Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Ahaz's folly

Would you like to read James McNaught’s novel Sinking Sand”? click here: Sinking Sand
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
2 Kings 16:5–9, “Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me. And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.”

They Syrians and the Israelis joined together to defeat Judah in battle. Ahaz was a king who, to that stage, refused to trust the Lord and obey Him. They set a siege around Jerusalem but were unable take the city. However, the Syrians were able to take control of some territory that Judah had taken from them before. Elath was at the top of the Red Sea, below the Dead Sea but there was not water route connecting the two places. Uzziah had previously built this city. Ahaz preferred not to trust the Lord by paid a large amount of money to Tiglath Pileser of Assyria to attack the Syrians and save him. Ahaz plundered the Temple and the palaces in Jerusalem to get the gold and silver he needed to pay the Assyrians. However, Ahaz also let the Assyrians know that there was treasure in Judah for their future reference.

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