We are capable people, aren't we? If your family came from the continent of Africa, you might be tempted to thank them for coffee and iron metallurgy. If your ancestors sailed from Scandinavian ports, they may have known such famous artists as Dahl and Krohg or, if you really go back, they might have fashioned something in an Oseberg style. Look at the developments that came from Asian lands: the domestication of wheat and rice, chess, gunpowder, and PlayStation. We, the human race, appear to be very capable people! But from where does this incredible ability come?
To answer that question --at least, partially --I present to you, King Uzziah, once king of Judah. He began his reign at age sixteen, taking the place of his father. Scripture says he did what was right in the sight of God, he consulted God so long as a prophet by the name of Zechariah was alive. But in the midst of all of his glorious achievements, we get a glimpse of not only something not quite right, but of what can happen when the God of all is relegated to a seat beside the throne of self. 2 Chronicles 26:5 says, "as long as he consulted ADONAI, God gave him success." Do I detect, perhaps, a time in which Uzziah did not consult God? Well, if we head on down to 2 Chronicles 26:15, 16, we read:
And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.
But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.
He was "marvelously helped." By Whom? We discover the answer when we read on that his strength was his undoing. His strength led him away from dependence on God, from the help he had received from God! King Uzziah stopped seeking help from the Lord because he began to believe he himself was enough. All along his strength had been from God; all along it was ADONAI who brought him victory and success and growth and fame. When he stopped reaching out to God for help, he had nothing left but his own resources, which, we see, amounted to very little. He could not even control his own health, and wound up separated from God's presence, from most human relationships, and from his throne.
Not convinced? Maybe it was the stress of rapid success that caused his health to fail. Maybe it was coincidence. Maybe a spiteful and self-promoting god punished him. Well, there's always King Jotham.
When King Uzziah died, King Jotham came to the throne of Judah. Scripture says he did what was right in the sight of God. And he was successful! Victory, success, growth, and fame. Sound familiar? Except for this distinction:
So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God (27:6).
That's it. No "as long as" a prophet was watching. No arrogance. No offense against God. His submission to God brought him might. And when good things came to him, he did not cease to submit to God.
God is the Giver of good gifts, whether it be the ability to create beauty, or design structures, or teach, or farm, or govern, or brew coffee --whatever the talent, it comes from God. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord! (Job 1:21) Aptitudes are not to be worshiped or guarded as though they are our possession. Doing so can prove to be our undoing, as it was with King Uzziah. Perhaps, as a race, we are more capably incapable: unable to even draw our next breath without the express permission and implementation of our King, but provided with certain resources with which we may work and play in the world He has given us. Those resources, skills and affinities to which we may be inclined, are not of ourselves, but by our Lord's intent and grace, that we should serve Him until He calls us to cease.
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