Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1922-04-20
/. ugzlah Made KIna Nv. 1-al.

|. Uxziah Made King wv. 1-5l.
/. Ills Age ". ~, He became king
at the age Of Sixteen.
2. Length Of His Reign (v. 81. He
reigned fifsy.fwo years. HIS mothers
name was Jecoliah, which means
Jehovah Is able or Made strong
OF Jehovah"
5. His Character 6. ~. lie did
that which VAS right ii the sight Of
the Lord.
A. His Prosperity tv. 81. lie def
nitely sought God while Zeehariah
lived, and because he sought him God
made him to prosper as long as he
continued to seek him. Tie, like Joash
before him, turned aside when the in
fiuence of the man of God was re-
moved
II. uzziah's Achievement wv 6-15).
l. He Built Eloth " y. This was
q ger.. on the Red sea which had been
lost to Judah. No doubt it was the
aim of the father to get possession Of
this port, so the son makes Its restora-
ton his first duty. 1t was an i'm
portant trading point and the com
mercial interests of the nation would
be greatly increased by Its possession.
2. He Had Military Success wv.
8-s). "a He conquered the philis-
tines ". 81. After subduing them he
dismantled their fortified cities and
built new cities in their stead. (2) He
defeated the Arabians ". ~. tS) He
made the Ammonites across the Jor-
dan pay tribute ". 81.
3. He Fortified Jerusalem wv. O.
16). He took advantage Of the peace
which was now enjoyed because Of the
subjugation OF his enemies to fortify
Jerusalem. He placed in the towers
great engines Of war for hurting
stones.
4. His Civic Improvements ". 10).
In the regions south and west Of
Jerusalem he built towers which
served a threefold purpose, namely:
observation, defense and shelter for
his cattle. This enabled him to carry
on his stock-raising enterprises.
e. His Army wv. 11-16). It numbered
{ 4O7 500, It was theoretically equipped
and drilled. God was with him, and
hts famesSpread far and wide u tfh6l
source Of his strenkt was God.
r ~. uxxiah's TranssressIon wv. 10
49,. sw hMwrs AZ
" The prosperity bestowed upon him
by the Lord was too much for him
his heart was lifted up with pride.
This is always SO unless counteracted
by divine grace. In his pride he pre-
sumptuously intruded into the priests
ONCE. This act was not because Of
forgetfulness, but Of deliberate pur-
pose. Azariah and eighty other priests
demonstrated with him, but this only
made him angry. This act was q
trespass against God.
w. uzziah's Punishment wv. TO-
Ply.
While raging In his wrath and about
to burn incense he was smitten with
leprosy, a dreadful, incurabIe and I'M
clean disease. This Judgment came
upon Lin as a consequence of his
overweening pride and vanity. He was
thrust out of the neutrality-suspicious.
from Gods house. Indeed, his own
conscience smote him, and he hurried
~ went out because he knew that the
Lord had smitten him. He not only
was excluded from the place of wor-
ship, but was dethroned. His son
lothian was made regent. His judg-
ment was:
/. Sudden. The Lord smote him
while attired as priest, with censor In
hand. Frequently Gods judgments
are speedy. 2. Severe The leprosy
broke forth upon his forehead. The
same judgment befell Miriam for
speaking against Moses (Num y JOY,
and Gehazi for lying to Elisha (u
Kings 5:2D. Great sins demand
severe punishment. 3. Conspicuous.
Azariah and all the priests looked up
and beheId the leprosy ". 20) The
spot on Uzziah's forehead proclaimed
him as the object Of Gods wrath.
How many today are bearing about
the marks of sin-God's Judgment
4. Humiliating. He was henceforth
unclean-cut off from the congrega-
ton. This is what sin always does.
8. Fatal. 1t ended in death. '"The