Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 16
At the temple (God’s house in Jerusalem), the priests offered animals as sacrifices (gifts to God) each morning and evening. They first killed and prepared the animal; then they burnt it completely on the altar of bronze (brown metal). The altar was a special platform for this purpose that stood outside, just in front of the actual temple building. With the sacrifice, the priests also offered gifts of grain and wine.
Uriah, the chief priest, had agreed to change the religion at the temple. Formerly, the priests offered these sacrifices to the true God. Now, King Ahaz wanted to serve the false gods of Damascus in the courts (yards) of the temple. So, the priests would now offer their morning and evening sacrifices to the gods of Damascus (2 Chronicles 28:22-23).
In this arrangement, Ahaz was not trying to send the true God away from the temple. He accepted that the bronze altar and the temple building were sacred to the true God alone. So, he shut the doors of the temple building (2 Chronicles 28:24). He considered that building to be the house where the true God lived. Ahaz did not destroy the bronze altar; he merely moved it away from its original position. He would continue to offer sacrifices on that altar when he wanted the true God to guide him. When he had difficult decisions to make, he wanted to inquire of the true God.
God gave to David the plans for the temple (1 Chronicles 28:11-19). Previously, God gave Moses similar plans for the tabernacle, the sacred tent that the temple replaced (Exodus chapters 25 to 27). These plans were important because the temple had to be a copy of the true temple in heaven (Hebrews 9:23-24). However, Ahaz did not follow God’s plans. Ahaz made changes even to the Sea, the great pool of water that the priests used (1 Kings 7:25-26), and to the stands in 1 Kings 7:27-37.
Next part: The death of Ahaz (2 Kings 16:18-20)
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