2 Kings 16 & 17 Just How Stupid ARE We?

It wasn't so much a question of what King Ahaz of Judah DID, but what he DIDN'T do that made The Lord angry.  He EMBRACED the practices of the heathens who had once controlled the land until God had thrown them out.

When Aram and Israel attacked him, he didn't ask God for help, but called out to Assyria, even giving them the gold and silver left in the Temple and palace.  After Aram was defeated, Ahaz traveled to Damascus to meet his benefactor from Assyria and sent home new plans for an altar and changes for the Temple.  The old plans handed down by God to David apparently were as outdated to Ahaz as God's laws were.  He commanded that OFFERINGS be made on the NEW altar, with the original one used only when CONSULTING God.

Meanwhile, in Israel Hoshea didn't know it, but he would be the last king of his country.  He'd been paying Assyria to sit still and decided to pay Egypt instead.  With Judah paying Assyria, Assyria moved in and took over.  

Verse 2 said, "Hoshea did what The Lord said was wrong, but he was not as bad as the kings of Israel who had ruled before him."  Oh, wow!  He was the BEST of the WORST?  We certainly need to avoid getting THAT title, or assuming that it's a defense.

Chapter 17 did a quick rehash of Israel's sins since God cleaved them away from the tribe of Judah to preserve the lineage of David.  One sentence really struck me:  "They lived as their evil kings had SHOWN them, SECRETLY SINNING against The Lord their God."  Who was it a secret FROM?  Certainly not God.  But importantly, how goes a king, so goes a NATION.  America is treading on VERY thin ice.

Despite all of the warnings and punishments God had sent to set boundaries and to bring them back into His arms, they'd struggled to get FARTHER from Him.  Verse 17 says, "They ALWAYS CHOSE to do what The Lord said was wrong, which made Him angry."  It was a CHOICE, not an impulse or forced.  Verse 40 had an ominous tone about it:  "But the Israelites DID NOT LISTEN."  (Cue the 'danger ahead' music.)

Father, I see warnings for us as Christians today.  We don't need to revise and update Your commands to suit our culture today.  Your wisdom is timeless.  When we CHOOSE to ignore it, we do so at our own peril.  We'd better not be proud of sinning LESS than others, and anytime we think we SECRETLY sin, we're idiots, for You are all-knowing.  Father, please scream, "Stupid!" in my ears when I'm tempted toward any of this.  Wake me up and make it absolutely clear to me what I'm doing.  I certainly don't want to suffer the same fate as these people.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford