2 Chronicles 26:1-15
King Uzziah comes across to us as a man with exceptional understanding and concern. His particularly long reign of fifty-two years is filled with a remarkable amount of activity. The king sees to it that his people do not go short of anything: wells, cattle, ploughed land, vineyards, and all protected by a strong military presence. In short he guarantees both prosperity and security for his kingdom. Are not all the efforts of men geared towards these two aims? And where does that generally get them? Does it make them thankful to God? Do they use their goods for the Lord’s work? Sadly they give themselves the credit for them, they trust in their own acquired wealth and enjoy it in their own selfish way! These dangers also exist for the believer who is comfortably well off. He runs a big risk of relying on his own resources and thinking he is strong. At the same time, he stops counting on God’s marvellous help (v. 15) and loses the benefit of it. Under such conditions a fall will not be long in coming.
Uzziah had prepared everything to defend against an attack from outside. But he had neglected to attend to the internal front, in other words his own heart.