In 2 Kings 16:5-9, we can see that Pekah, the king of Israel, and Rezin, the king of Aram waged war against Ahaz and Judah. In this passage, we are not told why they had come against Judah. This is where Isaiah 7:1-9 fill in the gap for us. Assyria under Tiglath-Pileser III was a dominant force at that time and they were bullying the smaller surrounding nations. Kings Pekah and Rezin, in their attempt to protect themselves from menacing Assyria, sought to rope in King Ahaz and Judah to strengthen the coalition. But the latter would not join them. So Isaiah 7:6 tells us that Pekah and Rezin sought to depose Ahaz and put Tabeel as a puppet king in his place.
In
2 Kings 16:6, we are told that Razin managed
to retake Elath. This was the city in which 2 Kings 14:22 tells us that King Uzziah built Elath
and restored it to Judah. Now Razin had occupied it, evacuated the Judeans from
that city, and populated it with the Arameans. From Isaiah 7:2, that we learn that when Ahaz heard
that the Aramean had camped in Elath, he and the people of Israel were
disheartened. They panicked and shook like leaves in a tree shaken by the wind.
However, despite Ahaz's unfaithfulness, Isaiah was sent by God to tell him to
stay calm and not panic. But he chose not
to trust the message given to him by God. And this is where 2 Kings 16:7-9 continue
the story.
Instead
of trusting God, Ahaz sought the help of Tiglath-Pileser. He sent a humiliating message to him and put Judah under the
domination of Assyria. Hear what he said, to the king of Assyria in 2 Kings 16:7,
“I am your servant and your son; come up
and deliver me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of
the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.”
On top of this, he took the silver and gold from the house of the Lord and
the treasury of the palace and sent them as presents to the king of Assyria. So verse 9 said that “the
king of Assyria listened to him; …went up against Damascus and captured
it, and carried the people of it away into exile to Kir,
and put Rezin to death.” He seemed to have won in the conflict with the
coalition, but he had unwittingly put himself into needless problems. This
victory over the coalition forces led Ahaz deeper into idolatry.
Ahaz
had jumped from the frying pan into the fire. He chose to depend on his own inventiveness
rather than God. He would rather depend on Tiglath-Pileser than on God. What
foolishness! Here is the lesson for us, no matter how hard our circumstances
in life may be, always turn to eth Lord and trust Him. Take the word of
Proverbs 3:5-7 to heart:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
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