Today I read 2 Chronicles 28, in which Ahaz was king of Judah, worshiped false gods and continued to lose more people and cities. Today I considered that sometimes a leader goes the wrong way and continues to go the wrong way even when they are punished by God.
Making Loses Worse
A king can begin with a lot and continue to lose, when the leader follows the wrong path. Ahaz became king of Judah at 20 years old and reigned 16 years. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, worshiped Baalim, and offered his children in burnt sacrifice. God delivered Ahaz to the king of Syria and the king of Israel. The children of Israel enslaved the children of Judah and Jerusalem but the prophet Oded told them let the captives go because of the wrath of God. Heads of children of Ephraim told the armed men they could not bring the captives in Samaria. The armed men left the people and the spoil with the princes. The heads of the children of Ephraim clothed, dressed up, and sent the captives to the captives family in Jericho. The Edomites took captives from Ahaz’s kingdom and the Philistines invaded and kept cities. King Ahaz asked the kings of Assyria for help and even sent things from God’s house to pay them but they did not help him. Ahaz continued to sacrifice to false gods and when he died he was not buried with the kings. We should remember that turning from God can result in continual losses of people, territory, and treasure without anyone coming to your aid.
Questions and Thoughts for Today
Have you seen someone continue to go down the wrong path and their losses just continued to grow?