Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1915-12-02
LESSON FOR DECEMBER 5
uxziAH's PRIDE Ano pur,su
MENr.

Kingdom No better ch.r,~,.- -.
1--we been chosen to iIIu~sr.,c -.
ahion OF rulers and people IA the
seeming days OF J1dah's ricry. IT,
nan ruled fer 50 years ana his r,s~,
vas almost midway between the a.,
OF Solomon and those Of the B,sv,o,-
ian captivity.
L-prfsst and psrsas,. w. fx n.
name Uxztah means God has h.,,..,
NE. aad no king ever had better a.
s2nfases tn the way OF parents ana
eou-seiorA To the influence az ~,
parents &c yielded In his youth ". Al.
followed the good counsel Of zaeh..
rian the prophet Of God ". 81. ana
a. long as he sought the Lord -Cos
made hin prosper" Ancestry ard en-.
vircnment are not, however. a guar.
anty OF any perpetuity In character.
u. Pride. w. SIS. Uzziah or Azzriah
tmargJ made q fine start and Iii.
reign. considered cs a whole vas
one Of the most brilliant in Jucah..
history. II bears some striking rcscr,-
dances to that OF Solomon in that the
dangerous enemies became sus,ect pa-
lions ". 3d. In the conduct of His
campaigns Uxziah waved excesdirr-
" strong" ". s R W Uxxiah aIso
Greatly improved and strengthened
jerusalem and gave much heed To
sfock r.fsing and forestry ". Ie). The
secret OF all OF this prosperity vas
nat he sought Jehovzh- Christen-
oou 10 not Christianity, yet II 4, n
fa1 that In those lands where God
= most highly exalted and most near.
~ followed We witness the gresfe<t
prosperity and men living Amidst the
most comfortable surroundings. SCH
Jehovah. know his viii a. revealed In
his word. and do that VIII VIA,
learned. 10 the only true basis OF real
and lasting prosperity. Uxxiah also
ave an exhibitions oe veridly Wisdom
thAt he strengthened the defe=ses Of
us nation w. slo). Confidence in
God does not paralyxs hrraaa eucrxy
Or mako NJ pressnpsnocs and care
les q Chron- z7:4ssID. Uxxiah
brought the army up to . high point
o. enciency ". i5-1s). using the
Test weapons known In lis Cay. We
likewise. may be -Earvelously heIpeds
from the same source and upon the
same conditions; viz. that we seek
the Lord" (Eph- $50; Pal s:Is,.
III Punishment. w. 1871. ff) Prids
-Uzxiah's fall and shame Il one Of
the saddest chapters in history. His
strength became his ruin When ks
vas strong his heart was lifted up.-
Poverty. struggle and adversely are
not passports to glory though they
have strengthened thu rcrai aser OF
thousands The tempting tests Of
prosperity. gilded. perfumed and at
tractive are. however, far Eore hard
to withstand. Pride always leads to GU
Observation-Disclosures before God
had warned men that prosperity
would lead to ruin (Deut- s:11-l7,
3z:13-15l and Solomon also gave
warning prov. 1919. The subtlety
Of prize Is the gradual way By which
No come to look upon our prosperity
- the work Of our cvn hands. there
BY forgetting the source Of our pow
er and becoming filed with . feeling
of our own selfsuaciency. he NEXT
step was that Uzziah assumed {, him
self those duties ". 1sl which right
fully and exclusively belonged to tie
priesthood tsec Nun 1e:fe. 1851, Il
Kizss l3:ss: l2:l-4: Heb. SAD ca pr.
: testIno-we now behoid the strange
spectacle Of the king protesting Ter
the wrccg and the faithful priests
Axarizh for the right A sad s7scfs
clio indeed when the head Of . Lztion
openly avoxs tia wrong and persists
In Il despite the protests Of the ssrv-
ants Of God The last part Of verse
Is indicates the extent and perver-
sffy Of Uzziah's pride Afro=iticn
only aroused the anger Of the ali-ecn-
Queri1g monarch No honor ever
cones from discbeying God Il Sam
$50; Dan 5:37l. Uzziah apparently
". 1s) was about TO uss the ce.3sr IN
his hand rs q weapon In execution
Of his wrath. but God irterfered Il
Peter e:s7l. Axariah II saved and
Uxsiah becomes q ieper.
wo rust not press the teaching that
III sickness IL the result Of sin tread
Jobl.
Uxxiah was forever separated ".
III and was In his death '-unclean- b.
cause His heart was lined to his de-
struction--
There are four suggestions 10 clos
ing: CD urziah's pride had gone too
far: secretly and perhaps unconscious
" il had slowly. but surely perneated
his whole nature
GU Leprosy vas q hitting punish
ment. for IL was an emblem OF the
foulness Of Ills sin.
(9 His lsprous condition was In
marked contrast with what he had
formerly enjoyed
"a his punishment SHUT hin orf o.
fsctuzIly frsm the work OF bis king
dom-ahilify. strength, experience ana
ambition TALL before the blisnftnf
blast Of sin