Those judged by leprosy—Miriam, Gehazi, Uzziah—all acted against God in selfish unrestraint.
The names of many of these kings flash by in a blur. We hope there won’t be an exam at the end! Now we read about “Azariah…king of Judah” (2 Ki 15:1) and “Zechariah the son of Jeroboam” who “reigned over Israel in Samaria” (v 8). We might know the first king by his other name, Uzziah (perhaps used to distinguish him from the high priest, 2 Chron 26:17). Although he reigned well for 42 years before a serious failure, unfortunately he’s best remembered for Isaiah’s words, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up” (Isa 6:1). In the books of the Kings we read the mediate cause of that death: “he was a leper” (2 Ki 15:5). But why a leper? Was it a random accident? No, there was an agent cause: “the Lord struck the king, so that he was a leper.” But why was he stricken? He’s generally considered a good king. “He did what was right in the sight of the Lord” (v 3), with that chronic “except…the high places” offense (v 4). But the ultimate cause of his leprosy is not recorded here. The answer to that question will be one of many motivators to read the Chronicles! Because of his leprosy, and the forced isolation, his son Jotham was co-regent for the last 10 years. So in the south, a good king was severely chastened by the Lord. But in the north, God’s time of longsuffering for Jehu’s house had expired. “Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against [Zechariah], and…killed him in front of the people” (v 10). God had told Jehu, “‘Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.’ And so it was” (v 12). After Jehu were Jehoahaz, Joash, and Jeroboam II. Then Zechariah lasted only six months. Thus concludes the verse, “And so it was.” And so God’s word always is.