Judah’s King Ahaz
28 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the Lord’s sight like his ancestor David,
What made Ahaz start out wrong? Do we get tired of doing right? Do we think sin is spicy? His father was a gentle king in comparison to most of the kings of Israel and Judah. Sometimes our sons and daughters want the taste of the world despite how you encourage them to stay on the right path. Our mindset for some people is, I want it! and I want it now! We threw caution to the wind. Ahaz's behavior is not good, but sadly it is common.
2 for he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and made cast images of the Baals.
Ahaz was the king of Judah. But he looked on the sins of his brother Israel and brought Israel practices to Judah. He is the first king of Judah who did not start out trying to please God, he took the throne and put the Word of God to the side. Ahaz had no reason to lead as he did. He chose to unfollow God, and bring a nation to unnecessary hard times. He made gods of metal and replace his offering from the living God with a hand-made god.
3 He burned incense in Ben Hinnom Valley and burned his children in[a] the fire, imitating the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.
They thought if they offered what meant everything to them it would return in great dividend. Children often are sacrificed even today. We have unwanted children. We want sex, so we killed the baby. It is our modern-day sophisticated way of murder.
4 He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
Green Tree- fertility. I want my god to produce. A green tree represented reproduction. We make images against God's Word and set them up to distract people from the true worship of God.
How can you make a god? If you made it, how do you program it to respond to you in your time of need? How do we become a creature without intelligence? Fear, lack of the wisdom of God, and laziness make people listen to people who have seducing spirits to draw them away from God's Word.
5 So the Lord his God handed Ahaz over to the king of Aram. He attacked him and took many captives to Damascus.
Strike 1
Ahaz was also handed over to the king of Israel, who struck him with great force:
Strike 2
6 Pekah son of Remaliah killed one hundred twenty thousand in Judah in one day—all brave men—because they had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors.
When the government misleads people, people die. The king is the government. When his words become law, the people are expected to live by them.
7 An Ephraimite warrior named Zichri killed the king’s son Maaseiah, Azrikam governor of the palace, and Elkanah who was second to the king.
One of Judah's enemies killed 3 men in authority. He killed King Ahaz's son, governor, and his assistant. Again King Ahaz refused to turn to God.
8 Then the Israelites took two hundred thousand captives from their brothers—women, sons, and daughters. They also took a great deal of plunder from them and brought it to Samaria.
Judah and Israel were all brothers. Disobedient, but yet, they are blood brothers. Now because of their refusal to comply with God's Word, they are enemies.
9 A prophet of the Lord named Oded was there. He went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Look, the Lord God of your ancestors handed them over to you because of his wrath against Judah, but you slaughtered them in a rage that has reached heaven.
In the midst of all the wrong that was going on in Judah and Israel, God still had obedient people who stood on his word. Oded was in a position to hear from God clearly. He stood against many and told them God's plan if they did not obey. He told them that what they carried out was God using them to show their brothers their wrong, but they took God's using them to go against their brothers too far. He was telling them, you did not do anything but go overboard when you had an opportunity to bring justice to your brothers. Israel abused the children of Judah and exploited the people they were bringing back to their land as their slaves.
10 Now you plan to reduce the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, to slavery. Are you not also guilty before the Lord your God? 11 Listen to me and return the captives you took from your brothers, for the Lord’s burning anger is on you.”12 So some men who were 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 coming from the war.13 They said to them, “You must not bring the captives here, for your plan to bring guilt on us from the Lord to add to our sins and our guilt. For we have much guilt, and burning anger is on Israel.”14 The army left the captives and the plunder in the presence of the officers and the congregation.15 Then the men who were designated by name took charge of the captives and provided clothes for their naked ones from the plunder. They clothed them, gave them sandals, food, and drink, dressed their wounds, and provided donkeys for all the feeble. The Israelites brought them to Jericho, the City of Palms, among their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.
Israel listened to what God had to say through his prophet. Israel became like their enemies who fought against God. Since they were no longer following God, God used Israel to fight against Judah. Judah was so weak, they could not overpower Israel's army. Israel took advantage of Judah their brother's and treated them with contempt. They took advantage of the weakness of the people they once prayed with. God spoke through the prophet Oded and told them that they were to release the children of Judah back so that they could return back home. Israel made them come as animals after they had killed the strength of Judah, 120 thousand (k) strong soldiers in one day. And if that was not enough, they brought 200k to make them slaves. (God instructed Moses to tell the children of Israel that you cannot make your brother your slaves.) God used Israel to fight against Judah but Israel did more than instructed. When God gives us the right to reprimand, we have no need for rage. Now God is stating if you do not let those people return home, I will bring my wrath against you. They obeyed God and did what was right by giving Judah what they needed and allowed Judah to return home.
16 At that time King Ahaz asked the king of Assyria for help.
King Ahaz still refuses to seek God's mercy.
17 The Edomites came again, attacked Judah, and took captives.
18 The Philistines also raided the cities of the Judean foothills[b] and the Negev of Judah. They captured and occupied Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, and Gederoth, as well as Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo with their surrounding villages.
God gives Judah's land to the enemy.
19 For the Lord humbled Judah because of King Ahaz of Judah,[c] who threw off restraint in Judah and was unfaithful to the Lord.
Judah is humbled or broken down.
20 Then King Tiglath-pileser[d] of Assyria came against Ahaz; he oppressed him and did not give him support.
21 Although Ahaz plundered the Lord’s temple and the palace of the king and of the rulers and gave the plunder to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.
Still, king Ahaz refuses to trust God.
22 At the time of his distress, King Ahaz himself became more unfaithful to the Lord.
He became even more unfaithful to God.
23 He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him; he said, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram are helping them, I will sacrifice to them so that they will help me.” But they were the downfall of him and of all Israel.
He turned to the gods of Damascus
24 Then Ahaz gathered up the utensils of God’s temple, cut them into pieces, shut the doors of the Lord’s temple, and made himself altars on every street corner in Jerusalem.
His turning on God is no secret.
25 He made high places in every city of Judah to offer incense to other gods, and he angered the Lord, the God of his ancestors.
Ahaz’s Death
26 As for the rest of his deeds and all his ways, from beginning to end, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
King Ahaz disobey God from the start as Judah's king to his death. He chose to do wrong. He had enough people to steer him in the right direction but he made his own decision to follow sin.
27 Ahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city, in Jerusalem, but they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah became king in his place.
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