Ahaz King of Judah

2022-10-29

Ahaz, the son of the good king Jotham, turned to evil. We’re not sure why his immediate forefathers followed the Lord, and why his son Hezekiah followed the Lord, but he did not. It is not just that he did evil; rather, Ahaz copied pagan practices from the neighboring nations and desecrated the Temple. He also incorporated molten idols to Baalim and slew his children as sacrifices to these gods.

Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah attacked Jerusalem. Elath was taken and became apart of the domain of the Syrians.

Because of this, Ahaz hired Tiglathpileser (Tilgathpilneser) king of Assyria to attack them. The Assyrian king took Damascus and killed Rezin their king. Ahaz met that king and copied worship practices he saw there and incorporated them into the Temple worship, breaking apart the Temple furniture. He and his priest Urijah offered sacrifices on a new altar patterned after what he saw in Damascus.

Captives were carried away by Israel, all because of the sins of Ahaz. The prophet Oded brought the word of God to Israel and commanded them to return the captives, only because of the grace of God. “Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you” (2 Chronicles 28:11). There was some repentance in Israel that day, knowing their own sins, and they returned the captives and spoil to Jericho.

The prophet Isaiah also gave the people of Judah comfort concerning this attack, that it would not stand. “Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass” (Isaiah 7:6-7).

This is the same Ahaz that was given the promise of the coming Messiah. Isaiah asked the king to ask for a sign:

Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:10-14)

Again, Ahaz was attacked by Edomites and Philistines. He sent again for Tilgathpilneser, but this time he would not help. Perhaps it was not a part of his own agenda. “For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the LORD, and out of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria: but he helped him not” (2 Chronicles 28:21).

What can we learn?

  1. God will discipline His people when they rebel. He did this by sending foreign invaders. Ahaz had served false gods and had done so grievously by child sacrifice and restructuring Temple worship.
  2. God still shows grace when His people are disobedient. The captives were sent back to Judah after the battle, though they deserved nothing from God.
  3. Trusting in things other than God will not help. Tiglathpileser may have helped Ahaz once, but he did not the other time. The world’s help is inconsistent at best; God is steadfast in every situation.
  4. Substituting the things of God with our own ideas are utmost evil. “See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount” (Hebrews 8:5).

This is a part of the Kings of Judah series. To go back to the table of contents, proceed here.