2 Kings Chapter 16
Believe and be Established
RD v.1-4
Ch.16 brings us Back to Judah
Uzziah was a great King
His son Jotham was a good King
His son Ahaz – was horrible
We see here that he is given a very unique description for a King of Judah
V.3 He walked in the ways of the Kings of Israel
A) Ch.15 we briefly saw a long line of 35yrs of turmoil and wickedness / Idolatry in Israel
B) Ahaz is going to follow in that example
1) He is so bad he institutes child sacrifice –
He made his own son walk thru the fire according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel.
C) This dates back to pre Joshua days – the abominations of the people of Canaan.
1) He is going way back here in his Sin
D) Walking thru the fire: This describes Ahaz’s participation in the worship of Molech.
The pagan god (or, demon, more accurately) Molech was worshipped by heating a metal statue representing the god until it was red hot,
A) then placing a living infant on the outstretched hands of the statue, while beating drums drowned out the screams of the child until it burned to death.
B) In Leviticus 20:1-5, God pronounced the death sentence against all who worshipped Molech, saying:
I will set My face against that man, and will cut him off from his people, because he has given some of his descendants to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name (Leviticus 20:3).
C) So this is the kind of sinful abominations that Ahaz brought into Judah.
D) So this became one of the lowest points in the nation of Judah’s history.
RD V.5-6
So Syria and Israel have teamed up together to come against Judah
A) They have had some victories but have not been able to over throw Judah
B) Now it is during this time that God sends the Prophet Isaiah to Ahaz with a message
1) recorded for us in Isaiah ch.7 – turn there
Isa 7:1-2
Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but could not prevail against it. 2 And it was told to the house of David, saying, "Syria's forces are deployed in Ephraim." So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind.
A) Judah is filled with fear: Not established/ they are like the trees of the wind blowing back and forth
3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller's Field,
B) The Lord sends Isaiah along with his son Shear-Jashub to meet Ahaz –
Shear-Jashub his name means a remnant shall return
C) Taking our sons / daughters to do ministry: Modeling ministry.
1) Aaron with the Jerry in the hospital 8yrs old– You are a handsome man.
V4 and say to him:’ Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah.
Notice the first thing the Lord has Isaiah say to these people who were wavering in fear Take heed, and be quiet
A) Common word from the Lord for those who are filled with worry & fear. Be still
B) Children of Israel at the Red sea
1) Marching around Jericho
C) Why does God do that? I think it is because he knows our tendency to complain – spot off
1) Our tendency to react in the flesh in the mist of difficult times –
D) Instead of praying – instead of resting – we react
1) The Lord knows how damaging that can be
Job 20:20-22
20 "Because he knows no quietness in his heart,
He will not save anything he desires.
21 Nothing is left for him to eat;
Therefore his well-being will not last.
22 In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress;
Every hand of misery will come against him.
But contrast that with the man who knows what it means to be quiet – be still – trust the Lord
Ps 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God;
Isa 30:15 "In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength."
Prov 17:1 Better is a dry morsel with quietness,
Than a house full of feasting with strife.
A)There is a need for being still/ for waiting on the Lord / and waiting for the Lord.
B)Waiting to hear his voice
1) Sometimes we never hear God’s voice because we are too busy giving our opinions
2) Or we are too busy listening to the opinions of everyone else. Seeking the advice of everyone…
C) Sometimes when I am asking someone to pray about being a part of some ministry.
1) I will tell them – please don’t talk about this right now with anyone
D) Most of the time it is because it is something sensitive – {Not public yet
1) But also I want them to go thru that exercise of hearing the Lord’s voice – ALONE
I have personally learned – Wisdom in a multitude of counselors
A) But most of the time I am looking to see if God uses them to confirm what he has been showing me
B) If I start by asking everyone’s opinion it only complicates matters and makes it hard for me to hear the Lord’s voice.
C) So Isaiah begins by saying be quiet: Chill out – stop be still – Know he is God
2nd He says – Don’t be afraid – Why? They are just smoking fire brands {Smoking stick – been in fire
A)So Ahaz looked at Israel and Syria and saw a terrible threat.
B) God looked at Israel and Syria and saw two stubs of smoking firebrands.
1) To the Lord, they were all smoke and no fire! The fire is gone – almost extinct
C) It is interesting how we see Things so different from God
1) Elijah says I am the only one left.
God says- no there are 7,000 left
D) Ahaz says these guys are on Fire God says- no they are smoking Sticks
1) They are just guys Full of smoke
I can do that someone Calls me to tell me they are leaving the church
A) God everyone is mad and leaving the Church
No! One person is mad
B) It is probably good for everyone involved that they are leaving –
C) It is so funny how that works – God my life is over
No – you are just going thru a trial.
D) Why does God give them that description?
It is because he sees what Ahaz doesn’t
Isa 7:5-7
5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying, 6 "Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabel" — 7 thus says the Lord GOD:
"It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to pass.
This is why what they are planning against you is not going to happen – It shall not stand.
v.8 For the head of Syria is Damascus,
And the head of Damascus is Rezin.
Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken,
So that it will not be a people. The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son.
A) In 65 yrs Israel will cease to exist – Prophecy fulfilled invasions of Assyria and Babylon
B) Their leaders will be the first to go down.
C) Then the Lord issued this exhortation
V.9b If you will not believe,
Surely you shall not be established."'"
D) If you are not going to believe the word of the Lord then you will not be established
1) continue to be scared – tossed – shaken
E) Anything but established
This is such a good word for us to consider
A) You see God wants us to be established
He doesn’t like to see his people shaken
B) But the key to being established is in believing the word of the Lord and acting on it.
1) Parable of the two builders {Hears & does
Proverbs 24:3-4
Through wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
4 By knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
A)Wisdom is knowledge applied! – Putting what we know and understand into practice
B) Purpose of Bible study: Ephesians 4 Help the Church become established – not tossed by different winds of doctrine – trials or storms
C) The word of the Lord to Ahaz is the word of the Lord to some of us tonight
1) Believe and be ESTABLISHED
D) Don’t believe – you will not be ESTABLISHED
1) the choice is yours {security is connected to faith
The reasons why a lot of believers are tossed in times of storms is because they don’t believe
A) Not acting on the word
B) Storms in their marriage
1) Health
2) Finances
At this point: God gives Ahaz & everyone in his position a sign: Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
A) Some versions say: a young woman shall conceive – Hey that is not a sign – happens everyday
B) VIRGIN – Immanuel – God is with us
1) Jesus is the answer – never leave or forsake
C) For Ahaz it was Messiah is coming that is the Key
1) For us – Messiah has come – that is the answer
D) Believe & Be Established
Back to 2 Kings 16
So God gives this word of Assurance to Ahaz and this challenge – will you believe and be established
Or will you not believe and be tossed?
Which will he choose? Door #1 or Door #2 RD v.7
A) He picks door #2 – Instead of turning to the Lord – he turns to Tiglath Pileser – King of Assyria
B) Tiglath Pileser was a wicked ruthless guy
1) Turns to a wicked man instead of a loving God
C) People still do that! Abusive boyfriend vs. a loving God
1) Why would you stay 15yrs in an abusive relationship?
D) Carnal friends who pull you down and only like you as long as you are partaking in their sin
1) Carnal fake friends vs. a Loving God
E) Well Ahaz pledges his allegiance to a wicked King
He enslaves himself
"I am your servant and your son
A)How Sad is that? The enemy always wants to make us his slave
B) Not only did he enslave himself but he impoverished himself RD V.8-9
8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasuries of the king's house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria. 9 So the king of Assyria heeded him; for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it, carried its people captive to Kir, and killed Rezin.
C) The next thing we see is that he takes the silver and the gold from the temple and uses it to pay off Tiglath Pileser –
D) Both church and state must be squeezed and exhausted, to gratify this his new patron and guardian.
That is always the price that we pay for compromise:
A) We take that which belongs to the Lord and we have to use it to pay off our compromise
B) Talents that are used for other means
1) Tithe gets used to pay off our debts
C) Can’t tell you the number of people I have talked to over the yrs – got themselves into debt
1) Over spending – not living in their means – not being good stewards
D) Now they can’t tithe and they are grieved – because they know that they are missing out on a blessing
E) The enemy will seek to sap from you that which belongs to the Lord
Think with me on this: The Bible declares that our bodies are the temple of the HS
A) God’s desire is that He would be glorified thru our lives
B) We are called to love the Lord with all of our Heart / Soul / Mind / strength
1) That really sums up what is in our temple to give to the Lord
C) Our heart= our affections / emotions / Core
1) When our heart is given to compromise
D) When our heart is distracted by the cares of the world – all our responsibilities
1) Come to worship: We can’t give our hearts to the Lord – distracted – it is somewhere else
What about our soul: conscience
A) Encouraged to serve God with a pure conscience
B) But when God doesn’t have our heart – Conscience struggles – Battle
C) Our Mind: Thought process
1) Distracted / divided
D) Our Strength: Talents and energy
1) We don’t have time to use our talents to serve the Lord
E) We don’t have any energy left to give to him
1) Everything that we have that was meant to be used by the Lord and for the Lord – His glory
2) it is carried away
That is the by product of compromise
A) But what a blessing it is! How fulfilling and satisfying when those things are used by the Lord
So here we see that King Ahaz turns to the King of Assyria Tiglath Pileser RD v.10 -11
A) So Ahaz goes down to Damascus to meet Tiglath Pileser & sees this altar in Damascus
B) Worship was supposed to happen in Jerusalem in the temple – Sacrifice on the Bronze altar
C) But one of the earlier Kings of Israel made an alternative altar in Damascus
1) To keep the people of Israel from going down to Jerusalem into the territory of Judah
D) Ahaz sees it and is stoked – he likes it
1) He asked his priest to go and make him a replica of it {replace the real altar with it} RD v.12-15
Now here is what is going on here: Ahaz has this other altar erected – performing all the same sacrifices
A) No big deal right – hey at least they were worshipping – someone might say
B) John 4 God is spirit and those who worship Him …. Do so in spirit and in truth
1) Sincerity and according to the word.
C) You see God had an Altar – Made of Bronze
1) Extreme detail in the book of Exodus 20 Chapters given to the Tab & its furnishings
D) Why was the Bronze altar so important to God?
1) Answer – it was a picture of His son. How so?
Once a person entered thru the gate the first thing they would see was the Bronze or Brass Altar
A) You COULDN’T miss it / it was the FIRST piece of furniture and it was the BIGGEST piece of furniture
C) MATERIALS – Acacia wood – over laid w/ Brass
1) Acacia wood – Humanity – especially Christ Humanity – Found in the dry desert – pierced – Healing ointment
D) Brass – JUDGEMENT - Whenever you come across this metal in your studies it always speaks of judgment
E) He was the Acacia wood overlaid – w/ Brass – His flesh was overlaid w/ JUDGMENT – My God ……
1) Died of a Broken heart
The Horns – 4 corners
A) It was on these horns that the animal would be tied down lest the sacrifice would run off
B) Jesus Christ was tied to the altar of sacrifice / not with human ties
C) Ropes and nails couldn’t hold Jesus Christ
1) Betrayal – I AM - fell over – then bound him - / Peter sword – legion of Angels /
D) He gave his life freely - It was the cords of love that bound Jesus to the cross
Numbers 4:13 – The Altar was to be covered w/ Purple when it was moved
A) Purple is the color of Royalty
B) It was the ONLY piece of furniture that was covered with purple
1) Others were covered with material but NOT purple
C) Now again this is interesting – that this Altar which was used for sacrifices and pointed to Christ & His Sacrifice as a Substitute for us
D) Would be covered w/ Purple when it was moved – why
1))Sig. You see, it was because of the CROSS.... the brass altar of judgment....
2) That I understand that He is the King of kings and Lord of lords
He is King of my life because He DIED for me – that is why I seek to serve – Him –
Saved from Hell that was enough
Now He could have demanded my loyalty – but instead He won our love
C) Husbands – take note
It is the death of Jesus that MOTIVATES me to live for Him
So this altar was important to God because of the picture it represented of his son
A) Ahaz wanted to replace God’s altar with his own
B) Do it my way.
C) Might not understand God’s reason but it doesn’t matter he wants your obedience
Faith is not a trampoline it is a Rock
A) Doctrine matters
Wrap up V.17-20