He Set Himself to Seek God - 2 Chronciles 25-28

 2 Chronicles 26:1-5 (ESV Strong's)

Uzziah Reigns in Judah

1 And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 2 He built Eloth and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers. 3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. 4 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. 5 He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.

He Set Himself To Seek God

The transfer of power of one king to the next, in the days of Judah and Israel, typically followed family blood lines.   Once a father died, the son (typically the eldest) was next in line for the throne.  This was true, no matter the age.  The above text shows this sequence after Amaziah, King of Judah, died.  His son, Uzziah, would take his place.   Those formative years of the son’s reign were a major contributor to their success, under God’s commands.  If they surrounded themselves with people or a priest who followed God, good things happened in their lives (as we read above).  But, if they surrounded their leadership with unsavory characters, their leadership often fell out of line with God’s wisdom (see the example of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam).  The key to great leaders is not something that is simply born within.   Our society likes to promote what they refer to as the “natural” born leader.   But, true, Biblical leadership is developed.  There are two requirements for that to happen.  

1. Set yourself to seek God.  Uzziah “set” his heart to seek God.   That is the first ingredient for anyone who wants to serve God in leadership of God’s people.   That is a dedication of the will.   We call this “will-power.”   Uzziah had his heart stirred toward God and made the commitment to seek God.   Remember, David, King of Israel, was a “man after God’s own heart.”  He sought God. 

2. Bring someone around you to teach you God’s word and God’s ways.   As we read above, Uzziah had the priest, Zechariah, to teach Him God’s ways.  We call this “way-power.”   There is one thing to have a “will” for God.  There is another to know how to serve God ... that’s “way-power.”    

Uzziah sought God and listened to the voice of God through Zechariah, who instructed him in the “fear of God.”    That combination of will-power and way-power made Uzziah a Godly leader among his nation.