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Uzziah

A brilliant king who prospered while he sought God, until pride led him into the temple.

Old Testament · c. 790–740 BC · 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Isaiah, Amos · Also known as Azariah, King of Judah

About Uzziah

"Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem." "He sought God in the days of Zechariah... and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper." He won wars, built towers, dug wells, "for he loved husbandry," and armed Jerusalem with "engines, invented by cunning men." "But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction": he entered the temple to burn incense, a task for the priests alone. As he raged at the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, and he lived the rest of his life in a separate house. Isaiah’s great vision came "in the year that king Uzziah died."

Uzziah has no recorded words, so this guide speaks about him. 2 Kings calls him Azariah. Offering incense was reserved for Aaron’s descendants. A stone plaque from the time of Christ, now in the Israel Museum, marks where his bones were reburied.

The story

Sixteen years old

"Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem." "And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper."

2 Chronicles 26:1-5

He loved husbandry

He defeated the Philistines, built towers in Jerusalem and the desert, "and digged many wells: for he had much cattle... for he loved husbandry." "And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad."

2 Chronicles 26:6-15

His heart was lifted up

"But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense." The priests said, "It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD." He was angry, "and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead." He "dwelt in a several house, being a leper."

2 Chronicles 26:16-21

In the year that king Uzziah died

Uzziah’s son Jotham ruled for him until he died. Isaiah dated his call by that death: "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." Amos too began to prophesy "in the days of Uzziah king of Judah."

Isaiah 6:1; Amos 1:1

Key moments

Questions about Uzziah

Why was Uzziah struck with leprosy?

Pride. "When he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction." He entered the temple to burn incense, though God had given that to "the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense." When eighty priests warned him, he raged at them, "and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead." His success had made him think the rules no longer applied to him.

What did Uzziah achieve?

A great deal. He defeated the Philistines and Arabians, rebuilt Elath, fortified Jerusalem with towers, dug wells in the desert "for he loved husbandry," and fitted the walls with "engines, invented by cunning men... to shoot arrows and great stones." "And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong." That last phrase is the turning point.

Why does Isaiah mention Uzziah’s death?

"In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up." It dates the vision, but many readers also see a contrast: the long-reigning, proud king who tried to enter God’s presence on his own terms had died, and Isaiah saw the true King in that same temple.

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