today to 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles chapter 26. I may begin the message this morning
by reminding us Of these words of the Apostle Paul in the New
Testament in Romans chapter 15, he said, for whatsoever things
were written aforetime were written for our learning. And this is
something that was written aforetime and it was written for our learning. The history of King Uzziah. I think I speak for most of us
when we hear the term King Uzziah, we associate it most of the time
with Isaiah chapter six, when he said, in the year that King
Uzziah died, I saw the Lord high and lifted up. But in this chapter,
we read about his life and about what led to his death. You notice
in verse 16 it says, but when he was strong, that is when King
Uzziah 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. Going to look at this in three
ways, or three parts this morning. First, what are some of the things
that were written about this king? Well, I would point out,
first of all, he reigned for a very long time. He reigned
for 52 years over the nation of Judah. That was 12 years longer
than both David and Solomon reigned. Their reign lasted only 40 years. Notice that in verse 3, 16 years
old was Uzziah when he began to reign and he reigned 52 years
in Jerusalem. So the first thing we see is
that he had a very long reign. And part of the time that he
was upon the throne, he had a counselor by the name of Zachariah. And
Zechariah, from what we read here, was a godly man. The scripture says in verse 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. So we see that he reigned a long
time, 52 years, and part of that time He had a man who knew God
and counseled Uzziah, and he followed his counsel evidently
as long as Zechariah lived. And God made him to prosper.
The second thing I would point out about this man is he had
much, much success militarily against the enemies that surrounded
his nation. He notices in verses 6 and 7,
it says, he went forth and warred against the Philistines, break
down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabnah and the wall of
Ashdod and built cities about Ashdod and among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines
and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gerbal. and Mahumnim
and the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah. So he had much success
against these enemy nations around Judah. He had a standing army
of over 300,000 men. And I believe that in today's
world, that would still mean that his army would rank in the
top 10 armies as to countries at this time. So you see that
in verse 13. And under their hand was an army
300,000 and 7,500 that made war with mighty power to help the
king against the enemy. He had a famous name. That's
the third thing I would point out about this man. He had a
famous name. Two times in this chapter we
are told that his name was spread abroad. Verse 8 and verse 15. For he strengthened himself.
And verse 15 tells us, and his name spread far abroad. for he was marvelously helped
till he was strong. The fourth thing and the last
thing about this king is that he was very industrious, both
in husbandry and in military inventions. Some of these kings
were lazy, slothful, Spent their time in drinking and things of
that nature. But this king was industrious. And you see that in verses 10
and 14 and 15. In verse 10 it says, also he
built tires in the desert and digged many wells. For he had
much cattle, both in the low country and in the plains, husbandmen
also, and vinedressers in the mountains and in Carmel. Now
notice, for he loved husbandry. Husbandry, that is agriculture,
animal husbandry. He loved it. And he was industrious. He was involved in it. He was
engaged in it. And also in military inventions. If you look in verses 14 and
15. And Uzziah prepared for them
throughout all the host, that is for his army. He prepared
for them shields and spears and helmets and halberdons and bows
and slings to cast stones. And he made in Jerusalem engines
invented by cunning men to be on the tires and upon the bulwarks
to shoot arrows and great stones with all. He invented these weapons
of warfare so that he could defend Jerusalem and fight against invading
armies. So that's the first thing, some
of the things that are written about this king. But secondly,
what was the root cause of his destruction? What was the root
cause of this man's destruction, this king's destruction? It cannot
be missed. It's so glaring and it was pride. It was pride. You know the devil. And the devil is a real being.
The devil found this to work when tempting our fathers, Adam
and Eve in the garden. You remember he appealed to Eve,
at least, through pride. He said, your eyes shall be opened
and you shall be as gods. And Satan has found this to work
on many till the day of Uzziah and even until today. He has found this weapon to be
effectual in destroying men and women. Uzziah, the scripture
here says, when he was strong, not when he was weak, but when
he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction. One old writer made this comment.
And I quote, he said, how hard it is for him that invented strange
engines for the battering of his enemies to beat down his
own proud thoughts. He had the ability, the ingenuity
to invent these engines to beat down his enemies that came against
him. But as this writer said, he could
not beat down his own proud thoughts. We read of his weapons, they
were both offensive and defensive, and they were all carnal. They were all carnal. Carnal
weapons will not serve against spiritual enemies. When he was
strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction. In the
New Testament, the Apostle Paul wrote, the weapons of our warfare
are not carnal, but they are spiritual, the spiritual weapons
that God has given his children. And it's our responsibility to
put these weapons on, the armor on, and to use the weapons which
he has given us. Uzziah was powerful. He was a
powerful king, and I'm sure every year he lived and reigned, he
became more powerful in his own mind. He was successful. And he was famous. And there
was nowhere in his kingdom that he thought he did not rule. But he forgot that he was in
God's kingdom. And in God's kingdom, there was
God's house. And in that holy place where
incense was burned on that golden altar, king or no king, he had
no right. He did not reign. Azariah, who
was a high priest at this time, with 80 priests, withstood Him. But they could not avail. They
could not conquer Him. He was king. They were His subjects. And they would not tell Him what
He would do and what He would not do. Reminds me today. of men and women lost without
God, they think they're too important, they're too smart to listen and
hear how God says He will be approached and He will be served. No, we've got our own idea about
this. And here was a man, he just thought,
no, I'm too important to listen to you priests, you forget who
you are. He might have imagined in his
heart, don't you even know that it was my parents, my grandfathers
back so many years who actually built this temple? And now you're
going to tell me what I can and what I cannot do. He was lifted up to his own destruction. He might have thought, do you
priest forget who I am? That's not the question, Uzziah. Do you forget who God is? Do
you forget who God is? God settled the matter. God caused this leprosy to come
up on his forehead. Couldn't be hidden. Everyone
saw it. And while the priest had tried
to force him and control him to leave the temple, when the
leprosy came out upon his forehead, he left the temple on his own
volition, on his own will. He couldn't get out of the temple
fast enough. You know, God settled the matter.
But this point had been settled years and years before in the
wilderness. This very same thing came up
when Moses and the children of Israel were in the wilderness
and God was speaking to Moses and giving him instructions concerning
how he would be approached, the building of the tabernacle and
everything that went into it. Some of the men, God killed 250
princes of the nation of Israel over this very same thing. They
said, Moses, you take too much upon yourself. You and Aaron,
you act like you're the only ones who are holy, that you are
the only ones who can burn incense. And so God settled the matter,
didn't he? Moses said, you, you, Take your censer and you put
incense on it, and God's going to answer. And God answered,
and by fire. Fire came out from the Lord and
destroyed 250 of these princes. Uzziah, this king, he lived out
his life. He did not die physically that
day, but he might as well have because he was cut off. He lived
in a house apart. As all the law of leprosy commanded,
they shall live apart. And here was a king who had been
so great, so powerful, so well known. And he has to live in
his own house, alone, away from his family and the nation itself
until he died. In the year that King Uzziah
died, I saw also the Lord high and lifted up. and his train
filled the temple. We know that Isaiah saw the Lord
Jesus Christ when Uzziah died. Maybe how he had died had a great
effect upon Isaiah and him seeing the Lord. Here's the third part
of the message. What was so important about Uzziah
not burning incense? What was so important about that?
This is the reason God smote him with leprosy, because he
has said to burn incense upon the altar, the golden altar in
the temple. You know, when I asked that question,
what was so important about Uzziah not burning incense, the simplest
answer that I can come up with is this. One of God's names is
Jealous. That's one of our God's names. Jealous. Look at that, if you
will, in Exodus chapter 34. In Exodus chapter 34 and verse
14, God said, For thou shalt worship
no other God, for the Lord whose name is Jealous, is a jealous
God. God is jealous. He's jealous
of His glory. He will not share His glory with
another. And He was jealous of these Old
Testament types. These Old Testament types and
shadows which pictured Christ and His work of salvation. God was jealous of these types. You see, all through the Old
Testament dispensation, the same gospel that I preached, the same
gospel that John the Baptist preached, when he said, ìBehold,
the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.î
The same gospel that Paul preached. that Calvin preached, that Luther
preached, I mean just come down through the ages, that Spurgeon
preached, is the same gospel that was preached in the old
dispensation through the types and through the shadows. Those
associated with the tabernacle first and then when Solomon built
the temple The replicas of those types were transferred, much
more beautiful, no doubt, but the symbolism was to be the same. Now let's look at several things
about this altar of incense. He decided that he would burn
incense upon the altar, the golden altar in the temple. And that
was his destruction. That was his downfall. Several
things about the altar of incense as it is a type of the Lord Jesus
Christ and his work. First of all, it was made of
two substances. Incorruptible wood covered over
with gold. And we know, of course, this
shadowed forth the Lord Jesus Christ in his person who is both
God and man. Two natures in that one person. The incorruptible wood pictured
his humanity, his sinless humanity. And the gold, of course, pictured
his deity, the God-man. A second thing about the altar
of incense, it was four square. It was four square. And this
shadowed forth his perfections, as he in whom God said, this
is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Those words, what
a blessing. What a blessing. This is my beloved
son in whom I am well pleased. And the same thing is true of
you and of me. and of every one of us who are
in Christ. Isn't that wonderful? This four
square, it was perfect. So the Lord Jesus Christ, we
know in thought, in word, in deed, He was perfect. He was
without sin. He did no sin. A third thing,
it had a crown of gold. Shadowing forth that the Lord
Jesus Christ, who in this world, he was crowned, he was crowned
with thorns. I don't know how many of you
read Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evenings, but I believe it
was one day this past week. He pointed out the Lord Jesus
Christ, he was crowned with thorns, crowned as a king of thieves. crucified between two of them,
as though here's the chief of the thieves. In this world, he
was crowned with thorns, but my friends, in heaven, he's crowned
with all glory and all honor. A fourth thing about this altar
of incense, it was the second of two altars associated with
the tabernacle, with the temple. There were only two altars that
were to be constructed. This altar, and this is the most
important thing about this matter, what brought about Uzziah's downfall,
this work that he intended to do was a work that pictures the
work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the special work of our Savior. There was two altars. Now, if
you had approached the tabernacle, of course, you could not have
gone into the holy place. You sure could not have gone
into the most holy place. But if you had approached that
tabernacle, the first thing you would have seen would have been
a big altar. This altar, too, was made of
incorruptible wood, but it was not covered with gold. It was
covered with brass, and it, too, was there to serve. And on that
altar, the sacrifice, the blood was poured out, and the victim,
the animal that was offered in sacrifice, was burned upon that
altar. Now that pictured the Lord Jesus
Christ and his work for us on the cross. That he took the sins
of his people, the apostle Peter tells us, in his own body, bore
them on the tree. And God's holy, righteous justice
had to be satisfied. And God poured out his wrath
upon the substitute. just as that sacrifice was consumed
there upon the brazen altar. But there was a second altar.
This is where Uzziah came. He came into the holy place,
where there was the table of showbread and the candelabra,
or the lampstand, rather, and then this golden altar, the altar
of incense. It was not to burn sacrifices
upon. The only time that blood ever
came upon this altar, it had four horns, was once a year when
the high priest offered that sin offering and took the blood
behind the veil. On that day, he would also put
some blood on each one of the four horns on this altar of incense. But it wasn't to put away sin,
it was to make an atonement for the altar itself. Well, what
was this altar for then? Well, this altar was for the
priest, and it was the high priest who would take coals from off
the brazen altar, if you please, outside the tabernacle. He would
take some coals from off that altar, and he would bring it
in and put it upon this golden altar, and upon it incense was
placed. And that would be done twice
every day. Every morning, every evening,
when the daily sacrifices, the daily lambs were slain, the high
priest would come in when he would trim the lamps and he would
burn incense upon this golden altar. He would fill the tabernacle. It was a perpetual, perpetual
incense upon this golden altar. Look over with me to Exodus chapter
30. Let's just read this quickly,
what I've sort of touched on about this golden altar. Exodus
chapter 30. And thou shalt make an altar
to burn incense upon. Of chitim wood shalt thou make
it. A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth
thereof. Four squares shall it be. And
two cubits shall be the height thereof. The horns thereof shall
be of the same. And thou shalt overlay it with
pure gold, the top thereof and the sides thereof round about,
and the horns thereof. And thou shalt make unto it a
crown of gold round about. And two golden rings shalt thou
make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof
upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it, and they shall
be for places for the staves to bear it withal. And thou shalt
make the staves of chitim wood, and overlay them with gold. And
thou shalt put it in before the veil that is by the ark of the
testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where
I will meet with thee. Now notice this. And Aaron shall
burn thereon sweet incense every morning. When he dresseth the
lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth
the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it. Notice this,
a perpetual, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your
generations. You shall offer no strange incense
thereon. You see, God, and Austin, you
brought this out this morning in your lesson. about the Ark
of the Covenant and the mercy seat, but God gave the instructions.
He didn't leave anything to man, like you said. If God had told
Moses, here's the material, you just build it any way you want
to, it would have been the awfulest monstrosity you could have come
up with. No, God gave specific instructions
concerning everything in this tabernacle and how it was to
serve, how it was to be used. Why? Because it all pictured
Christ and His work. And the thing that is so important
here that we see is it was the high priest. It wasn't a king. Now our Lord is mediator, prophet,
priest, and king, but until Messiah came, these two offices, king
and priest, would not rather meet together. And this king,
he comes in and he would do the work of the high priest. Now
the work of the high priest was that incense, a perpetual incense
before the Lord throughout your generations. What I started to
say is even the recipe for the incense, God gave. And God said if anyone, if anyone
read this recipe and decide they want to make themselves some
incense like this, death, death. And any other kind of incense
he called strange incense. You shall offer no strange incense
thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering, neither shall
you pour drink offering thereon. And Aaron shall make an atonement
upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the
sin offering of atonement. Once in a year shall he make
an atonement upon it throughout your generations It is most holy
unto the Lord. Now, you may say today, well,
preacher, that's all kind of interesting, but what does it
have to do with me? Well, I want to tell you something. If you would be saved, it has
everything to do with you. I want you to look with me in
the New Testament to Romans chapter five. It has everything to do with
God saving sinners. In Romans chapter 5 and verse 6, the apostle says,
for when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even
dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified
by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if,
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death
of His Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Do you notice there the Apostle
Paul says two times, we shall be saved. He says that in verse
9 and he repeats that again in verse 10. And what we see is
that in verse 9, we are justified by His blood. That is, by His
blood, by His death upon the cross, if you please, the sacrifice
on the brazen altar, we would be saved from wrath, from the
curse of the law, because the Lord Jesus Christ, He was made
a curse for us. But then he says, we shall be
saved by his life. Now, he's talking about this
incense. Or talking about what the incense
pictured, perpetual incense. The Lord Jesus Christ by his
life. That is the life he's living
today. We shall be saved by his life. by His perpetual intercession
for us with the Father. That's the reason in Hebrews
chapter 7, the Apostle said, wherefore He, that is Christ
our High Priest, now listen, He is able, He's able, He's able
to save them to the uttermost. that come to God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them. And any intercession
other than the intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ, be it
the intercession of popes, martyrs, saints, the Virgin Mary, or anyone
else, is strange incense. Strange incense and will not
be accepted. You might say, well, preacher,
you said we're justified by the blood of Christ. We're saved
by the sacrifice he made on that altar. Why would a justified
person need his intercession? Why do we, why do I need his
intercession today? I do, and you do too. We need
His intercession, continual, perpetual intercession, or we
could not be saved. A justified person is everyone
who trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is declared righteous,
made righteous by the imputed righteousness of the Lord our
Savior. He is our righteousness, but
in ourselves, and you cannot deny this, For God, we're declared
righteous, as holy as He is, with His righteousness, but in
ourselves, we still have sin. We still are guilty of sin. And without His intercession,
we could not be saved. I think about David, King David,
a man after God's own heart, a man who loved the Lord, a man
who served the Lord. But we all know that David, he
fell into sin. And when he confessed his sin,
he called it blood, blood thirstiness, blood guiltiness rather. That
is because he caused the murder of Bathsheba's husband, Uriah.
And he lived with that and didn't recognize it evidently. Didn't feel the guilt of it for
months. And finally, God told one of
his prophets, Nathan, he said, you go and you tell David what
he's done. You confront him with his sin.
And you know, Nathan, that parable he gave of the rich man that
had all those flocks, poor man who only had one lamb. David
was so indignant, wasn't he, when he heard that that poor
man, that the rich man rather, had taken the poor man's lamb.
And Nathan said, Thou art the man. And you know what David said?
David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And then what did Nathan immediately
say to David? The Lord also hath put away thy
sin. He's put it away. The Lord, we
read that verse at the beginning of the chapter, beginning of
the service. These things write unto thee
that thou sin not, but if or when any man sins, we have an
advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ, the righteous,
who is the propitiation for our sins. He saves us by his life. I read a message by John Bunyan
on the complete Savior, the complete Savior. And let me just close
with this. He gives five reasons in that
message why a justified person needs an intercessor. Why I need
an intercessor, why you need an intercessor, Jesus Christ
ever liveth to make intercession for all who come unto God by
him. Number one, a justified person
feels unbelief. You ever feel unbelief? A justified
person feels fear. You ever fearful? A justified
person feels mistrust. A justified person feels doubting, murmuring, pride, and fleshly
lust. You ever feel any of these things?
That's the reason we need an intercessor. That's the reason
that incense was to be perpetual, that he ever lives to make intercession
for us. Hallelujah. What a Savior. What
a Savior. A complete Savior. He put away
our sins at the cross and he ever lives. to put away our sins
day by day, moment by moment. We're going to sing a hymn before
we're dismissed, number 487.