Ahaz Becomes King of Judah

1During the seventeenth year of the reign ofa Remaliah’s son Pekah, Jotham’s son Ahaz became king of Judah. 2Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. He did not practice what the LORD considered to be right, as had his ancestor David. 3Instead, he behaved like the kings of Israel did by making his son pass through fire, the very same abomination that the heathen practiced, whom the LORD evicted from the land right in front of the Israelis. 4Furthermore, Ahazb sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on top of hills, and under every green tree.

Ahaz Seeks Help from Assyria

(2 Chronicles 28:16-21; Isaiah 7:1-16)

5Later, King Rezin of Aram and Remaliah’s son Pekah, king of Israel, approached Jerusalem to attack it. They besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. 6But at that time, King Rezin of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, completely removing the Judeans from Elath. Then the Arameans returned to Elath and have remained there to this day. 7So Ahaz sent envoys to Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, to tell him, “I am your servant and son. Save me from the king of Aram and the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” 8Then Ahaz took the silver and gold that was in the LORD’s Temple and in the palace treasuries and sent them as a gift to the king of Assyria, 9so the king of Assyria listened to Ahaz. He attacked Damascus, captured it, sent its people away into exile to Kir, and executed Rezin.

King Ahaz Constructs a Pagan Altar

(2 Chronicles 28:22-25)

10King Ahaz traveled to Damascus and met with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, where he observed the altar at Damascus. So King Ahaz sent a set of construction patterns of this altar to Uriah the priest. 11Uriah the priest built an altar, following the plans that King Ahaz had sent him from Damascus and finishing the altar before King Ahaz returned from Damascus. 12When the king returned from Damascus, as soon as he saw the altar, hec approached it and offered sacrifices on it. 13He presented a burnt offering, a meat offering, poured out a drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of a peace offering on his altar. 14Then he took the bronze altar that stood in the LORD’s presence from in front of the Temple, moved it to the north side of his altar, 15and issued these orders to Uriah the priest:

“Burn the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, the whole burnt offering, the grain offering, and the drink offering on behalf of all the people of the land on the large altar. And sprinkle all the blood from the burnt offering and from the sacrifice. But I will use the bronze altar to ask God questions.”

16So Uriah the priest did precisely what King Ahaz ordered. 17Later, King Ahaz ordered the side panels removed from the bases, along with the washing bowls that had stood on top of the bases. He also removed the large bowl that was called the Sea from on top of the bronze bulls that supported it, and put it on a stone base. 18Then Ahaz removed the covered walkway for use on the Sabbath that they had built in the Temple. Because of the king of Assyria, he also removed the outside entrance from the LORD’s Temple that had been built exclusivelyd for the king.

19Now the rest of Ahaz’s activities are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? 20Later, Ahaz died, as dide his ancestors, and was buried alongside his ancestors in the City of David. His son Hezekiah reigned in his place.