II Kings 15:1-3a In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, became king. He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord
Uzziah, or as he is called here Azariah, does not get a lot of attention in this chapter. At least as far as any details of his reign are concerned. But we are told his age, the length of his reign, (in later verses we learn he had leprosy), and that he did what was right in the sight of the Lord.
For fifty-two years he served God as king. Longer than any other king of Judah. Fifty-two years, no headlines. No excitement. Just a king doing what God wanted him to do.
From a human perspective, some might say that Uzziah was kind of boring, undeser-ving of much more than a footnote. But if he is boring, he is boring in a similar way that a man or woman celebrating a fifty years of marriage is boring. Stability is not exciting. It’s often boring by definition. Stability is sameness. But stability is the best thing!
If you are on a six-hour, cross-country flight and every twenty minutes you look out the window and see all the bolts on the engine fastened tight, that’s boring. Just the engine of the airplane doing what the engine of the airplane was designed to do. Excitement would come if you looked out the window and saw one bolt after another wiggling loose and falling out
Excitement is over-rated! Yet the chasing after excitement is what dooms so many to so much heartache and drama. For the committed follower of Christ, doing what Jesus asks of us is fulfillment. Excitement will come later for sure. When Uzziah got to Heaven, and the record was read aloud, to hear “He did what was right in the sight of the Lord” would be pretty exciting!
Today, for me, is very much like the yesterday and countless days before it. I got out of bed and spent time reading the Bible and praying. Tomorrow’s forecast looks similar. But I wouldn’t change a thing! In fact, I get excited just thinking about the day I’ll stand before God and hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
Blessings,
Pastor Russ
