Introduction: Would you like to feel the excitement and energy of a
spiritual revival? Would you like to rejoice and celebrate what God
has done for you? Are family influences, or fellow church members,
holding you back? This week our study is of a father and son. The
son is a king who led his people into reform, revival and the
celebration of the worship of God in Judah even though his father was
the worst influence possible. Let’s dive into our study!
- Ahaz
- Read 2 Kings 16:1-4. The Bible gives us an illustration of
the extent of the evil done by King Ahaz. What do you
think was the most evil thing that he did? (He sacrificed
his sons in the fire. See also 2 Chronicles 28:3.) - What do you think King Ahaz hoped to gain by this
sacrifice of his sons? (A better life.) - Remember that Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac
(Genesis 22)? What is different about what Ahaz did? - Do you find any irony in Ahaz’s action in sacrificing
his sons? (Yes! God gave up His Son to die for our
sins. As a result, we do not have to sacrifice our
children. God was simply illustrating to Abraham what
He intended to do for us. God does not allow the
sacrifice of children. He calls this a sin and a
“detestable thing” ( Jeremiah 32:35). When Ahaz
sacrificed his sons instead of relying on the true
God, he killed his sons for no reason. Ahaz could
have had both God’s blessings and his sons at the
same time.) - Do you know people, like Ahaz, who needlessly
sacrifice their children? (That is abortion. Instead
of trusting in God for the future, we kill our
children in the belief that this will somehow make
our lives better. This constitutes both the ultimate
act of selfishness and a lack of faith in God.) - Are there less extreme examples of child
sacrifice that you can think of? What about
mothers with small children who work outside the
home to make new car payments? What about
fathers who never see their children because
they are pushing for promotions? (In fifteen
years a new car will be junk and the child will
be grown. What a trade! I remember being annoyed
when my children would try to talk to me when I
was reading the newspaper. Then sense would hit
me and I would think, “What is the matter with
you? The news is nothing. Talking with your
children is a most important and fleeting
opportunity!” Sometimes we just don’t think
clearly about these things.) - Read 2 Kings 16:5-6. What trouble does Ahaz face? (Both
the Kings of Israel and Aram have joined forces to attack
Ahaz. They have some success because Aram is able to
claim Elath.) - How do you think Ahaz felt about this attack since we
read that Israel and Aram could not overcome him?
(Read Isaiah 7:2. Although Ahaz was able to hold them
off, he and his people were terrified by this
attack.) - Read Isaiah 7:3-7. Did Ahaz and Judah have to worry?
Should they have been terrified? (God told Ahaz not to be
afraid. Israel and Aram would not tear his country apart.) - Read 2 Kings 16:7-9. What is Ahaz offering Assyria in
exchange for its help against Israel and Aram? (He is
offering to be the servant of Assyria!) - It worked. The King of Assyria killed the King of
Aram ( 2 Kings 16:9) and ultimately destroyed Israel
and deported its people ( 2 Kings 17:3-6). What do
you think about this deal between Ahaz and the King
of Assyria? - How does this plan of Ahaz compare with his
decision to sacrifice his sons? (It is exactly
the same stupid concept. Instead of trusting God
for help, Ahaz gives away his kingdom to
Assyria. If Ahaz had just turned to God and
trusted in Him in time of trouble he could have
had both his sons and his kingdom.) - Read 2 Kings 16:17-18 and 2 Chronicles 28:24. What else
did Ahaz change because of his decision to become the
servant of Assyria in exchange for its help? (He modified
the temple and his worship “in deference to the King of
Assyria” to the point that he finally “shut the doors to
the temple.”) - Have you ever modified your worship of God for the
sake of your employer? The sake of new friends?
(Ahaz is such a sad picture of reliance on the wrong
things in life. He gave up his sons, his kingdom and
his worship for no reason. If he had just trusted in
God he could have had them all!) - Hezekiah
- Read 2 Chronicles 29:1-2. Hezekiah is one son of Ahaz who
managed to avoid the fire. He becomes King of Judah. What
kind of kingdom do you think Hezekiah inherited? (It was a
shambles. Pagan gods were set up on every corner of
Jerusalem ( 2 Chronicles 28:24). The country was under the
thumb of the Assyrians.) - When evil seems to have control of everything around
you, what do you do? Do you just “go along?” “Go with
the flow?” - Let’s read what Hezekiah did. Read 2 Chronicles 29:3-11.
How long did Hezekiah wait to start changing the evil
status quo? (He started the change immediately!) - Why was he so motivated to change what was all around
him? (The reason why the place was in a shambles,
evil abounded, and the neighbors alternated between
feeling sorry for them and laughing at them, was
that they had turned away from God.) - Let’s skip down to 2 Chronicles 30:1-4. How fast was
Hezekiah moving in his reforms? (He was moving so quickly
he was ahead of the people and the priests.) - Is that the way reform should be in our churches?
Should leaders wait for the people to catch up to
them? Or, should they run ahead of the people? - Notice that the Passover is being celebrated. Why do
you think Hezekiah chose to celebrate Passover as his
next reform after putting the temple back in
operation? (You remember that King Jeroboam decided
to set up “golden calf worship” by announcing “Here
are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of
Egypt.” ( 1 Kings 12:28). Being saved from slavery in
Egypt was the most important historical event for the
average Jew. The Deuteronomy version of the Ten
Commandments ( Deuteronomy 5:12-15) explicitly ties
the weekly worship of God to the exodus from Egypt.
Since Passover was the celebration of God’s work in
saving His people from slavery, Hezekiah was a man of
“first principles.” He moved quickly to reinstate the
fundamental principles of worship – giving credit to
the true God of Heaven for this important event.) - What do you see in the reformers of today? Are they
focused on “first principles?” Or, are they obsessed
with obscure and debatable theological points? - Read 2 Chronicles 30:18-20. We learned in the first few
verses of this chapter that Hezekiah could not celebrate
Passover on the correct date for practical reasons. We
learn here that a bunch of “unclean” people improperly ate
the Passover for other practical reasons. What theological
lesson do you draw from this? (The key to a proper view of
all this malfeasance is found in v. 19: “set[ting the]
heart on seeking God.” Friend, we should not ignore God’s
rules, as did Hezekiah’s predecessors. But, the teaching
of this text is that our primary concern is with the
attitude of our minds. The attitude is far more important
than any details.) - Our lesson (Friday) refers to this situation as an
“emergency” (“emergencies must be met”). Do you
agree? (The only emergency was that the people had
been ignoring God’s word for a very long time. If
this is an emergency, then every sinner constitutes
an emergency. The theological principle presented
here should not be undercut by labeling this an
“emergency.”) - Read 2 Chronicles 30:21&26-27. Let’s get this straight.
This unclean group of people, meeting at the wrong time,
failed to be sighing and crying about their sins and
short-comings (which were obvious). Instead, they spent
seven days celebrating and rejoicing with songs and
“instruments of praise.” (The KJV says “loud
instruments.”) Judging by some of the things I read
today, God surely must have been offended! Is that what
the Bible says? (As opposed to what some so-called
reformers say today, the Bible tells us that God heard
their prayers and their blessings in His home in heaven!) - Read 2 Chronicles 30:23. The people could not get enough
of celebrating and praising their God. They decided to do
it for another seven days. How about your church service?
Are people refusing to leave at the end of the worship?
Are they rushing right back for more? Does your assembly
agree to spend another hour in worship because they had
such a great time praising and worshiping God with their
instruments of praise? - Is it possible you need a Hezekiah in your church?
- Is it possible that, as a practical matter, the doors
of your church are “closed” because the service is so
dead and boring? - Let’s turn a corner and find out if all this worship of
God was the genuine article or just fluff. Read 2
Chronicles 32:1, 9-13. What is the answer to these
questions – on what was Hezekiah trusting? (The great God
of Heaven.) - What about the question in v. 13 – had any other god
ever stopped the Assyrians? - Had the God of Heaven stopped the Assyrians before?
(He had not stopped them from mowing through Israel
before, or putting King Ahaz (Hezekiah’s father)
under the authority of the Assyrians.) - Why should the people think things would be
different now? That was the question King
Sennacherib of Assyria wanted to know. What is
your answer? (The hearts of the people had
turned to God. They rejoiced in celebrating
their new relationship.) - Read 2 Chronicles 32:20-21. Was the religious experience
of the people real or was it fluff? When a crisis over
the very existence of the nation was at stake, what did
God do in response to their prayers? - Friend, God calls on you today to consider the “first
principles” of religion. Instead of being absorbed in
details, consider the state of your heart. Have you
experienced that heart conversion that causes you to
rejoice and celebrate what God has done and continues to
do for you? How about your fellow church members? Do they
come to church to rejoice and praise? If not, is it time
for you, like Hezekiah, to “open” the doors of your church
to the true worship of God? - Next Week: “Meanwhile … Back in the North.”
