Must Someone Die?

The seed must die (germinate) before a plant and fruit are produced.  

Text for Today – Isaiah 6:1 – In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.

Uzziah was one of Israel’s better kings.  During his reign, Israel fared very well and riches flowed.  When times are good, it’s really easy to get your eyes on the man who leads you to the good times and prosperity.  This was the way it was with Israel in relation to Uzziah.  He had led them to great prosperity  and times were peaceful.  You could almost use the opening line of The Tale of Two Cities to describe it; “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.”  Things were peaceful, Israel was free, her people were prospering, and it looked like tomorrow was going to be a great day.  Indeed, it was the “best of times.”

But the people had their eyes on the wrong leader.  It was apparent they had taken their eyes off of God, and gotten them on a mere mortal.  Indeed, it was the “worst of times.”  Sadly, in this scenario, the worst was manifest before the best was seen.  Look closely at Isaiah’s words.  It was in the year that Uzziah died that he “saw also the Lord.”  Upon this vision of the Lord, Isaiah saw that the Lord, too, was “sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up.”  One more thing Isaiah saw was that while Uzziah’s reputation and apparent importance was widespread, God’s train, His reputation, His influence, and His absolute importance “filled the temple.”

Now don’t misunderstand my point.  God did not kill Uzziah, and in this writing, I will attempt to define what opened the door to his demise.  What I will say, however, is that it is very apparent that the people of Israel, including Isaiah, got their eyes off the Provider, and became too attached to one of the channels of that provision.  They began to view one of their blessings (the good king Uzziah) as more prominent that the Blesser.  Dear reader, when you lose sight of the Great Provider, and begin to lay hold to the provision as more worthy to gaze upon and consider, you open yourself, the provision, and the blessing up to destructive attacks of the enemy who is all too willing to fulfill his role in the earth to “steal, kill, and destroy.”

Let me encourage you today to make sure your gaze is fixed upon Jesus.  That does not mean losing sight of the blessings or the provision, but rather that you see them only in the light of the Blesser and Provider.  See everything in the light of Jehovah and His redemptive Names.  There is no need to worry about things coming and going when you are connected to the SOURCE.

Manna for Today – Matthew 6:33; John 10:10; Romans 8:1-2