Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / February 27 - 2 Kings 16

Transcript

February 27 - 2 Kings 16 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean. Here it is Thursday, it's the
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  27th of February. And here we are again, ready to
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  read some more of this fascinating story of king after
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  king after king. Well, today is a little bit
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  different. Today we're only going to hear
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  about one king and it's a it's a short reading today.
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  And today we hear a king attempting the opposite strategy
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  of of what the other kings around him have been doing.
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  Other kings are aligned with other small nations to try and
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  stand up against the larger force.
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  But in this reading today, we hear of this King Ahaz, who
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  doesn't do what God wants him to do.
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  But instead when he sees this great force coming down, he says
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  to the force, how about I will become a vassal state for you?
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  And you might think, vassal, what the heck is a vassal?
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  It's not really a word that we use very much in the modern
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  world. So here's a little bit of
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  clarity for you. Back in the feudal world,
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  communities would come before the overlord and they would say,
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  we will do whatever you ask us to do.
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  We will submit to you in return for your protection of us.
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  And so they become this what they called a vassal, this
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  province, if you like, of this overlord agreeing to do whatever
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  it is that they are asked to do. They capitulate, they surrender,
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  and they become a party to the greater force, but in the
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  process do not get destroyed. So we'll call this the Ahaz
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  plan, and you'll see how that plays out in today's reading.
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  So let's get to it. Let us read this short reading
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  together hearing about the ways of the kings trying to survive
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  in a very dog eat dog world as we read together Second Kings
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  chapter 16. Ahaz, son of Jotham began to
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  rule over Judah in the 17th year of King Pika's reign in Israel.
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  Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king, and he reigned in
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  Jerusalem 16 years. He did not do what was pleasing
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  in the sight of the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had
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  done. Instead, he followed the example
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  of the kings of Israel, even sacrificing his own son in the
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  fire. In this way he followed the
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  detestable practises of the Pagan nations the Lord had
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  driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.
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  He offered sacrifices and burnt incense at the Pagan shrines and
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  on the hills and under every green tree.
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  Then King Rezn of Aram and King Pika of Israel came up to attack
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  Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not
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  conquer him. At that time the king of Edom
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  recovered the town of Elath for Edom.
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  He drove out the people of Judah and sent Edomites to live there
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  as they do to this day. King Ahaz sent messages to King
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  Tiglath Pillasa of Assyria with this message.
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  I am your servant and your vassal.
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  Come up and rescue me from the attacking armies of Iran and
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  Israel. Then Ahaz took the silver and
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  gold from the Temple of the Lord and the palace treasury and sent
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  it as a payment to the Assyrian king.
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  So the king of Assyria attacked the Aramean capital of Damascus
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  and LED its population away as captives, resettling them in
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  Kerr. He also killed King Resin.
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  King Ahaz then went to Damascus to meet with King Tiglath
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  Pillasa of Assyria. While he was there, he took
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  special notes of the altar. Then he sent a model of the
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  altar to Uriah the priest, along with its design in full detail.
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  Uriah followed the King's instructions and built an altar
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  just like it, and it was ready before the king returned from
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  Damascus. When the king returned, he
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  inspected the altar and made offerings on it.
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  He presented a burnt offering and a grain offering.
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  He poured out a liquid offering, and he sprinkled the blood of
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  peace offerings on the altar. Then King Ahaz removed the old
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  bronze altar from its place in front of the Lord's temple
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  between the entrance and the new altar and placed it on the north
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  side of the new altar. He told Uriah the priest use the
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  new altar for the morning sacrifices of burnt offerings,
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  the evening grain offering, the King's burnt offering and grain
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  offering and the burnt offerings of all the people as well as
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  their grain offerings and liquid offerings.
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  Sprinkle the blood from all the burnt offerings and sacrifices
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  on the new altar. The bronze altar will be for my
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  personal use only. Uriah the priest did just as
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  King Ahab commanded him. Then the king removed the side
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  panels and basins from the portable water carts.
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  He also removed the great bronze basin called the sea from the
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  back of the bronze oxen and placed it on the stone pavement
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  in deference to the king of Assyria.
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  He also removed the canopy that had been constructed inside the
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  palace for use on the Sabbath day, as well as the King's outer
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  entrance to the Temple of the Lord.
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  The rest of the events in Ahaz's reign and everything he did are
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  recorded in the Book of the History of the Kings of Judah.
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  When Ahaz died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City
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  of David. Then his son Hezekiah became the
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  next King. Jesus, we are so grateful for
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  you that your love for us and your dedication to us does not
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  falter. We are such wayward folk, our
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  will and our desire and our behaviours, they just blow back
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  and forth like reeds in the wind as our hearts are so fickle.
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  Our Lord, but we can just rely on you that when you are
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  committed to us, that commitment is not reliant on us and on our
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  ability to be obedient to You. But you are steadfast in your
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  commitment to us, your love for us, and your provision for us.
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  Ah, we just thank you that your character, that your very
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  essence is that unchanging rock of grace, of justice, and of
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  love for us. Thank you for being a God who is
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  always for us. Ah, we don't deserve it, but we
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  are so grateful for it, for everything you've done for us,
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  Jesus. And so we place you at the
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  highest place in our lives and commit ourselves again afresh to
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  you today. And pray all of this in your
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  name, Amen.