IN THE YEAR THAT KING UZZIAH DIED
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1).
One skill I believe will foster correct interpretation of the message of the scriptures and bring people into the vital or actual experience of God, His presence, love and mighty power, is the ability to understand the language and communication styles of Bible translators.
I believe the right word here is DICTION. This simply refers to the way an idea or something is expressed in words. Proper understanding of diction with respect to understanding the communications of the scriptures is very imperative if we must properly and accurately convey the message of scriptures.
The Bible is a piece of literary work. It is written in different literary styles under different conditions, civilisations and dispensations. Understanding the particular condition, civilisation or dispensation under which the scripture is written is key to understanding the communication of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes, the Bible authors spoke in metaphors and similes, and it’s then the prerogative of the interpreter or teacher to know when that happens in order to draw the right conclusions from what is said or communicated.
Sadly, many Bible teachers do not seem to pay attention to these things, and the result has been the propagation of wrong or incorrect doctrines. Most times, the conclusions drawn are completely antithetical to the intended message. I will always advise that Bible teachers make reference to other translations to enhance their comprehension of scriptural truths.
We need to open our hearts (spirits) to the Holy Spirit and as well, engage our intellects (minds) in the study of scriptures. The times have changed. People no longer go after emotionalism. They gravitate more towards accurate knowledge.
We fail in our assignment if we are not able to present doctrinally and intellectually sound teachings that build and enhance the whole person- spirit, soul and body.
Our theme scripture presents a perfect example of some wrongly presented and interpreted scriptures. Like I pointed out earlier, the understanding of the language of the scriptures is critical to the understanding of its message. This also includes the dating methods and styles of referencing used in the scriptures.
The phrase, “in the year that king Uzziah died” has been wrongly interpreted over the years. And this error negatively affects the whole message of the passage. It defeats the purpose of the prophet’s vision.
It has been said by some Bible teachers, with respect to the above verse, that king Uzziah was a stumbling block to the revelation of God which was brought to Isaiah. It has been implied that this particular king constituted a barrier to the ministry of prophet Isaiah, and as a result, he had to die before Isaiah’s ministry and breakthrough could find expression.
You hear this in declarations such as this: “Every Uzziah in your life, family and career must die”, etc. So, people are frantically looking for the ‘Uzziah’ in their lives that must die. They focus on this and miss the main message of the passage.
But in reality, this reference was given as a dating system or method to describe the time period in which prophet Isaiah received his call to ministry from the Lord.
The dating system we are using today was not developed in the era when this account and other similar accounts were recorded. If you ask me today when Nigeria got her independence, I will say it was on Ist of October 1960.
But if you asked David, for instance, the year he fought and killed Goliath, his answer would be something like this: In the year that Saul, king of Israel, led the host of Israel in battle against the Philistines, after they had been in physical combat for forty days.
You see, it was a matter of date and proper referencing. Isaiah, in his documentation of this encounter with God, used a popular incident in history to describe the time period in which this thing happened. Incidentally, this happened in the year that Uzziah, the king of Judah died.
The year of the king’s death is definitely the best historical event to use in the description of Isaiah’s vision. Which other event could be greater than the death of the king. Isaiah lived and ministered in this era, and according to history, he had been ministering for at least two years before he got this vision from the Lord.
When my paternal grandmother was alive, if she wanted to tell you when I was born, she should say it was the year so and so was born. Or she would use a popular historical event that occurred within that period. That was the best technology available to them to record events.
The point here is this: King Uzziah didn’t have to die for Isaiah to see the vision of God. Isaiah would have still seen the vision had he not died that year. The account of the king’s death only came in to describe, as a dating system, the time period in which this thing happened.
So, Isaiah said, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple.” Did you get the message now?
