Why would King Uzziah want to perform a priest’s duties? (2 Chronicles 26:18)
16 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. 18 They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”
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Asked November 12 2018
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Jack Gutknecht
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Tim Maas
I think that the answer to the question is given in 2 Chronicles 26:16 (two verses prior to the verse cited in the question). Uzziah's position as king made him proud, to the point where he thought that his royal title qualified or entitled him to also assume or perform duties that God had specifically assigned to others (that is, the priests from the tribe of Levi). In doing so, he was not only disrespecting the priests, but being unfaithful to God, as well (as also noted in verse 16), by disobeying Him.
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