At What Point Will Jehovah Intervene?

[Timl1980]

In case my title is misleading, please allow me to clarify right away.

 

When you sin, at what point will Jehovah intervene? All of us have free will, so we know from harsh experience that Jehovah will not stop us from doing wrong things. Therefore, the real question becomes...which means more to Jehovah...our actions? Or our reactions?

 

Please allow me to take you on a journey into a Bible character that we all know very well, and hopefully I will be able to convey in some small way a couple of points that a very loving sister showed me years ago.

 

Please...allow me to take you into the mind of a King of Israel...a very successful King.

 

His name was Azariah, and he became the King over the two tribe kingdom of Judah. At the tender age of just 16, he became King and reigned for 52 years, from 829-778 BCE.

 

During his reign...SIX kings came and went from the Northern ten tribe kingdom...and he was there to see four major Biblical prophets of Jehovah.

 

In his early years, this King had a mentor, Zechariah. This man was able to guide and direct him, the same way all of us were guided and directed by some of the brothers and sisters in our own congregations. He consulted Zechariah the same way we consulted some of the older friends in the congregation...but, of course...like this Israelite king...there comes a time when all of us have to stand on our own two feet.

 

What was the result? Did the King fail?

 

No, friends...everything he did succeeded...he was a military genius and undertook major works of construction in the small two tribe Kingdom.

 

Not only that...the scriptures actually reveal this King had a hobby...he was an engineer...being credited with inventing multiple arrow launchers and various kinds of catapults. Now...keep in mind...we're talking about the EIGHTH century BCE with all of this.

 

And yet...with all of these incredible accomplishments...this wasn't his passion.

 

His passion...of all things...was agriculture. He absolutely loved livestock and farming...in fact...when he turned his attention to his passion... he literally made the desert blossom.

 

But this King's strength...sadly became his weakness.

 

Before we read the account, please note that...in this version of events...this King is identified by his other name...mostly to avoid confusion. You see, the High Priest shared his name...so in the account...we find Azariah is identified as the High Priest...whereas the King is identified by the name that every single one of us instantly recognizes...Uzziah!

 

2 Chronicles 26:15-18 “Further, in Jerusalem he made engines of war designed by engineers; they were set on the towers and on the corners of the walls and could shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he received tremendous help and he became strong.16 However, as soon as he was strong, his heart became haughty to his own ruin, and he acted unfaithfully against Jehovah his God by entering the temple of Jehovah to burn incense on the altar of incense.17 Immediately Az·a·riʹah the priest and 80 other courageous priests of Jehovah went in after him.18 They confronted King Uz·ziʹah and said to him: “It is not proper for you, Uz·ziʹah, to burn incense to Jehovah! It is only the priests who should burn incense, for they are the descendants of Aaron, those who have been sanctified. Go out from the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully and you will receive no glory from Jehovah God for this.”

 

We know the story well...but what CAUSED him to do this?? Why would he be so presumptuous as to think he could just stroll into the holy and do such a thing?

 

We don't know...but take this into consideration...the Israelite's from the Northern ten tribe kingdom weren't making the trip to Jerusalem to worship Jehovah as they should...instead they were worshiping on the high places. Is it possible that Uzziah could have thought...I'll show them!! I will go in and take the lead...once they see ME worship Jehovah properly...they will all flock to Jerusalem!!

 

Friends...notice verse 16...as soon as he became strong...his heart became haughty.

 

His strength...turned into pride...and by following this man down the pathway that led him into the Holy...we might just come to understand ourselves a little better.

 

What was so wrong about offering some incense? Not only was the mixture itself holy, it couldn't even be prepared by regular Israelites...upon pain of death!! It was only to be prepared by the priests...and as we know...Uzziah was of the tribe of Judah...a non-priestly tribe.

 

But more than this...this sister pointed out something that made my blood BOIL at Uzziah!!

 

Do you know how often it might have been that a priest from the line of Aaron would have actually had the privilege of offering incense at the temple?

 

Perhaps only ONCE...in his entire lifetime!!

 

Not only did Uzziah rob Jehovah...he robbed Azariah of a very rare privilege!

 

Please follow me as we try to answer two questions: When exactly did Jehovah choose to intervene and act on Uzziah's sin? And what was his real sin? 

 

The scene, (as imagined by this sister):

 

King Uzziah is at his palace when he gets the brilliant idea of offering up incense at the temple...and just like us...he let the desire grow in his heart.

 

Picture him walking to the balcony of the palace...he can plainly see the temple on Mount Moriah...and just like that...he decides to go for a walk...just a small stroll to stretch his legs.

 

You'll never guess where he winds up!

 

Wow...how did I end up here...at the temple??

 

Then he takes a few more steps...and suddenly there he is...standing amidst the beauty of the priestly courtyard.

 

Time out...right here...he has committed a major sin!

 

Up until that point, he hadn't technically done anything wrong...he had bad thoughts...but no actions. But now, stepping out into the midst of the courtyard intended for the priests...he was instantly in the wrong place...at the wrong time.

 

And what does Jehovah do? Does he stop him? No, friends...he allows Uzziah to keep going.

 

Now he starts to pick up his courage and struts across the courtyard as if he belongs there...then he comes to the steps that lead to the Holy and walks right between the two towering pillars, Jachin and Boaz.

 

His certainty that he is right growing with every single step, he strides right into the Holy...a heart stopping, stunning sin that most Israelite's wouldn't have even dreamed of doing. Why, even the High Priest only entered there three times a year!

 

Now...my dear elderly sister paused and looked at me...her wise eyes holding my own as she spoke and echoed my own thoughts...Uzziah should have been absolutely overcome with the sheer awe and been humbled beyond words.

 

She had genuine tears in her eyes and said, “Imagine what he would have been looking at, Tim! He would have seen the cherubs!”

 

I didn't realize at the time that the cherubs represented upholding Jehovah's sovereignty...and at this point...this man should have realized he had stepped outside the bounds of his authority and was no longer in subjection to Jehovah.

 

But did he? No, friends. She grabbed my arm and whispered... “He kept walking, Tim! Every step was a fresh slap in the face of Jehovah...and what did Jehovah do??”

 

Absolutely NOTHING!!

 

Finally he approached the alter of incense and used his knowledge of the scriptures to prepare the sacred incense that Jehovah had declared punishable by death if anyone but a priest dared to replicate it.

 

This dear sister looked away from me and shook her head. “Can you believe it? Here he is...in a place where he has no business being...misusing a holy incense that instantly made him eligible for the death sentence...and just a few feet away sat the Most Holy.”

 

Perhaps he can see the tips of the poles of the Ark of the Covenant...maybe he gets an occasional glimpse of the cherubs...and STILL, my dear brothers and sisters...STILL Jehovah does nothing.

 

Now...now let's pick this account back up in verse 18 of 2 Chronicles 26: “They confronted King Uz·ziʹah and said to him: “It is not proper for you, Uz·ziʹah, to burn incense to Jehovah! It is only the priests who should burn incense, for they are the descendants of Aaron, those who have been sanctified. Go out from the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully and you will receive no glory from Jehovah God for this.”

 

He could have left, the sister said! Sure, he would have had some punishment...some form of sanctions...but he could have literally realized the enormity of what he had done and simply apologized and left. He would have been disciplined...but perhaps Jehovah would have spared him the leprosy.

 

And this is the point in this account where this dear sister left an imprint upon my heart and mind that will never fade...

 

She smoothed out the pages of her weathered Bible with age spotted hands and asked me... "Would you like to know what finally caused Jehovah to act? Read verse 19."

 

“But Uz·ziʹah, who had a censer in his hand to burn incense, became enraged; and during his rage against the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of Jehovah next to the altar of incense.”

 

There it was...clear as crystal!!

 

It was his reaction to counsel that condemned him in the end...in other words...it was his reaction...not his actions...that caused Jehovah to judge this man so severely.

 

And I said all of that...to say this: I was not disfellowshipped all those years ago because of my actions...I was disfellowshipped because of my REACTION to Jehovah's counsel.

 

Upon my return to Jehovah's organization...I have never forgotten that sister's words. She sensed in me something I could not see, and gave me the necessary counsel that allowed me to be grateful I didn't live in Bible times...or I surely would have been stricken with leprosy or stoned by my own parents.

 

Jehovah knows we will sin...he will let us sin...he won't stop us from ruining our own lives. He will simply provide the discipline and the counsel to find our way back to him...and then wait to see how we react.

 

[Dages]

On 12/4/2023 at 2:12 AM, Timl1980 said:

It was his reaction to counsel that condemned him in the end...in other words...it was his reaction...not his actions...that caused Jehovah to judge this man so severely.

I really like this point. Bookmarked for future reference  

[coolbrz731]

That is an amazing telling of Uzziah's story.  Sounds like it should be part of a talk or magazine article.  It really helps you to see that when different friends are disciplined differently for similar sins, it's a reflection of Jehovah's mercy and justice, and we can be sure that the elders carrying out this discipline aren't being "biased".  They're following instructions and applying principles.

[Timl1980]

6 minutes ago, coolbrz731 said:

That is an amazing telling of Uzziah's story.  Sounds like it should be part of a talk or magazine article

 

Actually I have no idea where she heard or learned it. She has a very vivid imagination...she once described a scene about Noah and his family out in service that sounded like it had come straight out of a story book. It wasn't based on fact and she wasn't even attempting to be dogmatic about it, she was simply sharing a piece of her imagination with us out in service. Sadly, she passed away quite a few years ago. but her telling of that account left a huge impression on me, even though I didn't appreciate it till years later.

[coolbrz731]

31 minutes ago, Timl1980 said:

 

Actually I have no idea where she heard or learned it. She has a very vivid imagination...she once described a scene about Noah and his family out in service that sounded like it had come straight out of a story book. It wasn't based on fact and she wasn't even attempting to be dogmatic about it, she was simply sharing a piece of her imagination with us out in service. Sadly, she passed away quite a few years ago. but her telling of that account left a huge impression on me, even though I didn't appreciate it till years later.

She sounds like a writer.  I would have loved to have her write stories of bible characters or stories about life in the new world.  Sounds like she'll have a passion to persue in the new world.

[Miss Bea]

This is absolutly one of the reasons i just love this site. I reread it, a couple of time, and, like you, dear brother, it has made an unforgetable mark on me. A really good one. 
We are told to use our imagination in placing ourselves in Bible accounts. This has happened, as a result of your post. 
That dear sister gave you a gift that is still giving. 
And, now, you are a part of that chain.

I thank you.💐

[Pikachu]

On 12/3/2023 at 6:12 PM, Timl1980 said:

 

It was his reaction to counsel that condemned him in the end...in other words...it was his reaction...not his actions...that caused Jehovah to judge this man so severely.

Thank-you! I ended up using this very sentence and telling this story to my daughter that I personally had to discipline earlier today. It's great to have a few more Bible stories to use as illustrations and explain concepts. It's getting bookmarked!