King Ahaz of Judah
(2 Kings 16.1-4)1 Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 16 years.
Ahaz was nothing like his ancestor David. Ahaz disobeyed the Lord 2 and was as sinful as the kings of Israel. He made idols of the god Baal, 3 and he offered sacrifices in Hinnom Valley. Worst of all, Ahaz sacrificed his own sons, which was a disgusting custom of the nations that the Lord had forced out of Israel. 4 Ahaz offered sacrifices at the local shrines, as well as on every hill and in the shade of large trees.
Syria and Israel Attack Judah
(2 Kings 16.52 6)5-6 Ahaz and the people of Judah sinned and turned away from the Lord, the God their ancestors had worshiped. So the Lord punished them by letting their enemies defeat them.
The king of Syria attacked Judah and took many of its people to Damascus as prisoners. King Pekah of Israel later defeated Judah and killed 120,000 of its bravest soldiers in one day. 7 During that battle, an Israelite soldier named Zichri killed three men from Judah: Maaseiah the king's son; Azrikam, the official in charge of the palace; and Elkanah, the king's second in command. 8 The Israelite troops captured 200,000 women and children and took them back to their capital city of Samaria, along with a large amount of their possessions. They did these things even though the people of Judah were their own relatives.
Oded the Prophet Condemns Israel
9 Oded lived in Samaria and was one of the Lord's prophets. He met Israel's army on their way back from Judah and said to them:
The Lord God of your ancestors let you defeat Judah's army only because he was angry with them. But you should not have been so cruel! 10 If you make slaves of the people of Judah and Jerusalem, you will be as guilty as they are of sinning against the Lord.
11 Send these prisoners back home—they are your own relatives. If you don't, the Lord will punish you in his anger.
12 About the same time, four of Israel's leaders arrived. They were Azariah son of Johanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai. They agreed with Oded that the Israelite troops were wrong, 13 and they said:
If you bring these prisoners into Samaria, that will be one more thing we've done to sin against the Lord. And he is already angry enough with us.
14 So in front of the leaders and the crowd, the troops handed over their prisoners and the property they had taken from Judah. 15 The four leaders took some of the stolen clothes and gave them to the prisoners who needed something to wear. They later gave them all a new change of clothes and shoes, then fixed them something to eat and drink, and cleaned their wounds with olive oil. They gave donkeys to those who were too weak to walk, and led all of them back to Jericho, the city known for its palm trees. The leaders then returned to Samaria.
Ahaz Asks the King of Assyria for Help
(2 Kings 16.7-9)16-18 Some time later, the Edomites attacked the eastern part of Judah again and carried away prisoners. And at the same time, the Philistines raided towns in the western foothills and in the Southern Desert. They conquered the towns of Beth-Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo, including the villages around them. Then some of the Philistines went to live in these places.
Ahaz sent a message to King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria and begged for help. 19 But God was punishing Judah with these disasters, because Ahaz had disobeyed him and refused to stop Judah from sinning. 20 So Tiglath Pileser came to Judah, but instead of helping, he made things worse. 21 Ahaz gave him gifts from the Lord's temple and the king's palace, as well as from the homes of Israel's other leaders. The Assyrian king still refused to help Ahaz.
The Final Sin of Ahaz and His Death
22 Even after all these terrible things happened to Ahaz, he sinned against the Lord even worse than before. 23 He said to himself, “The Syrian gods must have helped their kings defeat me. Maybe if I offer sacrifices to those gods, they will help me.” That was the sin that finally led to the downfall of Ahaz, as well as to the destruction of Judah.
24 Ahaz collected all the furnishings of the temple and smashed them to pieces. Then he locked the doors to the temple and set up altars to foreign gods on every street corner in Jerusalem. 25 In every city and town in Judah he built local shrines to worship foreign gods. All of this made the Lord God of his ancestors very angry.
26 Everything else Ahaz did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 Ahaz died and was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs. His son Hezekiah then became king.
1 Ahaz was twentie yeere old when he began to reigne, and reigned sixteene yeere in Ierusalem, and did not vprightly in the sight of the Lord, like Dauid his father. 2 But he walked in the wayes of ye Kings of Israel, and made euen molten images for Baalim. 3 Moreouer he burnt incense in the valley of Ben-hinnom, and burnt his sonnes with fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. 4 He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the hie places, and on hilles, and vnder euery greene tree. 5 Wherefore the Lord his God deliuered him into the hand of the King of the Aramites, and they smote him, and tooke of his, many prisoners, and brought them to Damascus: and he was also deliuered into the hande of the King of Israel, which smote him with a great slaughter. 6 For Pekah the sonne of Remaliah slewe in Iudah sixe score thousand in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. 7 And Zichri a mighty man of Ephraim slew Maaseiah the Kings sonne, and Azrikam the gouernour of the house, and Elkanah the second after the King. 8 And the children of Israel tooke prisoners of their brethren, two hudreth thousand of women, sonnes and daughters, and caried away much spoyle of them, and brought the spoyle to Samaria. 9 But there was a Prophet of the Lordes, (whose name was Oded) and he went out before the hoste that came to Samaria, and said vnto them, Behold, because the Lord God of your fathers is wroth with Iudah, he hath deliuered them into your hand, and ye haue slaine them in a rage, that reacheth vp to heauen. 10 And nowe ye purpose to keepe vnder the children of Iudah and Ierusalem, as seruants and handmaides vnto you: but are not you such, that sinnes are with you before the Lord your God? 11 Nowe therefore heare me, and deliuer the captiues againe, which ye haue taken prisoners of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the Lord is toward you. 12 Wherefore certaine of the chiefe of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the sonne of Iehohanan, Berechiah the sonne of Meshillemoth, and Iehizkiah the sonne of Shallum, and Amasa the sonne of Hadlai, stood vp against them that came from the warre, 13 And said vnto them, Bring not in the captiues hither: for this shalbe a sinne vpon vs against the Lord: ye entende to adde more to our sinnes and to our trespasse, though our trespasse be great, and the fierce wrath of God is against Israel. 14 So the armie left the captiues and the spoyle before the princes and all the Congregation. 15 And the men that were named by name, rose vp and tooke the prisoners, and with the spoyle clothed all that were naked among them, and arayed them, and shod them, and gaue them meate, and gaue them drinke, and anoynted them, and caryed all that were feeble of them vpon asses, and brought them to Iericho the citie of Palme trees to their brethren: so they returned to Samaria. 16 At that time did King Ahaz sende vnto the Kings of Asshur, to helpe him. 17 (For the Edomites came moreouer, and slew of Iudah, and caryed away captiues. 18 The Philistims also inuaded the cities in the low countrey, and toward the South of Iudah, and tooke Bethshemesh, and Aialon, and Gederoth and Shocho, with the villages thereof, and Timnah, with her villages, and Gimzo, with her villages, and they dwelt there. 19 For the Lord had humbled Iudah, because of Ahaz King of Israel: for he had brought vengeance vpon Iudah, and had grieuously transgressed against the Lord) 20 And Tilgath Pilneeser king of Asshur came vnto him, who troubled him and did not strengthen him. 21 For Ahaz tooke a portion out of the house of the Lord and out of the Kings house and of the Princes, and gaue vnto the king of Asshur: yet it helped him not. 22 And in ye time of his tribulation did he yet trespasse more against ye Lord, (this is King Ahaz) 23 For he sacrificed vnto the gods of Damascus, which plagued him, and he sayd, Because the gods of the Kings of Aram helped them, I wil sacrifice vnto them, and they will helpe me: yet they were his ruine, and of all Israel. 24 And Ahaz gathered the vessels of ye house of God, and brake the vessels of the house of God, and shut vp the doores of the house of the Lord, and made him altars in euery corner of Ierusalem. 25 And in euery citie of Iudah hee made hie places, to burne incense vnto other gods, and prouoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers. 26 Concerning the rest of his actes, and all his wayes first and last, beholde, they are written in the booke of the Kings of Iudah, and Israel. 27 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the citie of Ierusalem, but brought him not vnto the sepulchres of the Kings of Israel: and Hezekiah his sonne reigned in his stead.