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Prophets and Kings
had been formed against them. But repeated transgression had shorn
them of strength. Stricken with a nameless dread of the retributive
judgments of an offended God, the heart of the king “was moved, and
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the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the
wind.”
Isaiah 7:2
. In this crisis the word of the Lord came to Isaiah,
bidding him meet the trembling king and say:
“Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted .... Be-
cause Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel
against thee, saying, Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us
make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it: ... thus
saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.”
The prophet declared that the kingdom of Israel, and Syria as well,
would soon come to an end. “If ye will not believe,” he concluded,
“surely ye shall not be established.”
Verses 4-7, 9
.
Well would it have been for the kingdom of Judah had Ahaz re-
ceived this message as from heaven. But choosing to lean on the arm
of flesh, he sought help from the heathen. In desperation he sent word
to Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria: “I am thy servant and thy son:
come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out
of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.”
2 Kings
16:7
. The request was accompanied by a rich present from the king’s
treasure and from the temple storehouse.
The help asked for was sent, and King Ahaz was given temporary
relief, but at what a cost to Judah! The tribute offered aroused the
cupidity of Assyria, and that treacherous nation soon threatened to
overflow and spoil Judah. Ahaz and his unhappy subjects were now
harassed by the fear of falling completely into the hands of the cruel
Assyrians.
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“The Lord brought Judah low” because of continued transgression.
In this time of chastisement Ahaz, instead of repenting, trespassed “yet
more against the Lord: ... for he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus.”
“Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them,” he said, “therefore
will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me.”
2 Chronicles 28:19,
22, 23
.
As the apostate king neared the end of his reign, he caused the doors
of the temple to be closed. The sacred services were interrupted. No
longer were the candlesticks kept burning before the altar. No longer
were offerings made for the sins of the people. No longer did sweet