Articles
Four Kings Face Correction
Uzziah ruled as a faithful king of Judah. But then, inflated with pride, he flouted God’s law by entering the temple and burning incense (which only the priests were permitted to do). When the high priest and his companions came in and confronted Uzziah, he “became enraged with the priests” (2 Chronicles 26:19).
Uzziah’s father was king Amaziah. He “did right in the sight of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart” (2 Chronicles 25:2). After a great victory in battle, Amaziah brought home the captured foreign idols, set them up, and worshiped them. God sent a prophet to rebuke the king’s sin, but Amaziah said to him, “Have we appointed you a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?” (verse 16).
Amaziah’s father was king Joash. He started out as a godly leader, but later turned to idolatry. God inspired the priest Zechariah to speak out against this wickedness, but “at the command of the king they stoned him to death in the court of the house of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 24:21).
David, the ancestor of these men, was a righteous king. But then he had a sexual tryst with another man’s wife and, when she became pregnant, tried to cover it up by having her husband killed and marrying her himself (2 Samuel 11). God sent Nathan to confront the king, and David answered simply, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13).
All four kings willfully sinned against God. All four received correction from godly men. Uzziah responded with anger. Amaziah responded with sarcasm and threats. Joash responded with violence. (As Chronicles reveals, each one was judged by God for his reaction.) David, however, responded with humility and repentance. And, although he still faced consequences from his actions, David sought to draw closer to God (see Psalm 51).
Question: When you find yourself on the receiving end of spiritual correction, which of these examples best matches your reaction?
