“Need extra money but don’t have the time? Try our new stock picking system. This is not day trading and only requires twenty minutes a week.”
Wow! This sounds too good to be true! The radio advertisement continued.
“Past performance is no guarantee of future success.”
Of course not! The requisite disclaimer at the end of an ad touting amazing financial returns always brings the listener back to reality. It is a sobering reminder that we cannot rest upon our laurels or past success. From investing to performances in sports or on the job, we need to remain vigilant and disciplined in all of our endeavors. King Uzziah of Judah learned this very painful lesson. He was a godly king whom God blessed because of his faithfulness to Him.
He did right in the sight of the LORD according to all that his father Amaziah had done. He continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding through the vision of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God prospered him.
2 Chronicles 26:4-5 (NASB)
Amongst his many accomplishments were tremendous military successes against Judah’s enemies, expanding and solidifying the kingdom. Uzziah even created novel weapons of war!
In Jerusalem he made engines of war invented by skillful men to be on the towers and on the corners for the purpose of shooting arrows and great stones. Hence his fame spread afar, for he was marvelously helped until he was strong.
2 Chronicles 26:15 (NASB)
All of these examples are given to illustrate and bolster the case for the remarkable success of Uzziah. As long as he obeyed God and relied upon Him for strength and guidance, God would bless and prosper him. His past performance should have been his blueprint for future success. However, near the end of his life, he succumbed to his pride and acted foolishly and arrogantly.
But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.
2 Chronicles 26:16 (NASB)
By burning incense in the temple, Uzziah was usurping the role of the priests. God punished him by afflicting him with leprosy, forcing him to live outside of the temple and his own home. As a leper, he could not govern and his son, Jothan, took over his duties.
King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death; and he lived in a separate house, being a leper, for he was cut off from the house of the LORD…
2 Chronicles 26:21 (NASB)
Let’s learn from the sobering example of one of the great saints of the Bible. Our pride can hinder our faith and we may then believe that we no longer need God in our lives. Like Uzziah, the results can be tragic.
Past performance is no guarantee of future success.
Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.
The Bereans Blog 