2 Chronicles 26:1-15--Uzziah Reigns in Judah

2 Chronicles 26:1-15
English Standard Version

Uzziah Reigns in Judah
26 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.

6 He went out and made war against the Philistines and broke through the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities in the territory of Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. 7 God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in Gurbaal and against the Meunites. 8 The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread even to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong. 9 Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate and at the Valley Gate and at the Angle, and fortified them. 10 And he built towers in the wilderness and cut out many cisterns, for he had large herds, both in the Shephelah and in the plain, and he had farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil. 11 Moreover, Uzziah had an army of soldiers, fit for war, in divisions according to the numbers in the muster made by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king's commanders. 12 The whole number of the heads of fathers' houses of mighty men of valor was 2,600. 13 Under their command was an army of 307,500, who could make war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. 14 And Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and stones for slinging. 15 In Jerusalem he made machines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and great stones. And his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong.

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King Uzziah was also known as Azariah.  You can also read about him in 2 Kings 15:1-7.  While 16 years old seems young to us, he was by no means the youngest king.  He reigned for 52 years--quite a long reign for any of the kings, and, as we would expect from that long reign, he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD--both the books of Kings and Chronicles agree in describing him this way.

He listed to the voice of Zechariah the prophet.  The only thing that the book of kings has "bad" to say about him is that he did not remove the high places where people worshiped other gods or went to worship the LORD instead of going to the Temple.

The Philistines have been beaten down time and time again, but they have not been totally defeated.  Uzziah goes to war against them, and he broke through the walls of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod--three of the main Philistine cities.  Not only did he destroy the Philistine cities, but he built cities of his own in their territories and used them as outposts to make war against other towns and cities in the region of Ashdod and among the other territory held by the Philistines.

God also helped him to make war against the Arabians and Meunites that lived, and the Ammonites paid tribute to him to keep him from making war with them.  Even the Egyptians heard of Uzziah and his success in battle.

He also fortified Jerusalem with towers at the Corner Gate, Valley Gate, and the Angle, and he fortified Jerusalem's gates and walls.  He also built towers in the wilderness so that Judah and Jerusalem would have early warning and defenses if other nations would attack, and he built many cisterns to collect water so that farmers and herdsmen had water for their crops and livestock.

He maintained a large army with 2,600 "mighty men of valor" (think special forces) that commanded 307, 500 regular infantry.  They were all outfitted with shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows and stones and slings (they mostly attacked with ranged weapons).  They also made siege machines to allow them to attack enemy towers and to allow them to tear down walls and to shoot great arrows and stones over long distances.  This is some of the first mention of such weapons, and because of their advantages in numbers and technology, other nations feared going to war with Uzziah, for they knew his strength and it was obvious that the LORD was with him.