The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1915-12-03
INTERNATIONAL.
NNMSQDOL
LESSON
(By e. o. SELLERS, Acting Director OF
Sunday School Course of Moody Bible
Institute of C~hicago)
Copyright. 1915. Western Newspaper UnIon.)
LESSON FOR DECEMBER 5
UZZiAH'S PRIDE AND PUNISH.
MENT.

lesson TENTH Chron. e5:S-l0. i5-at.
GOLDEN TENT-A mans pride shall
bring him low. but he that is OF a iowiy
spirit shall obtain honor.-Frov. 1928
Again we consider the southern
kingdom. No better character could
nave been chosen to illustrate the
condition of rulers and people in the
declining days OF Judah's glory. Uz-
ziah ruled for So years and his reign
was almost midway between the days
OF Solomon and those OF the Babylon,
ian captivity. 4,
!. Priest and Parents, w. is. The
name Uxziah means God has helped
me" and NO king ever had better ad-
vantages In the way OF parents and
~counseIOrs. 70 the influence Of his
parents he yielded IN his youth ". ~,
followed the good counsel of Zacha-'
Ran the prophet Of God ". 81, and
as long as he sought the Lord. God
made him prosper" Ancestry and en-
vfronment are not. however. q guar
anty OF any perpetuity In character.
u. Pride, w. els. UssiAh or Axariah
(marE) made Q 1ne start and hts
reign. considered a. \ whole. was
n OF the most brilliant In Judah's
history. 1t bears some striking resem-
blances to that Of Solomon in that the
dangerous enemies became subject ma
tons ". 81. In the conduct Of his
campaigns UExiah 'waxed exceeding
ly strong ". 8 r. W Uzxiah also
greatly improved and strengthened
Jerusalem and CAV much heed to
stock raising and forestry ". 100. The
secret Of all of this prosperity was
that be sought Jehovah. Christen-
dom Is not Christianity. yet 1t Is q
Tact that In those lands where God
10 moN highly exalted and most near
~ followed We witness the greatest
prosperity and men living amidst the
most comfortable surroundings. Seek
Jehovah, know his will as revealed in
his word. and do that will when
learned, is the only true basis of real
and lasting prosperity. Uzziah also
gave an exhibition OF worldly wisdom
that he strengthened the defenses OF
the nation ". 9-10). Confidence in
God does not paralyze human energy
or make us presumptuous and care
less Il Chron. 27:25-31). Uzziah
brought the army up to = high point
OF efficiency ". 13-15j, using the
best weapons known in his day. We,
likewise, may be ~"marvelously helped
from the same source and upon the
same conditions; viz, that we seek
the Lord" Eph. $40: Phi. SID. But
growing along with all Of this prosper
inv fhnrn Uuoe nvr -~
ment as suggested In the last clause
OF verse l4-'he was marvclously
helped "tiiI he was strong" There is
no greater burden to bear and no
harder test for a man or a nations
character than that which comes with
prosperity.
III. Punishment, w. 1927. % Pride
-uzziah's fall and shame is one of
h saddest chapters In history. His
strength became his ruin. When he
was strong his heart was lifted up."
Poverty. struggle and adversely are
10 passports to glory though they
have strengthened the moral fiber of
thousands. Tho tempting tests of
prosperity, gilded, perfumed and at
tractive are. however. far more hard
to Withstand. Pride always leads to (2)
Observation-Disclosures. before God
had warned men that prosperity
would lead to ruin (Deut. S:1l-l7;
32:1S-16) and Solomon also gave
warning prov. 1919. The subtlety
Ut pride Is the gradual way by which
We come to look upon our prosperity
40 the work of u own hands. there
by forgetting the source Of our pow
= and becoming filled with q feeling
OF our own self-sum cheney. The next
step was that Uxxiah assumed to him.
self those duties ". le) which right
fully and exclusively belonged TO the
priesthood (see Mum. 16:4O; 1877: I
Kings 1888; l2:1-4; Heb. SD. 80 Pro-
testIno-We now behold the strange
spectacle Of the king protesting for
the wrong and the faithful PRESS
Azarfah for the right. A sad specta-
Gle indeed when the head Of a nation
openly avows thu wrong and persists
in it despite the protests Of the sery-
ants of God. The last part of verse
Ii indicates the extent and peryer-
sity Of Uzziah's pride. Admonition
only aroused the anger of the all-con-
quering monarch. No honor ever
comes from disobeying God q Sam.
2:30; Dan. $50. Uzziah apparently
". 49, was about to use the censor in
his hand As q weapon in execution
Of his wrath. but God interfered Il
Peter 6:6-7D. Azariah is saved and
Ozziah becomes a leper.
Leprosy. like sin. begins and devel-
ops in it's incipient stages In secret.
and Uzziah's act was but the cul.
mination Of the long development of
sinful pride.
Wrath soon passes away. but It's re-
suits, physically as well "a spiritually,
are permanent.
We must not press the teaching that
all sickness IN the result Of sin tread
Job.
Uzziah was forever separated ".
21) and was in his death "unclean" be-
aus His heart was lifted to his de-
struction."
There are four suggestions In clos
ing: ~ Uxx:ah's pride lad gone TOO
tar; secretly and perhaps unconscious
~ It had slowly. but surely permeated
hts whole nature.