No Pride
“…only he did not invade the temple of the Lord.”
King Uzziah committed a great sin: He entered into God’s temple. Is this a sin? Someone may ask. Doesn’t the Bible exhort us to attend all church services? Aren’t we commanded in Hebrews 10:25 to avoid,
“…forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
The problem with Uzziah was that he profaned (or attempted to profane) the temple of God. He supplanted the priest and in his royal pride, attempted to burn incense; a duty reserved only for the sons of Aaron.
His son Jotham did not make the same mistake of his father. As a father myself, I pray that my sons will never attempt to make some of my mistakes. Every good father will agree with me, because we don’t want for our children to make the same mistakes we made. Mistakes, however, can teach us lifelong lessons that we wouldn’t learn otherwise.
Jotham learned his lesson. When he entered the temple yard, he did it to worship God and offer sacrifices to him. He came to the temple to worship the Lord, but he was very careful not to usurp the priest’s authority and God blessed him for that. He gave no room to pride or wickedness in his heart.
Let us follow Jotham’s example, as he learned from his errors and from the mistakes of others. I have committed many sins and made a plethora of mistakes. Sometimes, it seems as if I would never learn my lesson. I pray that God humbles me and show me the way to a more righteous and less sinful life. Pride and disobedience have no place in our lives, never!
