2 Chronicles 26:3-5, 15 Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign... And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper... And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.
When the Bible tells us that God made someone to prosper, I want to know why He did. The simple reason? I want to get in on it! I want a prosperous home. I want a prosperous life. We want a prosperous church. If God gives examples of successful people, and also the ingredients that helped them, I want to know what they were.
In these verses, I see two reasons that King Uzziah became successful. We see why he was helped, and how he had the wisdom to accomplish amazing feats. I believe that if we follow these same principles, we too can be prosperous in our lives.
The Bible shows us that Uzziah had a preacher named Zechariah, "who had understanding in the visions of God," as an influencer. We see often in Scripture that the success of the kings was closely aligned with their willingness to hearken, or have access to a good, wise preacher. Uzziah prospered under the influence of Zechariah, and the Lord tells us why—because the preacher was in tune with the Lord.
If we want to prosper, we must put ourselves under a preacher who is in tune with the Lord, has wisdom from Him, and shares that with the people. Just because we go to church doesn't mean we allow the preacher and preaching to influence us toward spiritual prosperity. What he says can go in one ear and out the other. We will find that the main ingredient in the road to prosperity is to put ourselves under the preacher, and allow what He gets from God to influence us.
Uzziah didn't just piggyback on the preacher's coattail. He sought the Lord himself as well. Because of this, the Lord helped him to prosper greatly! I'm thankful for our church. I'm thankful for our pastor! But just the preaching and influence isn't enough. It must translate into a personal, daily walk that we have on our own. Because King Uzziah walked with God, God caused him to prosper.
There came a day in Uzziah's life, toward the end, where he stopped seeking God himself. He became proud. He stopped allowing the preacher to influence him, whether by choice or by the preacher leaving the scene. And because of it, the blessing stopped. The prosperity stopped.
Conclusion: I want to see prosperity in my life, and in the lives of those God has called me to serve. What two lessons must we apply from the life of King Uzziah? First, let's put ourselves under the wisdom and godly influence of the preacher. Secondly, let's pursue the Lord ourselves, each and every day. If we do these things, we're on the road to prosperity in God's economy!
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