Following Judah's Lion

An Unholy Alliance

II Chron.26:8-21 - And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt; for he strengthened himself exceedingly.
9Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them.
10Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had much cattle, both in the low country, and in the plains: husbandmen also, and vine dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry.
11Moreover Uzziah had an host of fighting men, that went out to war by bands, according to the number of their account by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the ruler, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains.
12The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighty men of valour were two thousand and six hundred.
13And under their hand was an army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.
14And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones.
15And 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.
16But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.
17And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men:
18And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God.
19Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar.
20And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him.
21And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.

King Amaziah had a son named Uzziah. King Amaziah “did right in the sight of the Lord” but with the caveat “not with a whole heart”. Young King Uzziah was a success in politics, in military operations, and his fame spread throughout the region. But even though God had blessed him, his heart began to be filled with pride. King Uzziah’s view of his own power was inflated, and he wanted to demonstrate how close he and Jehovah were. Although he was the king of the southern kingdom, he was not allowed to stand in as a priest. Even in the Old covenant God drew a distinct line between the secular and the spiritual. It is also wise to note that the nation of Israel is different than any other nation since the nation itself was to be God’s people. No other nation would ever have that divine moniker again.

But one day King Uzziah decided to enter the temple and offer incense unto God. That, of course, was against God’s commandments even if his heart was pure. But the Scriptures clearly tell us his heart was lifted up against God, which is another way of saying he was prideful. Just as he was about to light the incense, the High Priest Azariah along with eighty other priests went into the temple and confronted the King. Azariah was angry that someone would dare interfere with what he was doing, but right as the confrontation was taking place King Uzziah was struck with leprosy.

There must be a firewall between the government and the church. And this wall goes both ways. In fact this wall must be a blood wall. Much of the church has insisted that America is a Christian nation and nothing can be further from the truth. That construct is a manipulative deception based upon a national hubris that is overt idolatry. There is only one entity that is “Christian”. The church. All other things are secular enterprises upon which some attempt to use the Christian moniker for advantage. The church, the true church, is the only thing that the Son of God died for.

All these moralistic, conservative, and political arguments are nothing more than a useless waste of time and energy. They have nothing to do with eternity. Christ died for sinners, not nations. This coming year many churches will invite politicians as guests in the Sunday morning service. Some will be asked to greet the people, others may even lead in prayer, and some might even give a message. It is time that the priesthood of believers follow in Azariah’s footsteps and demand that the gathering be not smeared with fallen politics and secular nationalism.

The family is not a democracy, and the church is not a democracy, so why do believers insist that democracy is of God? One of the greatest sins of the visible church in America is the allegiance paid to this secular nation and the insistence that God birthed America and still affords it favor He withholds from all other nations. To pledge allegiance, including the words “under God”, to anything secular is idolatry and an affront to New Testament Christianity.

Would Paul have pledged allegiance to Rome? Many of the early martyrs would have been spared had they pledged their allegiance to their particular country. But this idolatry is not confined to that specific arena of sin. Patriotism and nationalism is a sin which affects and infects all other aspects of a believers spiritual walk. You may well see hatred, murmuring, a critical spirit, unbiblical alliances, and self righteousness of all kinds in believers who hold unbiblical loyalties to a secular nation.

And of course, to hand out pamphlets in church that supposedly outline candidate’s views is also the height of compromise and spiritual infidelity. To have people, sitting in an assembly that is supposed to be for worship, reading over political pamphlets is astounding and unthinkable many decades ago. Where are the Azariah’s of today? While the Bible Azariah chased the King out of the temple, the modern day Azariah places the lit censor in the politician’s hands and invite him to desecrate the meeting.

I write this in hopes that in this coming election year many more believers will allow the Spirit to open their eyes to the futility of such things, but more importantly the spiritual compromise and infidelity of involvement. Nothing of God can be accomplished except through the gospel and the Holy Spirit. Christ came into the world to save sinners, not to moralize nations. And most people, believers and unbelievers, will vote for the candidate they feel might help their finances. Money is usually the deciding factor.

The last time I voted was in 2000 and I voted straight Republican. Not long after that I realized how futile and compromising that behavior was and is. But let me be clear, I do not hold myself above anyone who continues to participate in the political process and who still wave the flag. I still have much ground to conquer in my own life in order to be like Jesus. I only offer my perspective because I believe that what I am sharing is of God.