2 Kings 16:1-9: a reflection

1In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. 2Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He didn’t do that which was right in the LORD his God’s eyes, like David his father. 3But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel. 4He sacrificed and burned incense in the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. 5Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war. They besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. 6At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews from Elath; and the Syrians came to Elath, and live there to this day. 7So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.” 8Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the LORD’s house, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. 9The king of Assyria listened to him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it, and carried its people captive to Kir, and killed Rezin.

When King Ahaz was threatened by enemies, he turned not to God but to a foreign power for help, even stripping the treasures of God's house to buy an alliance, a picture of trusting worldly power instead of God in trouble. Ahaz sent messengers to the king of Assyria, saying, I am your servant; come up and save me, the account says; and he took the silver and gold from the LORD's house and sent it as a present to buy the king's help. Faced with threat, Ahaz did not seek the LORD or trust him to deliver; he turned instead to a stronger earthly king, making himself the servant of Assyria and even plundering the house of God to pay for the alliance. He trusted worldly power and human help rather than God to deliver him. This shows the folly of trusting worldly power instead of God in trouble. In trouble, do not turn to worldly power instead of trusting God. Ahaz bought help from the strong rather than seeking the Lord. Trusting human alliances over God is a costly folly. Seek God in your trouble, rather than leaning on worldly help.

Notice what Ahaz did when threatened. He was in real danger, pressed by enemies who came against him. In such a moment, he might have sought the LORD, trusted God to deliver him, turned to the one who could truly save. But Ahaz did none of this. He turned instead to the king of Assyria, a stronger earthly power, making himself that king's servant and begging for rescue; and to pay for this help, he stripped the silver and gold from the house of the LORD, plundering God's house to buy a worldly alliance. He trusted human power and paid for it dearly, rather than trusting God. This holds a warning about where we turn in trouble. When we are threatened, pressed, in danger, we face a choice, though we may not name it, about where to turn for help: to God, or to worldly power and human resources. It can be tempting, like Ahaz, to turn to worldly power, to human alliances, to what seems strong and able to protect us, rather than to God, and even to sacrifice what belongs to God, our devotion, our faithfulness, our integrity, to secure such worldly help. But to trust worldly power instead of God is a costly folly; it makes us servants of what we lean on, and it can cost us dearly, including what is God's. The wiser way is to seek God in our trouble, to trust him to deliver, rather than leaning first on worldly help. We do well, in trouble, to seek and trust God rather than turning to worldly power in his place. In trouble, seek and trust God rather than turning to worldly power in his place. Do not sacrifice what is God's to buy the help of the strong. Trusting human alliances over God makes us servants of what we lean on. Turn first to God, who can truly save, not to worldly help.

That is worth taking to heart, for it is folly to trust worldly power instead of God in trouble, and we do well to seek God, as Ahaz wrongly turned to Assyria and plundered God's house. We can turn to worldly power and human help when threatened; but Ahaz, seeking the strong king's help rather than God's, made himself a servant and paid dearly. Seek God. When you are in trouble, do not turn first to worldly power in God's place; seek and trust God, who can truly save, rather than leaning on human help. In trouble, seek and trust God rather than turning to worldly power in his place or sacrificing what is his to buy the help of the strong, as when King Ahaz was threatened by enemies he turned not to God but to a foreign power for help, even stripping the treasures of God's house to buy an alliance, a picture of trusting worldly power instead of God, since he sent to the king of Assyria calling himself his servant and asking to be saved, and took the silver and gold from the LORD's house to buy his help; for faced with threat Ahaz did not seek the LORD or trust him to deliver but turned to a stronger earthly king, making himself Assyria's servant and plundering the house of God to pay for the alliance, trusting worldly power and human help rather than God, which holds a warning about where we turn in trouble, since when we are threatened and in danger we face a choice about where to turn for help, to God or to worldly power, and it can be tempting like Ahaz to turn to worldly power and human alliances and what seems strong rather than to God, and even to sacrifice what belongs to God, our devotion, faithfulness, and integrity, to secure such help, but to trust worldly power instead of God is a costly folly that makes us servants of what we lean on and can cost us dearly, so that the wiser way is to seek God in our trouble and trust him to deliver rather than leaning first on worldly help, and we do well to do so.

Lord, when King Ahaz was threatened by enemies, he turned not to you but to a foreign power for help, even stripping the treasures of your house to buy an alliance, a picture of trusting worldly power instead of you in trouble. Ahaz sent messengers to the king of Assyria, saying, I am your servant; come up and save me, the account says; and he took the silver and gold from the LORD's house and sent it as a present to buy the king's help. Faced with threat, Ahaz did not seek you or trust you to deliver; he turned instead to a stronger earthly king, making himself the servant of Assyria and even plundering your house to pay for the alliance. He trusted worldly power rather than you to deliver him. Show me what Ahaz did when threatened. He was in real danger, pressed by enemies. In such a moment, he might have sought you, trusted you to deliver, turned to the one who could truly save. But he did none of this. He turned instead to a stronger earthly power, making himself that king's servant and begging for rescue; and to pay for this help, he stripped the silver and gold from your house. He trusted human power and paid for it dearly, rather than trusting you. This holds a warning about where I turn in trouble. When I am threatened, pressed, in danger, I face a choice about where to turn for help: to you, or to worldly power and human resources. It can be tempting, like Ahaz, to turn to worldly power, to what seems strong and able to protect me, rather than to you, and even to sacrifice what belongs to you, my devotion, my faithfulness, my integrity, to secure such help. But to trust worldly power instead of you is a costly folly; it makes me a servant of what I lean on. The wiser way is to seek you in my trouble, to trust you to deliver. Take that to my heart. When I am in trouble, keep me from turning first to worldly power in your place, or sacrificing what is yours to buy the help of the strong; help me seek and trust you, Lord, who can truly save, rather than leaning on human help.