This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better general understanding of God's Word.
Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concerned with only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.
Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning with chapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two of Revelation. You are free to print each page as it appears. If you miss a day, you may contact us and request that devotion. Please send your request, along with $.50 (p&h) for each page to:
Bruce McGee,Pastor
205 Adams
Columbia, LA 71418
HERE
Bro. Bruce's commentaries for the books of
Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus are
now available in hard copy for $7.50. Just
mail your request for COMMENTARY ON GENESIS to the address above.
2KINGS
1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.
2 Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God, like David his father.
3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel.
4 And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
Ahaz became king when his father Jotham died. He was also an "evil" king in that he refused to follow God's ways.
5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.
6 At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day.
7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.
8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.
9 And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.
Ahaz was severely defeated and some 200,000 captives were taken away, according to 2Chronicles 5-15. Then he took the gold and silver from the temple and sent it to the king of Assyria with a plea for help.
10 And 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 fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.
11 And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus.
12 And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon.
13 And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar.
14 And he brought also the brasen altar, which was before the LORD, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar.
15 And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering, and the king's burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: and the brasen altar shall be for me to inquire by.
16 Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded.
17 And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stones.
18 And the covert for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king's entry without, turned he from the house of the LORD for the king of Assyria.
When Ahaz had gone to meet Tiglath-pileser, he saw an altar that he liked. He went back and commanded the high priest of Judah to build the altar and replace God's altar at the temple courtyard with the new one.
19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
20 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.
When Ahaz died, Hezekiah became king.
We must REMEMBER: "Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after." (1Timothy 5:24). Please continue in Bible Study with us.
CHAPTER 16
He practiced idolatry in virtually every known form (verse 4). He even sacrificed his son as a living sacrifice (verse 3).
This was an "abomination" to God. We'll look at that more in a moment.
This was another "abomination" to God.
Tiglath-pileser answered the call and killed the king of Syria then attacked Israel and carried away thousands of captives. This is called the "first captivity of Israel," the northern kingdom.
This was another "abomination" to God.
Then Ahaz went and made a sacrifice there himself.
Now God had given Uzziah leprosy for just burning incense. Why didn't he do something to Ahaz? I don't know.
Neither does anyone else. We could get into a lot of conjecture on this. Perhaps God struck Uzziah with leprosy because He knew that Uzziah was really a godly man dn would repent and rule Judah correctly.
And maybe God didn't do anything to Ahaz because He knew that Ahaz would die soon, and Hezekiah would be king.
We could state a lot of "maybes" about why God treats one individual differently from another. But I do know ONE thing: God knows BEST!