2 Kings 16

11 6 reign in Israel. 2Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in "2 Chr 281-27 Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the LORD his God, as ais 14:3 his ancestor David had done. $Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel, even 16:3 sacrificing his own son in the fire.* In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the Lev 82), pagan nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 4He offered sacri- 2 Kgs 17:17; 21:6 fices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every green tree. [8:4 5Then King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel came up to attack Jerusalem. They j.., besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. 6At that time the king of Edom* recovered the 2 kgs 15:37 town of Elath for Edom.* He drove out the people of Judah and sent Edomites* to live there, ao eee as they do to this day. 16:6 2 Kgs 14:22 7King Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria with this message: “Tam 5 cfr 26: your servant and your vassal.* Come up and rescue me from the attacking armies of Aram 4..7, and Israel.” 8Then Ahaz took the silver and gold from the Temple of the LORD and the palace 2 Kgs 15:29 treasury and sent it as a payment to the Assyrian king. 9So the king of Assyria attacked the } 6:8 ot7-18: Aramean capital of Damascus and led its population away as captives, resettling them in Kir. eis He also killed King Rezin. 16:9 10King Ahaz then went to Damascus to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. While toa 1:35 he was there, he took special note of the altar. Then he sent a model of the altar to Uriah the isa 8:2 priest, along with its design in full detail. 11Uriah followed the king’s instructions and built an altar just like it, and it was ready before the king returned from Damascus. 1?When the 16:12 king returned, he inspected the altar and made offerings on it. ‘He presented a burnt of- 2 Chr 26:76. 19 fering and a grain offering, he poured out a liquid offering, and he sprinkled the blood of peace offerings on the altar. 14Then King Ahaz removed the old bronze altar fromits placein front of the LORD’sTem- 16:14 ple, between the entrance and the newaltar, and placed it on the north side of the new altar. Pes S64 15He told Uriah the priest, “Use the new altar* for the morning sacrifices of burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, and the burnt offerings of all the people, as well as their grain offerings and liquid offerings. Sprinkle the blood from all the burnt offerings and sacrifices on the new altar. The bronze altar will be for my personal use only.” ‘Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz commanded him. 17Then the king removed the side panels and basins from the portable water carts. He 16:17 also removed the great bronze basin called the Sea from the backs of the bronze oxen and 1 Kgs 7:23, 25, 27 placed it on the stone pavement. 18In deference to the king of Assyria, he also removed the canopy that had been constructed inside the palace for use on the Sabbath day,* as well as the king’s outer entrance to the Temple of the LORD. 16:3 Or even making his son pass through the fire. 16:6a As in Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads Rezin king of Aram. 16:6b As in Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads Aram. 16:6¢c As in Greek version, Latin Vulgate, and an alternate reading of the Masoretic Text; the other alternate reads Arameans. 16:7 Hebrew your son. 16:15 Hebrew the great altar.

16:10-16 Evil King Ahaz copied pagan religious customs,changed the Temple services. and used the Temple altar forhis personal benefit. In so doing, he demonstrated a callousdisregard for God’s commands. We condemn Ahaz for hisaction, but we act the same way if we try to mold God’s messageto fit our personal preferences. We must worship God for whohe is, not what we would selfishly like him to be.16:14-18 Ahaz replaced the bronze altar (the altar of burntoffering) with a replica of the pagan altar he had seen in Damas-cus. (The bronze altar was not thrown out, but was kept foruse in divination. The sacrifices were washed in the basins. TheSea was a huge reservoir of water for temple use.) This wasextremely serious because God had given specific directions onhow the altar should look and be used (Exodus 27:1-8). Buildingthis new altar was like installing an idol. But because Judah was

19The rest of the events in Ahaz’s reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. 20When Ahaz died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Hezekiah became the next king. 3. Israel is exiled to Assyria