Why did God use a disease as punishment? (2 Chronicles 26:19)
Why did God use a disease as punishment? (2 Chronicles 26:19) 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.” 19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. 20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him. 21 King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house—leprous, and banned from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land. 22 The other events of Uzziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 23 Uzziah rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in a cemetery that belonged to the kings, for people said, “He had leprosy.” And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.
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Asked November 12 2018
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Jack Gutknecht
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Tim Maas
I would say that, in the particular case cited in the question, God chose the specific disease of leprosy to punish Uzziah because of the consequences that resulted from that particular ailment (as noted in the passage cited in the question). This punishment required Uzziah's isolation, which prevented him from exercising his kingly power, and also prohibited him from entering the temple. These effects struck most closely at the specific areas in which he had offended God -- through his pride in his power as king, and his presumption in usurping religious functions that were to be performed only by Aaron's descendants as God's designated priests from the tribe of Levi.
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