2 Chronicles 28:1 – 27 Ahaz Reigns in Judah (2 Kings 16:1-9)
Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. And unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD. Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even made cast images of the Baals.
Moreover, Ahaz burned incense in the Valley of Hinnom and sacrificed his sons in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
Aram (Syria) Defeats Judah (Isaiah 1:1-9)
So the LORD his God delivered Ahaz into the hand of the king of Aram, (Syria) who attacked him and took many captives to Damascus.
Ahaz was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force. For in one day Pekah son of Remaliah killed 120,000 valiant men in Judah. This happened because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers. Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the son of the king, Azrikam the governor of the palace, and Elkanah the second to the king. Then the Israelites took 200,000 captives from their kinsmen—women, sons, and daughters. They also carried off a great deal of plunder and brought it to Samaria.
But a prophet of the LORD named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army that returned to Samaria. “Look,” he said to them, “because of His wrath against Judah, the LORD, the God of your fathers, has delivered them into your hands. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches up to heaven. And now you intend to reduce to slavery the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem. But are you not also guilty before the LORD your God? Now therefore, listen to me and return the captives you took from your kinsmen, for the fierce anger of the LORD is upon you.” Then some of the leaders of the Ephraimites —Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—stood in opposition to those arriving from the war. “You must not bring the captives here,” they said, “for you are proposing to bring guilt upon us from the LORD and to add to our sins and our guilt. For our guilt is great, and fierce anger is upon Israel.”
So the armed men left the captives and the plunder before the leaders and all the assembly. Then the men who were designated by name arose, took charge of the captives, and provided from the plunder clothing for the naked. They clothed them, gave them sandals and food and drink, anointed their wounds, and put all the feeble on donkeys. So they brought them to Jericho, the City of Palms, to their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.
The Idolatry of Ahaz (2 Kings 16:10-20; Amos 1:1-5)
At that time King Ahaz sent for help from the king of Assyria. The Edomites had again come and attacked Judah and carried away captives. The Philistines had also raided the cities of the foothills and the Negev of Judah, capturing and occupying Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, and Gederoth, as well as Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo with their villages. For the LORD humbled Judah because Ahaz king of Israel had thrown off restraint in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the LORD.
Then Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came to Ahaz but afflicted him rather than strengthening him. Although Ahaz had taken a portion from the house of the LORD, from the royal palace, and from the princes and had presented it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.
In the time of his distress, King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD. Since Damascus had defeated him, he sacrificed to their gods and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But these were the downfall of Ahaz and of all Israel.
Then Ahaz gathered up the articles of the house of God, cut them into pieces, shut the doors of the house of the LORD, and set up altars of his own on every street corner in Jerusalem. In every city of Judah he built high places to offer incense to other gods, and so he provoked the LORD, the God of his fathers.
As for the rest of the acts of Ahaz and all his ways, from beginning to end, they are indeed written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. And Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of Jerusalem, but he was not placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel. And his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.”
A long time ago, before internet and other forms of mass advertising, young ladies who wished to advertise their services as potential escorts or as prostitutes would write their names and phone numbers in public places. The post would always start out, “For a good time, call _________ (Name and phone number.) Had King Ahaz posted such an advertisement, it should have read, “For a BAD TIME, call King Ahaz!”
Ahaz assumes the throne at age twenty and reigns until he is thirty – six. For the Judeans, even one year with Ahaz as king would be too much, and sixteen years of Ahaz as king is a nightmare! No sooner than Ahaz assumes the throne, then he is hell – bent on proving how bad he can be. Ahaz makes images of the Baals, burns incense in the valley of Hinnom, and makes live sacrifices of his little sons to Moloch. Not content with all these abominations, Ahaz burns incense on the hills, on high places, and under every green tree, thus spiritually polluting all of Judah.
Evil attracts evil, and soon the king of Syria and then the king of Israel are plundering Judah, slaughtering Judean soldiers and carrying away large numbers of captives. After those raids, the Edomites and the Philistines swoop in as well. The Israelites do return their captives to Jericho; however, they keep most of the loot. Ahaz is so confused by his demons that he cuts the articles of the house of God into pieces to get the silver and gold, shuts the doors of the temple, and then erects altars throughout Jerusalem. When the Syrians defeat Judah, Ahaz begins worshiping the Syrian gods as well. Ahaz’s most foolish decision is to request help from the Assyrians, far to the East. Until now, the Assyrians have left Judah alone; however, now they take Ahaz’s money and then raid Judah anyway.
The final indignity for Ahaz is that at his death at age thirty – six, the people of Judah bury him in Jerusalem but refuse to bury him with the kings. This refusal to honor Ahaz as a king in his death is the only means the Judeans have to express their feelings about Ahaz, and their feelings are clear!
APPLICATION: Recently in our hospital, an elderly man who had been a fetish priest his entire life repented and became a Jesus follower. The man urged other family members to follow Jesus and to burn the fetishes; however, his sons obviously felt that their father was an old fool and that they could somehow control the demons. Newsflash: YOU DON’T CONTROL DEMONS! THEY CONTROL YOU!
The longer Ahaz served the Baals, Moloch, Asherah, Marduk, etc., the more confused he became. Satan will use you until he has gotten everything he can from you, and then he will destroy you. What is ironic is that Ahaz was simply doing publicly what many of the Judeans may have been doing in secret. It’s likely that Ahaz was so bad that these closet idol worshipers were pointing to him and assuring themselves that THEY were never as bad as King Ahaz.
It is amazing but sad that Ahaz would turn to every other idol but refuse to worship the God of Israel, the One True Living God who was actually the only Source of help and hope. Not content with turning his back on God, Ahaz even desecrated the temple by cutting up the temple implements Solomon had created and then locking the doors of the temple so nobody else could worship God there either. What a waste of leadership!
These days, there are all kinds of television programs focusing on ancient aliens and paranormal phenomena. Many of these programs seem to represent a search for a god who is not the Living God. Humans are created with a need to worship something or someone, even if they refuse to worship the God who has created them. Long ago, God through Jeremiah described the foolishness of such people: “For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters, and they have hewn for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns which cannot hold water.” (Jeremiah 2:13)
The lesson for us from King Ahaz is clear: Don’t mess with demons! Anything that is not of the One True Living God should be left alone. One acquaintance did his doctoral thesis work by becoming a traditional diviner for a nearby tribe. This man became spiritually confused and his perception was blunted, even though he was an ordained minister. Friends also told us of two young men who came to northern Ghana to start an evangelistic work. Despite repeated warnings, these men insisted on visiting a very evil shrine and going through all the rituals, including stripping naked to enter the inner part of the shrine. The deleterious influence of that shrine was so powerful that these men never succeeded in their mission and returned to their home country.
God is not to be mocked or trifled with! God is to be worshiped. This same God loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die as a man for the sins of the world. Why look anywhere else? Why not worship the Maker of the Universe, the Creator of light and life?
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to worship and praise You as we should. Help us to love You and serve You and nobody else all of our lives. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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