2 Chronicles 28

2 Chronicles 28:1

AHAZ’ REIGNWe knew that sooner or later Judah would get a bad king, and here he is. At this time the northern king of Israel was on the verge of going into captivity, and the southern kingdom of Judah was brought very low by the sins of Ahaz, as we shall see. Ahaz was a bad king. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and that meant evil ways. David was the human standard by which these kings were measured, and this man fell far short of that human standard. As a result we now begin to see the sad future of the southern kingdom. The northern kingdom will go into captivity to the Assyrians. God will give many warnings to the southern kingdom, but they, likewise, will follow into captivitynot to Assyria, but later on to Babylon.

2 Chronicles 28:3

This means he offered his children on a red-hot altar. Actually, it was an idol that was heated red-hot for human sacrifices.

2 Chronicles 28:4

Ahaz went completely into idolatry and plunged the southern kingdom into idolatry.

2 Chronicles 28:5

INVASION BY SYRIA AND ISRAELAs it were, God opens up the doors of His nation, His people, and permits the enemy to come in. Syria comes down, and for the first time the wall is breached into the southern kingdom. There are many who are taken captive. The sad part is that the northern kingdom had joined with Syria in making this attack, and so we find that many who were taken captive actually became captives of Israel, the northern kingdom. Israel took men of Judah into captivity.

2 Chronicles 28:6

God makes the reason crystal-clear.

2 Chronicles 28:7

This is the very sad plight of the southern kingdom. God permitted this to happen because Ahaz and the people had plunged into idolatry with abandon. Now God sends a prophet to Israel to speak to them because of their extreme cruelty to their brethren.

2 Chronicles 28:9

God had expressly forbidden taking their brethren into slavery (Lev_25:39-40).

2 Chronicles 28:11

A group of leaders in the northern kingdom took their stand against enslaving their brethren from the southern kingdom.

2 Chronicles 28:13

They were able to secure their release and return them to their homes. The southern kingdom of Judah was in a really sad plight at this time. If it had not been for the fact that God intervened, they would have been almost eliminated as a nation. It did weaken them a great deal and laid them open to further invasion.

2 Chronicles 28:16

INVASION BY EDOM AND PHILISTIAWhen God removed His protection, it was like opening the flood gates and letting the enemy come in. This was, of course, the result of the nation’s sin. Wars are the direct result of sin. In the New Testament James asks the question, “From whence come wars and fightings among you?” The answer is, “come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have …” (Jas_4:1-2). As long as there is sin in the heart of man, he cannot have peace.

He can’t have any kind of peacepeace with God, peace in his own heart, or peace with his fellowman. There must be a settling of the sin question in order to have peace. The experience of Judah illustrates this. Because of sin on the part of the people they will have not peace. Ahaz made another big mistake. Instead of turning to God, he turned to Assyria for help.

2 Chronicles 28:20

Ahaz put his trust in the king of Assyria. He sent him a generous gift from the wealth of the temple and of the palace. The king of Assyria accepted it, but he never did send any help to Ahaz. He didn’t need to. He was a powerful king, and poor Ahaz was a very weak king. Ahaz had turned from God and trusted in Assyria, and Assyria let him down. Assyria did not make good on their treaty. You cannot expect nations to be true to their treaties. Why not? Very simply, as long as men are sinners, men will be liars, which means you cannot trust them. The Bible tells us we are not to put our trust in man. We are to put our trust in God.

2 Chronicles 28:22

Ahaz then cut up the vessels of the house of God, he shut up the doors of the temple, and he made heathen altars in every corner of Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 28:27

So ends this very sad and sordid and sorry reign of Ahaz.