2. King Azariah of Judah was also known as Uzziah. In
Hebrew, the name Uzziah means “Yahweh is my
strength.” Uzziah held the second longest tenure as a
Judah’s monarchy and ruled for fifty-two years. His
mother was Jecoliah, who was from Jerusalem.
Uzziah’s father, King Amaziah was assassinated after a
military disaster, and so Uzziah was to take his fathers
place.
3. Uzziah became
Judah’s eleventh
king when he was
only sixteen
years old. For
this reason, he
was
considerably
underestimated.
Early in his role
as king, he was
victorious over
all of their
4. He had military
successes against
the Philistines,
the Gurbaal, the
Mehunims, and
the Ammonites.
After a long
decline, Uzziah
strengthened and
influenced the
kingdom almost
as much Israel’s
in the days of
David and
5. He was an able
ruler and “his
name spread
abroad, even to
the entering in of
Egypt” (2
Chronicles 26:8-14).
Under the prophet
Zechariah, he was
very faithful to
God, and “did that
which was right in
the sight of the
6. Uzziah was an inventor. He
made machines designed
by skillful men. These
machines were made for
the use on towers and on
the corner defenses to
shoot arrows and hurl
stones for protection
against enemies. He
organized an army of
307,500 men. Uzziah’s
ideas of creations and
inventions were very
expansive. Uzziah was
responsible for being
active in agriculture,
digging wells, and
7. Uzziah’s pride and successfulness eventually
lead to his downfall. He grew to prove
himself unfaithful to God. The king’s pride
blinded him to humanity. He sinned against the
Lord by burning incense on the altar of the
Temple. This was the job of a priest, and not
for a king.
8. Eighty-one
priests went to
him and warned
him of this
wrongdoing,
saying, “It is not
right for you
Uzziah, to burn
incense to the
LORD. That is for
the priests, the
descendants of
Aaron, who have
been consecrated
9. The High Priest went in after him and demanded him to
get out. Uzziah refused to follow the priest’s orders
and kept holding the incense burner. Suddenly, a great
earthquake shook the ground. The temple split and
rays of sun light shined through it, falling onto the
king’s face. As the rays beamed his face, leprosy
appeared on his forehead. This event showed the Lord’s
10. No leprous person
was allowed in the
temple, so the
priests urged the
unclean king to
leave. In a panic,
Uzziah fled and his
son Jotham took
his place. Uzziah
never recovered
from leprosy. He
remained in
seclusion until he
