2 Chronicles 28

Verses 1-8, “Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord, as his father David had done. For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made molded images for the Baals. He burned incense in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and burned his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. Therefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. They defeated him, and carried away a great multitude of them as captives, and brought them to Damascus. Then he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who defeated him with a great slaughter. For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed one hundred and twenty thousand in Judah in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the officer over the house, and Elkanah who was second to the king. And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand women, sons, and daughters; and they also took away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.”

Despite the fact that Ahaz had a mostly godly example set by his father and grandfather, he chose to walk in the ways of the kings of Israel instead. At the ripe old age of twenty, he evidently thought he knew better than his elders. In fact, he might have been among the worst of the kings of Judah, being so wicked that he burned his own children in the fire to worship Molech. God was angered by his actions and therefore turned him over to the king of Syria. This pride of youth is not that uncommon, but look where it gets you. Proverbs 14:12‭, ‬14, “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. [...] The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above.”  A good man (or woman) will submit to God's ways and be content in doing so.

God's law was that anyone who gave his descendants to Molech should be put to death. This punishment was also for those who turned a blind eye to others engaging in this practice.  Leviticus 20:2‭-‬8, “Again, you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘Whoever of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who gives any of his descendants to Molech, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. I will set My face against that man, and will cut him off from his people, because he has given some of his descendants to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name. And if the people of the land should in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives some of his descendants to Molech, and they do not kill him, then I will set My face against that man and against his family; and I will cut him off from his people, and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit harlotry with Molech. ‘And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”

Verses 9-15, “But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out before the army that came to Samaria, and said to them: 'Look, because the Lord God of your fathers was angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand; but you have killed them in a rage that reaches up to heaven. And now you propose to force the children of Judah and Jerusalem to be your male and female slaves; but are you not also guilty before the Lord your God? Now hear me, therefore, and return the captives, whom you have taken captive from your brethren, for the fierce wrath of the Lord  is upon you.' Then some of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who came from the war, and said to them, 'You shall not bring the captives here, for we already have offended the Lord. You intend to add to our sins and to our guilt; for our guilt is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.' So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the leaders and all the assembly. Then the men who were designated by name rose up and took the captives, and from the spoil they clothed all who were naked among them, dressed them and gave them sandals, gave them food and drink, and anointed them; and they let all the feeble ones ride on donkeys. So they brought them to their brethren at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.”

There was such a violent slaughter against Judah, that God was not pleased with Isreal even though he delivered Judah into their hands. The kingdom probably looked like it was nearly extinguished for good, by their own relatives no less, but a brave prophet confronted the sin of the men of Isreal. The leaders of Isreal acknowledged their guilt and sent the captives back to Judah, after caring for their needs. Clearly they feared the wrath of God and did not want to add to their guilt. Sometimes when we battle with others, we can be just as guilty as the one causing the offense by how we respond. Both sides are responsible before God for how they behave.

Verses 22-27, “Now in the time of his distress King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the Lord. This is that King Ahaz. For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, saying, 'Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.' But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. So Ahaz gathered the articles of the house of God, cut in pieces the articles of the house of God, shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. And in every single city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers. Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. So Ahaz rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem; but they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. Then Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.”

At his low point, king Ahaz still would not submit to God. Instead, he decided to worship the gods of Damascus. After seeing an altar on a trip to visit their king, Tiglath-Pileser, Ahaz enlisted Urijah the priest to construct an altar for him, which was complete when he returned from Damascus. In fact, Ahaz began serving as priest at the altar that he designed. In other words, Ahaz was worshiping a god of his own imagination. The priest Urijah did not resist, but helped Ahaz fulfill the evil desires of his heart. This sounds strangely similar to the church today. Spiritual leaders rarely confront the sins of men, overlooking and turning a blind eye to the offenses against God...even teaching others to do likewise. The sheep worship a god of their own making with the blessing of the so-called church and priest.  II Timothy 4:3‭-‬4, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

If it wasn't bad enough that Ahaz turned to other gods, he began dismantling the temple of the Lord. He halted all operations at the temple in exchange for his "new and improved" ways. Consider that the evil one has preconditioned our society to be blind to the sins of others through diversity, tolerance, and political correctness training...and they make you believe this is a good thing. There is nothing new under the sun, and we are encouraged by the Word to not let ourselves be carried away by dumb idols and strange doctrines. This includes the doctrine of grace through tolerance of sin.  Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”  Therefore, we must stand firm on the truth and hold fast to what the Bible teaches. Titus 1:9, “...holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.”

Exchanging what is true and good for what is evil is abominable. We read about this progression of evil in Romans 1:21‭-‬25 and are watching it unfold today: “...because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”