A Bottomless Pit
4/9/26 Bible Thought (2 Kings 16)
Main Idea: The people of God aren’t supposed to resemble the world and its ways.
A Look at the Text:
We left off yesterday looking at a king who started well but finished poorly. Sadly, by the time of Uzziah’s grandson, King Ahaz, we see a much different picture of Judean life. While Uzziah served God faithfully most of his life, and his son Jotham did likewise, Ahaz was an entirely different story.
Uzziah and Jotham served only one God, albeit imperfectly. One of their shortcomings was their failure to get rid of the high places that were illegitimate sites for worship. While these places weren’t inherently idolatrous and were sometimes used for the worship of the true God, the lack of connection to the temple in Jerusalem often made them a place for idolatry.[1]
By the time of Ahaz, we see that he offered sacrifices to other gods there. What the previous generations hadn’t dealt with was now a stumbling block to Ahaz. Even worse, Ahaz fell to the most vile practice of Canaanite religion—sacrificing one of his own sons by fire.
God had made a covenant with Ahaz’s ancestor, David, that one of his descendants would remain on the throne indefinitely. Yet now, one from David’s lineage was actually sacrificing one of his own sons, who could have been the next fulfillment of that promise.
Ahaz wasn’t just wishy-washy. He was diametrically opposed to the worship of Yahweh. He had no problem following the practices of the Canaanite nations whom the Lord had driven out before the people of Israel (2 Kings 16:3). God’s people, rather than being a kingdom of priests that reflected their God, became like everyone else and abandoned Him during this time.
Bringing it Home:
Without the bedrock of morality that is God’s Word, the descent into immorality is truly a bottomless pit. As it was seen in the days of the judges, when people do what is right in their own eyes, there is no limit to the atrocities that occur.
When truth is subjective, nothing is off limits, even the sacrifice of children.
Let us always remember that God, as Creator, is the source of all truth. He engineered this universe in which we find ourselves, and both natural and moral laws have their source in Him. As such, we must follow His decrees, not our feelings. We must accept His Word, not our wants.
If we have no bedrock for morality, we will always keep digging in an endless descent into deeper and deeper sin. If we stand upon God’s Word, we have a sure foundation upon which to build an upright and God-pleasing life.
Challenge:
In a world without bedrock, will I stand on God’s Word?
[1] John H Walton, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Old Testament): 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 158.