The Second Book of the Chronicles
2 Chronicles 26
Chapter XXVI · Vol. II, pp. 874–875
1 Uzziah succeeding, and reigning well in the days of Zechariah, prospereth. 16 Waxing proud, he invadeth the priest's office, and is smitten with leprosy by God. 22 He dieth, and Jotham succeedeth him.
1 Then all the people of Judah took aUzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah.
B.C. 810.
a Or, Azariah, 2 Ki.14.21; 15.2-7.
2 He built Eloth,1 and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers.
1 The building of Eloth is placed in front of Uzziah's biography, as a distinguishing characteristic note. Eloth was a city on the northern point of the eastern gulf of the Red Sea, which David took when he conquered Edom, 2 Sa. 8. 14. It was one of Solomon's principal seaports, 1 Ki. 9. 26. It was a place of great importance under Justinian, but, under Arabian rule (being called Ailah), is now in ruins.—C.
3 Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem: his mother's name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
4 And he bdid that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did.2
b ch.25.2; 24.2. 2 Ti.3.5.
2 He went as far as his father in what was right, but no farther; and his father's 'heart was not perfect,' ch.25.2.—C.
5 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.3
A.M. 3204. B.C. 800.
3 The Scriptures furnish a mirror for nations, as well as for individuals; and national prosperity and adversity they never fail to trace directly to obedience or disobedience, faith or infidelity.—C.
6 And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines.
7 And cGod helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gur-baal, and the Mehunims.
8 And the dAmmonites gave gifts to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt; for he strengthened himself exceedingly.
9 Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem eat the corner-gate, and at fthe valley-gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified4 them.
10 Also he built towers in the gdesert,5 and diggedh many wells: for he ihad much cattle, both in the low country and in the plains;6 husbandmen also, and vine-dressers in the mountains, and in kCarmel:7 for he loved husbandry.8
g Of Arabia, ch.21.16.
5 Places of defence for small garrisons for the protection of the shepherds and flocks, corn and vines, against the Arabian borderers.—C.
h Ge.26.18-21.
6 The 'low country' is the Shephelah, or plain of Philistia, lying between the mountains of Judah and the Mediterranean. 'The plains,' in Hebrew Mishôr, is the specific name of the great plateau of Moab, stretching from the top of the ridge east of the Dead Sea and Jordan away into the Arabian desert. To this day these are the best pastoral districts of Palestine.—P.
k Or, fruitful fields, 1 Sa.25.2, not 1 Ki.18.19,20.
7 See note on 1 Sa. 25.2.—C.
8 It is curious and instructive to observe how Uzziah's taste for husbandry led to most of his warlike arrangements, for which he seems to have had equal capacity. It is thus that Providence ever counteracts or modifies one propensity by another. His taste for war would have produced a desert; his taste for husbandry modifies his taste for war, produces fortified towns, fruitful fields, and commercial ports.—C.
11 Moreover, lUzziah had an host of fighting men, that went out to war by bands, according to the number of their account, by the hand of Jeiel the scribe, and Maaseiah the ruler, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains.
l ch.17.14-19; 25.5.
12 The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighty men of valour were two thousand and six hundred.
13 And under their hand was man army, three hundred thousand, and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.
m Heb. the power of an army, 2 Sa.24.9. ch.11.1; 13.3; 14.8; 17.13-19; 25.5.
14 And Uzziah prepared for them, throughout all the host, shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and nslings to cast stones.
n Ju.20.16. 1 Sa.17.49.
15 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:9 and his name spread1 far abroad; ofor he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.
9 These engines are known by the names of balistæ for shooting stones, and catapultæ for arrows and javelins, though these names and distinctive uses are frequently confounded. The principles were those of the cross-bow, either of wood or elastic steel, the recoil of twisted ropes tightened by the action of levers; or the sling (not the ordinary sling), which seems to have been a species of gigantic bow, made fast at one end, so that the other being violently drawn downward, and loaded with stones, might, by its sudden recoil, project them against an enemy to a distance proportioned to its length and elastic power.—C.
1 Heb. went forth.
o De.32.10-15. Ps.30.6.
16 But pwhen he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction:2 for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and qwent into the temple of the LORD, to burn incense upon the altar of incense.3
A.M. 3241. B.C. 763.
p De.32.15. ch.25.19. Hab.2.4. Pr.16.18; 18.12; 29.23; 4.23. Ho.13.6.
2 Of all human passions or errors pride is the most destructive of success and happiness. It entered into the first sin, and led to the loss of paradise, and it is ever the characteristic of the 'old man' of 'the flesh,' which nought but the Spirit of God can mortify and remove, Ro.8.13. Ga.5.20. Ep.4.22.—C.
q 2 Ki.16.12,13. Nu.xvi.xvii. 1 Sa.6.19; 13.12. 1 Ki.9.25; 13.1-4. He.5.4.
3 B.C. 763.
17 And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men;
18 And they ywithstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, zIt appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be afor thine honour from the LORD 4God.
y Mat.14.4. 2 Sa.12.1-12. Je.13.18. ch.16.7-9; 19.2; 24.20; 25.15; 28.9.
z He.5.4. Nu.18.7. Ex.30.7. 1 Ki.13.1. 1 Co.7.24.
4 This was a bold and a noble act, worthy of the descendants of the men who stood by Moses for the honour of God in the wilderness. Uzziah was a prince of strong will and great power. The man who resisted him risked his life; but the Levites did not shrink from the attempt, and they have in so doing set an example to all the ministers of religion who are able to gain the ear of royalty.—P.
19 Then Uzziah was bwroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense; and, while he was wroth with the priests, the cleprosy even rose up in his forehead5 before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense-altar.
b ch.16.10; 25.16.
c Nu.11.33; 16.31-35; 12.10. 2 Ki.5.27. Da.4.31.
5 On examining any treatise on medicine the reader must be struck with the frequency with which disease is attributed to mental passions, and not to bodily causes. Fear produces many disorders, not unfrequently death. The same is the case with anger, envy, and the gentler feelings of inordinate and misplaced affection—and visible causes there may undoubtedly be; but the real cause, and which truth discovers to faith, is the judgment of God either for punishment, ver. 20; correction, He. 12. 9; prevention of sin, 1 Co. 12. 7; or growth in grace, He. 12.11.—C.
20 And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was dleprous6 in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself ehasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him.
6 This was a very remarkable punishment. He aspired at honour, and was smitten with a loathsome disease. He invaded the priest's office, and now was smitten with a disease which was subject to their inspection. For coming into the sanctuary, he was expelled the outer court, where the meanest subject might enter. Aspiring to be priest he ceased to be king.—I.
21 Andf Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.
Notes
[Ver. 7. According to the Talmud Gur-baal was identical with Gerar, an old city on the southern border of Philistia. This however is doubtful. The Mehunims, or more properly Maonites, were an ancient nomad tribe allied to the Phœnicians, whose earliest settlements were in the vale of Sodom. They migrated, leaving their name at Maon in the south of Judah, where they may have settled for a time; and again at Beth-maon, on the plateau of Moab; and also at the town now called Maân, on the eastern border of Edom. The latter was probably the chief station of the Maonites. P.]
Ver. 23. [About a mile to the north-west of modern Jerusalem are shown the excavations called the sepulchres of the Hebrew kings. Whether these were really their sepulchres does not appear, except from uncertain tradition, and the evident costliness of the work. They still contain the remains of elaborate stone-coffins placed in side niches; and one of the doors remains, a carved and panelled marble moving upon two hinges like axles, part of the door-slab itself, and playing in the solid rock at top and bottom. From these, as a leper, Uzziah was excluded, and buried without in the adjoining field. C.——The real tombs of the kings must have been in the city of David, i.e. on Mount Zion; and could not therefore be those above mentioned. Tradition points out to this day the tomb of David on the summit of Zion, just outside the modern Zion Gate of Jerusalem. A large building, containing a mosque and a Christian church, stands on the spot, but the sepulchres are beneath, hewn in the rock. The fanaticism of the Mohammedans has hitherto prevented a full examination of them. They may contain some important relics. P.]
Reflections.—A godly, faithful, and prudent instructor is a great advantage to a youthful king: and a noted regard to the laws and worship of God lays an excellent foundation for prosperity: for God honours those that honour him: and as long as we cleave to him, he will be our assistant. And what extensive capacities God gives some men, that they can take care of a multitude of things at once? But how bewitching is pride! it can decoy men to their ruin in a thousand forms. And it is difficult to be prosperous and yet be humble. But seldom do men gratify their pride without bringing themselves to deserved shame. The offices and ordinances of God's church are sacred and appropriate: it is at our highest peril if we interfere with them without his call. And when God's ministers magnify their office, and boldly withstand the sinful attempts of the greatest monarchs, it is honourable and becoming. But how impatient are the proud of faithful reproof or zealous opposition! The most wise and just rebuke exasperates the wilful. And they who will not submit to admonition rush on their own ruin. God marks them with disgraceful punishments, answerable to their crimes. And when we feel his displeasure, it is madness to persist. Humiliation is our only door of escape. And sometimes when sins are pardoned of God, they leave an indelible stain among men.