But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted
corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple
of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. Then Azariah the priest
entered after him and with him eighty priests of the LORD, valiant men. They
opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to
burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are
consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been
unfaithful and will have no honor from the LORD God." (2 Chronicles
26:16-18)
I. Don't ever forget that pride begins with
accomplishment, whether perceived or real.
God
had led him to all this success, but whenever you begin to succeed in life,
it's inevitable the devil will seek to make you proud of that blessing, even
though the blessing didn't originate in you.
II. Pride will take root when you forget where your
success came from.
You see that's the key. It
takes root when you forget where your success came from. Look back at verse 5,
"As long as he sought the Lord, the God gave him
success." Look at
the last line in verse 15: "His fame spread far and wide" …
"for he was greatly helped..." Who greatly helped him? God greatly helped him until he became
powerful. But he forgot where his
strength came from.
III. Pride will show itself first in your relationship with
God.
The one who will first
notice the pride in your heart, is God himself. God knew about Uzziah's pride, even when the
Egyptians were bragging about him.
IV. Pride will cause you to do things that are not right!
When “puffed up” you
forget about the Word of the Lord and do things your own way. You presume upon God. Read verse 16,
"...He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and
entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense." Uzziah had no right to do that because he was
not a priest. That was a responsibility that only the priest could undertake.
V. Pride will cause confrontation.
A brave priest dares to
confront the king. Verse 17 … "Azariah the
priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. They
confronted him and said, 'It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to
the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been
consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful;
and you will not be honored by the Lord God.'" If pride begins to develop in your heart, some
courageous godly person will confront you about your pride. Sooner or later, it
will manifest itself.
VI. When pride is confronted, it will be angry.
In verse 19, "Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to
burn incense, became angry." You see pride doesn't think
anybody has the authority to confront it. Pride thinks it has the ability and the
authority to set all the rules. Pride
will become angry when confronted.
VII. Pride leads to the fall.
…and while he was
enraged with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the
priests in the house of the LORD, beside the altar of incense. Azariah the
chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous on
his forehead; and they hurried him out of there, and he himself also hastened
to get out because the LORD had smitten him. (2 Chronicles 26:19-20)
The priest couldn't get
him out of the temple, but God could and the same Lord who had helped him and
who had prospered him, that same Lord smote him because Uzziah had gone too
far.
Since the Garden of Eden
the greatest enemy of man has been the sin of pride. Be careful when you succeed to give God the
glory and remain humble before Him.
Scripture
to Claim:
Pride goes
before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18
