II Chronicles 26:1 Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah.
Context
If I were to ask you, “Who did you replace at your current occupation?” or “Who will do your job after you are gone?” Few of us know the answers. That might speak to the reason that many of us are so absorbed in ourselves. We’ve never thought about who came before or who will come after. All we are left to contemplate is who is at our spot right now, namely us.
Each of us needs context for his life. II Chronicles lists king after king, generation after generation, and after you read this you kind of get the sense that there’s more to life than one life. There’s more to God’s plan than one person.
As you look at II Chronicles 26:1 the Bible says, “Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah.” The very last verse says, “So Uzziah slept with his fathers…and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.”
Notice it says that “Jotham his son reigned in his stead.” Over and over again in the chronicles it says, “Such and such a king died, was buried with his fathers, and his son reigned in his place.” There is a context here that most of us never take the time to consider. It brought three questions to my mind that we should consider.
The first question is “What are you taking?” Are you merely taking space and time? The Bible says, “So and so reigned in his place.” On most cemetery markers there is very limited space to say everything that could be said about an entire life. It is hard for the sum and substance of a life to be summed up in one sentence.
Secondly, “What are you giving?” Your life will not be defined so much by what you take as what you give. The most important thing you can give is what you give to another human soul. Are we giving something to other people that will last beyond our years? What we invest in other people is significant.
Thirdly, “What are you leaving?” The answer is “Everything.” His son reigned in his place. The son took his palace, kingdom, and authority. We are going to leave everything.
So, I have two observations. No one’s life is insignificant. God knows about millions of nameless people that you and I have never heard of, but God knows of them just as certainly as He knows of these kings.
Also, no one is irreplaceable. Now I realize that when God created me, He created someone that is utterly unique. However, modesty must tell us that none of us are irreplaceable. You may be a king, president, or in charge of some vast enterprise, but you are not insignificant and you are not irreplaceable. Each of us needs context for his own life, and considering the Bible helps each of us to do just that.