Resurrection Life of Jesus Church

The last screen of the virtual time run showed King Uzziah lying on a simple bed, his body racked with pain as flesh rotted and fell away. The Godhead knew that Uzziah loved them and had walked in integrity until pride derailed him. They wondered what was stopping him from dropping to his knees. Why didn’t he repent after he was confronted in the temple by the priests?

Unfortunately, Uzziah’s story was nothing new. He stubbornly refused to repent and wasted his last years on earth. His pride would not let him acknowledge his sin and the Godhead witnessed another example of mankind’s depravity in regards to the sin nature.

Nine kings and one usurper queen had come and gone in Judah. Would the next kings learn from the past?

KING JOTHAM
Jotham was 25 years old when he became king. He had ruled as a co-regent for a number of years during his father’s leprosy, so when he assumed the full title, he was no longer a novice. 2 Chronicles 26:21; 27:1

Jotham smartly ensured that did not repeat his father’s mistakes. He did not try to enter the temple to sacrifice as Uzziah had done. It is noteworthy that he did not feel politically strong enough to destroy the high places of Baal worship. verse 2; 2 Kings 15:34-35

BUILDING PROJECTS
The temple in Jotham’s time was the original temple of King Solomon. It had become part of Jerusalem’s fortifications and in time there were 12 gates leading into the temple complex. King Uzziah used his labor force to build around the temple and fortify it and Jotham continued what his father had started. The temple was on a plateau and there was a large slope called “Ophel” which began at the temple mound and sloped toward the city. Jotham spent years working on the wall on this slope. 2 Chronicles 27:3

Jotham wanted to harden the defenses of Judah. It is noteworthy that the climate was different during this period in the Middle East. There was more rain and thus there were forests that later disappeared. It was shrewd to build castles and towers to stop or slow down the advance of invaders. Cities were also fortifications and Jotham ordered them to be built in the mountains of Judea to support the sheep industry in the mountains. verse 4

WAR AGAINST THE AMMONITES
The Ammonites kept waging war against the twelve tribes of the northern and southern kingdoms. It seemed like the war was perpetual, touching generation after generation.

The Bible does not reveal much detail in how this particular conflict was fought; we just know that Judah prevailed and forced the Ammonites to pay taxes. verse 5

NO FUTURE PLANS
Jotham was a nice person and served God his whole life, but he was not a visionary and simply lived in the moment. He took every project before the Lord to make sure that he was blessed. verse 6

He understood that Judah needed a strong military and well-fortified cities, but he did not have an education program to ensure that the children knew their history. They were ignorant of Israel’s purpose to bring forth the Messiah in the future.

Jotham was pragmatic, and when he had established himself as king, he chose not to address the Baal worship at the high places.

The Bible does not provide any insight about his family; we just know that he had a son name Ahaz.

Jotham reigned for 16 years and died at the age of forty-one. There is no record of sickness or why he died at such a relatively young age. verses 7-9

KING AHAZ
There is no record of King Ahaz’s mother. My personal interpretation is that his mother was a concubine and involved in idolatry. 2 Kings 16:1-2; 2 Chronicles 28:1

Ahaz started to reign when he was 20 years old and immediately embraced the worship of Baal and Moloch. This indicates how his mother raised him and that Jotham had no control over his son. 2 Kings 16:4

Ahaz did not just sacrifice and burn one son, but allowed several of his children born to his wife and possibly of concubines to pass through the fire. 2 Chronicles 28:2-3

He was possessed by powerful demons because he traveled throughout Judah to the different high places to sacrifice to Baal and other demon gods. There is no doubt he embraced sexual immorality with the priestesses and prostitutes at the high places. verse 4

GOD’S RESPONSE
It is likely that Ahaz was never educated about the Five Books of Moses or any other writing that became part of the Bible. He was a heathen, even if his father was of the tribe of Judah.

The Godhead furiously responded by allowing the respective kings of Syria and Israel to attack Judah. The city of Elath and the surrounding area was lost, but his father’s military fortifications stopped the invading armies from taking Judah. 2 Kings 16:5-6

King Pekah of Israel inflicted heavy losses and 120,000 Jewish soldiers died in battle. Ahaz’s son, the palace governor, and the king’s chief of staff were also killed.  2 Chronicles 28:6-7

Pekah’s troops captured 200,000 women and children as slaves. verse 8

However, God intervened and sent a prophet to Samaria and ordered the captives returned. The women and children had been stripped naked prior to their trek north and they received clothing and shoes before returning home. verses 9-15

AHAZ SINS EVEN MORE
Being a heathen and not knowing the God of Israel, Ahaz repeated the sins of his forefathers in using silver and gold to seek help against Israel and Syria. He sent a delegation to King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria and offered to make Judah a vassal state in return for the Assyrians attacking Syria to relieve pressure from Judah’s armies. Tiglath- Pileser took the silver and gold, conquered Syria, and clipped Israel’s wings.  2 Chronicles 28:16; 2 Kings 16:7-8

Judah was simultaneously attacked by the Edomites and the Philistines as the Godhead punished the wayward king. 2 Chronicles 28:17-19

GOING TO DAMASCUS
Ahaz traveled to Damascus with a military escort to meet Tiglath-Pileser with the intent to seek additional aid, but the Assyrian king was not interested in strengthening Judah. 2 Kings 16:10; 2 Chronicles 28:20-22

While Ahaz was in Damascus, he looked upon the main altar of the demon god and got so excited that he had it measured and sketched. When he returned to Jerusalem he told the corrupt high priest, Urijah, to build a replica in the temple complex. This single act shows that Ahaz did not believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He was a total heathen and a wicked man. 2 Kings 16:10-11; 2 Chronicles 28:23

RETURNING HOME
Ahaz no longer pretended to have any respect for the true God. He had become a hardcore pagan worshipper that was addicted to sexual perversion and human sacrifice. Even his own children were not immune; some were sacrificed to the demon gods of wood, stone and metal he established. Ahaz never was a believer in God; he died as a demon god worshiper and went straight to hell. He selfishly only cared about himself and the common people embraced his example of satisfying the demands of the demon gods. 2 Kings 16:12-20; 2 Chronicles 28:24-27

A WASTED LIFE
What can we learn from this madman’s life?

• King Ahaz was just as useful to the people of Judah as Adolf Hitler was to the Germans.

• He wasted 16 years and embroiled the people of Judah in his mistakes.

• 120,000 men were slain in one day; they all died in vain.

• 200,000 women and children were uprooted from their homes and stripped naked and marched north to the city of Samaria until God intervened.

• Others were taken captive by the Edomites and the Philistines.

SUMMARY
What is the takeaway about these two kings?

1. Jotham was a nice guy who brought stability and prosperity to Judah, but he failed to prepare his people for the future because there was no education system.

2. Ahaz was a product of neglect. I believe his mother was a concubine and he embraced really poor choices that destroyed Judah.

3. As we examine America today, we are not in a good shape.

a. Where are the strong Christian leaders?

b. The denominational leaders have no real faith in God because it was destroyed by the spiritual cemeteries masquerading as seminaries.

c. Due to the destruction of the public educational system, the majority of political leaders today are much like Ahaz. They do not know God and have no interest in knowing God. They are hell bent on making the American public just like them. Woke is the word being used and these enlightened idiots declare that good is bad and vice versa.

Is there hope today? Who could have imagined that one of Ahaz’s sons would wholeheartedly embrace the God of his fathers? Hezekiah would turn the nation toward the Lord like never before.

There is hope for America. God can raise up men and women that will turn this nation around to one nation under God again. All things are possible with God. Matthew 19:26