2 Chronicles 26:1-15

The Reign of Uzziah

26¹ The people of Judah then took Uzziah, who was only sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ² The first thing he did after his father was dead and buried was to recover Elath for Judah and rebuild it. ³ Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king and reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. ⁴ He behaved well in the eyes of God, following in the footsteps of his father Amaziah. ⁵ He was a loyal seeker of God. He was well trained by his pastor and teacher Zechariah to live in reverent obedience before God, and for as long as Zechariah lived, Uzziah lived a godly life. And God prospered him. ⁶ He ventured out and fought the Philistines, breaking into the fortress cities of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. He also built settlements around Ashdod and other Philistine areas. ⁷ God helped him in his wars with the Philistines, the Arabs in Gur Baal, and the Meunites. ⁸ The Ammonites also paid tribute. Uzziah became famous, his reputation extending all the way to Egypt. He became quite powerful. ⁹ Uzziah constructed defense towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and at the corner of the wall. ¹⁰ He also built towers and dug cisterns out in the country. He had herds of cattle down in the foothills and out on the plains, had farmers and vinedressers at work in the hills and fields - he loved growing things. ¹¹ On the military side, Uzziah had a well-prepared army ready to fight. They were organized by companies under the direction of Jeiel the secretary, Maaseiah the field captain, and Hananiah of the general staff. ¹² The roster of family leaders over the fighting men accounted for 2,600. ¹³ Under them were reinforcement troops numbering 307,000, with 500 of them on constant alert - a strong royal defense against any attack. ¹⁴ Uzziah had them well-armed with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and slingshots. ¹⁵ He also installed the latest in military technology on the towers and corners of Jerusalem for shooting arrows and hurling stones. He became well known for all this - a famous king. Everything seemed to go his way.