King Ahaz Messes Stuff Up Again
- The next king of Judah is Ahaz. Unfortunately, this apple falls far from the tree because he doesn't act righteously.
- King Ahaz decides it would be a good idea to worship other gods. Seriously? Do these kings not read history books at all?
- Worst of all, he sacrifices his sons in the fire, like those other idolatrous nations do.
- As a result, God has to punish him. Want to go to war with Aram? You lose. Want to battle Israel? You're toast. This king cannot get a win anywhere.
- The war with the Northern Kingdom is a disaster. Judah loses 120,000 soldiers in a single day and Israel's army takes 200,000 women and children prisoner. They carry off more booty to Samaria.
- Fortunately for the women and children of Judah, a prophet named Oded intervenes.
- He lets the soldiers in Israel know that the only reason they were victorious in battle was because the people of Judah were so disobedient.
- He warns them that they've already been piling up offenses against God, and he'll be furious if he sees his chosen people in chains.
- The armies of Israel reconsider and wisely decide not to enslave the women and children. They give them food and clothing and return them to their families in Judah.
- Afterwards, King Ahaz still can't catch a break in battle. The Edomites are picking on him and so are the Philistines. Ahaz tries to get the King of Assyria to help, but that backfires when Assyria invades Judah, too.
- All this happens because Ahaz didn't follow God. Of course, all these punishments don't help to win Ahaz back over to God's side either. In fact, Ahaz decides that he might try worshipping the gods of the nations that had defeated them.
- Hey, if these foreign gods worked for the guys in Aram, maybe they're worth a try. Maybe, but these other gods didn't help Ahaz.
- Ahaz finally died and no one was sorry to see him go.