Turning to Bad Examples

2 Kings 16:1-20
    1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God, as his father David had done. 3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed he made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
    5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to make war; and they besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him. 6 At that time Rezin king of Syria captured Elath for Syria, and drove the men of Judah from Elath. Then the Edomites went to Elath, and dwell there to this day.
    7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, "I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me." 8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasuries of the king's house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria. 9 So the king of Assyria heeded him; for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it, carried its people captive to Kir, and killed Rezin.
    10 Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship. 11 Then Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz came back from Damascus. 12 And when the king came back from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king approached the altar and made offerings on it. 13 So he burned his burnt offering and his grain offering; and he poured his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. 14 He also brought the bronze altar which was before the LORD, from the front of the temple—from between the new altar and the house of the LORD—and put it on the north side of the new altar. 15 Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, "On the great new altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king's burnt sacrifice, and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. And the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by." 16 Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that King Ahaz commanded.
    17 And King Ahaz cut off the panels of the carts, and removed the lavers from them; and he took down the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it, and put it on a pavement of stones. 18 Also he removed the Sabbath pavilion which they had built in the temple, and he removed the king's outer entrance from the house of the LORD, on account of the king of Assyria.  19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 20 So Ahaz rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

After a line of godly kings ruling Judah, Ahaz comes into power and imitates the kings of Israel who had been doing evil in God’s sight for a while.  He did not do what was right as his ancestor king David who set the bar for being a man after God’s own heart, but imitated those who had left him a few generations back in the idolatry of pagan worship and lifestyle.  He worked abominable things in front of the LORD his God, and set an evil example for His people in Judah to lead them away from worship of their Maker and Sustainer, the lover of their souls.  Israel made war against Judah accompanied by the king of Syria, and Ahaz did not seek the LORD for victory, but called on Assyria to assist.  That came at a cost, that of all the riches of the house of the LORD and the king’s house.  After the Assyrian army took Damascus, Ahaz visited and had Urijah the priest copy the idol altar for Ahaz to make sacrifices on when he returned.  The idolatry of the nations had penetrated even Judah now.  Ahaz went further to begin dismantling parts of the real temple to please the king of Assyria in his assimilation of God’s worship and people.  Hezekiah would then take his father Ahaz’s place, who would turn back the people of Judah and be the first ruler to not only do partly what was right, but also tear down the high places of pagan worship (2 Kings 18:4)!  There would be no better king than He who followed David’s example instead of the disobedient examples of those before and after him.  This is a lesson for us to beware following bad examples because of position, power, or charisma, but who do not imitate Christ Jesus our true Sovereign King.  He set the example while walking among us, and we have His word to now live by, along with examples of leaders He instantiates who follow Him.  The world cannot be our example if we are to please God, nor those not following Him with all their heart, mind, life, and strength.