At this point we have grown accustomed to reading about the
wicked kings of the north. However,
Judah wasn't completely free of spiritual dunces. Ahaz was one such miserable
character. This man worshipped idols, sacrificed his own son on an altar,
rearranged the temple, used temple possessions to purchase military assistance
from Assyria and generally made a mess of everything which he touched.
It was a great affront to the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob for the nation of Israel and then also Judah to look to the Assyrians for
help and aide. The distrust and disloyalty toward God which the Jewish kings
demonstrated by turning to heathen nations for assistance was ultimately the
very cause of their demise. God had delivered their ancestors out of the hand
of oppressive and polytheistic Egyptians, if God was strong enough to
accomplish that, then why would the Hebrew people afterward look anywhere else
for their supply?
Before we jump too high or shout too loud, let us take
inventory of our own hearts. Is God our first and final recourse when we
encounter adversity? I fear that many of us believers try every solution that
the world, the flesh and the devil can possibly offer to us, when really and
truly... only God holds the cure. Better said, God is the cure! We typically
place our confidence in money, education, intelligence, experience, planning,
diligence, chance, science, medicine... anything tangible which we think might
allow us to circumvent the system. What humanity has an aversion to is plain
old fashioned holiness... and the humility and sacrifice which faith demands to
possess that prize (Hebrews 12:14).
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