God Rewards The Seeker

Heb 11:6 “...anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”

God have given us a promise, that if we seek Him earnestly, we shall be rewarded.

• This is an offer with a guarantee returns

The question is not whether you attend church or how much do you know the Scriptures.

• Although theses are important, it does not make us necessarily seekers of God.

• God says He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

This truth was proven in Uzziah’s life – [read 2 Chron 26:1-8].

Uzziah became one of the most successful and powerful kings in Judah’s history.

• He reigned for 52 long years, the longest of the 8 good kings in the Southern Kingdom.

• And was only 16 years old when he was made king.

He had a good instructor – Prophet Zechariah (not the major prophet who wrote the book).

• 2 Chron 26:5 - The prophet instructed him in the fear of God.

• And “as long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.”

Uzziah took the initiative to seek God. The word ‘sought’ appears twice in verse 5.

• He was conscious of his weakness and his inability to rule Judah rightly in his own strength.

• This humble recognition of need was the key to his success. He knew he needed God’s help.

And the Lord kept His part of the promise – He will reward those who seek Him.

Uzziah had unparalleled success –

• He was able to overcome his enemies – the Philistines, the Arabs, and the Meunites.

• Even the powerful Ammonites came to pay tribute.

• His fame spreads as far as Egypt.

• He was the first biblical king to be credited as “very powerful”

He had exceptional wisdom – [read 2 Chron 26:9-15].

• He built towers at strategic locations to keep watch against attacks, and fortified the walls.

• He dug cisterns to provide water for the livestock, and cultivated the fertile lands.

• He trained his army and organized them into divisions (battalions).

• In Israel’s history, only his army was described as “a powerful force” (26:13)

Never before in Judah’s history did kings arm their soldiers with arsenal like Uzziah did.

• Slingstones were added to the conventional weapons of shield and spear, armour and bow.

• He invented new war machines for use on the towers to shoot arrows and hurl large stones.

Look, in v.8 “he became very powerful”; v.13 he has a “powerful force”; v.15 “he became powerful.”

• Uzziah was rich and powerful, capable and very intelligent.

• He was an all-rounder – an engineer, a cultivator of crops (v.10 he loved the soil), and a warrior.

Yet the Bible did not compliment him; did not tell us how good or wise he was.

In fact, the Bible wanted to stress one point – just in case we missed the point - that God helped him

26:5 “God gave him success.”

26:7 “God helped him.”

26:15 “for he was greatly helped”

• No wonder he was rich – “he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain” (v.10), and many fertile lands.

• No wonder he was so successful – his fame traveled all the way to Egypt.

But WHY? Why did God bless him so much? Verse 5 has the answer.

• The four words that come before ‘God gave him success’ is the key.

• HE SOUGHT THE LORD. And the 3 words that come before this qualifies it

• AS LONG AS. When he continues to seek God, God continues to PROSPER him. It was difficult for anyone or anything to bring him down.

It would be nice if the story ended here, but the Bible is an honest book.

• In fact, there is a hint here in verse 5 that he stopped seeking God one day.

• Verse 16 is a sad verse. [Read 2 Chron 26:16-23].

Uzziah’s life took a sudden dive – he became so proud that he ignored God’s ways.

• 81 ‘courageous’ priests could not stop him from doing what God forbids.

• After all, he was the King – the master builder and conqueror, famous throughout the world.

• Nobody was going to tell him what to do! And he can do anything he wants.

It was ironic that what led to his heart being proud were the blessings of God.

• He was helped by God so much that he became extremely powerful.

• He commanded a huge army. He had vast vineyards and farmlands, countless sheep and cattle, and smart men helping him.

• He was successful in everything he does and his fame spread everywhere. In fact, there was no other king as successful as he was, since the days of Solomon.