Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 16
Until now, Ahaz seemed to respect the fact that the temple (God’s house in Jerusalem) belonged to the true God only. That included not just the building, but also its outside courts or yards which covered a large part of Jerusalem. Ahaz had many different gods, but he did not serve them here. Instead, he built many places across Jerusalem and Judah where he and the people prayed to his false gods.
However, now Ahaz wanted to pray to the gods of Damascus, which he believed to be powerful gods (2 Chronicles 28:23). Assyria’s army had defeated Damascus and had sent its people to live abroad. So, these gods now had no home and nobody to pray to them. Ahaz believed that, as spirits, these gods were looking for a new home. So, he wanted to welcome them into Jerusalem. He had copied the design of an altar (a place to burn animals as gifts) from Damascus.
Ahaz believed that the courts of the temple of the true God were the right place to serve these false gods. The temple area was vast. Formerly, when his nation only served the one true God, the temple clearly needed this vast space. However, now there was enough space for the temple courts to contain an altar for the gods of Damascus. He did not want to remove the altar of the true God – he just wanted to move it to a different part of the yard where it stood. He did not think that it would offend the true God for him to serve his false gods there.
However, what Ahaz was doing was very evil. 2 Chronicles 28:24-25 says that his behaviour made the true God angry.
Next part: Ahaz changes the religion of the temple (2 Kings 16:15-17)
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