For this Temple ritual, God separated the cohanim even from great kings and leaders. Uzziah, who was not a priest, reigned in Judah for 52 years in the days of Zechariah the prophet. Uzziah continually sought God and, like his father Amaziah, did what was right in Adonai’ s eyes. Uzziah’ s legacy includes strengthening Israel’ s military, economy and allegiance to the God of Israel.
But after Uzziah rose as a strong leader, he decided to burn incense on the altar in the Temple. The cohanim whom God had consecrated for this job confronted Uzziah about his behavior, but the angry king raged against them. While Uzziah was still holding the censor in his hand, God inflicted King Uzziah with tza’ arat, a skin disease associated with sin. After that fateful day, the king lived in isolation until his death.
God’ s correction of Uzziah might leave us in fear and trembling. Yet the prophets expound on this theme, telling us that God can regard incense burning as an abomination. Isaiah recorded in chapter 1 that Adonai no longer wanted worthless offerings from his sinful nation, Israel. Ezekiel also chimed in on this topic in chapter 8 after God showed Ezekiel Israel’ s detestable behavior which included the burning of incense in unholy situations.
Without a doubt, God expects certain preconditions for burning incense. If absent, offering up incense can bring judgment.
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