The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 264

kings of Judah in succession exhibited this characteristic. They begin well, serve God for a time and prosper, yet stumble and fail at last. We have seen the fates of Joash and Amaziah; o.nd Azariah furnishes a third example. I. AZAnIAH's BEION. 1. His righteous rule. Azariah began to reign when only sixteen years of ap:e; he reigned long-fifty-two years, and during the greater part of hie reign he signalized himself as a king that did right. Save that the high places were unremoved, the praise given to him is unqualified. He was an able, energetic ruler, much more so than either his father or grandfather. The virtue of his reign is traced in Chronicles to the influence of a good man, Zechariah, " who had understanding in the visions of God" (2 Chron. xxvi. 5)-a.nother example of the power for good exercised by prophets in the political history of Judah (cf. 2 Chron. xxiv. 2, 17; xxv. 7). 2. His prosperity. On this the Book of Chronicles dilates. So long as Azariah ( or Uzziah) sought the Lord, God made him to prosper. Everything he touched went well with him. It was long since Judah had so enlightened, so enterprising, and so able a king. He subjugated the Philistines, the .Arabians of Gur-baal, and the .Ammonites; he greatly strengthened the defences of Jerusalem; he developed the resources of the country, and fostered agriculture; he brought the organization and equipment of the army to a high pitch of perfection. As it is stated, "His name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong" (2 Chron. xxvi 15). It was as if God wished, by the abundance of his blessings, to teach .Azariah and his people that assuredly their true advantage lay in his service. The previous reigns had given examples of this; but here was a new proof, still.more undeniable than the preceding. Yet it was ineffectual to restrain from sin. II. AZARIAH'B LEPROSY, 1. The worm at the root. .Azariah had scarcely reached the acme of his power, when, as in the case of his predecessors, declension began. Unwamed by the past, he allowed his heart to grow proud and haughty. He was head of the state; why should he not also be head of the Church? His prophetic adviser was by this time removed, e.nd he was left to the bent of his own will. In his arrogance, he insisted on going into the holy place of the temple to burn incense to the Lord. It was there his doom fell upon him. We are again reminded of the subtle temptations that lie in prosperity. When men wax fat, they kick; and their hearts are apt to be lifted up to their destruction (Dent. viii. 11-14; xxxii. 15). Once let pride enter the heart, and deterioration is rapid. Its beginnings may be unseen, but it by-and-by reveals itself in overt acts. 2. The stroke from heaven. It was Heaven's laws that .Aze.riah was defying, and it was from heaven the blow came which struck his pride low. While yet he stood at God's altar, offering unhe.llowed incense, the leprous spot began to burn in his forehead, and in presence of the priests, whose protestations he despised, he felt himself a leper. The priests, in horror, thrust him out from the holy place. But it needed not their violence: "Yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the Lord had smitten him" (2 Chron. xxvi. 20). How quickly God can bring the_haughtiness of men low I He is a jealous God, and what touches the honour of his sanctuary and worship is of special concern to him. We are warned against will- worship in God's service (Col. ii. 23; cf. Numb. x. 1, 2). The leprosy was but the outward token of the invisible sin of pride; yet how little shame the reality of sin occasions, as compared with that caused by an outward symbol of it like this 1 We may believe that in the end inward character will somehow stamp itself upon the outward appearance, e.nd then men will see sin in its real loathsomeness. 3. Jotham as vicegerent. We are told that from this time .Azariah took no more part in public business. Ho dwelt ape.rt "in o. several house "-a living evidence of the weakness of man in contending with God, of the dishonour which is the Nemesis of presumptuous sin, of the isolation which they bring upon themselves who refuse the bounds which God's Law prescribes. During this period, Jothe.m, the king's son, acted as his deputy. It would appear, from comparison with the Israelitish reigns, and with .Assyrian chronology, that Jotham's sixteen regnal years include this period when "he was over the house, judging the people of the land." Sin is a living death. .Aze.riah was king in name, but morally, physically, legally, he was dead; for leprosy in the body is simply a process of decay and death. When, in fact, he did die, he wo.s buried in Jerusalem, but in e." several" tomb, as during life he had dwelt in a" several" house (2 Chron. xxvi. 23).-J, 0.  THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. [en. xv. 1-38.