2 Chronicles 28

King Ahaz: A Total Mess

1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. He did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, unlike his pops David.

2 Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made cast images for the Baals.

3 He burned incense in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, and he even put his sons through the fire, following the disgusting practices of the nations whom the Lord had kicked out from in front of the Israelites.

4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

5 So the Lord his God handed him over to the king of Aram. They smacked him down and took a bunch of captives from him, and brought them to Damascus. He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who hit him with a massive blow.

6 Pekah son of Remaliah killed a hundred twenty thousand strong men of Judah in one day, because they had ditched the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

7 Zichri, a mighty warrior of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the palace governor, and Elkanah who was next in command to the king.

8 The Israelites took two hundred thousand of their relatives captive, women, sons, and daughters. They also took a ton of loot from them and brought the loot to Samaria.

Prophet Oded Intervenes

9 But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there. He went out to meet the army that was coming to Samaria and told them, “Look, because the Lord, the God of your ancestors, was mad at Judah, He handed them over to you. But you all went to work on them with a rage that reached up to heaven!”

10 “And now you planning to make the sons and daughters of Judah and Jerusalem your male and female slaves! are you not yourselves guilty before the Lord your God?"

11 “So now, listen to me and send back the captives you took from your relatives, because the fierce anger of the Lord is on you!”

12 Then some of the heads of the Ephraimites, Azariah son of Johanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai, stood up against those who were coming from the war.

13 They told them, “You are not bringing these captives in here, because what are you trying to do will bring guilt on us from the Lord, adding to our sins and our guilt. For our guilt is already massive, and fierce anger is on Israel!”

14 So the armed men left the captives and the loot in front of the officials and all the assembly.

15 And the men who were appointed by name got up and took the captives. They clothed all those who were naked from the loot. They dressed them, put sandals on them, gave them food and drink, anointed them, escorted all the weak ones on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, the City of Palms, to their relatives. Then they went back to Samaria.

Ahaz’s Alliance & Further Idolatry

16 At that time, King Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria for help.

17 Because the Edomites had rolled up again and smacked down Judah and took captives.

18 The Philistines also invaded the cities of the Shephelah and the Negev of Judah. They took Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. And they settled there.

19 For the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, because he had acted wildly in Judah and acted unfaithfully against the Lord.

20 Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came against him and brought him trouble instead of help.

21 For Ahaz robbed the Lord’s temple, and the king’s palace, and the officials, and gave it to the king of Assyria. But it did not help him.

22 Even in his time of trouble, King Ahaz kept acting even more unfaithfully against the Lord.

23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus who had hit him, and he said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they can help me.” But they were the downfall of him and all Israel.

24 Ahaz gathered the items from God’s temple and cut up the items of God’s temple. He locked up the doors of the Lord’s temple and made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem.

25 In every single city of Judah, he made high places to burn incense to other gods, ticking off the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

26 As for the rest of his story and all his ways, from beginning to end, look, it is written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

27 Ahaz passed away and joined his ancestors. They buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, but they did not bring him into the burial places of the kings of Israel. And his son Hezekiah took over as king.