Why should we care so much about our own traditions? Why not learn from what other people and cultures are doing today? That seems to have been Ahaz’ opinion. He was 20 years old when he became king, and even though his father Jotham and his grandfather Uzziah and his great-grandfather Amaziah had all walked in the ways of their ancestor David, worshipping the One True God at the Temple Solomon had built in Jerusalem, Ahaz decided to follow a different path. He built altars to the Canaanite storm god Baal (II Chronicles 28:2). He worshipped the gods of all the surrounding nations, even going so far as to murder some of his own children and offer them as human sacrifices (II Chronicles 28:3).

So, how did the other nations who worshipped these false gods react when Ahaz tried to join their club? Instead of welcoming him as an ally, they turned on him. The Edomites to his east and the Philistines to his west both launched attacks on him (II Chronicles 28:17-18). And then the Arameans and Israelites joined forces to defeat him in battle and besiege his capital city (II Chronicles 28:5-7). It turns out that there is as little honor among idolaters as there is among thieves.

But when Ahaz’ enemies surrounded him, instead of turning back to the God of his fathers, he reached out to the Assyrians, the preeminent military power of the day. He sent them a huge amount of money so they would attack the Israeli-Aramean coalition that had assembled against him (II Kings 16:7-9). And because he was so impressed with Assyrian power, he even made modifications to Solomon’s Temple, to bring the worship of the One True God into line with the way the Assyrians worshipped their false gods (II Kings 16:10-18). Yes, it’s a sad and sordid tale of infidelity and syncretism.

But, what about us? Yes, it’s easy to condemn the modern mobs that have clamored for so much of our American heritage to be expunged from our public spaces. And it’s easy to condemn the godless elites that have eroded the Christian heritage of so many of our institutions. But are we Christians really any more faithful to our own traditions?

After all, even though Christ has saved all who trust in Him at the cost of His lifeblood, how willing are we to turn our attention and even to give our devotion to all sorts of other things? Aren’t we often tempted to forget King Jesus and look instead to the false gods of money or pleasure or politics to solve our problems? In the face of poverty and pestilence, don’t we all too often give ourselves over to worry and despair instead of thanksgiving and faith? When it comes right down to it, are we really any more faithful to God than Ahaz was?

As we’ve seen, because Ahaz turned away from the faith of his fathers, he found none of the help, the relief, the peace that he craved. And the sad truth is that if we follow his example, we’ll end up with the same result.

II Chronicles 28:1-7 (NASB)

Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do right in the sight of the LORD as David his father had done.
2 But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; he also made molten images for the Baals.
3 Moreover, he burned incense in the valley of Ben-hinnom, and burned his sons in fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had driven out before the sons of Israel.
4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
5 Wherefore, the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Aram; and they defeated him and carried away from him a great number of captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who inflicted him with heavy casualties.
6 For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah 120,000 in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.
7 And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king’s son, and Azrikam the ruler of the house and Elkanah the second to the king.