II Kings 15-16
Dear RTB’ers,
Today we read the beginning of the fall of the Northern Kingdom: In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and … and deported the people to Assyria. (v. 15:29) This first deportation occurred in 732 BC; we will see the end of the Northern Kingdom in the next two days.
How many times before today have we read these words (mostly verbatim), referencing various kings of Israel: He did evil in the eyes of the LORD. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. And in today’s first chapter we see these statements four more times! (II Kings 15:9, 18, 23, 28) In addition, how many times before today have we seen the following words (mostly verbatim), referencing various realms of the kings of Judah:The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. (II Kings 15:4, 35) Again, as I mentioned two days ago, these sacrifices were probably to God, not Baal, but there is still the possibility for wrong worship. Finally, today, if we are tired of the same old line, king after king, we get a new take on Ahaz, king of Judah: Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree. (vv. 16:2b-4) Oops! Let’s go back to those previous kings – less detestable!!
II Kings 16 goes into detail on the activities of Ahaz in establishing wrong worship. As you read of his activities, think back to the establishment of the tabernacle and worship when the Israelites were in the wilderness under Moses and the building of the Temple under Solomon and the various utensils and procedures associated with proper worship. Consider Ahaz’s activities in building an alternative altar and worship space and supplanting the proper role of the high priest in offering sacrifices as ordained by the Lord. I daresay, Ahaz represents the low point of the kings of Judah.
Blessings!
See also: June 11 (2023) / II Chronicles 26; II Kings 15:8-16:4.