We continue our review of the Temple’s history and the kings who ruled Israel.
When we last left off, Uzziah was on the throne over Judah.
After his reign, his son, Yotham, took over.
Yotham was basically a good king.
Scripture tells us…
“He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD,
according to all that his father Uzziah had done.”
– 2 Kings 15:34
I should mention, though, that, unlike his father, Yotham never entered the Temple to burn incense
That was a sin that brought Uzziah under God’s judgment.
So what were Yotham’s accomplishments?
A lot actually.
Yotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the Temple, which was another new addition to the Temple.
He also built towns and fortresses in the hill country and erected towers and defensive outposts in the wilderness.
He then successfully defeated the Ammonites, who ended up paying tribute to Judah for over 3 years.
However, Yotham is most significant because he stands as a sharp contrast between the king who came before him (his father) and the king who came after him (his son).
The king who came after him was Ahaz.
And this guy was a spawn of Satan.
He led Judah farther away from God than almost any king before him.
He stripped the Temple of its gold and silver.
He then sent those treasures to Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, to buy his support and protection.
That was just the tip of the iceberg.
During a visit to Assyria, Ahaz saw a pagan altar that he thought was pretty cool.
So you know what this royal homie did?
He ordered a replica to be built in Jerusalem.
That’s right.
The bronze altar that Solomon had made for the worship of Yahweh was pushed aside to be replaced by this heathen altar.
By the time Ahaz was finished, the Temple had been so neglected, the poor thing was on life support.
But we’re still just getting started.
Ahaz was on a demonic mission to utterly dismantle the Temple, one piece at a time.
He removed the great bronze Sea from the bronze oxen that supported it.
He also cut the stands off the smaller bronze washbasins.
Ahaz then set aside part of the Temple area for the worship of an Assyrian god.
After that, he started erecting pagan altars throughout Jerusalem so the people could also worship false gods.
Of course, the priests revolted.
Ahaz’s response?
He shut the Temple doors and put an end to regular Temple worship.
But, the real abomination this wicked ruler committed was sacrificing his own children.
Check out this verse from 2nd Chronicles:
“Moreover, 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.”– 2 Chronicles 28:3
What in the world got into this guy?
One thing I can say is that this king trusted more in earthly political alliances than in God.
When Judah came under attack from Israel (the northern tribes) and Aram (Syria), God sent the prophet Isaiah to tell Ahaz not to fear and to trust Him instead.
This is the setting of that well-known verse from the prophet Isaiah that Christians love to quote as a messianic prophecy:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.”
– Isaiah 7:14
This famous prophecy was originally given to Ahaz as a sign that God would preserve the Davidic line.
Tragically, Ahaz refused to trust the Lord.
As I mentioned, he went to Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria for help, even sending him silver and gold from the Temple as tribute.
After Assyria rescued him from his immediate enemies, did Ahaz give praise to God?
Nope.
Instead, his admiration for Assyria and its religion grew in leaps and bounds.
This idolatry eventually reached the point of child sacrifice.
The takeaway for today is this:
Trusting in things other than God is bad.
But it’s especially dangerous when those other things seem to bring positive results.
Ahaz turning to Assyria was a sin.
But things only worsened when Assyria succeeded in rescuing Ahaz from his enemies.
That led Ahaz to becoming such a fan of Assyria that the homie pretty much converted to their religion.
I’m embarrassed to admit, I’ve committed a similar sin in my life.
There was a time when I was tempted by the satanic New Age promise that I could use the Law of Attraction to control reality and get all of the wealth and power I wanted in my life.
Utter booooooooooooooooool sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!
But here’s the thing.
There were instances when it seemed to work.
Like, after uttering these ridiculous self-help affirmations, a couple of days later, a recruiting deal I was working on would successfully close, or something.
However, we all know that correlation doesn’t equal causation.
My deluded mind so desperately wanted to believe that all of this Law of Attraction magic I was engaged in was working.
Heck, maybe even demonic spirits were orchestrating some good luck for me behind the scenes to keep me trapped in idolatry.
Long story short, I came to my senses, and I’m happy to report I have since repented of that idolatry.
Alrighty, let’s close this baby.
So, to sum things up, I repeat…
Just because something seems to bring good results in your life doesn’t mean it’s right from the Lord’s perspective.
Effectiveness does NOT equal righteousness.
So study your Torah and be discerning.
Because there’s a helluva lot of idolatrous temptations out there ready to snare your rear-end.
Ya feel me?
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“All Scripture is God-breathed
and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the servant of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
-2 Timothy 3:16-17
P.S. By the way, I remind you that those NT verses from 2nd Timothy are ONLY referring to the Hebrew Bible (the “Old” Testament). The New Testament wasn’t even in existence when those words were penned. Study your Torah, homies.
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