seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Kings 15 Azariah, Leper King
a. 2 Kings 15:1 Also called Uzziah; also in verses 6, 7, 8, 17, 23 and 27
b. 2 Kings 15:5 The Hebrew for leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
c. 2 Kings 15:5 Or in a house where he was relieved of responsibilities
Blueletterbible.org offers this.
Now here's a cause for separation of church and state. God doesn't want human kings to be human priests and human priests to be human kings. The only one God wants to be King and Priest is His Son. So when Azariah [Urriah] got big-headed and decided to burn incense in the temple like a priest.... his skin went bad.
So... not only did God run Azariah out of the Temple.... He ran him out of the palace too.... He was a Leper... He had to live solo. It's a shame... he could have been someone even more special than King David.
2 Kings 15:1 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah[a] son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 3 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. 4 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
5 The Lord afflicted the king with leprosy(b) until the day he died, and he lived in a separate house.[c] Jotham the king’s son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
6 As for the other events of Azariah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 7 Azariah rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in the City of David. And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.
5 The Lord afflicted the king with leprosy(b) until the day he died, and he lived in a separate house.[c] Jotham the king’s son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
6 As for the other events of Azariah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 7 Azariah rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in the City of David. And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.
a. 2 Kings 15:1 Also called Uzziah; also in verses 6, 7, 8, 17, 23 and 27
b. 2 Kings 15:5 The Hebrew for leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
c. 2 Kings 15:5 Or in a house where he was relieved of responsibilities
Blueletterbible.org offers this.
He did what was right in the sight of the LORD: The reign of Azariah (also called Uzziah in 2 Kings 15:13 and many other places in 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Isaiah) was largely characterized by the good he did in the sight of the LORD. His godliness was rewarded with a long reign of 52 years.
Except that the high places were not removed: As with Jehoash and Amaziah, the reforms of Azariah did not reach so far as to remove these traditional places of sacrifice to the LORD.
The LORD struck the king, so that he was a leper until the day of his death: 2 Chronicles 26 also tells us of the downfall of Azariah, who was marvelously helped till he became strong. The Chronicler goes on: But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. The priests tried to stop him, but the King insisted on forcing his way into the temple to offer incense.
He dwelt in an isolated house: Azariah came into the temple as an arrogant king, and he left - indeed, he hurried to get out, because the Lord had struck him - he left as a humbled leper.
Azariah came to the throne in a difficult era: "Following the tragic events that brought King Amaziah's reign to an end, Jerusalem was in disarray, a major section of its protective wall destroyed, its temple and palace emptied of their treasures, and some of its inhabitants taken away to Israel as hostages." (Dilday)
Except that the high places were not removed: As with Jehoash and Amaziah, the reforms of Azariah did not reach so far as to remove these traditional places of sacrifice to the LORD.
The LORD struck the king, so that he was a leper until the day of his death: 2 Chronicles 26 also tells us of the downfall of Azariah, who was marvelously helped till he became strong. The Chronicler goes on: But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. The priests tried to stop him, but the King insisted on forcing his way into the temple to offer incense.
Azariah violated what had become a general principle in God's dealing with Israel: that no king should also be a priest, and that the offices of prophet, priest, and king should not be combined in one man - until the Messiah, who fulfilled all three offices.
"His great power fostered such pride and haughtiness that about 750 B.C. he sought to add to his vast power by usurping the prerogatives of the sacred priesthood." (Patterson and Austel)
"His great power fostered such pride and haughtiness that about 750 B.C. he sought to add to his vast power by usurping the prerogatives of the sacred priesthood." (Patterson and Austel)
He dwelt in an isolated house: Azariah came into the temple as an arrogant king, and he left - indeed, he hurried to get out, because the Lord had struck him - he left as a humbled leper.
Now here's a cause for separation of church and state. God doesn't want human kings to be human priests and human priests to be human kings. The only one God wants to be King and Priest is His Son. So when Azariah [Urriah] got big-headed and decided to burn incense in the temple like a priest.... his skin went bad.
So... not only did God run Azariah out of the Temple.... He ran him out of the palace too.... He was a Leper... He had to live solo. It's a shame... he could have been someone even more special than King David.
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