Uzziah was only sixteen when he became king over God’s great nation of Israel. Just a teenager, but he was full of ambition for the success of his nation.
He made wonderful advances in agriculture-deep wells for water, fields for grape vines and pasture for cattle. This was his specialty, and he loved it. The nation of Israel prospered.
King Uzziah was also concerned about the defense of Israel. He had a large, powerful army which knew how to use machines for fighting, invented by skillful men. In all this, he received his strength and wisdom from God, who helped him marvelously until he was strong.
If you read this story in the Old Testament, you will see that this happened before God sent His Son Jesus to earth to die for that nation. God loved His people then, and He loves them now, even though they shouted against Jesus, “Crucify Him, crucify Him” (Luke 23:2121But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. (Luke 23:21)).
When King Uzziah went about his business, he saw the beautiful temple every day in which God had planned for His people to worship Him. There were no seats in that temple - no sitting down - because the animal sacrifices were never finished. There were priests wearing special robes who killed and burned the animals on the altar outside the temple door, just as God had instructed them to do. And inside the temple was the beautiful, golden incense altar where the priests burned incense, lifting sweet odors to the God of heaven. Only the priests were allowed inside, just as God had instructed. God doesn’t need locks on His doors to keep people out.
King Uzziah’s heart was bursting with his fame and success. It seemed as if there was nothing he could not do. Since God had helped him so much, he felt that he could go right in and offer sweet incense inside the temple. Why not? Who could say no to the king?
God could. And He can say no to you too, no matter who you are or what robes you wear. You may sing His praises very sweetly, but are you really fit to be there, worshipping before Him? God has no locks on His doors to keep you out, but God is God. You cannot trespass into His presence - you must follow His instructions.
The priests had a right to go in because they were born to that position, and they were cleansed according to God’s order by the blood of a clean animal in sacrifice. If you wish to go into the presence of God, are you born again? Have you been cleansed by the blood of Christ? Jesus said, “No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:66Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)).
“Go out!” cried the priests to King Uzziah. But this made the king angry. They could not order him to . . . and suddenly the great king realized that God had struck him with leprosy in his forehead. The priests hurried him out of the temple, and he was in a rush to get out himself. But he could not go back to his palace; he had to go to an isolated house, for he was now a leper—a person having that terrible disease that was incurable and that would spread to others. Uzziah learned his lesson, but it was a hard lesson, and there could be no return to his former life as a reigning king.
Will you wait to learn your lesson until there is no return and you stand before the great white throne? Then you will be in the presence of God with no blood to cleanse you from your sins and no second chance. Or will you learn now to come to God through the Lord Jesus Christ who gave His precious blood to cleanse you from every sin?