Fatal Flaw
Pride personified: from Byron's Curse How soon we forget. Uzziah was sixteen when he became king of Judah (2 Chronicles 26:1). At an age when most people think they know everything, the young king was wise enough to know that such a responsibility needed better prepared heads than his. It is written that: " He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success " (26:5, NIV). And he was successful. He enjoyed a fifty-two year reign. His enemies were defeated. He was wealthy and built up the wealth of the land. He was famous and became powerful. Then these ominous words: " But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God… " (26:16, NIV). He desecrated the temple by assuming the role of a priest and burning incense on the altar. The priests rebuked him. At that point he should have repented. Instead, Uzziah got angry because of ...