
2 Kings 16
This chapter tells the story of Ahaz, king of Judah, who turns away from the ways of God and instead embraces the practices of the surrounding nations. Ahaz’s reign is marked by idolatry, alliances with foreign powers, and disregard for the covenant with God, leading to Judah's spiritual decline.
2 Kings 16:1-5 (NKJV)
1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign.
2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his father David had done.
3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed he made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel.
4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to make war; and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.
Ahaz, unlike his father and ancestor David, led Judah into deep spiritual decline. He adopted the practices of the pagan nations, even offering his son in a pagan sacrifice, showing how far Judah had fallen from God’s covenant. Ahaz’s idolatry included offering sacrifices at high places rather than in the temple, further demonstrating his rejection of God’s ways. The result of his actions brought about external threats, with Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel attacking Judah, but they failed to capture Jerusalem.
2 Kings 16:6 (NKJV)
6 At that time Rezin king of Syria captured Elath for Syria, and drove the men of Judah from Elath. Then the Edomites went to Elath, and dwell there to this day.
The loss of Elath to the Syrians was a significant blow to Judah, marking a strategic and economic loss. This port city, located on the Red Sea, had been under Judah’s control. With the Edomites moving into the region, it further signaled the weakening influence of Judah under Ahaz’s reign.
2 Kings 16:7-9 (NKJV)
7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.”
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.
Instead of relying on God for deliverance, Ahaz sought the help of the Assyrian king. He essentially made Judah a vassal to Assyria, offering tribute from the temple’s treasures. This reliance on foreign powers, rather than on God, marked a significant departure from the faith and trust in Yahweh that previous kings were called to exhibit. Assyria responded by defeating Syria, taking its capital Damascus, and killing Rezin, the Syrian king.
2 Kings 16:10-11 (NKJV)
10 Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship.
11 Then Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz came back from Damascus.
While in Damascus, Ahaz became impressed by a pagan altar and ordered a replica to be made in Jerusalem. This decision was a direct violation of the law of God, as the worship of the Lord was to be centered around the temple altar. Ahaz’s actions demonstrated his increasing inclination toward idolatry and disregard for the sacred traditions of Israel. Even the priest, Urijah, complied with his unfaithful request, further indicating how corrupt leadership had become.
2 Kings 16:12-14 (NKJV)
12 And when the king came back from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king approached the altar and made offerings on it.
13 So he burned his burnt offering and his grain offering; and he poured his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar.
14 He also brought the bronze altar which was before the Lord, from the front of the temple—from between the new altar and the house of the Lord—and put it on the north side of the new altar.
Upon returning to Jerusalem, Ahaz himself offered sacrifices on the new altar, which further established this foreign influence within Judah’s worship practices. He even moved the bronze altar from its rightful place, replacing it with the pagan-inspired altar, demonstrating his complete rejection of God’s design for worship. This act of desecration reflected the spiritual crisis under Ahaz’s leadership, where pagan practices supplanted the proper worship of God.
2 Kings 16:15-16 (NKJV)
15 Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great new altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. And the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.”
16 Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that King Ahaz commanded.
Ahaz commanded that all the regular offerings, both personal and public, be made on the new altar, fully integrating it into the temple service. He relegated the bronze altar to personal use, removing it from its central role in worship. Urijah, the priest, followed Ahaz’s orders, demonstrating how even the religious leaders had been influenced by the king’s corrupt actions, leading the nation further into spiritual darkness.
2 Kings 16:17-18 (NKJV)
17 And King Ahaz cut off the panels of the carts and removed the lavers from them, and he took down the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it, and put it on a pavement of stones.
18 Also he removed the Sabbath pavilion which they had built in the temple, and he removed the king’s outer entrance from the house of the Lord, on account of the king of Assyria.
In addition to altering the altar, Ahaz made further modifications to the temple, dismantling parts of its structure to appease the king of Assyria. These changes undermined the sacredness of the temple and reflected Ahaz’s total subservience to Assyria. His actions were not only politically motivated but also showed a profound spiritual decline, as the temple of God was reshaped to accommodate foreign interests rather than preserve the covenant relationship with Yahweh.
2 Kings 16:19-20 (NKJV)
19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
20 So Ahaz rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.
The chapter concludes by noting that Ahaz’s actions are recorded elsewhere, and his death marks the end of a reign characterized by idolatry and spiritual corruption. He was buried in the City of David, and his son Hezekiah took over, a king who would later attempt to reverse the damage Ahaz had done to Judah’s religious practices.