As we read the verses in Genesis recounting the fall of humanity, we find ourselves wanting to shout to Adam and Eve, “Don’t do it. Don’t take the enemy’s bait!” But they did, and we quickly see the results of their failure and pride’s emergence in their lives as they cave in to Satan’s temptation.
Adam and Eve had to leave their home, their place of safety and blessing, because they believed the enemy’s lie that told them they could become like God. Instead of rushing to the Lord for help and understanding, they did what King Uzziah did years later. They allowed their hearts’ devotion to be swayed by thoughts of prideful temptation.
Azariah the priest entered the temple, saw what Uzziah was about to do, and opposed him, saying, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the LORD God” (2 Chron. 26:18). Sorrow and sadness are pride’s only rewards.
Even after hearing this rebuke, the king remained unrepentant and headstrong. “Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the altar of incense” (v. 19).
The priests immediately left Uzziah’s presence, and once he realized what he had done, Uzziah fled the house of the Lord, the same thing Adam and Eve did after sinning against God. In their case, however, God had a greater plan in store. He used their failure as an entrance-way to proclaim the coming of the Messiah — the One who would overthrow Satan and his evil entrapment of sin and death.
As far as we know, Uzziah never turned back to the Lord in humility. He spent the rest of his life living as a leper in a separate house, cut off from God’s presence and His goodness (2 Chron. 26:21). What a sorrowful fate for someone who had such a promising beginning — a man who had spent most of his life living in devotion to God. In the prime of his life, fame became a stumbling block to him. His pride had turned him away from God.
This account of King Uzziah’s life should be a strong warning to us. Whenever we begin to believe that we are so important that we do not have to be held accountable for what we do or say, then we can be sure we are headed for a fall. Or when we refuse to obey God in a given area, we can expect to experience His discipline in our lives.
The reason is simple: pride isolates us from God. It prevents us from becoming people with hearts devoted solely to Him. This is the reason He hates it. He knows it is a stumbling block, and if left unchecked, it will wreak havoc in our lives. But more than this, pride exalts self and not God. Instead of God receiving the glory for our lives, we seek praise and glory for ourselves.