sword or a gun).
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. Those who sin are sinners.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or of other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
incense ~ something that gives a sweet smell when it burns. The priests burned it when they praised God in the temple.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or of other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
altar ~ the special table that someone made out of stone or wood or metal; on it they burnt animals or they offered other gifts to God or to false gods.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or of a nation.
prophet ~ person who speaks on behalf of God. He or she can sometimes say what will happen in the future. Some prophets worshipped false gods. So, not all prophets spoke words from God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
ancestors ~ people in history that your family has come from.
vision ~ a dream that God gives.