2 Kings 16 Study Notes: Ahaz Turns to Assyria
Ahaz of Judah turns from the LORD, even sacrificing his son. Besieged by Aram and Israel, he pays the Assyrian king with temple treasure to rescue him, and Assyria takes Damascus. Ahaz then copies a foreign altar for the temple, sets aside the LORD’s bronze altar, and reshapes the temple for Assyria’s sake.
General
Facing Rezin and Pekah, where did Ahaz turn for rescue (2 Kings 16:7-8)?
Answer: He called himself Assyria’s servant and paid with temple treasure
Instead of trusting the LORD, Ahaz sent envoys to the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser, calling himself his servant and son and begging him to come and rescue him from Aram’s and Israel’s kings (16:7). To back up the request, he took silver and gold from the temple and the palace treasuries and sent it to Assyria as payment (16:8). By placing himself under Assyria, Ahaz relied on a foreign ruler rather than on the LORD, who had told him through Isaiah not to fear these two kings (Isaiah 7:4). Scripture warns against trusting in princes, who cannot save (Psalm 146:3), and pronounces a curse on the one who leans on human power (Jeremiah 17:5).
- 2 Kings 16:7-8 (BSB)“So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.” Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s palace, and he sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.”Ahaz submits to Tiglath-pileser and pays him with temple and palace treasure.
- Isaiah 7:4 (BSB)“and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.”Through Isaiah the LORD had told Ahaz not to fear Rezin and the son of Remaliah.
- Psalm 146:3 (BSB)“Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.”Scripture warns against trusting rulers, who cannot save.
- Jeremiah 17:5 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.”Relying on human strength instead of the LORD brings a curse.
Theological
What course did Ahaz take against the Aramean and Israelite coalition (2 Kings 16:7-8)?
Answer: He called himself Assyria’s servant and paid with temple treasure
Ahaz answers the threat by submitting to Tiglath-pileser as his servant and son and pleading for rescue from Aram and Israel (16:7), paying for the alliance with silver and gold from the temple and palace treasuries (16:8). In effect Ahaz seeks from Assyria the protection the LORD had offered through Isaiah, who told him not to fear the two kings (Isaiah 7:4). Scripture warns against trusting princes who cannot save (Psalm 146:3) and curses the one who abandons the LORD to rely on man (Jeremiah 17:5).
- 2 Kings 16:7-8 (BSB)“So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.” Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s palace, and he sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.”Ahaz submits to Tiglath-pileser and pays him with temple and palace treasure.
- Isaiah 7:4 (BSB)“and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.”Through Isaiah the LORD had told Ahaz not to fear Rezin and the son of Remaliah.
- Psalm 146:3 (BSB)“Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.”Scripture warns against trusting rulers, who cannot save.
- Jeremiah 17:5 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.”Relying on human strength instead of the LORD brings a curse.
General
Among Ahaz’s sins, what does 2 Kings 16:3 say he did to his own son?
Answer: He sacrificed him in the fire, copying the practices of the nations
Unlike David, Ahaz failed to please the LORD (16:2). The narrator says plainly that he went so far as to offer his own son as a sacrifice by fire, following the detestable practices of the nations God had expelled from the land before Israel (16:3). This was child sacrifice. God’s law had forbidden it outright: Israel was not to copy the loathsome customs of those nations, and no Israelite was ever to offer a child in this way (Deuteronomy 18:9-10). Giving children as sacrifices to the god Molech profaned the LORD’s name (Leviticus 18:21). The very sins for which the LORD had removed the nations from the land were now being practiced by a king of David’s line.
- 2 Kings 16:2 (BSB)“Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. And unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God.”Ahaz, unlike David, did not do what was right in the LORD’s eyes.
- Deuteronomy 18:9-10 (BSB)“When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,”The law forbade Israel to imitate the nations by sacrificing children.
- Leviticus 18:21 (BSB)“You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.”Offering children to Molech profaned the LORD’s name.
Theological
What act does 2 Kings 16:3 record Ahaz committing against his own son?
Answer: He sacrificed him in the fire, copying the practices of the nations
Measured against David and found wanting (16:2), Ahaz offers his son as a burnt sacrifice, conforming to the abhorrent customs of the peoples the LORD had dispossessed before Israel (16:3). The Torah had prohibited this explicitly, forbidding Israel to adopt the detestable customs of Canaan, child sacrifice first among them (Deuteronomy 18:9-10), and condemning the giving of children to Molech as a profaning of God’s name (Leviticus 18:21). That a Davidic king reproduces the very sins for which the Canaanites were expelled shows how far Judah has fallen.
- 2 Kings 16:2 (BSB)“Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. And unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God.”Ahaz, unlike David, did not do what was right in the LORD’s eyes.
- Deuteronomy 18:9-10 (BSB)“When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,”The law forbade Israel to imitate the nations by sacrificing children.
- Leviticus 18:21 (BSB)“You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.”Offering children to Molech profaned the LORD’s name.
General
How does the narrator sum up Ahaz’s reign (2 Kings 16:2-4)?
Answer: He failed to do right as David had, and copied Israel’s kings
Ahaz receives a sharply negative verdict. Unlike his ancestor David, he failed to please his God; instead he followed the path of Israel’s northern kings (16:2-3), whom the book has condemned again and again for idolatry. He also offered sacrifices and incense at the high places, local hilltop shrines, and on hills and beneath leafy trees across the land (16:4), the kind of sites God’s law had ordered Israel to destroy (Deuteronomy 12:2). An earlier king of Judah, Jehoram, had been judged the same way for following Israel’s kings and Ahab’s family (2 Kings 8:18). By contrast, Ahaz’s son Hezekiah would match David fully (2 Kings 18:3).
- 2 Kings 16:2 (BSB)“Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. And unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God.”Ahaz is judged as failing to do right, unlike David.
- 2 Kings 16:4 (BSB)“And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.”Ahaz worships at the high places and hilltop shrines.
- Deuteronomy 12:2 (BSB)“Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.”The law ordered Israel to destroy the nations’ worship sites on the hills and beneath the trees.
- 2 Kings 8:18 (BSB)“And Jehoram walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done. For he married a daughter of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the LORD.”Jehoram of Judah had been condemned for following Israel’s kings in the same way.
- 2 Kings 18:3 (BSB)“And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done.”Hezekiah, Ahaz’s son, is later said to match David, in contrast to his father.
Theological
What is the narrator’s verdict on Ahaz (2 Kings 16:2-4)?
Answer: He failed to do right as David had, and copied Israel’s kings
The verdict on Ahaz is unqualified: measured against David, he fails to do what is right, conforming instead to the pattern of Israel’s apostate kings (16:2-3), and he practices worship at the high places and at hilltop and tree shrines throughout the land (16:4), the very kind of sites Deuteronomy ordered destroyed (Deuteronomy 12:2). Jehoram of Judah had received a similar indictment for aligning with Israel’s kings and Ahab’s house (2 Kings 8:18), while Ahaz’s own son Hezekiah will match David fully (2 Kings 18:3).
- 2 Kings 16:2 (BSB)“Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. And unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God.”Ahaz is judged as failing to do right, unlike David.
- 2 Kings 16:4 (BSB)“And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.”Ahaz worships at the high places and hilltop shrines.
- Deuteronomy 12:2 (BSB)“Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.”The law ordered Israel to destroy the nations’ worship sites on the hills and beneath the trees.
- 2 Kings 8:18 (BSB)“And Jehoram walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done. For he married a daughter of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the LORD.”Jehoram of Judah had been condemned for following Israel’s kings in the same way.
- 2 Kings 18:3 (BSB)“And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done.”Hezekiah, Ahaz’s son, is later said to match David, in contrast to his father.
General
What did Ahaz do after he saw an altar at Damascus (2 Kings 16:10-11)?
Answer: He sent its design to Uriah the priest, who built a copy at home
While visiting Damascus for his meeting with the Assyrian king, Ahaz saw an altar there and had a model and full plans of it sent to Uriah the priest. Uriah built the altar exactly to the king’s specifications and finished it before Ahaz came home (16:10-11). The king then went up to it and offered his own sacrifices on it (16:12-13). The LORD had given Moses the pattern for His sanctuary and told him to make everything by the pattern shown on the mountain (Exodus 25:40), a command the New Testament repeats when it explains that the earthly sanctuary was a copy of heavenly realities (Hebrews 8:5). Ahaz instead took his pattern from a foreign capital, and the priest went along with it.
- 2 Kings 16:10-11 (BSB)“Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. On seeing the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction. And Uriah the priest built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, and he completed it before King Ahaz returned.”Ahaz sends the plans of the Damascus altar to Uriah, who builds a copy.
- 2 Kings 16:12-13 (BSB)“When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it. He offered his burnt offering and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and splattered the blood of his peace offerings on the altar.”Ahaz offers his sacrifices on the new altar.
- Exodus 25:40 (BSB)“See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”God required His sanctuary to follow the pattern He revealed.
- Hebrews 8:5 (BSB)“The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.””Hebrews repeats the command to follow the pattern God showed Moses.
Theological
How did Ahaz respond to the altar he saw at Damascus (2 Kings 16:10-11)?
Answer: He sent its design to Uriah the priest, who built a copy at home
Visiting Damascus to meet his new overlord, Ahaz has the design of the altar there sent to Uriah the priest, who builds a replica before the king returns (16:10-11), and Ahaz inaugurates it with his own offerings (16:12-13). Israel’s worship was to follow the pattern the LORD revealed to Moses on the mountain (Exodus 25:40), a principle Hebrews applies to the earthly sanctuary as a copy of the heavenly (Hebrews 8:5). Ahaz replaces the revealed pattern with one taken from a foreign capital, and the priesthood complies.
- 2 Kings 16:10-11 (BSB)“Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. On seeing the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction. And Uriah the priest built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, and he completed it before King Ahaz returned.”Ahaz sends the plans of the Damascus altar to Uriah, who builds a copy.
- 2 Kings 16:12-13 (BSB)“When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it. He offered his burnt offering and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and splattered the blood of his peace offerings on the altar.”Ahaz offers his sacrifices on the new altar.
- Exodus 25:40 (BSB)“See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”God required His sanctuary to follow the pattern He revealed.
- Hebrews 8:5 (BSB)“The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.””Hebrews repeats the command to follow the pattern God showed Moses.
General
What did Ahaz do with the LORD’s bronze altar once the new altar was in place (2 Kings 16:14-15)?
Answer: He moved it aside and kept it for himself, to use for seeking guidance
The bronze altar was the LORD’s own altar, which stood before the temple’s entrance (16:14; see 1 Kings 8:64). Ahaz moved it out of its place and set it to the north of his new altar. He then ordered Uriah to offer all the regular sacrifices, the daily morning and evening offerings, the king’s offerings and the people’s, on the new great altar, while he kept the bronze altar for himself to use for seeking guidance (16:15). Uriah did everything the king commanded (16:16). God Himself had prescribed a bronze-covered altar for His sanctuary in Moses’ day (Exodus 27:1-2); now the LORD’s altar was pushed aside for one copied from Damascus.
- 2 Kings 16:14-15 (BSB)“He also took the bronze altar that stood before the LORD from the front of the temple (between the new altar and the house of the LORD) and he put it on the north side of the new altar. Then King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, and the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, as well as the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings of all the people of the land. Splatter on the altar all the blood of the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar to seek guidance.””Ahaz moves the bronze altar aside and orders all offerings made on the new altar.
- 2 Kings 16:16 (BSB)“So Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had commanded.”Uriah the priest carries out the king’s orders.
- 1 Kings 8:64 (BSB)“On that same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard in front of the house of the LORD, and there he offered the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, since the bronze altar before the LORD was too small to contain all these offerings.”The bronze altar stood before the LORD from Solomon’s day.
- Exodus 27:1-2 (BSB)““You are to build an altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high. Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece, and overlay it with bronze.”God Himself commanded a bronze-covered altar for His sanctuary.
Theological
How did Ahaz treat the bronze altar after installing the new one (2 Kings 16:14-15)?
Answer: He moved it aside and kept it for himself, to use for seeking guidance
Ahaz displaces the LORD’s bronze altar (16:14; cf. 1 Kings 8:64), moving it to the north side, and transfers the whole sacrificial system, the daily offerings, the king’s, and the people’s, to the great altar of Damascene design, reserving the bronze altar for his own inquiry (16:15). Uriah complies fully (16:16). God had prescribed a bronze-covered altar for the tabernacle (Exodus 27:1-2); now the LORD’s altar is relegated in favor of a foreign model, worship reshaped by the king rather than by God’s command.
- 2 Kings 16:14-15 (BSB)“He also took the bronze altar that stood before the LORD from the front of the temple (between the new altar and the house of the LORD) and he put it on the north side of the new altar. Then King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, and the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, as well as the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings of all the people of the land. Splatter on the altar all the blood of the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar to seek guidance.””Ahaz moves the bronze altar aside and orders all offerings made on the new altar.
- 2 Kings 16:16 (BSB)“So Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had commanded.”Uriah the priest carries out the king’s orders.
- 1 Kings 8:64 (BSB)“On that same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard in front of the house of the LORD, and there he offered the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, since the bronze altar before the LORD was too small to contain all these offerings.”The bronze altar stood before the LORD from Solomon’s day.
- Exodus 27:1-2 (BSB)““You are to build an altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high. Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece, and overlay it with bronze.”God Himself commanded a bronze-covered altar for His sanctuary.
General
How did the Assyrian king respond to Ahaz’s request (2 Kings 16:9)?
Answer: He took Damascus, exiled its population to Kir, and killed Rezin
Tiglath-pileser answered Ahaz’s appeal. He marched against Damascus, the capital of Aram, captured it, carried its people away to Kir, and killed Rezin (16:9). This matched what the LORD had announced through the prophet Amos, that He would smash the gates of Aram’s capital and that Aram’s people would be carried off to Kir (Amos 1:5). Assyria acted for its own reasons, yet the outcome followed God’s word. Isaiah had also told Ahaz that the territory of both kings he feared would soon be laid waste (Isaiah 7:16).
- 2 Kings 16:9 (BSB)“So the king of Assyria responded to him, marched up to Damascus, and captured it. He took its people to Kir as captives and put Rezin to death.”Assyria captures Damascus, exiles its people to Kir, and kills Rezin.
- Amos 1:5 (BSB)“I will break down the gates of Damascus; I will cut off the ruler from the Valley of Aven and the one who wields the scepter in Beth-eden. The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir,” says the LORD.”Amos had announced that Aram’s people would be exiled to Kir.
- Isaiah 7:16 (BSB)“For before the boy knows enough to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.”Isaiah promised Ahaz that the two kings’ land would be laid waste.
Theological
What was the outcome of Ahaz’s appeal to Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings 16:9)?
Answer: He took Damascus, exiled its population to Kir, and killed Rezin
Tiglath-pileser takes Damascus, deports its population to Kir, and executes Rezin (16:9). The result corresponds precisely to the LORD’s word through Amos against Damascus, which named Kir as Aram’s place of exile (Amos 1:5), and to Isaiah’s assurance that the territory of both kings Ahaz dreaded would be desolated (Isaiah 7:16). Assyria pursues its own ambitions, yet the LORD’s word governs the outcome.
- 2 Kings 16:9 (BSB)“So the king of Assyria responded to him, marched up to Damascus, and captured it. He took its people to Kir as captives and put Rezin to death.”Assyria captures Damascus, exiles its people to Kir, and kills Rezin.
- Amos 1:5 (BSB)“I will break down the gates of Damascus; I will cut off the ruler from the Valley of Aven and the one who wields the scepter in Beth-eden. The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir,” says the LORD.”Amos had announced that Aram’s people would be exiled to Kir.
- Isaiah 7:16 (BSB)“For before the boy knows enough to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.”Isaiah promised Ahaz that the two kings’ land would be laid waste.
General
When Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah marched against Jerusalem, what was the outcome (2 Kings 16:5)?
Answer: They laid siege to Ahaz but were unable to defeat him
Rezin and Pekah came up to make war on Jerusalem and laid siege to Ahaz, but they could not conquer him (16:5). Isaiah 7 tells the same crisis from the prophet’s side. The two kings could not take the city (Isaiah 7:1), and the LORD sent Isaiah to tell Ahaz to be calm and not to fear these two kings, who were like burned-out sticks (Isaiah 7:4). Isaiah also warned Ahaz that his standing depended on firm faith in the LORD (Isaiah 7:9). Ahaz, however, looked elsewhere for help, as the next verses show.
- 2 Kings 16:5 (BSB)“Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him.”Rezin and Pekah besiege Ahaz in Jerusalem but cannot defeat him.
- Isaiah 7:1 (BSB)“Now in the days that Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram marched up to wage war against Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Pekah son of Remaliah the king of Israel, but he could not overpower the city.”Isaiah confirms that the two kings could not overpower Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 7:4 (BSB)“and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.”The LORD told Ahaz not to fear these two kings.
- Isaiah 7:9 (BSB)“The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.’””Isaiah called Ahaz to stand firm in faith.
Theological
What was the result of the Aramean-Israelite assault on Jerusalem (2 Kings 16:5)?
Answer: They laid siege to Ahaz but were unable to defeat him
The coalition besieges Ahaz but fails to defeat him (16:5). Isaiah 7 narrates the same crisis from the prophetic side: the city could not be taken (Isaiah 7:1), the LORD told Ahaz not to fear two kings who were already burning out (Isaiah 7:4), and Isaiah warned that Ahaz’s security depended on faith (Isaiah 7:9). Ahaz’s next move shows where his trust actually lay.
- 2 Kings 16:5 (BSB)“Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him.”Rezin and Pekah besiege Ahaz in Jerusalem but cannot defeat him.
- Isaiah 7:1 (BSB)“Now in the days that Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram marched up to wage war against Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Pekah son of Remaliah the king of Israel, but he could not overpower the city.”Isaiah confirms that the two kings could not overpower Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 7:4 (BSB)“and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.”The LORD told Ahaz not to fear these two kings.
- Isaiah 7:9 (BSB)“The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.’””Isaiah called Ahaz to stand firm in faith.
General
True or False: The narrator says Ahaz made changes to the temple because of the Assyrian king (2 Kings 16:17-18).
Answer: True
This is true. Ahaz cut away the side panels of the movable bronze stands and removed their basins, lifted the great bronze basin called the Sea off its bronze oxen and set it on stone, and, because of the Assyrian king, removed the covered Sabbath structure and closed off the king’s outer entrance to the temple (16:17-18). The stands and the Sea were furnishings Solomon had made for the LORD’s house; the Sea had rested on twelve bronze oxen (1 Kings 7:25). Ahaz had already emptied the temple’s silver and gold to pay the Assyrian king (16:8); now his submission to Assyria reached into the temple’s very furnishings.
- 2 Kings 16:17-18 (BSB)“King Ahaz also cut off the frames of the movable stands and removed the bronze basin from each of them. He took down the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone base. And on account of the king of Assyria, he removed the Sabbath canopy they had built in the temple and closed the royal entryway outside the house of the LORD.”Ahaz alters the temple furnishings and entrances because of the Assyrian king.
- 1 Kings 7:25 (BSB)“The Sea stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The Sea rested on them, with all their hindquarters toward the center.”Solomon had set the Sea on twelve bronze oxen, which Ahaz removed.
- 2 Kings 16:8 (BSB)“Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s palace, and he sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.”Ahaz had already sent the temple’s silver and gold to the king of Assyria.
Theological
True or False: 2 Kings 16:18 links Ahaz’s alterations to the temple to the Assyrian king.
Answer: True
This is true. Ahaz dismantles the bronze stands and their basins, lifts the Sea off its bronze oxen onto stone, and, on the Assyrian king’s account, takes away the Sabbath canopy and closes the royal entrance (16:17-18). The stands and the Sea were Solomonic furnishings of the temple (1 Kings 7:25). Having already paid Assyria with the temple’s silver and gold (16:8), Ahaz now lets political subjection reshape the LORD’s house itself.
- 2 Kings 16:17-18 (BSB)“King Ahaz also cut off the frames of the movable stands and removed the bronze basin from each of them. He took down the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone base. And on account of the king of Assyria, he removed the Sabbath canopy they had built in the temple and closed the royal entryway outside the house of the LORD.”Ahaz alters the temple furnishings and entrances because of the Assyrian king.
- 1 Kings 7:25 (BSB)“The Sea stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The Sea rested on them, with all their hindquarters toward the center.”Solomon had set the Sea on twelve bronze oxen, which Ahaz removed.
- 2 Kings 16:8 (BSB)“Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s palace, and he sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.”Ahaz had already sent the temple’s silver and gold to the king of Assyria.