Lessons we can Learn from one of the Really Bad Guys of the Bible-
Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice, mend your ways, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you- 2nd Corinthians 13:11 NASB
The books of 2nd Kings and 2nd Chronicles are mostly just a historical account of the Kings of Isreal and Judah prior to the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 605 B.C. Most of the stories in these books are really splendid illustrations of how to do life and faith all wrong. The vast majority of the kings were really bad guys.
Among the worst of the worst was Ahaz.
If good parenting was all it took to make a person good and God-fearing, King Ahaz would have been awesome. Ahaz was blessed with a father (Jotham) who loved and revered God. Jotham did most things right and (presumably) taught little Ahaz all about the God of Israel and His instructions for holy living. God was impressed enough with Jotham that He blessed his leadership in some miraculous ways (2nd Chronicles 27:1-9, 2nd Kings 15:32-38).
Ahaz was nothing like his dad.
The biblical narrative tells us King Ahaz “walked in the ways of the kings of Israel” (2nd Chronicles 28:1-2). This was neither a compliment nor a ringing endorsement of his leadership albitites. Following the death of Solomon Isreal devolved into civil war and eventually split into two separate nations: Israel and Judah (1st Kings 12). Some of the kings of Judah did their best to obey God and promote godly living. Conversely, ALL the kings of Israel were universally awful; there wasn’t a decent man among them.
Ahaz went to great effort and expense to encourage idol worship in Israel, especially Molech worship (2ndChronicles 28:2-4). Molech was a popular pagan deity that demanded human sacrifice (Leviticus 18:21). If one wanted to win the favor of Molech they had to burn one of their children (preferably a firstborn son) alive on a creepy metal altar. Ahaz was more than happy to comply with these terms (2nd Chronicles 27:2-4). Ahaz also built altars to random idols on every street corner in Jerusalem and worshipped idols on all the high places and under every green tree in Judah (2nd Chronicles 27:4, 2nd Chronicles 28:24).
God eventually lost patience with Ahaz’s idolatry and sin.
As a result, when Ahaz went to war against the Syrians (Aram), his army was defeated in the most humiliating manner imaginable. One-hundred-twenty thousand soldiers were killed in a single battle, including most of Ahaz’s inner circle (2nd Chronicles 28:5-9) and Syria wasn’t the only country that bested Ahaz. Israel formed an alliance with Syria in the battle and two-hundred thousand citizens of Judah were taken as slaves.
Most folks would have done some soul searching at this point. Even some heathens would have concluded God wanted them to head in a different direction, but not Ahaz. Ahaz proved he was not only evil; he was also insanely stupid.
His response proves my point:
Now during the time of his distress, this same King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord. For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him, and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they may help me.” But they became the downfall of him and all Israel- 2nd Chronicles 28:22-23 NASB
You read that right.
In his distress Ahaz decided that the best course of action would be to double down on something that was clearly failing. As a result, old Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord. Predictably, his choice led to nothing except more defeat and humiliation. Ahaz died in disgrace. The people of Judah thought so little of him that wasn’t even buried with the other kings of Judah. He just got some random plot somewhere in the city.
I must admit I was feeling pretty dang smug as I read through this story. I congratulated myself more than once for being way smarter and more saintly than Ahaz.
But then it hit me (kind of out of nowhere) that when I am under distress, I too, sometimes double down on some pretty stupid stuff. I don’t sacrifice my kids or grandkids to creepy pagan deities. However, I do worry like a crazy person sometimes (Matthew 6:24-34). I have been known to eat my feelings instead of praying through whatever it is that’s causing me distress. I have also been known to lose my temper and say stupid things out of fear or frustration.
I have an Ahaz side to me.
We all do.
We all tend to turn to something sinful and foolish in times of trouble and distress. For some it’s astrology, pornography, sexual sin, drugs, shopping or some other thing or substance. Some vent their anger like crazy people or become ridiculously passive when life gets hard.
It’s all sin and all sin leads to the same place it led Ahaz: more defeat.
However, Ahaz’s sin didn’t have to end in humiliation and defeat. The beautiful reality Ahaz failed to grasp is that God is, at the core of who He is, compassionate, kind and forgiving (Psalm 109:21, Deuteronomy 4:31, Nehemiah 9:31, Matthew 14:14). Because God is so good, I believe with all my heart that if Ahaz had chosen to turn to God in repentance God would have forgiven him and restored him.
Ahaz’s story could have ended in glory rather than defeat and disgrace.
We all need to repent sometimes. It’s part of the whole being human thing. Most people think repentance is only about behavioral change. Repentance actually begins with a gut-level understanding that we have violated God’s standards of right and wrong. In order to truly repent we must choose to align our thinking with God’s revealed will in the word of God (Romans 12:2). When that happens, behavioral change comes more easily.
Thankfully, the God of the universe does not treat us as our sins deserve. Instead, every day is fresh chance to for a do-over. Making the most of those do-overs ensures we become everything God wants us to be.
