A King and Priest
And when the king came back from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king approached the altar and made offerings on it. So he burned his burnt offering and his grain offering; and he poured his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. (2 Kings 16:12-13)
King Ahaz of Judah gave his allegiance to the king of Assyria, and it was a shameful thing for a leader of God’s people to bow down to a pagan ruler. Ahaz also took note of the design of the altar at the idol temple in Damascus and brought that design back to Jerusalem. All of that was bad, but what Ahaz did next was worse.
We read Ahaz burned his burnt offering and his grain offering; and he poured his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. In Israel it was a strict law that kings should not be priests, and priests should not be king. But Ahaz was so bold in his rebellion that he served as a priest at the altar of his own design. Since he made his own place of worship, it also made sense that he would disregard God’s command that a king must not serve as a priest (Numbers 18:7).
Ahaz’s grandfather Uzziah also dared to enter the temple and serve God as a priest (2 Chronicles 26). Yet at least Uzziah falsely worshipped the true God. Ahaz falsely worshipped a false god of his own creation.
It was so bad that even Urijah the priest agreed to accept King Ahaz as a priest (2 Kings 16:16). Urijah not only allowed Ahaz to do this; he participated in his evil and idolatrous plans. This was in dramatic contrast to the priests in the days of King Uzziah, who did all they could to restrain the madness of the king (2 Chronicles 26:17-18). It is a sad fact that corrupt political leaders have almost always been able to find corrupt religious leaders to help them.
All this was terrible. Yet even this, in the way of contrast, points us to Jesus Christ. One of the many sins of Ahaz was his demand to be a priest, which God clearly prohibited. That is, until the offices of king, priest, and prophet would all be combined in the messiah, Jesus Christ. He is the prophet, being God’s last word (Hebrews 1:1-2). Jesus is the priest, being a High Priest forever (Hebrews 3:1). Jesus is a king, being the king of kings (1 Timothy 6:15).
It’s also true that God will so work in His people that it is their destiny to be kings and priests with Jesus (Revelation 1:6 and 5:10). The glory that Ahaz pursued in a disobedient and ungodly way is actually reserved for the people of God. But it is only because they are, by faith, connected to Jesus Messiah – who is the true king and priest.
Gottes Altar ablehnen
Da zog der König Ahas Tiglat-Pileser, dem König von Assyrien, entgegen nach Damaskus. Und als er den Altar sah, der in Damaskus war, da sandte der König Ahas dem Priester Urija ein Abbild des Altars, und zwar eine genaue Vorlage, wie er gemacht war. Und der Priester Urija ließ den Altar genau nach dem bauen, was der König Ahas von Damaskus aus gesandt hatte; so ließ ihn der Priester Urija anfertigen, bis der König Ahas aus Damaskus kam. (2. Könige 16,10-11)
König Ahas hatte entschieden, dass er sich lieber dem König von Assyrien ergeben wollte als dem König der Könige. Er lehnte Gott ab und bat den heidnischen Herrscher um Hilfe. Es war also gar nicht seltsam, dass er Tiglat-Pileser besuchen und dem König von Assyrien sich offiziell unterordnen wollte.
Als er dort war, sah Ahas etwas, das ihm sehr gefiel: er sah den Altar, der in Damaskus war. Er mochte diesen so sehr, dass Ahas dem Priester Urija ein Abbild des Altars, und zwar eine genaue Vorlage sandte. Nach diesen Plänen, die Ahas ihm gesandt hatte, baute Urija den heidnischenen Altar von Damaskus nach und war damit fertig als Ahas zurückkam. Ahas tat dies, um seinem neuen Herrn Tiglat-Pileser zu gefallen und auch um die neuesten Trends im Altarbau Design in Gottes Tempel zu bringen.
2.Chronik 28,23 erklärt warum König Ahas das, was er in Damaskus gesehen hatte, toll fand: Er opferte nämlich den Göttern von Damaskus, die ihn geschlagen hatten, indem er sprach: »Weil die Götter der Könige von Aram ihnen helfen, so will ich ihnen opfern, damit sie mir auch helfen!« Aber sie dienten nur dazu, ihn und ganz Israel zu Fall zu bringen.
Überlege einmal: ein König von Gottes Volk stellt tatsächlich einen heidnischen Altar im Tempel von Jerusalem auf. Er tat dies, weil er wusste, dass es den Heiden gefallen würde, weil ihm das moderne Design des Altar mochte, und weil er glaubte, dies würde ihm Erfolg bringen.
Klingt das nicht nach vielen Gemeinden heutzutage? Viele Gemeindeleiter von heute setzen ihr Vertrauen auf die Werkzeuge, die Techniken und die Prinzipien von weltlichem Erfolg. Sie glauben, die Götter von Damaskus würden ihnen Erfolg bringen. Wir möchten der Welt gefallen, so wie Ahas dem König von Assyrien gefallen wollte. Wir sind von den schicken Designs der Welt beeindruckt. Wir glauben, wenn wir die Welt nachahmen, bringt uns das Erfolg. Es ist traurig, wenn die Gemeinde sich an den Methoden und Prinzipien der Welt orientiert.
Die Sünde von Ahas endete nicht bei Ahas. Wir lesen: so ließ ihn der Prieste Urija anfertigen. Natürlich hatte Ahas mehr Schuld daran, doch der Hohepriester Urija machte sich auch schuldig. Zusammen brachten sie sich und ganz Israel zu Fall.
Das ist das Problem mit dieser Art von Kompromissen, die Ahas hier machte. Jesus warnte uns, dass das wie Sauerteig oder Hefe ist, der den ganzen Teig durchdringt. Lasst uns mehr auf den HERRN schauen und weniger auf die Welt!9
Rejecting God’s Altar
Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship. Then Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz came back from Damascus. (2 Kings 16:10-11)
King Ahaz decided he would rather surrender to the king of Assyria than to the King of Kings. He rejected God and looked to the pagan ruler for help. So, it wasn’t strange that he decided to visit Tiglath-Pileser and make official his submission to the king of Assyria.
When he was there, Ahaz saw something that pleased him: he saw an altar that was set at Damascus. He liked it so much that King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and its pattern. Using the plans sent from Ahaz, Urijah imitated the pagan altar at Damascus and had it ready by the time Ahaz returned from Damascus. Ahaz did this both to please his new master, Tiglath-Pileser, and to bring the latest trends in altar design to God’s temple in Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 28:23 explains why King Ahaz was attracted to what he saw in Damascus: For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, saying, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel.
Think of it: a king over the people of God actually set up a pagan altar at the temple in Jerusalem. He did it because he knew it would please the pagans, because he liked the fashionable design of the altar, and because he thought it would bring him success.
Doesn’t that sound like a lot of churches today? Many church leaders today put their trust in the tools, the techniques, and the principles of worldly success. They think the gods of Damascus will give them victory. We want to please the world as Ahaz wanted to please the king of Assyria. We are impressed with the fashionable designs of what comes from the world. We think imitating the world will bring us success. It’s sad when the church goes to the world for its methods and principles.
The sin of Ahaz didn’t end with Ahaz. We read, Urijah the priest built an altar. Of course, Ahaz bore the greater blame in this matter, but the high priest Urijah was also at fault. Together, they brought in something that was their ruin and the ruin of Israel.
That’s the problem with the kind of compromise Ahaz allowed and promoted. Like Jesus warned, it is like leaven or yeast spreading through a whole lump of bread dough. Let’s look to the LORD more, and to the world less!
Come Up and Save Me
So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.” And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria. (2 Kings 16:7-8)
King Ahaz of Judah saw the combined armies of Syria and Israel come against him, and in a panic, he begged the king of Assyria for help. Ahaz did this, even though Isaiah offered him a sign for assurance of God’s help in the struggle against the combined armies of Israel and Syria (Isaiah 7:1-12). Sadly, Ahaz refused under the excuse of not wanting to test God, when he really wanted to trust the king of Assyria.
Ahaz said to the pagan king: “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me.” It is sad to see a king over God’s people bow down to a pagan king. Ahaz surrendered to one enemy in order to defeat another. He refused to trust in the God of Israel and instead put his trust in an enemy of Israel.
It wasn’t enough for Ahaz to bow down to the king of Assyria. Next, Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria. Essentially, Ahaz made Judah a subject kingdom to Assyria. Ahaz now took his orders from the Assyrian king, and he sacrificed the independence of the kingdom of Judah.
Imagine the blessing that would have come if Ahaz had surrendered and sacrificed to the LORD with the same energy and heart that he surrendered to the Assyrian king. Ahaz was willing to trust in and humble himself before a pagan king, but not before the God of Israel.
What a contrast this was to Ahaz’s royal ancestor, David. David said, “In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried out to my God” (Psalm 18:6). We all have a choice in a crisis. We can trust things set against God, or we can trust God. In the case of Ahaz, his surrender to the king of Assyria worked in the short term but was a disaster in the long term. His wrong choice was bad for him and for Judah.
Yet, look for something good in this. When anyone cries out to God saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me,” then God will answer. Appeal to God on the basis of your service to Him, and His adoption of you – then humbly ask Him to rescue you. God loves to respond to those who surrender to Him and to His will.