Participants:
Series Code: PJU
Program Code: PJU190004A
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00:03 Were the people in the Bible any different to us today?
00:10 Or ordinary people like you and me? 00:22 What can we find out from their lives 00:24 that will help us? 00:29 Find out with Pastor Geoff Youlden 00:31 and Rosemary Malkiewycz 00:33 here on People Just Like Us. 00:37 We're glad you joined us today 00:39 to explore another Bible character. 00:41 This time we'll be studying a very important topic 00:46 of being ruined by prosperity. 00:49 It sounds like we'll be looking at a very interesting person. 00:52 So, Geoff, who is it? 00:54 Uzziah, 00:55 not Isaiah that we're all familiar with, 00:58 but Uzziah. 00:59 Uzziah? 01:01 He's actually got two names in the Bible. 01:02 In the Book of Kings. 01:04 It's Azariah. Right. 01:06 But in the Book of Chronicles, 01:08 it's Uzziah. 01:11 And he started his reign at the age of 18 01:15 and continued for 52 years. 01:17 Boy, that was a long reign for a king. 01:19 Yes. 01:21 He was an old man when he finished, 01:24 and it's interesting that he was a good man, 01:28 a very, very good king. 01:31 But, like so often... 01:34 I don't like that word. Yeah. 01:35 But some things happened in his life. 01:39 And that's what we want to study about 01:40 because his life was ruined by prosperity. 01:44 That's true. 01:46 In fact, let me just read you, 01:47 this is 2 Chronicles 26:5. 01:54 It says, "He sought God in the days of Zachariah." 01:58 Mm-hmm. All right. 01:59 "He sought God in the days of Zachariah, 02:01 who had understanding in the visions of God, 02:04 and as long as he sought the Lord, 02:08 God made him prosper." 02:11 I mean, that's a wonderful lesson 02:13 for us all, isn't it? 02:14 As long as. 02:16 As long as he sought the Lord, then God prospered him. 02:21 But his life ended in tragedy. 02:24 You see, when he became king, 02:27 the young Uzziah had outstanding character traits 02:31 and wonderful abilities, amazing actually. 02:35 And things were very bad in the kingdom 02:36 when he came to reign. 02:39 Everything was at a very, very low ebb. 02:42 And the first thing he needed to do 02:44 was to subdue the Edomites 02:46 who were the descendants of Esau, 02:49 Jacob's brother. 02:50 And he took the port of Eloth, 02:53 which was down on the Red Sea that enabled the commerce 02:57 that operated in the days of King Solomon 03:00 to actually be revived again. 03:02 Yes. 03:03 So he was an amazing man. 03:05 Then he attacked the Philistines, 03:06 capturing Gath and Ashdod. 03:10 Then he captured two other nations 03:11 that had been thorns in Israel's flesh, 03:14 the Amorites and the Arabians. 03:17 And this conquest gave Uzziah 03:20 great standing among the nations. 03:22 In fact, his name was feared all the way down to Egypt. 03:27 So that'll give you some idea 03:29 the extent of his reign. 03:33 At home, he restored the defenses of Jerusalem, 03:35 building strong towers on the walls 03:38 to resist any besieging army. 03:41 He also invented military engines 03:43 like the catapults of the Romans. 03:46 And the purpose of that was, 03:47 of course, to hurl the arrows and darts 03:50 and to cast stones down upon any besieging army. 03:53 He organized a great standing army 03:55 of 307,000 men 03:59 and had a special crack troop 04:01 like David's mighty men, 04:03 except that Uzziah's numbered, 04:06 not 600 like David had 04:08 that he had crack troops 2,600. 04:12 Wow, that's a lot more. 04:13 A lot more. 04:15 Uzziah was also a great agriculturalist. 04:18 And I think that would be a real asset 04:20 for any leader of the people. 04:22 The Bible says he loved husbandry. 04:25 He cultivated vineyards in the mountains 04:27 and operated cattle stations in the low country 04:30 and on the plains. 04:31 And for their defense and their food, 04:34 he built towers to protect them and sunk wells for water. 04:38 So such was the reign of Uzziah. 04:41 So he was a warrior 04:44 and inventor and agriculturist. 04:46 Yes. 04:47 He was interested in his people. 04:49 Yes, such was his forte 04:52 because he loved God and was a great leader. 04:56 He was also a great general conqueror 04:58 and as you said, 05:00 a great inventor and a great agriculturist 05:02 and a great organizer. 05:04 Amazing. 05:05 This is what the Bible says about him 05:06 in 2 Chronicles 26:15. 05:11 "He made devices in Jerusalem 05:14 and invented by skillful men, 05:16 to be on the towers of the corners, 05:19 to shoot arrows and large stones." 05:21 So you can imagine the wall, 05:22 and he's talking about the corners of the wall, 05:25 to shoot arrows and large stones. 05:27 "So his fame spread far and wide, 05:30 for he was marvelously helped 05:34 till he became strong." 05:38 We get those words, don't we? 05:40 Till, but, until. 05:42 Till he became strong. 05:44 And, unfortunately, 05:48 verse 16, goes on to say, the next verse, 05:51 "But when he was strong 05:56 his heart was lifted up, 05:59 to his destruction, 06:00 for he transgressed against the Lord his God 06:03 by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense 06:07 on the altar of incense." 06:10 So we find now that he wanted to copy 06:14 all the other nations 06:16 because all the other nations, 06:19 the head person of the nation, the king, 06:23 or whoever they call him 06:25 was also the head of the religion 06:28 of the country. 06:30 And Uzziah shoulders 06:31 with all the surrounding nations, 06:33 and now he wanted to also be the head pontiff. 06:36 Yes. 06:38 Interesting name, the pontiff. 06:40 And he took that name, 06:41 and he was about to enter into the temple 06:47 when there was a problem, verse 17. 06:51 "So Azariah, the priest went in after him, 06:55 and with him were eighty priests of the Lord, 06:58 valiant men." 06:59 Now you can understand why the Bible refers to them 07:01 as valiant men in just a moment because of what they did. 07:05 "And they withstood King Uzziah, 07:07 and said to him, 'It is not for you, Uzziah, 07:10 to burn incense to the Lord, 07:12 but for the priests, 07:14 the sons of Aaron, 07:15 who are consecrated to burn incense. 07:18 Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! 07:21 You shall have no honor from the Lord God.'" 07:25 That's pretty straight language, isn't it? 07:27 It certainly is. 07:29 And the king was about to hit the priest 07:34 because it says, 07:38 "And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, 07:40 'It is not good for you, Uzziah, to burn incense.'" 07:42 And verse 19 says, "Then Uzziah became furious, 07:46 and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. 07:49 And while he was angry with the priests, 07:51 leprosy broke out on his forehead, 07:54 before the priests in the house of the Lord, 07:56 beside the incense altar." 07:58 In other words, he was about to strike the high priest 08:03 when suddenly leprosy break in. 08:06 No wonder they were valiant men. 08:07 They were. 08:09 I mean, you think about it, 08:10 they're confronting now the king 08:11 who's has ultimate power. 08:13 He could have them all killed. Yep. 08:15 And so here we find that 08:19 these men confront King Uzziah 08:22 for doing this dreadful thing. 08:25 And it was presumption 08:28 for him to go in 08:30 and think that he could do what God had said only 08:33 the priests would stand beside the altar. 08:34 But once again, he was copying the other nations, you see? 08:36 That's the position they had. So he wanted to be like them. 08:40 You know, we've heard that over and over and over again, 08:42 you know, we wanna be like everybody else. 08:44 And he certainly wanted to be like them, 08:47 and he was thrown out and became a leper. 08:49 Now once he became a leper, 08:52 of course, he was banished, 08:55 and he could no longer be the king, 08:56 so he lost everything. 08:58 And God did not heal him of that leprosy. 08:59 No. He died with leprosy. 09:02 And I guess, Rosemary, 09:04 it brings up the issue 09:06 of the danger of prosperity. 09:10 Because this only happened towards the end of his life 09:13 when he was very, very prosperous. 09:15 In other words, God had blessed him 09:17 over and over and over and over and over again. 09:20 And as he grew in prosperity, 09:23 his pride grew at the same time. 09:25 Yes. 09:27 And this is what led to him doing this... 09:30 This dreadful thing. 09:32 And, of course, in life, 09:33 everyone wants to succeed, don't they? 09:34 I mean, we all want to be successful 09:36 in what we do. 09:37 And there's nothing wrong with that. 09:39 But of course... 09:41 It's what we do with it. It is. 09:43 And it's whether we allow ourselves 09:46 to remain humble, 09:48 and realize that every good gift 09:51 that we have, 09:53 that we inherit, 09:54 all the way given comes from God. 09:58 James 1:17. Yes. 10:00 And so there's a perilous time with success. 10:04 And I mean, I guess, 10:07 we could recite illustrations of people. 10:10 We can. 10:11 I remember a family in Western Australia. 10:15 They're just an ordinary family, 10:17 and they moved to another town 10:20 and got involved in a business that became very successful. 10:25 They built a huge home, 10:29 started buying boats and things like that. 10:32 They stopped going to church. 10:35 God was left out of the picture 10:37 because now they had all this wealth 10:38 and everything the heart can desire. 10:41 And there was no room for God anymore. 10:43 It was very, very sad. 10:44 I don't know whatever happened to them. 10:46 Whether they came back, whether they continued that behavior, 10:50 but that's what they were doing. 10:52 Well, that's the danger. 10:53 I guess, there's so many illustrations. 10:55 I mean, in the Bible, there's lots of illustrations of men, 11:01 one that comes to my mind is Nebuchadnezzar. 11:05 Now you think of what Nebuchadnezzar went through, 11:09 and he became so big in his own opinion. 11:12 In fact, he said, "Look at this great Babylon, 11:15 that I have built." 11:16 With his hanging gardens. Yes. 11:17 "For my prosperity and so forth." 11:20 It was all centered on him. 11:22 And God had to humble Nebuchadnezzar. 11:25 You know, the story it's recorded 11:26 there in the Gospel of Daniel, 11:29 and this great Babylon... 11:32 I mean, it's true as you said, 11:34 he built the hanging gardens of Babylon, 11:36 which is still recognized 11:37 as one of the wonders of the ancient world. 11:39 That's right. 11:40 He married this Median princess 11:42 who had been brought up 11:44 in the high country in the hills... 11:46 In the mountains. In the mountains. 11:47 And, of course, when he married her 11:50 and brought her down to the hot desert 11:55 in Iraq today. 11:58 You can understand that she wasn't used to that. 12:00 So he tried to make her happy. 12:04 And he built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. 12:06 Now whether he made his wife happy, we don't know. 12:09 But he certainly built one of the wonders 12:11 of the ancient world. 12:12 And, in fact, it's recorded in Daniel. 12:16 Let's just go over to Daniel Chapter 4, where it's... 12:22 Daniel Chapter 4. 12:27 And this is after his seven years eating grass, 12:32 like the cattle... 12:34 And being rained on. 12:35 And being rained on 12:36 and being just like an animal in verse 37, 12:40 when he came to his senses and his madness left him. 12:45 It says, "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, 12:48 praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, 12:51 all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. 12:58 And those who walk in pride, 13:01 He is able to put down. 13:05 So, you know, Nebuchadnezzar recognized the dangers. 13:09 That's a different man. Different man. 13:12 He was not like that before 13:14 where he would force people to worship 13:15 whatever he wanted them to worship, 13:17 and he was always bragging about himself. 13:21 This time, he's praising the God of heaven, 13:24 who does all things. 13:25 Yes. 13:26 Well, we believe that Nebuchadnezzar 13:28 was a converted man, as a result... 13:31 And sometimes, the Lord, 13:32 you know, when we think about our lives, 13:34 sometimes the Lord has to allow us 13:35 to go through bad experiences in order to keep us humble. 13:41 Because the natural tendency of us all, 13:44 you know, it's not just some people, 13:46 all of us, battle with this matter of pride 13:50 and the more success we have, 13:52 and the more successful we are, the greater is the danger. 13:57 And it's not just prosperity being money. 14:00 No. Prosperity can be success. 14:03 It can be popularity, it can be power. 14:06 Yes. 14:08 There's a number of different things 14:09 that we can think of as the person 14:11 is being prosperous or successful. 14:14 It can be many different things 14:17 that take people's hearts away from God. 14:20 Exactly. 14:21 Where they are looked up to be fame. 14:24 I was just thinking of this verse 14:25 over here in Deuteronomy, you know, Moses... 14:28 I love the Book of Deuteronomy 14:29 because it's really Moses' sermons. 14:32 And he was preaching to the people 14:33 and over here in the Chapter 8 of Deuteronomy, 14:37 he makes the statement, 14:38 and you would think, I mean, so relevant. 14:42 You know, the Bible's such a wonderful book, 14:44 and it's so real. 14:46 Listen to what Moses now 14:48 is admonishing the children of Israel, and he says this. 14:52 Look, this is 8:11. 14:56 "Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God 15:03 by not keeping His commandments, 15:05 His judgments, and His statutes 15:07 which I command you today, lest..." 15:09 You know, that word, you know, like the but or the lest. 15:13 "Lest when you have eaten and are full, 15:17 and you have built beautiful houses," 15:20 this is like your illustration, 15:22 "and dwell in them, 15:23 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, 15:27 and your silver and your gold are multiplied, 15:30 and all that you have is multiplied, 15:34 when your heart is lifted up, 15:36 and you forget the Lord your God 15:39 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 15:42 from the house of bondage, 15:45 who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, 15:48 in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land 15:53 where there was no water, 15:54 who brought water for you out of the flinty rock, 15:57 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, 16:00 which your fathers did not know, 16:02 that He might humble you and that He might test you, 16:07 to do you good in the end, then you say in your heart, 16:13 'My power and the might of my hand 16:17 have gained me this wealth.'" 16:19 How insightful was Moses in making those statements. 16:24 Because, as I said, 16:25 we could go through the Bible and through life, all of us, 16:29 I'm sure, know of people, 16:31 that when they've had prosperity, 16:35 when they're in a simple way, their heart is toward God. 16:39 And we see this today in the developing world. 16:43 Yes. 16:44 People flock to hear the Bible. 16:50 But when we get to countries like the developed world, 16:54 the Western world, it's a very, very different matter. 16:57 Everybody's got enough. Why is it? 16:59 Because we're rich and increase with goods. 17:03 In fact, we're in need of nothing. 17:04 Why do we need God? 17:06 And that's, of course, 17:07 here what Moses was warning the people about. 17:12 It's interesting there in verse 16. 17:14 It says that He might humble you, 17:16 and that He might test you, 17:18 to do you good in the end. 17:21 That's right. 17:23 He's wanting to do good for us. 17:25 But sometimes He's got to let us go through trials 17:27 because we have built ourselves up 17:30 and trusting ourselves too much. 17:31 Yes. Thank you. 17:33 There's another statement over here in Hosea, 17:35 which is a little book after Daniel, Hosea. 17:39 And it makes this statement which is same thing. 17:43 There's so much in the Bible on this very subject. 17:48 This is Hosea 13:6, where it says, 17:53 "When they had pasture, they were filled. 17:58 They were filled and their heart was exalted. 18:02 Therefore they forgot Me." 18:05 Now that speaks volumes. 18:06 It does. 18:08 In other words, the more God bless them, 18:10 the more God pour His special blessing on the people, 18:13 the more tendency is to forget God all together. 18:16 Prosperity and wealth can be our worst enemy. 18:18 Yeah. 18:20 So there's very few of us, 18:22 I think that God can really trust with a lot of money. 18:26 That's why God keeps a lot of people poor. 18:30 Yes. We can be thankful for that. 18:31 Yes, He knows. 18:33 Because there are just too many illustrations 18:35 in the Bible of people 18:36 who have been blessed by God and then turned their hearts. 18:41 Another good illustration, Rosemary, 18:45 is the story of Hezekiah. 18:47 I mean, when you read the story of Hezekiah, 18:50 his prosperity was wonderful. 18:52 In fact, when you read his story, 18:54 there's not one wrong thing recorded 18:58 against him in all his early years 19:01 until he became sick and near death, the Bible says, 19:06 and he was so upset to think that when Isaiah came in, 19:10 he said, "Get your house in order, Hezekiah, 19:12 because you're going to die." 19:14 And Hezekiah being a man of prayer 19:15 got down on his knees, and he began to pray. 19:18 And he prayed and prayed. 19:19 And God then chose to answer Hezekiah's prayer 19:23 as Hezekiah wanted it 19:25 to be answered to extend his life. 19:26 And you may remember, he extended it 19:28 by what was it, 15 years? 19:29 Fifteen years. Yes. 19:31 Fifteen years. 19:32 Well, I thought about that because it would be fine 19:34 while it was 15, then in 14, and 13, 19:40 and then even 6, and 5, and 4, 19:45 I reckon the stress levels will be starting to rise now. 19:49 Three, two, and in the last year, 19:52 I reckon the stress levels would be up 19:53 and maybe it's best 19:54 that we don't know when we're going to die. 19:56 That's right. 19:57 Because Hezekiah was able to work it out 20:00 because God told him. 20:01 And remember, he prayed for a sign. 20:04 And the sign that God gave him 20:06 was that he put the sun back 10 degrees 20:08 which made the day longer. 20:10 And the people over in Babylon and Assyria they, 20:13 of course, were great sun worshipers 20:15 and they discussed it and discovered 20:17 most of our mathematics today. 20:19 That's right. 20:20 They still use the system that they had based on the six. 20:23 On the 60 system, yes. 20:26 And so they then came over, 20:30 when they heard that it was the God of Hezekiah 20:34 that actually was able to put their God back. 20:38 They sent a delegation over to Hezekiah 20:43 to learn about this God who could shift their God. 20:46 And so you can imagine all that. 20:48 Then poor Hezekiah when he heard 20:51 that the very best in the world of smartest men 20:57 were all coming over to sit at his feet. 21:00 Wow! That's a privilege and an honor. 21:01 All his buttons on his shirt popped off. 21:03 Yes. And his head began to swell. 21:06 And it's interesting that when you read the story in, 21:12 I think it is 2 Kings, when they came over. 21:20 2 Kings 20:13, it says, 21:22 "And Hezekiah was attentive to them, 21:25 and showed them all the house of his treasures, 21:30 the silver, the gold, and all his armory 21:33 and all that was found among his treasures. 21:35 There was nothing in his dominion 21:38 that Hezekiah did not show them." 21:39 In other words, this man who had been such a man of prayer, 21:45 all through his life, 21:47 you know, the story of Sennacherib coming down. 21:49 It's just marvelous the way he prayed and trusted in God... 21:54 To deliver him from the Assyrians. 21:56 But in this case, there is no reference 21:59 that Hezekiah praying to ask for God's guidance 22:02 when these men were coming over. 22:03 He had to show them everything he had, 22:07 and how good he was because he had them. 22:10 And God called Hezekiah 22:11 and He said, "Hezekiah, I got something to say to you." 22:13 After the man went home, 22:15 "He said everything that you've shown them 22:18 they're gonna come down and take the lot." 22:21 And Hezekiah prayed, "Dear Lord, 22:24 then may it not be in my day, 22:26 may it be in my son's day." 22:28 You know, if I've been writing the Bible, 22:30 I don't know whether I would have put that in 22:31 because that doesn't show Hezekiah up 22:33 in a good light, does it? 22:34 It's a very, very bad lot. 22:37 In fact, the Bible over and over and over again 22:41 record statements like this. 22:43 Over in 2 Chronicles, 22:44 which is toward the middle of the Bible more. 22:47 2 Chronicles, this is a good verse, Chapter 32. 22:52 2 Chronicles Chapter 32 22:59 and verse 31. 23:00 This is a very interesting verse where it says, 23:04 "However, regarding the ambassadors 23:08 of the princes of Babylon," 23:10 that's what we've been referring to, 23:13 "whom they sent to him to inquire about the wonder 23:16 that was done in the land," 23:18 that's when the sun went back, 23:21 "God withdrew from him, in order to..." 23:25 Test him. 23:27 "Test him, that He might know all that was in his heart." 23:31 In other words, this verse tells us 23:33 that sometimes God gives us prosperity 23:37 and blesses us to test us. 23:40 That's right. 23:42 And unfortunately, we often fail the test. 23:46 Yes, well, it's a strange thing, isn't it, humanity? 23:50 That the very blessing that God wants to give to us all 23:54 we often abuse and turn away from God. 23:59 And so over and over again, 24:01 the Bible records the fact that the tendency of the human heart 24:06 is to forget God 24:07 and they are just so many illustrations in the Bible. 24:09 Solomon's one of the big ones. 24:12 Solomon didn't ask for wealth, he asked for wisdom, 24:15 God gave him wealth as well. 24:17 So then even the drinking vessels were all of gold. 24:21 His throne was ivory. 24:22 And the Bible says it was overlaid with the best gold. 24:26 He had servants. 24:28 He had masses of food every day at his table. 24:33 He turned away from God because his heart became proud. 24:37 It's a tragic story, isn't it? 24:38 I mean, when you think of the ability that Solomon had... 24:41 He turned out to not be so wise in the long run. 24:44 Well, because he forgot God 24:46 and I think the wonderful amazing lesson 24:49 that all of us need to learn, both, you and I, 24:54 Rosemary, and our viewers, that prosperity and blessings, 25:01 we must never, 25:02 ever forget that God is the author of those things. 25:07 And that all that we have, 25:08 all that we ever will be, is really to do with Him. 25:13 And we must pray a prayer. 25:18 "Lord, help us not to make those mistakes." 25:20 Help us to remain humble. 25:22 There are too many illustrations 25:23 in the Bible of men and women 25:26 who have done exactly that, 25:28 to be under any illusion that it could happen to us. 25:33 And I'm sure all of us can know of people 25:37 who have been blessed by God 25:39 and who had wonderful opportunities. 25:42 And as soon as they've had some blessing, 25:45 their heart has turned. 25:47 That's right. 25:48 So sometimes can be very dangerous 25:49 to be wanting to have that prosperity. 25:56 The Bible says, "Godliness with contentment is great gain." 26:00 Or Paul says, "I have found," what? 26:03 "In whatsoever state I am there with to be content 26:06 and to not be wanting to chase fame 26:10 or riches or power whatever it may be," 26:14 because it can easily turn our hearts from God. 26:17 One of the old saints of yesteryear 26:19 prayed a prayer that I like. 26:21 He said, "Dear Lord, help me not to have a departing heart. 26:25 Grant that I will not have a departing heart." 26:28 Meaning a heart that turns away from God. 26:30 That's right. 26:32 So I would encourage our viewers today, Rosemary, 26:36 to pick up their Bibles 26:39 and read the story of Uzziah and meditate on it 26:45 because there's no one, not one of us, 26:49 who can be immune to the problems that Uzziah faced. 26:54 That's right. I agree with you. 26:55 And as you said... 26:57 As the Bible says, God tests us. 27:00 He proves us to say whether or not we'll be faithful. 27:04 And part of that process is to show us our faults. 27:08 So we can see ourselves for what we really are 27:10 because we don't see our faults. 27:12 We see everybody else's. 27:15 Remember, the Bible has been written 27:17 as an illustration to teach us. 27:19 And so, 2 Chronicles, remember? 27:22 Our viewers can look up 2 Chronicles Chapter 26. 27:26 And I encourage you to read it again this week. 27:29 As you go through life, Geoff, 27:31 I think that you start to realize 27:33 that there is nothing more important in this world 27:37 than God and eternal life. 27:39 Don't let anything get in your way of that. 27:44 Don't make anything more important in your life 27:46 than living with God forever. 27:48 That's the most important thing. 27:51 Thank you for joining us. 27:52 We look forward to seeing you next time and God bless you. |
Revised 2020-01-08