And in the time of his trouble he transgressed yet more against Jehovah, this king Ahaz.
Ahaz was already suffering under God's hand. The pressure that should have driven him back to the Lord pushed him further away, and the verse ends by naming him as a warning.
Every blow that fell on Judah came by God's permission, and Ahaz answered each one by sinning harder.
The reign of Ahaz forms a turning point. Completely forsaking the Lord, he gives himself up entirely to idolatry; and the more he is struck by God, the more he sins against Him. He is handed over to the Syrians, and to Pekah, the king of Israel. In the second case, however, God steps in to rescue at least the captives. The Edomites, and afterwards the Philistines, invade Judah. All this distress leads Ahaz to seek help from the king of Assyria, who only brought him into still greater trouble.
Trouble does not always soften a person. It can do the opposite, and in Ahaz it did.
The unexercised soul goes through the trial in pride, or in the strength of nature. The heart is hardened and perhaps the conscience seared, and so the blessing is lost, for God would deal specially with the conscience... Ahaz was a man whom affliction could not soften; on the contrary, it hardened him.
Ahaz was not the only king to face pressure. Others met it and turned to God.
How different was his great ancestor David! "In my distress," he says, "I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help" (Ps. 18:6). Even his wicked grandson Manasseh sought the LORD his God when he was in distress. But Ahaz seemed determined to fill up the measure of his sins...
The next verse spells out what "yet more" meant.
God's patience had no good effect on Ahaz, for his determination to do evil only increased instead of being stopped (v. 22). Since Syria had defeated him, he thought Syria did so by the power of their idols. So he adopted Syria's idolatry, sacrificing to their gods. But this only involved him and all Judah in deeper evil.
Another writer draws out the bargain Ahaz was making with himself, and where such reasoning ends.
He says, in effect, "The Lord does not help me the way the gods of the Syrian kings help them. So it is better for me to forsake Him and worship gods that will do me some good."... How far can they fall who, instead of obeying the word of God, are moved and governed by whatever has some present, apparent success!
While Ahaz sank, God was not silent. Israel had just fed Judah's captives, clothed them and sent them home. It made no impression on Ahaz.
The return of the captives and the reason for it could have been no secret to Judah and Ahaz. But it had no effect on the dulled hearts of the men of Judah. They were already feeling the judgment of God... the Lord was calling them to remember His goodness, by causing the Israelites to restore the captives of Judah fed and clothed... yet "At that time King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria for help," and paid for it with the gold of the temple and of his palace.
The closing words of the verse are not a footnote. They are a verdict.
Ahaz was so infamous for his very great wickedness that the Spirit of God has marked his very name: "This is that King Ahaz," or "This same King Ahaz." He "wearied men"; he plundered and shut up the temple. Oh the tender mercies of our God! In those distressing days He appointed for His people a sanctuary, even Himself! (Isa. 8:14).
- Distress — God Himself put the pressure on Ahaz, and it was aimed at his conscience.
- Hardened — affliction could not soften this man. He met trouble with pride, and lost the blessing.
- Chose — he reasoned that the gods who defeated him were the gods worth serving. That choice drew him and all Judah deeper into evil.
- Refused — God was calling him back through the captives sent home fed and clothed, and it left him unmoved.
- Named — the Spirit of God marks his name: "this same King Ahaz." David in distress called on the Lord, and even Manasseh sought Him.
And he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, which had smitten him; and he said, Since the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel.
Syria has just beaten Ahaz. Instead of turning back to God, he decides the winning side must have the stronger gods. So he sacrifices to those gods for help, and they ruin him and the nation with him.
Ahaz drew a conclusion from his defeat, and the conclusion drove his worship.
God's patience had no good effect on Ahaz. Nothing stopped his determination to do evil; it only grew. Syria had defeated him, and he thought Syria won by the power of their idols. So he took up Syria's idolatry and sacrificed to their gods. But this only involved him and all Judah in deeper evil.
His argument was a simple comparison of results. The warning falls on anyone who judges the same way.
What a blind delusion demon-worship is! He says, in effect, "The LORD does not help me the way the gods of the Syrian kings help them. So it is better for me to forsake Him and worship gods that will do me some good." ... How far they can fall! They do not obey the word of God. Instead, anything with some present, apparent success moves and governs them.
Each blow from God should have turned Ahaz back. Each one pushed him further.
The reign of Ahaz forms an epoch. Entirely forsaking the LORD, he gives himself up wholly to idolatry. The more God strikes him, the more he sins against Him. All this distress leads Ahaz to seek help from the king of Assyria, who only brought him into still greater trouble.
Ahaz brought home the design of an altar he had seen in Damascus.
He went to Damascus to meet the king of Assyria, whom he congratulated for his help and his success. Having seen Rezin's idolatrous altar, he sends its pattern to Jerusalem and has it erected in the court of the temple. He finds a high priest to carry out this act of sacrilege. 2 Chronicles 28 tells us that Ahaz sacrificed to the gods of Damascus. To burn a sacrifice on any altar other than the bronze altar was to sacrifice to false gods.
One writer applies the ruin of Ahaz to people today.
King Ahaz, taken with the beauty of the Syrian altar, may reject the altar of God; but it was the ruin of him and of all Israel. So now people may refuse the preaching of the cross of Christ. By their own reckoning they find in it either a stumbling-block or foolishness. So they choose an altar for their worship that meets their own artistic tastes, one that will not offend the prejudices of the natural man. But, as with Ahaz, it can only end in their everlasting ruin. God alone can prescribe the fitting way and method of access to Himself.
The verse ends with ruin. The next verses show how far that ruin went.
Man cannot turn from God without turning to Satan. ... Who can tell where departure from God may lead? Mark the sad climax in the downward course of Ahaz. He gathered the vessels of the house of God and cut them in pieces. He shut up the doors of the house of the LORD. He made himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. This was the sad course of Judah's backsliding — the true picture of every heart that departs from God.
There is another side to this reign.
It was in Ahaz's time that God gave the prophecy of Immanuel; yes, He gave it to Ahaz himself. What grace! — that a wicked man should draw out from God the plainest pledge of the glory of the Messiah. Yet so it was. How completely God moves above the evil of man! And if God is like this toward the evil, what is He not to the righteous?
- Misread blow. Ahaz read his defeat as proof that Syria's gods were stronger. So he copied the worship of the nation that beat him.
- Wrong altar. A sacrifice on any altar but God's bronze altar went to false gods. The ritual could look right and still be idolatry.
- False help. What he adopted for help became his ruin and the nation's, because God alone sets the way of access to Himself.
- Shut doors. It ended with the temple vessels cut up and its doors shut. Altars stood in every corner of Jerusalem. That is the picture of any heart that leaves God.
- Grace above. In the reign of a wicked king, God gave the promise of Immanuel. He moves above all the evil of man.
And Ahaz gathered the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and closed the doors of the house of Jehovah, and he made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem.
Syria had just defeated Ahaz, and instead of turning back to God he sacrificed to the gods that beat him. Verse 24 is where that logic ends: smashed vessels, shut doors, and altars everywhere else.
The verse is not a sudden collapse. It is the end of a line of reasoning that started with watching results instead of God's word. One writer traces the thinking out loud:
He says, in effect: "The LORD does not help me the way the gods of the Syrian kings help them. So it is better for me to abandon Him and worship gods that will do me some good." So he cut the vessels of the house of God to pieces and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD. His turning away from God was now complete. How far people fall when they stop obeying the word of God and let whatever seems to be succeeding right now govern them!
Another writer calls this the climax of a downward course — and not Ahaz's alone:
Who can tell where departure from God may lead to? Mark the sad climax in the downward course of Ahaz... This was the sad course of Judah's backsliding — the true picture of every heart that departs from God.
Ahaz had already set up a copy of an idol-altar, and a priest named Urijah was willing to run it. Shutting the doors finished the job:
Ahaz set up a new altar in the Temple, copied from the idol-altar. That opened the door wide to unlawful worship in the Temple of God. He found a willing helper in Urijah (the name means "the LORD is light"), who ran the worship "according to all that King Ahaz commanded." And worse dishonour to God followed. He even shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, which probably meant a complete stop to the services in the Holy Place.
Each piece of furniture in the temple stood for something. So cutting them up attacked what they taught:
It seems he was doing everything he could to insult the God of Israel (v. 24). This pictures what many religious leaders are doing today. For instance, the table of showbread in the temple symbolized Christ as the Sustainer of true communion with God. Ungodly people who claim to be religious have cut that truth to shreds with their false teaching. The lampstand speaks of Christ as the Sustainer of testimony, but this truth too has been treated with utter contempt.
The second half of the verse is more than extra idolatry. Ahaz swapped one God-given place for as many places as he pleased:
By shutting the doors of the temple, Ahaz was indicating he considered the temple no longer of any use... In contrast to this, Ahaz made altars in every corner of Jerusalem. God had placed His name in the temple. But Ahaz refused God's centre and made centres wherever he wanted. Denominations today do the same. They think it right to forget God's one centre, which is Christ, and to adopt for themselves any number of centres that appeal to their selfish feelings.
Ahaz never stopped being religious. He kept on sacrificing. That is why this verse is a warning and not just history:
Then the progress is rapid. A portion of time for prayer, or reading, or other helps to the soul, as we say, goes to business or pleasure instead. The ruling passion of the mind begins to get a firm hold in secret over the person. Sin now gets such power that the climax soon comes. Real worship stops. The doors are shut and the lamps go out — and all this may happen while there is still a great show of outward religion.
Ahaz's own son grew up inside this ruin. He reversed it in his first month on the throne:
Ahaz had surrounded Hezekiah with idolatry. He had idols in every single city, in every grove, on every high hill, and he had shut the doors of the LORD's house. Wherever Hezekiah looked, an idol met his eye. And yet in the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD.
- Drift — Ahaz judged God by results. Other nations' gods seemed to deliver, so he changed suppliers. Anyone ruled by what looks successful now can fall as far.
- Damage — The vessels pictured Christ, who sustains communion with God and sustains testimony. Cutting them up was an attack on that.
- Doors — Then Ahaz locked the doors and worship stopped. First an imitation altar, then a priest willing to serve it, then a shut house.
- Dispersal — Shut doors, and altars in every corner instead. God appointed one centre; Ahaz picked as many as suited him.
- Daylight — Hezekiah opened those same doors in the first month of his reign. He grew up surrounded by idols, which shows a shut house need not stay shut.
And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked to anger Jehovah the God of his fathers.
Ahaz has just shut the doors of the temple, and now he fills the country with substitutes: a high place in every town, and incense burning to gods that are not God. The last words of the verse name the offence — he provoked the God his own fathers had worshipped.
The point of "in every city" is not just quantity. Ahaz had rejected the one place God chose. So he set up a replacement in every direction.
Besides his many other wicked actions, Ahaz made high places in every city of Judah for burning incense to false gods. He despised God's centre, Jerusalem, so he made centres all through Judah. Many locations made their worship more convenient (v. 25). Satan likes to make people feel at ease, with no exercise of heart and conscience to know and obey the Word of God. So he has religions of every kind to suit the sinful desires of everyone. But such things provoked the Lord to anger.
The high places were not Ahaz's invention. Earlier kings left them standing without joining in. Ahaz used them, and he did it knowing the true God of Judah.
The kings before him had never removed the high places. They let the people burn incense there, though they did not join in this idolatry themselves. Ahaz himself "sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree" (2 Kings 16:4). He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, like the kings of Israel. Let us observe that this description "evil" is always given to us in reference to the Lord... Ahaz "walked in the ways of the kings of Israel." That is a double condemnation for a king who knew the worship of the true God in Judah, yet turned his back on Him to follow the detestable practices of the idol-worshipping nations.
The same writer sees this habit today, in people who prefer the outdoors to gathering:
His father Jotham did not burn incense in the high places, but he let those places remain. Ahaz forgot the temple of God and burned incense in the high places and other outdoor spots (v. 4). He was like many today who claim they do not need to gather with others to worship God. They say they can worship just as well while they enjoy the scenery — hunting, fishing, playing golf, or hiking in the mountains.
Behind all this building lay a calculation. Ahaz picked the gods with the better record, then filled the towns of Judah to match.
"For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him... But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel." He says, in effect, "The LORD does not help me as the gods of the Syrian kings help them. So it is better for me to forsake Him and worship gods that will do me some good."... How far can they fall! Instead of obeying the word of God, they let anything with some present, apparent success move and govern them.
This verse comes at the end of a reign full of blows from God. Each one left Ahaz worse, not better.
The reign of Ahaz forms a turning point. He forsakes the LORD entirely and gives himself up wholly to idolatry. The more God strikes him, the more he sins against Him.
Another writer explains why trouble can do this, and points to Ahaz as the example:
The soul that is not exercised goes through the trial in pride, or in its own natural strength. The trial hardens the heart and may sear the conscience, so the blessing is lost. God wants to deal with the conscience above all... Ahaz was a man whom affliction could not soften; on the contrary, it hardened him.
The verse also sets the scene for the next chapter. Ahaz's son Hezekiah grew up in this landscape and did not keep it.
Ahaz had surrounded him with idolatry. He had idols in every separate city, in every grove, on every high hill, and he had shut the doors of the LORD's house. Wherever Hezekiah looked, an idol met his eye. And yet in the first year of his reign — in the first month! — he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. This is remarkable in Hezekiah himself, and astonishingly so, as evidence of the power of God over the influences around him...
- Centre — God put His name in one place. Ahaz despised it and scattered "centres" across Judah, with convenience as the selling point.
- Tolerance — the high places he used were the ones earlier kings had left standing. What one generation permits, the next adopts.
- Calculation — he chose gods by results. Syria's gods seemed to work for Syria, so he tried them. They ruined him.
- Hardening — blow after blow from God only drove him further. Trouble that is not taken to heart sears the conscience instead of softening it.
- Recovery — the boy who grew up with an idol in every direction opened the temple doors in the first month of his reign. God's power is stronger than everything that surrounds a person.