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Uzziah's Earthquake

 The old prophets rarely used years to date their work, and instead chose to tie their writings to events in history. In the Old Testament Amos said he wrote, “in the days of Uzziah…two years before the earthquake.” (1:1) His fellow minor prophet Zechariah mentioned this same earthquake, saying that on that future day of the Lord (a time of judgment), “you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah.” (14:5)

Uzziah’s story is found in both 2 Kings 15 and 2 Chronicles 26, but neither account mentions an earthquake. But since two prophets later referenced it, it must have been a doozy. The fact that the narratives about Uzziah do not cite this earthquake has given scoffers some ammunition to say the Bible is not credible. 

But not anymore. Archaeologists now believe a massive earthquake rocked the Middle East in 760 BC, during the reign of Uzziah. They estimate that the quake would register a staggering 8.2 on today’s Richter scale, which means it had the equivalent impact of detonating a gigaton of TNT. It is also believed this event would have lasted 90 seconds. 

It’s no wonder Amos used that significant event to date his writing. It’s also no wonder Zechariah said people ran in panic during this earthquake—a minute and a half of terror (most earthquakes last only a few seconds and are over before people realize there was one).

The timing of the earthquake is also significant. As king, Uzziah was not allowed to enter the Holy Place and offer sacrifices, but that is exactly what he did. The priests confronted him and ordered him to stop before he sinned, but he ignored their efforts. “And the LORD touched the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house.” (2 Kings 15:5)

This was punishment for the king’s arrogance. 2 Chronicles 26:16 says, “But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the LORD his God…” There was a direct correlation between his pride and his leprosy. 

Additionally, Josephus wrote that the great earthquake took place while Uzziah was in the temple, leaving no doubt this was the judgment of the Lord. We want to grow strong, but we must never grow proud.

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