2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 16:1 HE DID NOT DO WHAT WAS RIGHT. Under Jotham’s son AHAZ, Judah returns to officially sanctioned idolatry. The HIGH PLACES become centers of Canaanite religion (see 1 Kings 14:23), which includes child sacrifice (see 1 Kings 16:34). ⇐ ⇔... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 16:6 REZIN... RECOVERED ELATH FOR SYRIA. This town had only recently been won back for Judah by Azariah (2 Kings 14:22). Rezin briefly reestablishes Syrian control and then surrenders Elath to the Edomites. It appears the Edomites are allies with the Philistines in the assaul... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 16:7 I AM YOUR SERVANT. Rather than turning to the Lord for help, Ahaz agrees to be ruled by Assyria. Ahaz asks for Assyria’s help, which arrives in the form of the Assyrian campaigns of 733–732 B.C. in Syria-Palestine. (See 2 Kings 15:27 and note.) KIR was the original home... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 16:10 Ahaz travels to Damascus to meet his new Assyrian overlord (see note on vv. 7–9). Ahaz is so impressed by a pagan ALTAR he sees in DAMASCUS that he has a copy of it set up in Jerusalem. Ahaz’s religion is a full-fledged mixing of the Israelite true religion with the pag... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 16:17 CUT OFF THE FRAMES... TOOK DOWN THE SEA. See 1 Kings 7:23. Ahaz desecrates the furnishings of the temple in order not to offend his new master, Tiglath-pileser (BECAUSE OF THE KING OF ASSYRIA). Obedience to the Lord is gone, and therefore the Lord’s blessing and protect... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 16:19 CHRONICLES OF THE KINGS. See note on 1 Kings 14:19. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]