II Kings 16:1 "In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign."

Ahaz is coming to power here.

II Kings 16:2 "Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord his God, like David his father."

Again, the kings of Judah reigned much longer than the kings of Israel. This is quite possibly because of their continuance in the sins of Jeroboam, and the wickedness of their leaders. Ahaz was a real looser in the eyes of God, as se will see later in this chapter.

II Kings 16:3 "But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel."

As deep as the kings of Israel were in their sins against God, Ahaz took joy in following in those wicked ways. Ahaz was the first king of Judah that would practice Molach worship, the offering of their sons for fire sacrifice on an altar, and doing it in the name of God. God reminded them through the prophet Jeremiah that this form of worship was from the heathen, for that form of idolatry didn't even come to My mind.

Jeremiah 19:5 "They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I command not, nor spake it, neither came it into My mind."

God is trying to save His children and their souls, and here they are throwing their own sons into the blazing fire to please Baal god, in their Molach worship. So we see that this child sacrifice started with Ahaz in Judah, and we see why God was so displeased with him. These people took the life of their infants before they were even of the age of choosing God or Satan.

II Kings 16:4 "And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree."

Which means that Ahaz practiced every form of religion that was thought of in that day. The sex orgies of the grove worship, child sacrifice, and every other form that even Jezebel had not thought of, were done in Ahaz's kingdom. And it was all done in the name of God.

II Kings 16:5 "Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him."

So his own brother, Pekah, the king of Israel is going to ally with Syria to fight against Ahaz. This seems to be the practice down through the centuries that when things don't go right, you start trouble in the family. Israel and Syria simply could not take Judah, because God would not allow the destruction of Jerusalem, and David's kingdom. God has a time and place for everything and this was not the time for Judah's fall.

II Kings 16:6 "At that time Resin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day."

"Jews" is stated here should read "house of Judah", for the term "Jews" came out of the Babylonian captivity many years after this. Even though Ahaz and the house of Judah remained a nation, they did lose the city of Elath to the Syrians, and never recoved the land again. It is God that held the small nation of Judah together, even when their king was doing those wicked thing, all for the sake of His promise to David.

So what should Ahaz done when the house of Israel teamed up with Syria? He should have turned to God for the victory, and confided with the house of Israel. However, by this time both houses, Israel and Judah had turned so far from God, that this was the last thing that came to their mind. They simply did those things that are common to a wicked minds, and sought help from other heathen nations.

II Kings 16:7 "So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy sons: 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."

Remember that Israel had gone to Resin, king of Syria for help, so Ahaz went to a greater nation than Syria to ask for help. These Assyrians are going to come down so hard on brother Israel that they will scatter them to the four winds, and up root them from off their land. If feel that this is the reason that God uses "the Assyrian" as a form of the Antichrist. Sure Ahaz had trouble, but he turned to the Assyrians and not to God for help. He turned to the one that God uses as an example as the false Christ for help. Will God's people ever learn to trust him when they get into trouble. Salvation comes only by God.

II Kings 16:8 "And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria."

Ahaz took the things that belong to God and gave it over to the king of Assyria. This is a type of what shall happen again, at the coming of Satan in his role as the Antichrist. Ahaz completely sold out to the Assyrian. This was not something that the king of Assyria asked for, but Ahaz went right into the house of God, took the wealth of God, and sent it to this heathen nation for their assistance in destroying his own kin. However because of the sins of Israel, it was God that arranged for this scattering to take place. Before this battle is over, the Assyrians completely dismantled the nation of Israel, and removed the Israelites off their land, and replaced them with heathen people of five other conquered lands.

II Kings 16:9 "And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin."

Assyria started with their move against Syria, and took their capital city Damascus, and tok the people east of the Jordan and killed the king. Before this battle is finished, Assyria would take all the land all the way to Egypt.

II Kings 16:10 "And 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 fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof."

When Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser [Pul], he saw and became excited over the altar that was built there. He saw a new religion and denomination that pleased him. Ahaz sent back to Jerusalem a drawing of the altar that was in Damascus, and the details for reproducing it in Jerusalem. Think of what this is saying. God had his altar in his house, and there was an established form of worshipping and approaching the one True God. Ahaz did not like that form of worship, nor the old altar that had been there for the past three centuries, so he is about to form his new religion.

II Kings 16:11 "And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus."

Here is the high priest following the detailed instructions of Ahaz, and making this altar to this heathen god. He took the form of that altar, and replaced the alter of the temple of God with these heathen stones, and put it right in the Temple of God. Every thing that was in the Temple was there because God gave instructions to place it there. Every item symbolized part of God's Worship, and here Ahaz removed the very altar of God, and placed this heathen structure in its place.

II Kings 16:12 "And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon,"

Here the king and not the priest gave the daily oblation to the Lord, on this heathen altar. Ahaz is trying to take the place of the priest, and supercede his authority.

II Kings 16:13 "And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar."

This is the greatest insult that anyone can give to God. It is taking everything that is holy and righteous before God, and pouring swine's blood on the altar. Friend, Jesus Christ death on the cross, took the place of the daily sacrifices [called the daily oblation]. This would be like making a mockery out of the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross. It is like taking every thing that is holy before God and throwing it back in His face. It would be like a Christian taking on another messiah {Satan], rather than taking the True Messiah. This same thing is going to happen in our generation very shortly, at the coming of Satan the false Messiah.

II Kings 16:14 "And he brought also the brasen altar, which was before the Lord, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the Lord, and put it on the north side of the altar."

Ahaz did not leave anything alone, he even messed over the brasen altar. Ahaz went into the house of God, and completely rearranged the entire Temple. So what is on the north side of the altar? That's right, the heathen altar. Ahaz had not just brought in another altar, but rearranged the entire house of God, and set up a new form of worship, and the sad part to this is that the priests had gone along with this hypocrisy. Keep in mind that this was not one of the heathen king of Israel doing this, but one of the offspring of David, in the temple of Jerusalem.

II Kings 16:15 "And king Ahaz commanded Uriajah the priest, saying, "Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering, and the king's burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the People of the land, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: and the brasen altar shall be for me to enquire by."

The only one that is suppose to command anything of the priest is God, and here Ahaz thinks that he has authority over the priests and his liturgical duties. So Uriajah is not a high priest, but a man made priest after the order of Ahaz, and not God. Old Ahaz told the high priest that when you have all these sacrifices in place, you just leave it there, and I'll tell you what to do with them. The high priest was told to put God's offering aside, and wait until I tell you what to sacrifice. Ahaz is putting the nails in his own coffin, for God will not allow him to remain very much longer.

God is always in control, and the moment that you anger Him, your life will turn into a mess. God gave His instructions about the altar to Aaron in Exodus 29; and in verses 42-46 God made a promise to Aaron and the priesthood.

Exodus 29:42 "This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord: where I will meet you, to speak unto thee."

Do you think that after Ahaz has brought in this heathen alter and rearranged God's House that He would be there for His people? I think that God has nothing to say to Ahaz, regardless what sacrifices Ahaz decides to make for himself. This is done in church houses today, by people that are not careful to obey God at his Word. In as much as Christ is our offering for one and all times, when you allow heathen traditions and teaching into the house of God, that is exactly what Ahaz did. Therefore it would help to study to know for sure what pleases God, and what He hates.

Exodus 29:43 "And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory."

Exodus 29:44 "And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to Me in the priest's office."

God is saying that only He would chose the priests, and the ministering to God from that office, however Ahaz was trying to force the high priest to conform to those heathen altar rituals from Damascus.

Exodus 29:45 "And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God."

When any one turns their back on God, God is not their God.

Exodus 29:46 "And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, That brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the Lord their God."

The whole time that Ahaz did those things, it was not God that was sanctifying the altar, or any part of God's house, but Ahaz.

II Kings 16:16 "Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded."

Urijah was not listening to God, but to king Ahaz. The religious form was not God's way, but the heathen way that Ahaz picked up while down in Damascus. Ahaz had drifted so far away from God's ways that he was illiterate, much the way that many that call themselves Christians are today.

II Kings 16:17 "And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stones."

Ahaz was telling God that He did not know how to design the Temple, so Ahaz redesigned the temple to his own liking. In making the changes, Ahaz was destroying the temple.

II Kings 16:18 "And the covert for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king's entry without, turned he from the house of the Lord for the king of Assyria."

The king of Assyria, according to Isaiah 14, is Antichrist, and his name was "Lucifer, the bright morning star". It is symbolic of Satan himself. Satan will come presenting himself as Jesus, he will look like the people expect Jesus to look, and say the things that they expect Jesus to say, but he will be the devil in the role of Antichrist. So this is a type of what we shall see shortly in our generation at the arrival of Satan. Satan will come to make major changes, and end most of the things that Jesus Christ taught us to do. One of the most important changes will be the "end of the oblation", for people will stop taking Communion because they will think that Jesus Christ is here. He will come to deceive all the Christians that have not done their homework and prepared themselves for the latter days of this earth age.

II Chronicles 28:24 "And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem."

II Chronicles 28:25 "And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers."

Because of his wickedness, they found Ahaz unfit to be burried amongst the king of Judah and Israel.

II Chronicles 28:27 "And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of Jerusalem: but they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead."

He was lowered in status to the point to where he wasn't even recognized as royality in his own land.

II Kings 16:19 "Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?"

II Kings 16:20 "And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in hs stead."

They did not bury Ahaz in the royal cemetary of the king of Judah, but just in a city plot.