Ahaz Reigns in Judah

 

2 Chronicles 28: 1-11

 

August 28, 2023

 

Ahaz Reigns in Judah

Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done, but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals, and he made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.  And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

Judah Defeated

Therefore, the Lord his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force. For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 from Judah in one day, all of them men of valor, because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers.   And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king's son and Azrikam the commander of the palace, and Elkanah the next in authority to the king.

The men of Israel took captive 200,000 of their relatives, women, sons, and daughters. They also took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria.  But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded, and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand, but you have killed them in a rage that has reached up to heaven.  And now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, as your slaves. Have you not sins of your own against the Lord your God?  Now hear me, and send back the captives from your relatives whom you have taken, for the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you.”

What can we learn from Ahaz, what God’s word has been teaching us, that we have a heart problem?  Twice we are told this about the heart, in Jerimiah 17:9-10, The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?  “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”  And we find this about our hearts in Mark 7:21-23, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”  Brothers and Sisters, this is not a new problem, your heart and mine always need to be examined.  That is why we are told in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

I want you to give thought to this fact, God gave Judah into the hands of their enemies.  Were they as a nation more evil than ours?  You and I should be crying out to our Father for mercy, for as a free people, we would not enjoy what our enemies would love to do to us and our children.  Yes, that fear, but not of man but God.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice