Making a Stand预览

Ahaz and Hezekiah

Ahaz became king of Judah when he was 20 years of age. In Isaiah 7, the Syrians and the northern kingdom of Israel were attacking Judah, where Ahaz reigned. The prophet Isaiah gave Ahaz a message: “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” If you do not take your stand in faith, you won’t have a leg to stand on. The young king Ahaz needed to trust in God. Isaiah even said God would show the world a sign: that a virgin would conceive and bear a Child, and He would be called Immanuel. God would send His Son into the world to redeem His people.

But instead of trusting God or the message Isaiah gave him, instead of standing on God's Word, Ahaz sought help from the world. He looked to the wrong source for the wrong thing. He asked the king of Assyria for help in defeating the Syrians. After the victory, Ahaz went to see the king in Damascus. When he got there, he saw the Assyrian king’s altar. Ahaz sent word back to the high priest in Jerusalem, along with a picture, and said, “Build an altar like this.” Then Ahaz placed the altar in the temple of God and used it to worship the gods of the Assyrians.

Ahaz became one of the most wicked kings in Judah’s history. In fact, when he died, he was not buried with its past kings; they are buried in tombs near Jerusalem, between the Mount of Olives and the Eastern Gate. But Ahaz was too wicked. They would not bury Ahaz there. He had corrupted worship. He brought the world into the temple. He would not trust the living God.

Ahaz’s son Hezekiah had to clean up his father’s mess. Hezekiah brought reform. He sought God when the Assyrians attacked him. Under siege, Hezekiah turned to God and read aloud the letter that Sennacherib, king of Assyria, had sent. Hezekiah prayed. Isaiah prophesied that this enemy would not come into the city, but would return to their own country. The next morning, without Hezekiah raising a sword, 185,000 Assyrians were dead. God proves He will come through for His people if they will simply make their stand on His Word and trust Him.