1 Samual 31:
13 Then they took their bones and buried them beneath the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.
2 Chronicles 26:
21 So King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in isolation in a separate house, for he was excluded from the Temple of the Lord. His son Jotham was put in charge of the royal palace, and he governed the people of the land. (New Living Translation)
Saul’s death was also the death of an ideal – Israel could no longer believe that having a king like the other nations would solve all their problems. The real problem was not the form of government, but the sinful king. Saul tried to please God by spurts of religiosity, but real spirituality takes a lifetime of consistent obedience.
Heroic spiritual lives are built by stacking days of obedience one on top of the other. Like a brick, each obedient act is small in itself, but in time the acts will pile up and a huge wall of strong chraracter will be built – a great defense against temptation. We should strive for consistent obedience each day.
For much of his life, Uziah was “a good king in the Lord’s sight.” But Uzziah turned away from God and died a leper. He is remembered more for his arrogant act and subsequent punishment than for his great reforms. God requires continuous obedience. Spurts of obedience are not enough. Be remembered for your consistent faith; otherwise you, too, may become more famous for the punishment you received than for the faith you lived by
sharin His love 