2Ki 16:10-16 | KingComments | STEP | Ahaz went to Damascus to greet his benefactor and protector, the king of Assyria. It seems that the place of meeting was the altar in Damascus. Ahaz was impressed by that altar. It was a great altar ( ). Possibly it was originally an Assyrian altar. Because he saw that the gods of Assyria had helped them, he wanted to have an altar like theirs, to secure the favor of these gods and sacrifice to them. While he was still in Damascus, he sent a pattern of it to the priest Urijah. Urijah was a faithful man ( ), but also a man without a backbone. He had no strength to say no. He did as he had been told, and even quickly, so that the altar was ready before Ahaz had returned. When Ahaz is in Jerusalem again and saw the altar, he approached the altar and sacrificed on it. speaks emphatically about Ahaz as “king” (three times in this verse). There is a strong similarity with the first king Jeroboam and his altar ( ). We have to conclude that Jeroboam and his altar service had now entered Judah. The sacrifices Ahaz brought ( ), we know from Leviticus 1-7. It is remarkable that the sin offering was missing. It emphasizes that his service was only superficial worship. There was no sense of sin. He arranged everything as he saw fit. It was totally a self-willed religion. We also see this when he removed the bronze altar of burnt offering from the place where it belonged and instead replaced it with his own imitation altar ( ). The altar of Ahaz had to be central. The altar of the LORD was not completely removed. The place where it stood was at a distance from its central position, so that it was reminder of the LORD’s service, but at a distance, as it were. Ahaz determined that from then on the great altar, his altar, must be used to bring the prescribed sacrifices ( ). He ordered the priest Urijah to see to it that his instructions are followed. He dismissed the bronze altar of the LORD for sacrificial service to the true God. Instead, he made it a place where he could approach demons to seek their advice. Ahaz’s drive for innovation knew no bounds. The next part of the old worship to be removed was the bronze sea that stood on twelve oxen. He cut off the borders of the stands, and removed the laver from them ( ). He also took down the sea from the bronze oxen. He shows his thinking (in this picture) that cleanliness is not necessary to be able to do service in the house of the LORD. The oxen were not a decoration for the bronze sea, but formed the basis for cleansing. It is a picture that speaks of the fact that cleansing must be done on the foundation of the sacrifice of Christ. Oxen speak of His service which He continually performs for us. That foundation is replaced by a stone floor, a foundation made by people. Ahaz also demolished the covered way for the Sabbath, for his urge to modernize ( ). What exactly the covered way for the sabbath was is not clear. It is thought that there was a covered place in the temple, where the king sat on the sabbath during his visit to the temple. This may well be possible, because the removal of the covered way for sabbath was linked to the removal of “the outer entry of the king” (cf. ; ). It shows his contempt for the sabbath – which speaks of the rest of God and His people – and the absolute unwillingness as king to be connected to the dwelling place of God. He refused to acknowledge that he could only be king if he acknowledged that God was his Lord. He ordered the destruction of everything reminding of the service of the true God. All his actions meant the abolition of true service to God. He established a religion that was completely to his taste. That’s the tried and true method of disregarding what God had to say about it. It is important to ask God how He wants us to worship. For us, that means that we consult His Word in an attitude of submission to what He says. It does not mean that our worship must always follow certain fixed patterns through standard formulations. The Holy Spirit will show us different aspects each time for which we can and want to worship God. There is no liturgy to be devised. Someone rightly said: We should not play with our worship and cheer it up with interviews and entertaining performances. Remarkably enough, he added: “In the church I serve, our worship is carefully planned so that we never have the same thing on two consecutive Sundays. When I read this, I couldn’t help but feel that the writer himself acted after Ahaz’s model, which he first (rightly) accused. Isn’t the Holy Spirit the only One Who can lead the worship of the church in such a way that every time worship is different, new and fresh, and that it still meets the ancient truths of God’s Word (cf. )?

‏ 2 Kings 16:10-16

Replacing the Altar of the LORD

Ahaz went to Damascus to greet his benefactor and protector, the king of Assyria. It seems that the place of meeting was the altar in Damascus. Ahaz was impressed by that altar. It was a great altar (2Kgs 16:15). Possibly it was originally an Assyrian altar. Because he saw that the gods of Assyria had helped them, he wanted to have an altar like theirs, to secure the favor of these gods and sacrifice to them.

While he was still in Damascus, he sent a pattern of it to the priest Urijah. Urijah was a faithful man (Isa 8:2a), but also a man without a backbone. He had no strength to say no. He did as he had been told, and even quickly, so that the altar was ready before Ahaz had returned. When Ahaz is in Jerusalem again and saw the altar, he approached the altar and sacrificed on it. 2Kgs 16:12 speaks emphatically about Ahaz as “king” (three times in this verse). There is a strong similarity with the first king Jeroboam and his altar (1Kgs 12:32-33). We have to conclude that Jeroboam and his altar service had now entered Judah.

The sacrifices Ahaz brought (2Kgs 16:13), we know from Leviticus 1-7. It is remarkable that the sin offering was missing. It emphasizes that his service was only superficial worship. There was no sense of sin. He arranged everything as he saw fit. It was totally a self-willed religion. We also see this when he removed the bronze altar of burnt offering from the place where it belonged and instead replaced it with his own imitation altar (2Kgs 16:14). The altar of Ahaz had to be central.

The altar of the LORD was not completely removed. The place where it stood was at a distance from its central position, so that it was reminder of the LORD’s service, but at a distance, as it were.

Ahaz determined that from then on the great altar, his altar, must be used to bring the prescribed sacrifices (2Kgs 16:15). He ordered the priest Urijah to see to it that his instructions are followed. He dismissed the bronze altar of the LORD for sacrificial service to the true God. Instead, he made it a place where he could approach demons to seek their advice.

Ahaz’s drive for innovation knew no bounds. The next part of the old worship to be removed was the bronze sea that stood on twelve oxen. He cut off the borders of the stands, and removed the laver from them (2Kgs 16:17). He also took down the sea from the bronze oxen. He shows his thinking (in this picture) that cleanliness is not necessary to be able to do service in the house of the LORD.

The oxen were not a decoration for the bronze sea, but formed the basis for cleansing. It is a picture that speaks of the fact that cleansing must be done on the foundation of the sacrifice of Christ. Oxen speak of His service which He continually performs for us. That foundation is replaced by a stone floor, a foundation made by people.

Ahaz also demolished the covered way for the Sabbath, for his urge to modernize (2Kgs 16:18). What exactly the covered way for the sabbath was is not clear. It is thought that there was a covered place in the temple, where the king sat on the sabbath during his visit to the temple. This may well be possible, because the removal of the covered way for sabbath was linked to the removal of “the outer entry of the king” (cf. 1Kgs 10:5; Eze 46:1-2). It shows his contempt for the sabbath – which speaks of the rest of God and His people – and the absolute unwillingness as king to be connected to the dwelling place of God. He refused to acknowledge that he could only be king if he acknowledged that God was his Lord.

He ordered the destruction of everything reminding of the service of the true God. All his actions meant the abolition of true service to God. He established a religion that was completely to his taste. That’s the tried and true method of disregarding what God had to say about it. It is important to ask God how He wants us to worship. For us, that means that we consult His Word in an attitude of submission to what He says.

It does not mean that our worship must always follow certain fixed patterns through standard formulations. The Holy Spirit will show us different aspects each time for which we can and want to worship God. There is no liturgy to be devised.

Someone rightly said: We should not play with our worship and cheer it up with interviews and entertaining performances. Remarkably enough, he added: “In the church I serve, our worship is carefully planned so that we never have the same thing on two consecutive Sundays.

When I read this, I couldn’t help but feel that the writer himself acted after Ahaz’s model, which he first (rightly) accused. Isn’t the Holy Spirit the only One Who can lead the worship of the church in such a way that every time worship is different, new and fresh, and that it still meets the ancient truths of God’s Word (cf. Jn 4:23-24)?