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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangey, and today we're in Second Chronicles, chapter
Speaker 1: twenty eight and we'll be reading from the New English translation.
Speaker 1: Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign,
Speaker 1: and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did
Speaker 1: not do what pleased the Lord. In contrast to his
Speaker 1: ancestor David, he followed in the footsteps of the kings
Speaker 1: of Israel. He also made images of the bales. He
Speaker 1: offered sacrifices in the valley of Ben Hinham and passed
Speaker 1: his sons through the fire, a horrible sin practiced by
Speaker 1: the nations, whom the Lord drove out. Before the Israelites,
Speaker 1: he offered sacrifices and burned in on the high places,
Speaker 1: on the hills and under every green tree. The Lord
Speaker 1: his God handed him over to the King of Syria.
Speaker 1: The Syrians defeated him and deported many captives to Damascus.
Speaker 1: He was also handed over to the King of Israel,
Speaker 1: who thoroughly defeated him in one day. King Pica, son
Speaker 1: of Ramaliah of Israel, killed one hundred twenty thousand warriors
Speaker 1: in Judah because they had abandoned the Lord God of
Speaker 1: their ancestors. Zikri, an Ephriamite warrior, killed the king's son
Speaker 1: Messiah Azrakam, the supervisor of the palace, and Elkanah, the
Speaker 1: king second in command. The Israelites seized from their brothers
Speaker 1: two hundred thousand wives, sons, and daughters. They also carried
Speaker 1: off a huge amount of plunder and took it back
Speaker 1: to Samaria. Odad, a prophet of the Lord, was there.
Speaker 1: He went to meet the army as they arrived in
Speaker 1: Samaria and said to them, look, because the Lord God
Speaker 1: of your ancestors was angry with Judah, he handed them
Speaker 1: over to you. You have killed them so mercilessly that
Speaker 1: God has taken notice, and now you are planning to
Speaker 1: enslave the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Yet are you
Speaker 1: not also guilty before the Lord your God. Now listen
Speaker 1: to me, send back those you have seized from your brothers,
Speaker 1: for the Lord is very angry at you. So some
Speaker 1: of the Ephriamite family leaders Azariah son of jehochinaan Berachiah
Speaker 1: son of Mishilimoth, Jekiskaiah son of Shallam, and Amassa son
Speaker 1: of Hadlai confronted those returning from the battle. They said
Speaker 1: to them, don't bring those captives here. Are you planning
Speaker 1: on making us even more sinful and guilty before the Lord?
Speaker 1: Our guilt is already great, and the Lord is very
Speaker 1: angry at Israel. So the soldiers released the captives and
Speaker 1: the plunder before the officials and the entire assembly men
Speaker 1: were assigned to take the prisoners and find clothes among
Speaker 1: the plunder for those who were naked, so they clothed them,
Speaker 1: supplied them with sandals, gave them food and drink, and
Speaker 1: provided them with oil to rub on their skin. They
Speaker 1: put the ones who couldn't walk on donkeys. They brought
Speaker 1: them back to their brothers at Jericho, the city of
Speaker 1: the date palm trees, and they returned to Samaria. At
Speaker 1: that time, King Ahaz asked the King of Assyria for help.
Speaker 1: The Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried
Speaker 1: off captives. The Philistines had raided the cities of Judah
Speaker 1: in the lowlands and the Negev. They captured and settled
Speaker 1: in Beth Schemesh, Ijalon, Getteroth, Soko and its surrounding villages,
Speaker 1: Timna and its surrounding villages, and Gimzo and its surrounding villages.
Speaker 1: The Lord humiliated Judah because of King AHAs of Israel,
Speaker 1: for he encouraged Judah to sin and was very unfaithful
Speaker 1: to the Lord. King Tiglath, Poliser of Assyria, came but
Speaker 1: he gave him more trouble than support. A has gathered
Speaker 1: riches from the Lord's temple, the royal palace, and the
Speaker 1: officials and gave them to the King of Assyria, but
Speaker 1: that did not help. During this time of trouble, King
Speaker 1: AHAs was even more unfaithful to the Lord. He offered
Speaker 1: sacrifices to the gods of Damascus, whom he thought had
Speaker 1: defeated him. He reasoned, since the gods of the kings
Speaker 1: of Damascus helped them, I will sacrifice to them so
Speaker 1: they will help me. But they caused him and all
Speaker 1: Israel to stumble. A has gathered the items in God's
Speaker 1: temple and removed them. He shut the doors of the
Speaker 1: Lord's temple and erected altars on every street corner in
Speaker 1: d Jerusalem, in every city. Throughout Judah, he set up
Speaker 1: high places to offer sacrifices to other gods. He angered
Speaker 1: the Lord God of his ancestors. The rest of the
Speaker 1: events of Ahas' reign, including the accomplishments from start to finish,
Speaker 1: are recorded in the scroll of the Kings of Judah
Speaker 1: and Israel. Ah has passed away and was buried in
Speaker 1: the city of David. They did not bring him to
Speaker 1: the tombs of the Kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah
Speaker 1: replaced him as king. Let's pray, Lord, we thank you
Speaker 1: for your word, and we thank you for the opportunity
Speaker 1: to look at it today. And Lord, as we look
Speaker 1: at this portion of scripture, we could see how easy
Speaker 1: it is for the human heart to drift toward false
Speaker 1: sources of help and false sources of comfort. But Lord,
Speaker 1: you have assured us in your word that you are
Speaker 1: the source of our help, that you are the God
Speaker 1: of all comfort, and the you provide ultimate help, ultimate strength,
Speaker 1: and ultimate victory to each of us through faith in
Speaker 1: your son Jesus Christ. So Lord, we pray that that
Speaker 1: would be the help that we would seek, and that
Speaker 1: our confidence would be in you always. We're grateful, Lord
Speaker 1: for your presence with us, and we commit this day
Speaker 1: to your care, and we thank you for all these
Speaker 1: things in Jesus' name. Amen.