
2 Chronicles 26:16-18
Verse 18 They confronted King Uzziah 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.”
We have been talking about getting near to God to hear Him. One of the things we must know is that we need to come near to Him on His terms, not our own.
In the Old Testament God had set up a system of having priests as the mediators between God and the people. In that system only those from Aaron’s bloodline were to hold the office of priest. They were to bring the offerings and incense to their respective altars. God had reasons for setting it up this way and one of them was to keep the temple pure. This not to say that the priests were perfect, free from sin, but that they were chosen for this service.
King Uzziah had become king at age 16 and had been known as a king who feared God. And as long as he feared God he succeeded in his reign but as he rose in greatness he lost track of the fact that his success was because of God. His going into the temple to burn incense on his own shows how low his view of God had become. He had gone from God’s favor to seeing himself as above God’s law. His pride got the best of him.
But the high priest followed him in and had 80 of the priests with him. The Bible says that these men were courageous. Can you imagine how much courage it would take to confront the king about a sin? Most of us find it hard to even confront ourselves about our sin let alone the leader of the nation! And don’t forget that they did it in the temple. They were correcting the king in the very presence of God.
These men could stand in the presence of God with courage because they had the right to be there. This was their job and calling. They had a right to be in the temple of the King of kings because He had appointed them to be there. They knew where they stood with God. They also knew where the king stood with God. We don’t need priests anymore as Jesus is our High Priest and mediator between God and us. We need to remember that the quality of our worship hinges on where we stand with God. Are we living in obedience?
Making It Personal
What is your standing with God? Are you in good enough standing with God due to obedience, that you can approach Him with humility? If there is a barrier between you and God what are you doing about it?
Making It Personal Kids
Why is it important to worship God in the way He wants us to? Do you know how God wants you to worship Him? How do you worship Him?
Closing Prayer
Father, we want to worship You in the way that You want us to. We want to live in obedience to You. Please lead us and guide us to be the people You want us to be. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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