We are going to look at our unrelenting God, the One who never give up on us.
We looked at the five kings of Israel in chapter 15. It ends with an account on King Jotham of Judah.
• Jotham did what was right in the eyes of the Lord but not perfectly because he did not remove the high places of pagan worship.
• His son Ahaz succeeded him as King and we are going to read about him today in chapter 16.
Unlike chapter 15, this entire chapter covers just one King. Read 2 Kings 16:1-20.
Another very sad episode. The author puts it upfront – Ahaz “did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God.” (16:2b)
• This has been the common phrase for the kings in Israel but not in Judah. Ahaz is the ONLY king of JUDAH to get this comment.
• Judah has a few bad kings but not like those in Israel.
• The author adds in verse 3 “He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.”
And as expected of an apostate, Ahaz showed no regard for the Temple of God.
• We are told of this account when he visited Damascus (ARAM), after the King of Assyria conquered it.
• He saw an altar there and decided to make a replica of it back home, with his priest Uriah blindly obeying him.
• The new altar was made and Ahaz had all the sacrifices done on this pagan altar, pushing the old one out of the way to a less prominent place.
• And he made alterations to the bronze basins and destroyed other furnishings within the Temple of God, according to his own wishes.
We have to remember that the design to the Temple was God-given, to King David.
• 1 Chron 28:11-12 “Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement. 12He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the LORD and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things.
• 1 Chron 28:19 “All this,” David said, “I have in writing from the hand of the LORD upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan.”
Ahaz did whatever he likes with the Temple of God. Eventually 2 Chron 28 tells us he destroyed all its furnishings and closed the doors to the Temple of God.
• He set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem (28:24) and in every town in Judah, he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods (28:25).
• 2 Kings 16:4 “He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.” Practically everywhere.
And that’s Ahaz. A king who has no regard for God, no regard for His Temple, and did nothing right in His eyes.
• We read that when ARAM (King Rezin) and ISRAEL (King Pekah) came against him, he sought instead the help of Assyria.
• 2 Chron 28:5b-6 “The Arameans defeated him and took many of his people as prisoners and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hands of the king of Israel, who inflicted heavy casualties on him. 6In one day Pekah son of Remaliah killed a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers in Judah - because Judah had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers.”
• Judah suffered greatly but Aram and Israel did not overpower it.
What was most amazing in this encounter was that God actually came to Ahaz and spoke to him, through prophet Isaiah - Isaiah 7:1-9.
1 When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.
2 Now the house of David was told, "Aram has allied itself with Ephraim"; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman's Field. 4 Say to him, `Be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood--because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. 5 Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah's son have plotted your ruin, saying, 6 "Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it." 7 Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
"`It will not take place, it will not happen, 8 for the head of Aram is Damascus, and
the head of Damascus is only Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too
shattered to be a people. 9 The head of Ephraim [Israel] is Samaria, and the head of
Samaria is only Remaliah's son [Pekah]. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you
will not stand at all.'"
It wasn’t a word of rebuke, but assurance. God says, “Don’t be afraid. Trust in Me. Stand firm in your faith. I can deliver you.”
• From man’s point of view, the alliance of ARAM and ISRAEL was a major problem and could potentially destroy Judah.
• But from God’s point of view, they are just “two smouldering stubs of firewood” (7:4) about to be extinguished.
We can be overwhelmed by what we see if we do not stand firm and trust God.
• “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” (7:9)
This is the grace of God to an undeserving Ahaz. God has not given up on him, even though he has already given up on God.
• God assures him that his enemies would not triumph. Ahaz can believe God and trust Him, if he wants to.
• This is his crossroad of faith. Is he going to return to God and trust Him?
The unrelenting God did not even stop there. He urges Ahaz further in 7:10-12
• 10Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11"Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights."
• “If you are struggling in your faith, ask for a sign (like Gideon). If you find it hard to trust me, ask me for a sign.” God wants to help him overcome his unbelief!
Listen to his reply. This will surprise you. 12 BUT Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test."
• This is clearly an excuse, knowing Ahaz, and given the desperate state he was in.
• Ahaz refused to trust God because he wants to do it his own way.
• 2 Kings 16:7 Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, "I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me."
• His first words were: “I am your servant and vassal!” He kowtow to Assyria right from the start. Assyria will be his saviour, not God.
Prophet Isaiah was taken aback by Ahaz’s response. He gave him a piece of his mind.
Isaiah 7:13-17 13Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 15 He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. 16 But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. 17The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah - He will bring the king of Assyria."
“If you’re not going to ask for a sign, God will give you one anyway.”
In a short time, after the birth of a child, both ARAM and ISRAEL will be gone.
Isaiah 8:3-4 3Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the LORD said to me, "Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 4Before the boy knows how to say `My father' or `My mother,' the wealth of Damascus (ARAM) and the plunder of Samaria (ISRAEL) will be carried off by the king of Assyria."
(Maher-shalah-hash-baz – ‘hurry to the spoils’ - impending plunder of Samaria/Damascus)
• The arrival of this child will prove that what God says is true.
• And “before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right” (7:16) and “before the boy knows how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother’” (8:4) – means in a few more years, Judah will see the fulfilment of God’s Word.
In 732BC King Tiglath-Pilesser III of ASSYRIA captured Damascus and plundered Samaria (destroyed 722BC).
• That’s when we read of Ahaz visiting Damascus in 2 Kings 16 and copying its altar.
On a side note, this prophesy in Isaiah has a double fulfilment.
• God uses it to point to His ultimate salvation for His people, not a physical deliverance but a spiritual one.
• A child will be born. Call him Immanuel for He is the sign of God’s presence with us and He will bring about a lasting deliverance from our enemies sin and Satan.
The message for Ahaz is clear. God did not abandon him; he abandoned God. God did not give up on him; he gave up on God.
• God has been unrelenting and amazingly gracious. God came to him despite his idolatry and wickedness! God gave him the chance to return and believe Him.
Ahaz refused to return to God. He refused to believe the Word of God. He rejected the offer for a sign that would help him trust God.
• He was determined to do it his own way. He wants to trust in his own judgement, rather than the promise of God. He prefers self-effort than having faith in God.
The question, you see, is not really about faith. It is about our WILLINGNESS to have faith in God. It is the willingness to trust God.
• Are we willing to give ‘ourselves’ the chance to experience the truth of what God says?
• It is always not an issue of a lack of evidences. God is prepared to give us signs, if that’s what we really need.
• Ahaz refuses it because he does not WANT it. He does not want to submit.
We’ll close with this hymn – Great is Thy Faithfulness.
• God has not changed. He has been faithful to the promise He made at the edge of the Promised Land prior to the Israelites’ entry.
• He said He would be with them and would never leave them nor forsake them (cf. Deut 31:8). He did not. He will not.
Don’t give up on God because He never give up on you.
