2 Kings 16:2

Ahaz, king of Judah, came to the throne at a remarkable time in the history of God's earthly people. The three kings before him — Jotham, Azariah and Amaziah — reigned for about 130 years, and all of them had "done what was right in the eyes of the LORD." Ahaz surely knew this. So he knew the standard God sets for a king.

It seems strange that the best of men often have the worst of sons. Ahaz's mother is not named, and it is possible that his father chose his wife badly. A king has the heavy work of government pressing on him all the time. He can give little time to training his children, so most of that important duty falls to the mother.

Notice that this word "evil" is always used in reference to the Lord. It is true that turning away from God often hands the guilty person over to all sorts of moral evil, to crime and impurity, but it is not always so. Jeroboam I, Joash of Israel and Jeroboam II were remarkable kings in the eyes of men. Two of them were "saviours" of their nation, helping to build its reputation and win back its lands. But for God the question is a different one. What matters is the relationship these kings had with Him, and Ahaz king of Judah here as well.

Scripture says this great thing about David: he followed the LORD with all his heart. The LORD had power to take hold of His people's hearts completely. This became the standard for measuring later unfaithful kings: "his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father." The LORD had all of David's heart, and worship flowed straight out of that. The later kings worshipped the Baals, and that is why they compare so badly with David.

His father set a very bad example, but Hezekiah did not follow it. Everyone should realize that he does not have to walk in his father's godless footsteps.

Ahaz began his reign, Scripture says, when he was twenty years old, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And Hezekiah, his son, was twenty-five years old when he came to the throne. This seems to teach that Ahaz was only eleven when Hezekiah was born, which is very unlikely, if not impossible. Modern commentators have suggested various solutions, and none of them is satisfactory. One writer answers them well: "It is never advisable to find any fault with the text except where there is no other tolerable solution, and that is not the case here."

How moving is the patient grace God shows toward this evil king! He reassures him instead of crushing him. He announces rescue to him. He says to him, "Take heed and be quiet" — let Me act. He says "Fear not" to a man who himself had everything to fear.

Our fear that trouble will come makes us look for support in what seems to us a safe path. Those are the very things God uses to chastise us. The kings of Israel and Syria came against Judah of their own will. God stops them. Ahaz and his people wanted to lean on the king of Assyria, and in the end God makes the Assyrian come against them.