Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 16
King Ahaz of Judah had paid the king of Assyria to attack Aram. After that, Assyria’s army attacked northern Israel (15:29). So, of course, the armies of Aram and of northern and central Israel had to defend their own countries. They could not continue their attack against Jerusalem.
However, the king of Assyria did not really help Ahaz; he only caused more trouble for Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:20-21). The Bible does not say what kind of trouble that was. However, it seems clear that the king of Assyria demanded even more money from Ahaz. Ahaz had already sent him the silver and gold from both the palace and the temple (God’s house). So, to pay the king of Assyria, Ahaz would have to demand taxes from his people, who had just become poorer because of the war.
Ahaz had declared that he accepted the king of Assyria’s authority over him (16:7). So, he had to pay whatever the king of Assyria demanded. When he met the king of Assyria in Damascus, Ahaz would have to hand over that money. When the king of Assyria had received that payment, he could demand even more money.
Ahaz believed that he needed more power to stand against the king of Assyria. So, Ahaz did what he had done in the past to try to gain power. He tried to find new gods that would increase his power over the spirit world. He saw that Aram had been a very powerful country until recently. So, he decided that he would serve the false gods of Damascus, Aram’s capital, in addition to all his other gods (2 Chronicles 28:22-23).
Ahaz’s visit to Damascus seemed to him an ideal opportunity to learn about the gods of Damascus. He prepared careful instructions for his chief priest about how to serve these gods.
Next part: Ahaz's new altar (2 Kings 16:11-14)
Please use the links at the top of the page to find our other articles in this series. You can download all our articles if you go to the download page for our free 1000+ page course book.
© 2025, Keith Simons.