Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship. Then Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz came back from Damascus. (2 Kings 16:10-11)

King Ahaz decided he would rather surrender to the king of Assyria than to the King of Kings. He rejected God and looked to the pagan ruler for help. So, it wasn’t strange that he decided to visit Tiglath-Pileser and make official his submission to the king of Assyria.

When he was there, Ahaz saw something that pleased him: he saw an altar that was set at Damascus. He liked it so much that King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and its pattern. Using the plans sent from Ahaz, Urijah imitated the pagan altar at Damascus and had it ready by the time Ahaz returned from Damascus. Ahaz did this both to please his new master, Tiglath-Pileser, and to bring the latest trends in altar design to God’s temple in Jerusalem. 

2 Chronicles 28:23 explains why King Ahaz was attracted to what he saw in Damascus: 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.

Think of it: a king over the people of God actually set up a pagan altar at the temple in Jerusalem. He did it because he knew it would please the pagans, because he liked the fashionable design of the altar, and because he thought it would bring him success.

Doesn’t that sound like a lot of churches today? Many church leaders today put their trust in the tools, the techniques, and the principles of worldly success. They think the gods of Damascus will give them victory. We want to please the world as Ahaz wanted to please the king of Assyria. We are impressed with the fashionable designs of what comes from the world. We think imitating the world will bring us success. It’s sad when the church goes to the world for its methods and principles.

The sin of Ahaz didn’t end with Ahaz. We read, Urijah the priest built an altar. Of course, Ahaz bore the greater blame in this matter, but the high priest Urijah was also at fault. Together, they brought in something that was their ruin and the ruin of Israel.

That’s the problem with the kind of compromise Ahaz allowed and promoted. Like Jesus warned, it is like leaven or yeast spreading through a whole lump of bread dough. Let’s look to the LORD more, and to the world less!

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 16

Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to make war; and they besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him. (2 Kings 16:5)

At the time of 2 Kings 16, the 12 tribes of Israel were divided into two kingdoms for more than 200 years. They always seemed to compete with each other, and sometimes they made war. Here, we see the ten northern tribes led by Pekah, the king of Israel, attacking the two southern tribes of the kingdom of Judah, led by Ahaz.

The king of Israel was afraid of the rising Assyrian Empire, and hoped that attacking Judah would make them stronger against Assyria. In Isaiah 7:6 we learn that the real goal of this attack was to remove Ahaz and to set up another king over Judah.

We know from 2 Chronicles 28:5-8 that on the whole, Judah suffered terrible losses from this attack. King Ahaz lost 120,000 Judean soldiers and 200,000 civilian hostages in these battles with Israel and Syria. It was a dark time for Judah, and it looked as if the dynasty of David would soon be extinguished, as happened so many times with the ruling dynasties of Israel.

Yet, they did not defeat Judah. They besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him. The armies of Syria and Israel were strong enough to capture many cities of Judah, but not strong enough to defeat Jerusalem and overthrow the government of Ahaz.

Do you remember the remarkable Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 7? There, God promised: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. That prophecy of Isaiah 7 – including the announcement of the Immanuel sign – came from Isaiah to King Ahaz during this invasion from Israel and Syria. Despite this promise, Ahaz refused to trust in the LORD and instead put his trust in the king of Assyria. Yet for the sake of David, God did not allow this disastrous attack on Judah to prevail. He would not allow this Satanic plot against the Messianic dynasty of David to succeed.

These great promises really didn’t bring King Ahaz much peace, because he didn’t believe them. The promises of God do us little good if we don’t believe them. Even when God is faithful to the promises and rescues us (like He did Ahaz and Judah), we don’t enjoy the peace and comfort we could have if we only believed.

What promise of God do you need to believe today? God promises peace to those who give their attention to Him (Isaiah 26:3). God promises release from anxiety in prayer (Philippians 4:6-7). God promises abundant life in Jesus Christ (John 10:10). God promises forgiveness when we confess and repent of our sins (1 John 1:9).

There are many, many more precious promises of God – but they only do us real benefit as we believe them and receive them.

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 16

In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign…. And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. However the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD. (2 Kings 15:32, 34-35)

After the reign of Uzziah, his son Jotham because king. In general, he was a good king – he did what was right in the sight of the LORD. In a time when there was chaos and wickedness in the northern kingdom, there were some good and godly kings in Judah. His father Uzziah set a good example for Jotham, and He did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. A godly father, even if flawed, can have a tremendous positive impact upon his sons.

One thing that Jotham did catches our attention: he built the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD. This was always a positive sign in Judah. When kings and leaders were concerned about the house of the LORD, it reflected some measure of spiritual revival.

In particular, it seems that Jotham rebuilt the link between the temple and the palace. Most likely, this was access between the royal palace and the temple. Jotham wanted there to be a strong link between the royal house and the house of God. We can say that this was one of the keys to his prosperity and success.

Jotham’s father Uzziah misunderstood the link between the royal house and the house God when he demanded priestly authority (2 Chronicles 26:16-21). Many kings before Jotham wanted no link between the royal house and the house of God. Jotham understood that he was a king and not a priest, yet he wanted a good, open link between the palace and the temple.

2 Chronicles 27:6 says, So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God. The building of this link between the palace and the temple was one of the chief ways that he prepared his way before the LORD. That access between the palace and the house of God – a link without control – provided better security for Judah than a mighty wall around Jerusalem. In a time when the northern kingdom of Israel was attacked by the Assyrians, during the reign of Jotham Judah was safe.

The safest place we can be is in obedient communion with God. That was the key to Jotham’s success. How is your access to the house of God? Has it broken down? Are you missing true Christian fellowship? Ask God for the wisdom and opportunity to build your own “Upper Gate” to the house of the LORD, the community of God’s people.

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 15

And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done, except that the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. (2 King 15:3-4)

These words concern a king over Judah named Azariah (2 Kings 15:1-2). He was also called Uzziah in 2 Kings 15:13 and many other places in 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and the writings of the prophet Isaiah. Azariah (Uzziah) was a good king – he did what was right in the sight of the LORD. The blessing of the LORD was on this king, and he was rewarded with a long reign of 52 years.

Azariah came to the throne in a difficult time. When his father Amaziah died, Jerusalem was in chaos. A significant section of the city’s wall was destroyed. The palace was emptied of many of its treasures, and some people of Judah had been seized by enemies as hostages.

Considering all that, it’s amazing to see what a good king Azariah was, and how much he accomplished. 2 Chronicles 26 tells us more about the successful reign of Uzziah (Azariah):

– He began his reign when he was only 16 years old (2 Chronicles 26:3).
– He reigned during the ministry of Zechariah the prophet (2 Chronicles 26:5).
– He defeated the Philistines and took many of their cities, and also kept the Ammonites in tribute to Judah (2 Chronicles 26:6-8).
– He was internationally famous as a strong king (2 Chronicles 26:8).
– He was an ambitious builder and skilled in agriculture (2 Chronicles 26:9-10).
– He built up and organized the army, introducing several new items of military technology (2 Chronicles 26:11-15).

It’s easy to look at the reign of Azariah and think he was one of the best kings of Judah, because he did so much good. However, the Bible goes on to say that the reign of Azariah didn’t end well. The seeds for that bad end were sowed much earlier in his life. We see it in 2 Kings 15:4: except that the high places were not removed. Notice that word: except.

As with Jehoash (2 Kings 12:3) and Amaziah (2 Kings 14:4), the reforms of Azariah did not reach far enough. Each of these kings stopped short of removing the high places, these traditional places of sacrifice to the LORD. We could say that these idolatrous high places were King Azariah’s except – what’s yours?

Many of us have an except in our life. God has done much in our life, and we walk in a generally faithful way. None of us is perfect, and every day we stand before God not in our own faithfulness, but in what Jesus did for us on the cross. Yet, there is something wrong when we know in our heart that we hide an except that God wants to deal with.

Confess your “except” to God, receive His forgiveness for Jesus’ sake, and leave it at the cross.

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 15

Then Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah…and [Jehoash] went to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem…. And he took all the gold and silver, all the articles that were found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria. (2 Kings 14:13-14)

Amaziah was the king of Judah, the realm of the two southern tribes of the descendants of Israel. In general, he was a good and godly king (2 Kings 14:3). The Bible tells us of his obedience and great victories. Yet he also fell into unnecessary trouble, and 2 Kings 14:13-14 give us the consequences of his foolishness.

Amaziah foolishly attacked the king of Israel, the realm of the ten northern tribes. Because of his foolish, unnecessary attack on his northern brothers, Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah and he lost his freedom and for a time became a prisoner of the king of Israel. 

Jehoash warned Amaziah (2 Kings 14:8-11) but he would not listen. He asked Amaziah, “why should you meddle with trouble so that you fall?” (2 Chronicles 14:10) Maybe he would not listen because his army was battle-tested and mighty. Yet, God gave Israel the victory over Judah to rebuke the idolatry of Amaziah. 2 Chronicles 25:20 tells us it was because Amaziah started worshipping the gods of Edom.

So king Jehoash went to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem. This was unnecessary trouble. Because of his foolish attack, Amaziah saw the defenses of Jerusalem broken down. Not only did they lose the battle, but they were also weaker against future attacks. 

When Joash came to Jerusalem, he took all the gold and silver. This was unnecessary trouble. Because of his foolish attack, Amaziah lost the treasure of God’s people. Amaziah didn’t have the wisdom to see how losing this battle would hurt others as well as himself. 

This even extended to hostages who were taken from Jerusalem to Samaria. This was unnecessary trouble. Amaziah made the decision to attack Israel, but the cost of the foolish attack was paid by the whole kingdom of Judah. This is a sober warning to all leaders, to consider how their foolish decisions bring unnecessary trouble to many other people. 

Amaziah heard the warning, “why should you meddle with trouble so that you fall?” He heard it, but he didn’t listen. Many of us fall into the same trap. We meddle with a lot of unnecessary trouble that we should leave alone, and it hurts not only us but others close to us.

The name “Amaziah” means, “Strength of Yahweh.” But 2 Chronicles 25:11 tells us, “Amaziah strengthened himself.” When you find your strength in yourself, you will eventually find yourself in trouble, unable to save yourself. Instead, remember the meaning of Jesus’ name: “Yahweh is Salvation.” As we trust in Jesus, God is our strength and wisdom, saving us from many unnecessary troubles.

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 14