{"id":1999,"date":"2022-09-04T13:50:07","date_gmt":"2022-09-04T18:50:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/?p=1999"},"modified":"2022-09-04T13:50:07","modified_gmt":"2022-09-04T18:50:07","slug":"a-heart-lifted-up-to-destruction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/2022\/09\/04\/a-heart-lifted-up-to-destruction\/","title":{"rendered":"A Heart Lifted up to Destruction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
\u201cWherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.<\/strong>\u201d
1 Corinthians 10:12 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

King Uzziah was a great and mighty king in Judah.\nHe fortified the city of Jerusalem\nand became famous throughout the land. See how he is described in Second\nChronicles. \u201c4. And he did that which was<\/em> right in the sight of the\nLORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did. 5. And he sought God in the\ndays of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as\nhe sought the LORD, God made him to prosper<\/strong>\u201d (2 Chronicles 26:4-5). Notice\nthe important part of this verse \u2013 as long as he sought the Lord, God made him\nto prosper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, we see a great tragedy in his life. We can understand that\nKing Uzziah forgot to seek the Lord, pleasing himself instead of God. As we\ncontinue, remember, \u201cGod made him to prosper<\/strong>\u201d (2 Chronicles 26:5b). \u201cBut\nwhen he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his<\/em> destruction: for he\ntransgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to\nburn incense upon the altar of incense<\/strong>\u201d (2 Chronicles 26:16). We read that\nwhen King Uzziah was strong, his heart was lifted up. Notice it also tells us\nin the same verse (2 Chronicles 26:16), that<\/em><\/strong>\nwas what led to his destruction. When his heart was lifted up, it caused him to\n\u201ctransgress against the LORD his God.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toward the beginning of King Uzziah\u2019s life, he did something good in his\nlife, the principle of which we can read in the following verse. \u201cBut if\nfrom thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him<\/em>, if\nthou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul<\/strong>\u201d (Deuteronomy 4:29). Nevertheless, we also see how he\nfailed. He transgressed. When he was confronted with his sin, King Uzziah\nrefused to repent and return to God. Read what he should have done in the\nfollowing verses. \u201c6. Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon\nhim while he is near: 7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous\nman his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon\nhim; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon<\/strong>\u201d (Isaiah 55:6-7).\nInstead of forsaking the wrong he was about to do, he did what he wanted \u2013 and\nGod struck him with leprosy until his death. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even today, we are warned not to think of ourselves better\nthan we ought. \u201cFor I say \u2026 to every man that is among you, not to think of\nhimself<\/em> more highly than he ought to think \u2026<\/strong>\u201d (Romans 12:3). Remember,\nonce King Uzziah\u2019s heart was strong and lifted up, he thought more of himself\nthan he should have \u2013 trying to do the job that was only for the priest. It was\nthen that God struck him with leprosy. Uzziah could not have fallen any further\nthan to lose his position as king, separated from all of his people, while he\nwas still alive. He had to spend the rest of his life, estranged as a leper,\nwith his son judging God\u2019s people because Uzziah could no longer function as\nthe reigning king.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does the Bible say about pride? Does God like man to\nbecome proud? \u201cThough the LORD be<\/em> high, yet hath he respect unto the\nlowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off<\/strong>\u201d (Psalm 138:6). See also: \u201cBut\nhe giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth\ngrace unto the humble<\/strong>\u201d (James 4:6).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If one does become proud, what usually happens? See what\nJesus said in Matthew 23:12: \u201cAnd whosoever shall\nexalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be\nexalted.<\/strong>\u201d How about the following verse? \u201cWherefore let him that\nthinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall<\/strong>\u201d (1 Corinthians 10:12). More often than not, the proud person\nwill fall flat on their face. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As long as King Uzziah sought the Lord, God made him to prosper. The same is true for Christians today. Instead of having to rely upon men like Zechariah (the prophet), we have the Word of God recorded by men of God through the centuries \u2013 the Bible. We have it readily available \u2013 if we will only seek God and His Word. See the following words of encouragement for any who are not sure what God wants for His people. \u201c11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13. And ye shall seek me, and find me<\/em>, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD \u2026<\/strong>\u201d (Jeremiah 29:11-14a). While King Uzziah sought God, God blessed. When he forgot God, God dealt with him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you seek after God, understanding God will deal with you if your pride causes you to walk contrary to Him?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

King Uzziah was a great and mighty king in Judah. He fortified the city of Jerusalem and became famous throughout the land. See how he is described in Second Chronicles. \u201c4. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did. 5. And he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[318],"tags":[470,623,288,125,914,615,261,985,984,890],"class_list":["post-1999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-picture-with-verse-and-blog","tag-call","tag-contrary","tag-destruction","tag-heart","tag-humble","tag-pride","tag-righteous","tag-thoughts","tag-unrighteous","tag-uzziah"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1999"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2001,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1999\/revisions\/2001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}