2 Kings 16:1-20 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 2 Kings 16:1-20. As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first. See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
2 Kings 16:1-4 (NIV)
1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.
2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God.
3 He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.
On verses 1-4: Ahaz replaces his father Jotham as king of Judah. Unlike his father, Ahaz is deeply into idol worship. As part of worshiping an idol, Ahaz sacrifices his child in the fire (v3), hoping it will bring him prosperity. As horrific as such an act is and sounds, it is also a warning for parents today. Sometimes parents can be tempted to sacrifice their children for the sake of their careers or their financial gain. So we neglect our children and deprive them of our presence all in the name of “making money for the family”. While working and being providers for the family is important, let’s remember that in all our working and striving that our real treasure is our children and that what they need even more than money or material things is us, our time and our presence.
2 Kings 16:5-9 (NIV)
5 Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem and besieged Ahaz, but they could not overpower him.
6 At that time, Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram by driving out the men of Judah. Edomites then moved into Elath and have lived there to this day.
7 Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, “I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.”
8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the temple of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.
9 The king of Assyria complied by attacking Damascus and capturing it. He deported its inhabitants to Kir and put Rezin to death.
On verses 5-9: To help him in his ongoing battles against Rezin King of Aram and Pekah King of Israel, Ahaz looks to Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria for help. In verse 8, Ahaz takes gold and silver from the temple of the Lord (as well as from the royal treasuries) and pays them to Tiglath-Pileser in exchange for his help and protection. Ahaz takes what belongs to the house of God and uses it for another purpose. Similarly, when you’re under financial pressure, you may be tempted to think, “Let’s not tithe to the church. Let’s take what we would otherwise pay to God and use it for some other purpose.” If you live that way, don’t be surprised if even then you still don’t have enough. For God’s promise is: seek His kingdom first and take good care of God’s house, and He will give you everything you need and more (Matthew 6:33; Malachi 3:16)
2 Kings 16:10-20 (NIV)
10 Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah the priest a sketch of the altar, with detailed plans for its construction.
11 So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before King Ahaz returned.
12 When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it.
13 He offered up his burnt offering and grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his fellowship offerings on the altar.
14 The bronze altar that stood before the LORD he brought from the front of the temple–from between the new altar and the temple of the LORD–and put it on the north side of the new altar.
15 King Ahaz then gave these orders to Uriah the priest: “On the large new altar, offer the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering, and the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering and their drink offering. Sprinkle on the altar all the blood of the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar for seeking guidance.”
16 And Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had ordered.
17 King Ahaz took away the side panels and removed the basins from the movable stands. He removed the Sea from the bronze bulls that supported it and set it on a stone base.
18 He took away the Sabbath canopy that had been built at the temple and removed the royal entryway outside the temple of the LORD, in deference to the king of Assyria.
19 As for the other events of the reign of Ahaz, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?
20 Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.
On verses 10-20: To thank Tiglath-Pileser for his help, Ahaz goes to Assyria to meet him. While there, Ahaz is so impressed and influenced by what he sees at Tiglath-Pileser’s idol worshiping sites that he tells his priest Uriah back home to make him an altar that looks just like Tiglath-Pileser’s and to place it in the temple of the Lord. Ahaz gets all the people to make their offerings on this large new altar and takes the old altar for himself to use for his own divination activities (v15-16). He also starts to undo many of the furnishings and equipment that the Lord had instituted for the temple (v17-18).
Why did Ahaz make these changes? It wasn’t because he loved the Lord or wanted to bring more people to worship Him. Rather, Ahaz instituted these changes because he wanted to please the king of the Assyrians (“in deference to the king of Assyria” (v18) and to look more like them. In so doing, he took the people of Judah further and further away from the Lord.
What can we learn from this? When you want to make a major change to your body (which the Bible calls the temple of the Holy Spirit – 1 Corinthians 6:19), your church (which is Christ’s temple and also Christ’s body – 1 Corinthians 12:10) or to some other important part of your life, ask yourself: why do you want to make those changes? What is your motive? Are you doing it in faith or in fear? What does God think about this change you want to make? Your motive behind a change is important when determining whether or not you should make that change.
Father, I pray that I would not sacrifice my children for the sake of my career, or sacrifice my church for the sake of getting the world’s help or approval. Before I make a major change, may I also be careful to check my motives. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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