According to 2 Kings 16, King Ahaz sacrificed on an altar designed to look like the altar to the false god Hadad that he had seen in Damascus. His words revealed his motive: “the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them.” Ahaz was willing to serve any god he felt would be advantageous to him. He was such an egoistical person that he really believed life was all about him, and he was only interested in what would bring him immediate, beneficial results. Selfishness starts early in every person’s life, and if not corrected, will become a life-long, habitual way of thinking. Ahaz so completely replaced the worship of the one true God with idol worship that he even closed the doors to the temple of God.<\/p>\n
When we are faced with life\u2019s difficulties, we all run the risk of being tempted to act like King Ahaz. When he saw the strength of the Assyrians coming against him, he decided it was impossible for him to defeat them. Fear tossed his heart like wind through the tops of trees in a wood, and it caused him to go to the wrong source for help. When fear and difficulties come rushing in on us today, we need to remember Peter’s words to Jesus: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).<\/p>\n
“LORD, where else can we go when You alone can save.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n =============================================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2 Chronicles 28 KJV<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/sup>\u00a0Ahaz\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not\u00a0that which was\u00a0<\/em>right in the sight of the\u00a0LORD, like David his father:\u00a02<\/sup>\u00a0For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.\u00a03<\/sup>\u00a0Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the\u00a0LORD\u00a0had cast out before the children of Israel.\u00a0\u00a04<\/sup>\u00a0He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.\u00a05<\/sup>\u00a0Wherefore the\u00a0LORDhis God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought\u00a0them\u00a0<\/em>to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.\u00a06<\/sup>\u00a0For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day,\u00a0which were\u00a0<\/em>all valiant men; because they had forsaken the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God of their fathers.\u00a0\u00a07<\/sup>\u00a0And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king\u2019s son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah\u00a0that was\u00a0<\/em>next to the king.\u00a0\u00a08<\/sup>\u00a0And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.\u00a09<\/sup>\u00a0But a prophet of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0was there, whose name\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage\u00a0that<\/em>reacheth up unto heaven.\u00a010<\/sup>\u00a0And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you:\u00a0but are there\u00a0<\/em>not with you, even with you, sins against the\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God?\u00a011<\/sup>\u00a0Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>upon you.\u00a012<\/sup>\u00a0Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war,\u00a013<\/sup>\u00a0And said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the\u00a0LORD\u00a0already\u00a0<\/em>, ye intend to add\u00a0more\u00a0<\/em>to our sins and to our trespass: for our trespass is great, and\u00a0there is\u00a0<\/em>fierce wrath against Israel.\u00a014<\/sup>\u00a0So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation.\u00a015<\/sup>And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria. 16<\/sup> At that time did king Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him.\u00a017<\/sup>\u00a0For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives.\u00a0\u00a018<\/sup>\u00a0The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof: and they dwelt there.\u00a019<\/sup>\u00a0For the\u00a0LORDbrought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the\u00a0LORD.\u00a020<\/sup>\u00a0And Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not.\u00a021<\/sup>\u00a0For Ahaz took away a portion\u00a0out\u00a0<\/em>of the house of the\u00a0LORD, and\u00a0out\u00a0<\/em>of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave\u00a0it\u00a0<\/em>unto the king of Assyria: but he helped him not. 22<\/sup>\u00a0And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the\u00a0LORD: this\u00a0is that\u00a0<\/em>king Ahaz.\u00a023<\/sup>\u00a0For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them,\u00a0therefore\u00a0<\/em>will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel.\u00a0\u00a024<\/sup>\u00a0And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the\u00a0LORD, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem.\u00a025<\/sup>\u00a0And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God of his fathers.\u00a0 26<\/sup>\u00a0Now the rest of his acts and of all his ways, first and last, behold, they\u00a0are\u00a0<\/em>written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.\u00a027<\/sup>\u00a0And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city,\u00a0even\u00a0<\/em>in Jerusalem: but they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" According to 2 Kings 16, King Ahaz sacrificed on an altar designed to look like the altar to the false god Hadad that he had seen in Damascus. His words revealed his motive: “the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them.” Ahaz was willing to serve any god he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7260"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7260"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16381,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7260\/revisions\/16381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}