This week we finish off 2nd Chronicles and we review the lives of the remaining kings of Judah. Some sober lessons here today as we contrast Ahaz and his son Hezekiah.
2 Chronicles 28: Ahaz Reigns in Judah
1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done,
2 but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals,
3 and he made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.
4 And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.
Judah Defeated
5 Therefore the LORD his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force.
6 For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 from Judah in one day, all of them men of valour, because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers.
7 And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king's son and Azrikam the commander of the palace and Elkanah the next in authority to the king.
8 The men of Israel took captive 200,000 of their relatives, women, sons, and daughters. They also took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria.
9 But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded, and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, "Behold, because the LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand, but you have killed them in a rage that has reached up to heaven.
10 And now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, as your slaves. Have you not sins of your own against the LORD your God?
11 Now hear me, and send back the captives from your relatives whom you have taken, for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you."
12 Certain chiefs also of the men of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who were coming from the war
13 and said to them, "You shall not bring the captives in here, for you propose to bring upon us guilt against the LORD in addition to our present sins and guilt. For our guilt is already great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel."
14 So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the assembly.
15 And the men who have been mentioned by name rose and took the captives, and with the spoil they clothed all who were naked among them. They clothed them, gave them sandals, provided them with food and drink, and anointed them, and carrying all the feeble among them on donkeys, they brought them to their kinsfolk at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.
16 At that time King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria for help.
17 For the Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried away captives.
18 And the Philistines had made raids on the cities in the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah, and had taken 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 humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made Judah act sinfully and had been very unfaithful to the LORD.
20 So Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him.
21 For Ahaz took a portion from the house of the LORD and the house of the king and of the princes, and gave tribute to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.
Ahaz's Idolatry
22 In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the LORD---this same King Ahaz.
23 For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, "Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me." But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel.
24 And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and he shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem.
25 In every city of Judah he made high places to make offerings to other gods, provoking to anger the LORD, the God of his fathers.
26 Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
27 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his place
2 Chronicles 29: Hezekiah Reigns in Judah
1 Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah.
2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.
Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple
3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them.
4 He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east
5 and said to them, "Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the Holy Place.
6 For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD and turned their backs.
7 They also shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel.
8 Therefore the wrath of the LORD came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of horror, of astonishment, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes.
9 For behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.
10 Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us.
11 My sons, do not now be negligent, for the LORD has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him."
12 Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah;
13 and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14 and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 They gathered their brothers and consecrated themselves and went in as the king had commanded, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD.
16 The priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and they brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it and carried it out to the brook Kidron.
17 They began to consecrate on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the LORD. Then for eight days they consecrated the house of the LORD, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.
18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, "We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the showbread and all its utensils.
19 All the utensils that King Ahaz discarded in his reign when he was faithless, we have made ready and consecrated, and behold, they are before the altar of the LORD."
Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship
20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the LORD.
21 And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the LORD.
22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests received the blood and threw it against the altar. And they slaughtered the rams, and their blood was thrown against the altar. And they slaughtered the lambs, and their blood was thrown against the altar.
23 Then the goats for the sin offering were brought to the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them,
24 and the priests slaughtered them and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, to make atonement for all Israel. For the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.
25 And he stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the commandment of David and of Gad the king's seer and of Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the LORD through his prophets.
26 The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
27 Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song to the LORD began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel.
28 The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished.
29 When the offering was finished, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped.
30 And Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.
31 Then Hezekiah said, "You have now consecrated yourselves to the LORD. Come near; bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the LORD." And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings.
32 The number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD.
33 And the consecrated offerings were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep.
34 But the priests were too few and could not flay all the burnt offerings, so until other priests had consecrated themselves, their brothers the Levites helped them, until the work was finished---for the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in consecrating themselves.
35 Besides the great number of burnt offerings, there was the fat of the peace offerings, and there were the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of the LORD was restored.
36 And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had prepared for the people, for the thing came about suddenly.
Things to think about…
1. We see Ahaz ruling as one of the lesser number of Judean kings that 2Chronciles 28:1 describes as one who ’did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord’, vs 1. He turned Judah back to idol worship etc. We see the immediate effect – enemies are raised up and land is taken from Judah. What happens in the contemporary setting when someone turns away from Christ? We see them being taken back into worldly ways and sinful captivity where there is no difference between them and the world. Please pray after the results of the federal election on Saturday that our new Prime Minister would do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.
2. In 2 Chr 28:5-15 we see Israel defeat Judah and take the people hostage. A prophet warns them that this will not turn out for Israel’s good and so the people of Judah who were taken as captives were clothed, fed and escorted back to Judah. Fighting among churches that claim the name of Jesus should never have the blight of war named among them. Unity amongst Christians, especially with other churches who are brothers and sisters in Christ, should reflect the grace that Christ has shown to them. When we visit other churches and when others from other churches visit us we should encourage and speak well of one another.
3. In 2Chr 28:12-15 we see not only a prophet but other wise and faithful men standing up in Israel. Although Israel at this time had turned away from following the Lord and had bowed down to Jeroboam’s gold calves, these men had the wisdom and boldness to discern that the Lord’s judgement was against Israel should they keep these captives from Judah. Wisdom prevails and the captives are cared for and safely returned. Might does not always equal right. These men reflected the Lord’s will and character by returning them to a humbled Judah.
4. We see the folly of King Ahaz in 2Chr 28:16-21. The Edomites and the Philistines rise up against a weakened Judah and rather than turn to the Lord and repent he asks for help from the King of Assyria. The Assyrian king arrives and robs and afflicts Ahaz even further. Some men are so hardened to the Lord’s punishment that the only appropriate action is judgement. Ahaz falls into this camp. Sadly, so do many in our own day who have heard the gospel yet choose the world and harden themselves to what they know is true, choose rebellion instead. Judgement is the only option and in such cases, it would be better for them if they had not been born, Mark 14:21.
5. Some people regardless of the hardship they are placed under will never humble themselves to follow the Lord. In 2 Chr 28:22, it says Ahaz ‘in his distress became yet more faithless to the Lord’. He shut the doors to the house of the Lord, vs 24. People can shut the doors of their hearts in the same way. Have you ever been tempted to do the same at any point in your life? We know this situation is only in the temporal as the Lord will open our hearts wide at the judgement. Best to let him open our hearts and do some surgery now and then act faithfully as a result. Ahaz continues to harden his heart and makes more altars and idols, vss 24, 25. This poor fool dies and is not buried in the tombs of the kings due to the shame and folly of his rule, vs 27.
6. Praise the Lord godless fathers do not always translate to godless sons! Hezekiah in his first year, indeed his first month as king opens the doors of the temple and repairs them 2 Chr 29:3. He acknowledges that judgement and captivity have happened as a result of unfaithful fathers, vss 4-9 begins the clean-up process by consecrating the priests and restoring the items of worship for true worship of the covenant keeping God of Israel, vss 12-19. The Lord cannot be worshipped in spirit and truth if the truth is avoided. The truth is that our hearts need to be cleaned of all the rubbish that has accumulated from poor teaching, ignorant assumptions and a rebellious bias against God due to sin. These things are not easy to remove. Some of us, even as Christians, have had poor teaching and held ignorant assumptions about God for years and find it very difficult to have our belief system challenged. I personally struggled for years with the teaching that only some gifts are available for today because of ignorant teaching. What is the Lord challenging you on at the moment?
7. After repentance, and consecration of the priests true worship of the Lord can now begin under Hezekiah and he ‘rises early’, 2Chr 29:2 and brings the officials of the city to the temple to offer sacrifices to the Lord. This worship involved teaching the people the commandments of the Lord to praise the Lord with music and observing how to offer appropriate sacrifices, 2 Chr 29:24-28.
8. The Priests were not as faithful as the Levites in consecrating themselves, vs 34. The priests should have known better, but I suspect with years of compromise under Ahaz these men were more hardened to a real work of the Spirit. This sadly happens in many churches when the younger generation get a hold of God and declare Him boldly. Some senior leaders see this as emotionalism. Not always true and those in church leadership need to discern the difference. Have a look at vs 36. Both king and people alike praised God because ‘the thing came about suddenly’. Before God does any miraculous work outside the church, the heart of the people needs to be made right within the church. This is also a miraculous work. Are you praying for the Lord to continue to show us His amazing grace and presence in our services and gatherings? One can only wonder what this would look like when it happens in abundance. We certainly have some scriptural examples of what it looks like in the New Testament, Acts 2-4.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Title was “Is there another way in” from Galatians 1
1. Paul says there is only one gospel. Have you ever lied about your age or got entry into a club or society by not being honest, either falsifying a stamp or used the facilities without paying?
2. Paul gets quite passionate about his arguments for maintaining what the gospel is. What was Paul’s background. Why does he get so passionate?
3. Confronted Peter in Antioch. What was the significance and background to this event? How is this compounded by the vision given to Peter by the Holy Spirit in Acts 10:9-16.
4. Pray for our new government, that the gospel and churches are made stronger. Pray for Ukraine and other issues within the group.
Prayer Points
1. Our new Albanese government
2. Peace to rest over Ukraine.
3. Continue to pray for the flood clean-up as well as the money donated to help.
4. Folk sick with Covid – relief and healing.
5. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
6. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. The we have the freedom of a democracy in Australia
2. Worship on Sunday – thankyou team.
3. Our business meetings our enjoyable. Thankyou CBC.
4. All those who faithfully serve in ministries, Worship, Sound/Technical/Kids Church/ Cell Groups/Admin - Bulletins/Finances/Property/Welcoming/Spiritual Leadership/Cafe
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Andrew Otte preaching this Sunday – don’t miss it.
2. Remember to check your duty rosters.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for May...
Q. 3. Will Christ come again? A. Yes; at the last day Christ will come to judge the world.
