It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts, for a throne is established on righteousness. - Proverbs 16:12
Good morning. I trust that you are enjoying our current study called “The Divided Church: The Northern and Southern Kingdoms”. Beyond just the fascinating stories of the kings, prophets, and other characters we’ve read about, we’ve discovered many lessons, truths, principles, examples, and other teachings that apply to our lives today. For your information, if all goes according to schedule we have 9 sermons left in this series, including today’s message.
Before we dive into today’s text, let’s mention a few Bible prophets who were living at this time. According to the first verse of his book, Isaiah ministered in Judah during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. This means that Isaiah was the first of the 4 major prophets chronologically. He is mentioned mostly during the days of King Hezekiah, as we will discover in a few weeks. Also, the opening verse of Micah states that he prophesied during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. This places Micah as the 6th minor prophet chronologically, assuming the others are dated correctly.
I. AHAZ IS A BAD KING (2 Kings 16:1-4; 2 Chronicles 28:1-4)
When Jotham died, his son Ahaz succeeded him as the new king of Judah. This occurred during the 17th year of Pekah’s reign in Israel. Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king and he ruled from Jerusalem for 16 years. Ahaz was an unrighteous, ungodly man who walked in the ways of the idolatrous kings of Israel. Among other things, he burnt his own children in the fire, made molten images for the Baals, burned incense in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, and practiced false worship in the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
II. JUDAH IS INVADED (2 Kings 16:5-6; 2 Chronicles 28:5-15)
Rezin, the king of Aram, and Pekah, the king of Israel, had formed an alliance earlier (2 Kings 15:37). Their intention was to add Judah to their ranks, in order to create a more formidable resistance against the threatening Assyrians. Apparently, when King Ahaz refused to join their coalition voluntarily, Rezin and Pekah invaded Judah. They laid siege on Jerusalem, but were ultimately unable to capture it or depose Ahaz.
Though they failed in their efforts to totally subdue Judah, both Rezin and Pekah did achieve a measure of success. The Aramaeans captured and settled in the port city of Elath, and they took many captives from Judah away to Damascus. The Israelites inflicted heavy casualties on Judah, killing 120,000 men in a single day. A valiant Israelite warrior named Zichri slew 3 of Judah’s prominent citizens - the king’s son, another man who was second in line to the throne, and the official who ruled over the king’s house.
The Israelites also carried away 200,000 women and children from Judah and brought them to Samaria, intending to use them as slaves. They also took great amounts of spoil. A prophet named Oded met and confronted the army of Israel as it arrived. He urged them to return the captives to Judah, because their actions had provoked and angered the LORD. And so, after some consideration, the captured women and children were returned to Jericho and released.
III. AHAZ SEEKS HELP FROM ASSYRIA (2 Kings 16:7-9; 2 Chronicles 28:16-21)
Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser III, the king of Assyria, seeking assistance in his bitter conflict against Aram and Israel. He even sent a generous gift of silver and gold to help secure the Assyrian’s support. Tiglath-pilesar accepted the gift and went up against Damascus. The Aramaeans were soundly defeated, King Rezin was put to death, and many of the people of Aram were taken away into exile. Thus, the capital city of Damascus fell and the kingdom of Aram was destroyed.
However, Judah still suffered with additional incursions by the Philistines and Edomites. These constant assaults upon the southern kingdom were the LORD’s judgment on them for following Ahaz’s wicked and sinful leadership. Ahaz sought more aid from Assyria to help the southern kingdom combat these other adversaries, but Tiglath-pileser III gave no additional assistance.
IV. AHAZ’S IDOLATRY WORSENS (2 Kings 16:10-20; 2 Chronicles 28:22-27)
Ahaz went to Damascus, which was now controlled by Assyria, to meet with Tiglath-pilesar III. While there, he saw an altar that he really liked, so he sent an order to Urijah the priest back in Jerusalem to build one like it. Urijah obeyed the king’s command, and when Ahaz returned from Damascus he used the newly constructed, bronze altar to present his offerings. He made sacrifices on it to the false gods of Aram. Ahaz even placed his altar in the temple and reserved it exclusively for himself, while the rest of the people continued to use the traditional altar that was already there. Urijah the priest went along with King Ahaz’s folly.
Ahaz also stripped many of the precious stones and metals from the temple furniture and replaced them with more ordinary, less expensive materials. He likely gave these to Tiglath-pilesar III. He dismantled the king’s covered entryway into the temple, again to appease Assyrian king. Whatsmore, he cut up the utensils that were in the temple and made altars for himself throughout Jerusalem. Ahaz had altars built in every city in Judah on the high places for people to burn incense to other gods.
When Ahaz died, the people buried him in Jerusalem. However, they did not lay his body in the tomb of the kings, for he was a wicked leader. Hezekiah, his son, became king in his place.
CONCLUSION
As we have seen in this morning’s message, Ahaz was a bad king - really bad. He is arguably the 2nd worst king in the history of Judah, just behind Manasseh who we’ve not yet read about. He started out bad and got progressively worse as time went by! Sadly, his sinful leadership hurt the entire southern kingdom and incited God’s judgment against them all. This leads me to a closing question… What is our obligation to governing authorities who practice and promote evil and wrongdoing?
Peter wrote that Christians are to “Fear God” and “honor the king.” (1 Peter 2:17). This verse teaches us that while kings, rulers, and/or governing officials are entitled to a proper level of respect (ie, “honor”), God alone is to receive our ultimate reverence (ie, “fear”). All legitimate authority comes from God, who places kings upon the throne in accordance with His will. The LORD is sovereign - not the king! So, if a king, president, prime minister, etc. leads his/her people in a manner contrary to the LORD’s commands, Christians must obey God. That said, they are to behave in a Christ-like manner even in their civil disobedience. We see this modeled in Scripture by Daniel, Paul, Jesus, and others.
So, if we had been living in Judah during the days of King Ahaz, I hope that we would have had the courage to stand against his sinful ways rather than go sheepishly along with them, like Urijah the priest did. It's bad enough when anyone stumbles into sin, but especially the priest! The same can be said of Christians today who wholeheartedly support and blindly adhere to the sinful decrees of our modern kings.
Good morning. I trust that you are enjoying our current study called “The Divided Church: The Northern and Southern Kingdoms”. Beyond just the fascinating stories of the kings, prophets, and other characters we’ve read about, we’ve discovered many lessons, truths, principles, examples, and other teachings that apply to our lives today. For your information, if all goes according to schedule we have 9 sermons left in this series, including today’s message.
Before we dive into today’s text, let’s mention a few Bible prophets who were living at this time. According to the first verse of his book, Isaiah ministered in Judah during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. This means that Isaiah was the first of the 4 major prophets chronologically. He is mentioned mostly during the days of King Hezekiah, as we will discover in a few weeks. Also, the opening verse of Micah states that he prophesied during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. This places Micah as the 6th minor prophet chronologically, assuming the others are dated correctly.
I. AHAZ IS A BAD KING (2 Kings 16:1-4; 2 Chronicles 28:1-4)
When Jotham died, his son Ahaz succeeded him as the new king of Judah. This occurred during the 17th year of Pekah’s reign in Israel. Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king and he ruled from Jerusalem for 16 years. Ahaz was an unrighteous, ungodly man who walked in the ways of the idolatrous kings of Israel. Among other things, he burnt his own children in the fire, made molten images for the Baals, burned incense in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, and practiced false worship in the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
II. JUDAH IS INVADED (2 Kings 16:5-6; 2 Chronicles 28:5-15)
Rezin, the king of Aram, and Pekah, the king of Israel, had formed an alliance earlier (2 Kings 15:37). Their intention was to add Judah to their ranks, in order to create a more formidable resistance against the threatening Assyrians. Apparently, when King Ahaz refused to join their coalition voluntarily, Rezin and Pekah invaded Judah. They laid siege on Jerusalem, but were ultimately unable to capture it or depose Ahaz.
Though they failed in their efforts to totally subdue Judah, both Rezin and Pekah did achieve a measure of success. The Aramaeans captured and settled in the port city of Elath, and they took many captives from Judah away to Damascus. The Israelites inflicted heavy casualties on Judah, killing 120,000 men in a single day. A valiant Israelite warrior named Zichri slew 3 of Judah’s prominent citizens - the king’s son, another man who was second in line to the throne, and the official who ruled over the king’s house.
The Israelites also carried away 200,000 women and children from Judah and brought them to Samaria, intending to use them as slaves. They also took great amounts of spoil. A prophet named Oded met and confronted the army of Israel as it arrived. He urged them to return the captives to Judah, because their actions had provoked and angered the LORD. And so, after some consideration, the captured women and children were returned to Jericho and released.
III. AHAZ SEEKS HELP FROM ASSYRIA (2 Kings 16:7-9; 2 Chronicles 28:16-21)
Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser III, the king of Assyria, seeking assistance in his bitter conflict against Aram and Israel. He even sent a generous gift of silver and gold to help secure the Assyrian’s support. Tiglath-pilesar accepted the gift and went up against Damascus. The Aramaeans were soundly defeated, King Rezin was put to death, and many of the people of Aram were taken away into exile. Thus, the capital city of Damascus fell and the kingdom of Aram was destroyed.
However, Judah still suffered with additional incursions by the Philistines and Edomites. These constant assaults upon the southern kingdom were the LORD’s judgment on them for following Ahaz’s wicked and sinful leadership. Ahaz sought more aid from Assyria to help the southern kingdom combat these other adversaries, but Tiglath-pileser III gave no additional assistance.
IV. AHAZ’S IDOLATRY WORSENS (2 Kings 16:10-20; 2 Chronicles 28:22-27)
Ahaz went to Damascus, which was now controlled by Assyria, to meet with Tiglath-pilesar III. While there, he saw an altar that he really liked, so he sent an order to Urijah the priest back in Jerusalem to build one like it. Urijah obeyed the king’s command, and when Ahaz returned from Damascus he used the newly constructed, bronze altar to present his offerings. He made sacrifices on it to the false gods of Aram. Ahaz even placed his altar in the temple and reserved it exclusively for himself, while the rest of the people continued to use the traditional altar that was already there. Urijah the priest went along with King Ahaz’s folly.
Ahaz also stripped many of the precious stones and metals from the temple furniture and replaced them with more ordinary, less expensive materials. He likely gave these to Tiglath-pilesar III. He dismantled the king’s covered entryway into the temple, again to appease Assyrian king. Whatsmore, he cut up the utensils that were in the temple and made altars for himself throughout Jerusalem. Ahaz had altars built in every city in Judah on the high places for people to burn incense to other gods.
When Ahaz died, the people buried him in Jerusalem. However, they did not lay his body in the tomb of the kings, for he was a wicked leader. Hezekiah, his son, became king in his place.
CONCLUSION
As we have seen in this morning’s message, Ahaz was a bad king - really bad. He is arguably the 2nd worst king in the history of Judah, just behind Manasseh who we’ve not yet read about. He started out bad and got progressively worse as time went by! Sadly, his sinful leadership hurt the entire southern kingdom and incited God’s judgment against them all. This leads me to a closing question… What is our obligation to governing authorities who practice and promote evil and wrongdoing?
Peter wrote that Christians are to “Fear God” and “honor the king.” (1 Peter 2:17). This verse teaches us that while kings, rulers, and/or governing officials are entitled to a proper level of respect (ie, “honor”), God alone is to receive our ultimate reverence (ie, “fear”). All legitimate authority comes from God, who places kings upon the throne in accordance with His will. The LORD is sovereign - not the king! So, if a king, president, prime minister, etc. leads his/her people in a manner contrary to the LORD’s commands, Christians must obey God. That said, they are to behave in a Christ-like manner even in their civil disobedience. We see this modeled in Scripture by Daniel, Paul, Jesus, and others.
So, if we had been living in Judah during the days of King Ahaz, I hope that we would have had the courage to stand against his sinful ways rather than go sheepishly along with them, like Urijah the priest did. It's bad enough when anyone stumbles into sin, but especially the priest! The same can be said of Christians today who wholeheartedly support and blindly adhere to the sinful decrees of our modern kings.