2 Kings 15:1 - Meaning and Application

This is a brief account of Azariah’s reign. Most of it is general, like the accounts given of other kings. He began young and reigned a long time (2 Kings 15:2). For the most part, he did what was right (2 Kings 15:3). It was a blessing for the kingdom that a good reign lasted so long. Still, he did not have enough zeal or courage to remove the high places (2 Kings 15:4).

The part that is especially noted here is his leprosy, which God sent on him (2 Kings 15:5). That story is told more fully in 2 Chronicles 26:16 and following, where we also read more about the honor of the first part of his reign and the shame of the last part. Like Amaziah, Azariah started well but did not finish well. He did what was right, but he failed before the end.

We are told, first, that he became a leper. Even the greatest people are still subject to the common troubles and weaknesses of human life. If they commit a serious sin, they are as open as anyone else to God’s severe punishment. God struck Azariah with leprosy to discipline him for trying to take over the priests’ work. If proud people are great people, God will humble them in one way or another and show that he stands above them and against them, for he opposes the proud.

We are also told that he stayed a leper until the day he died. We have reason to think he repented and that his sin was forgiven, yet God kept this mark of displeasure on him for the rest of his life as a warning to others. It may even have been good for his soul. He lived in a separate house because, under the law, he was ceremonially unclean. Even though he was a king, he still had to submit to God’s law.

The man who had boldly entered God’s temple and tried to act as a priest was rightly shut out from his own palace and kept apart like a prisoner or recluse. We may suppose his separate house was made as comfortable as possible. Some understand it as a house where he had freedom and ease. Even so, it was a heavy burden for a man who had once held so much honor and handled so much business to be cut off from others and live apart all the time. That kind of isolation would make life feel heavy even for kings, who usually speak only with people beneath them. Even the most thoughtful people would grow tired of it.

His son acted as his deputy in both the affairs of the court, since he was over the house, and the affairs of the kingdom, since he judged the people of the land. This was both a comfort to Azariah and a blessing to the kingdom, because he had such a son to take his place.