The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 175, Ahaz King Of Judah, Part Three

Yesterday we learned that the King Pekah of Israel and King Rezin of Aram teamed up to attack the nation of Judah. We read in yesterday's text that the Arameans defeated King Ahaz of Judah in at least one battle and took many of the people of Judah back with them to Damascus as captives. Today we see that the Israelites also defeated him in a battle and took many people back to their capital city as captives. "The Arameans defeated him and took many of his people as prisoners and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hands of the king of Israel, who inflicted many casualties on him. In one day Pekah son of Remaliah killed a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers in Judah---because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors." (2 Chronicles 28:5b-6)

We had already been told about Ahaz's idolatry. Here we learn that a number of the people have fallen into idolatry as well. Invasion and defeat by their enemies is a direct result of their forsaking of the Lord. The plan of King Pekah and King Rezin is to tear Judah apart and divide it between them and to appoint a puppet king (a man they refer to as "the son of Tabeel") over Judah. (Isaiah 7:6) It is assumed by many scholars that this son of Tabeel is an Aramean but we know nothing about him because the plan doesn't come to fruition. The Lord does not allow the Davidic Dynasty to be cut off; He made a promise to David that He will never break. In Isaiah 7 we will find the Lord saying to Ahaz through the prophet Isaiah that Aram and Israel will not be successful in taking over the kingdom of Judah. We will find the Lord urging Ahaz to place all his trust in Him, but Ahaz will not do it. Instead Ahaz will turn to the Assyrians for help and will be disappointed by them. 

Pekah and Rezin are not able to make the nation of Judah fall and they are not able to dethrone Ahaz but they do a great deal of damage. A man of the northern kingdom of Israel even manages to kill a son of the king. "Zikri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed Maaseiah the king's son, Azrikam the officer in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, second to the king. The men of Israel took captive from their fellow Israelites who were from Judah two hundred thousand wives, sons and daughters. They also took a great deal of plunder, which they carried back to Samaria." (2 Chronicles 28:7-8) 

We know that Ahaz sacrificed at least one son and perhaps several daughters to the Canaanite deity Molek. We don't know whether the son he sacrificed was his firstborn but the son named Maaseiah was likely the crown prince. This could mean that Maaseiah was the firstborn but it could also mean that he's the oldest surviving son. But Zikri kills him along with the two top men of Ahaz's administration. A different son, Hezekiah, will succeed Ahaz as king and Hezekiah will be one of the best kings Judah ever had. Perhaps Maaseiah was as evil as his father and the Lord allowed him to be killed in the war between Judah and Israel to spare Judah from being ruled by another idolatrous king right after Ahaz.

When the soldiers of Israel arrive at the capital city with the prisoners from Judah, a prophet goes out to meet them with a warning. "But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria. He said to them, 'Because the Lord, the God of your ancestors, was angry with Judah, He gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven. And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. But aren't you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God? Now listen to me! Send back your fellow Israelites you have taken as prisoners, for the Lord's fierce anger rests on you.'" (2 Chronicles 28:9-11) 

The Lord allowed the kingdom of Judah to be invaded by enemies as a method of correction for idolatry. But this didn't mean the soldiers of the northern kingdom had the right to do anything they pleased. They were merely an instrument of discipline in the Lord's hand but they themselves are not safe from His wrath, for they adhere to the golden calf religion put in place by Jeroboam I. The golden calf religion was intended to represent the Lord (although such representations were forbidden by Him) and in the very strictest sense of the word they are not precisely idolaters---at least not on the level of Ahaz and those who have followed him into the worship of false deities---but they have no right to look down on the people of Judah. They have no right to slaughter them unmercifully far beyond what took place in battle. They have no right to take over 200,000 captives from Judah with the intent to sell them as slaves. The people of Judah are the kinsmen of the people of the northern kingdom and in Leviticus 25 the Lord expressly forbade anyone of any tribe of Israel to make a slave out of anyone from any tribe of Israel.

The prophet Oded is saying something to the army of Israel that is similar to what the Apostle Paul said to the Christian church: "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (1 Corinthians 10:12) They have no business thinking they are any better than the people of Judah and should not boast against the kingdom of Judah. The Lord is just as capable of humbling the northern kingdom as He was in humbling the southern kingdom.

To their credit, the top officials of Israel take the prophet's words to heart. "Then some of the leaders in Ephraim---Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai---confronted those who were arriving from the war. 'You must not bring those prisoners here,' they said, 'or we will be guilty before the Lord. Do you intend to add to our sin and guilt? For our guilt is already great, and His fierce anger rests on Israel.'" (2 Chronicles 28:12-13) 

The soldiers stood to gain a lot of money by selling these captives as slaves but when confronted by the leaders they release the captives. They likely could have held onto them by force but I think that they took the words of the leaders to heart, just as the leaders took the words of Oded to heart. They still fear the Lord, though they are not worshiping Him in the right ways or in the right place, and they do not want His wrath falling upon them. They acknowledge that they did wrong in taking the captives and they set them free, along with the plunder they took from them. "So the soldiers gave up the prisoners and plunder in the presence of the officials and all the assembly. The men designated by name took the prisoners, and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked. They provided them with clothes and sandals, food and drink, and healing balm. All those who were weak they put on donkeys. So they took them back to their fellow Israelites at Jericho, the City of Palms, and returned to Samaria." (2 Chronicles 28:14-15)

Ahaz didn't respond correctly to the Lord's discipline and he won't respond correctly to the Lord's mercy either. It won't soften his heart that the Lord allowed him to retain his throne and his nation. It won't soften his heart that the Lord sent the captives back to Judah. Rather than turning to the Lord, Ahaz will turn to Assyria and to even more false gods.