Bird's-eye view
This passage is a stark illustration of the spiritual principle that what a man sows, that he will also reap. King Ahaz, having abandoned Yahweh for the impotent gods of the pagans, now finds himself in a political and military meat grinder. Hemmed in by enemies on all sides, he refuses to turn to the only one who can actually help him. Instead, he doubles down on his folly. His solution to the divine chastisement he is experiencing is to seek a political alliance with the great pagan superpower of the day, Assyria. This is the equivalent of trying to put out a fire with gasoline. Ahaz's appeal to Assyria is a profound act of covenantal unfaithfulness. He is the king of Judah, God's covenant people, and he is supposed to trust in God for deliverance. Instead, he trusts in the arm of the flesh, and a particularly brutish and unreliable arm at that. The result, as the text makes painfully clear, is not relief but further distress. The great king of Assyria takes Ahaz's money, plundered from the house of God no less, and then proceeds to oppress him. This is a living parable of sin's deceitful promise: it offers help and strength but delivers only bondage and sorrow.
The Chronicler is teaching us a fundamental lesson about the nature of true security. For the people of God, security is never found in worldly power, political maneuvering, or strategic alliances. It is found in covenant faithfulness alone. Ahaz's frantic attempts to save his kingdom through godless pragmatism only accelerate its unraveling. He strips the temple to pay off a bully, impoverishing himself spiritually and financially, and gets nothing but more trouble in return. This is what happens when a leader rejects the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, and embraces the fear of man, which is a snare.
Outline
- 1. The Fruit of Unfaithfulness (2 Chron 28:16-21)
- a. The Faithless King's Foolish Appeal (2 Chron 28:16)
- b. The Covenant Curses Unleashed (2 Chron 28:17-18)
- c. The Reason for the Humbling (2 Chron 28:19)
- d. The Treacherous Ally (2 Chron 28:20)
- e. The Bribe That Backfired (2 Chron 28:21)
Context In 2 Chronicles
This passage sits within the larger narrative of King Ahaz's disastrous reign. The Chronicler has already detailed Ahaz's flagrant idolatry, including making molten images for the Baals and even sacrificing his own sons in the fire (2 Chron 28:1-4). As a direct result of this covenant rebellion, God has brought judgment upon Judah through military defeats at the hands of Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel (2 Chron 28:5-8). However, a glimmer of grace was shown when the prophet Oded intervened, causing the Israelites to treat their Judean captives with mercy and return them (2 Chron 28:9-15). Our current passage picks up immediately after this, showing that Ahaz has learned nothing from either the judgment or the mercy. Instead of repenting, he digs himself deeper into the hole of faithless pragmatism. This section is crucial because it demonstrates the downward spiral of sin. Having rejected God's authority, Ahaz now finds that all other authorities have turned against him, and his chosen savior becomes his new oppressor. This sets the stage for his final and most profane act of apostasy, where he will shut up the temple of Yahweh entirely and set up altars to the gods of Damascus (2 Chron 28:22-25).
Key Issues
- Covenant Unfaithfulness
- The Folly of Political Salvation
- Divine Sovereignty in Judgment
- The Deceitfulness of Sin
- Pragmatism vs. Faith
- The Consequences of Idolatry
The Helper Who Doesn't Help
There is a profound and practical theology contained in this brief historical account. Ahaz is a case study in what happens when men, even men in positions of great authority, refuse to deal with God as God. When you are under the chastening hand of the Almighty, the only sane response is to repent and appeal to His mercy. Any other course of action is an attempt to outmaneuver the sovereign Lord of the universe, which is a fool's errand of the highest order.
Ahaz's problem is that he sees his troubles as merely political and military. He has an Edomite problem and a Philistine problem. So, he seeks a political and military solution: Assyria. But the Chronicler is clear that his real problem is a Yahweh problem. God is humbling him. Therefore, the only solution is a Yahweh solution. By turning to Assyria, Ahaz is not just making a strategic blunder; he is committing a theological atrocity. He is asking a pagan idolater to save him from the disciplinary hand of the living God. This is like a child who, being spanked by his father, runs out of the house and asks a known kidnapper for protection. The "help" you get in such a situation will always be worse than the trouble you were in before.
Verse by Verse Commentary
16 At that time King Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria for help.
The phrase "At that time" links this decision directly to the preceding events. Judah has been hammered by Syria and Israel, and despite a brief moment of prophetic grace through Oded, the pressure is still on. Ahaz is in a corner. And in that moment of crisis, his heart is revealed. He does not send messengers to the temple to inquire of the Lord. He does not call for national repentance. He sends to the "kings of Assyria." His trust is in chariots and horses, in the raw geopolitical power of the Assyrian empire. This is a direct violation of the covenant principle that Israel was to be a nation set apart, trusting in God alone for its security and not entangling itself in foreign alliances, which were always religious alliances as well.
17 Indeed, again the Edomites had come and struck Judah and carried away captives.
The Chronicler now itemizes the pressures that led to Ahaz's foolish decision. First, the Edomites. These were kinsmen, descendants of Esau, and their hostility was a constant thorn in Judah's side. They saw Judah's weakness as their opportunity. They didn't just raid; they "struck Judah," a military term, and took captives. This was not just a border skirmish; it was a significant blow to the nation's security and morale. The covenant curses of Deuteronomy warned that if Israel was unfaithful, they would be defeated by their enemies and their people carried off (Deut 28:25, 32).
18 And the Philistines also had raided the cities of the Shephelah and of the Negev of Judah, and had captured Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, and Soco with its towns, Timnah with its towns, and Gimzo with its towns, and they settled there.
The pressure was coming from multiple directions. While the Edomites attacked from the southeast, the Philistines, those perennial enemies, struck from the west. They raided the lowlands (the Shephelah) and the southern desert (the Negev). The list of captured towns is specific and extensive, showing the scale of the disaster. These were not insignificant outposts; they were established Judean cities. And the Philistines did not just plunder and leave; "they settled there." This was an invasion and occupation. Judah's territory was shrinking. The promised land was being lost piece by piece, another direct fulfillment of the covenant curses.
19 For Yahweh humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had caused it to be out of control in Judah and was very unfaithful to Yahweh.
Here the Chronicler gives us the divine commentary, the ultimate reason behind the military defeats. It was not because the Edomites were strong or the Philistines were clever. It was because "Yahweh humbled Judah." This was a deliberate act of divine judgment. And the reason for the judgment is laid squarely at the feet of the king. Ahaz is here called "king of Israel," a striking and perhaps ironic title, lumping him in with the apostate northern kings. His sin had two aspects. First, he "had caused it to be out of control in Judah," which can also be translated as he "promoted licentiousness" or "cast off restraint." His leadership was a corrupting influence, leading the whole nation into sin. Second, and more fundamentally, he "was very unfaithful to Yahweh." This is the heart of the matter. His political and personal sins all flowed from this central act of covenant treason.
20 So Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and distressed him instead of strengthening him.
So Ahaz makes his appeal, and the great king of Assyria, Tilgath-pilneser III, responds. He comes. But the result is the precise opposite of what Ahaz had hoped for. The Hebrew is stark. He came "against him." He distressed him. He did not strengthen him. The would-be savior becomes the new tormentor. This is always the way with the arm of the flesh. Worldly power is a fickle and treacherous ally. It operates on the principle of self-interest, not charity. Assyria was not interested in helping Judah; it was interested in extending its own empire, and a weakened, vassal Judah was a perfect stepping stone for its ambitions in the region, particularly against Egypt.
21 Although Ahaz took a portion out of the house of Yahweh and out of the house of the king and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.
This verse adds insult to injury. To secure this worthless "help," Ahaz plundered the nation's treasures. Notice the sources. He took from the house of Yahweh, desecrating the temple. He took from his own royal treasury, bankrupting the state. And he took from the princes, alienating the nobility. This was a desperate act of sacrilege and foolishness. He gave God's money to a pagan king in a futile attempt to buy security. And the verdict is blunt: "it did not help him." The Hebrew is emphatic, "it was of no help to him." He paid an enormous price, spiritually, financially, politically, and got absolutely nothing in return but more trouble. Sin is a bad bargain. It always promises more than it can deliver, and it always costs more than you want to pay.
Application
The story of Ahaz is a perennial one. Men still run to Assyria for help. When our marriage is in trouble, do we run first to the Word of God and our knees, or do we run to the latest secular self-help guru who tells us what our itching ears want to hear? When our finances are in a shambles, is our first move to repent of our covetousness and mismanagement and seek godly counsel, or is it to take on more debt and seek a clever, worldly scheme to get us out of the hole? When our nation is threatened, do we look to the Lord of Hosts, or do we place our ultimate trust in the cleverness of our politicians and the might of our military?
Ahaz's sin was to seek a political solution for a spiritual problem. He was being humbled by God, and instead of humbling himself under God's mighty hand, he tried to hire a bigger bully to fight God for him. It never works. The lesson for us is plain. When God brings pressure into your life, through Edomites or Philistines or a tanking economy or a rebellious child, recognize it for what it is: a call to repentance. It is the loving discipline of a Father. To turn to the world for help at that moment is to despise His discipline. It is to say to God, "Your methods are not working, so I am going to try my own." The result will be the same as it was for Ahaz. The world will take your treasure, strip you bare, and leave you in more distress than when you started.
The gospel shows us the true King who, unlike Ahaz, did not turn to faithless allies. When faced with the ultimate pressure, the wrath of God against our sin, Jesus did not call for legions of angels. He trusted His Father and obediently went to the cross. He did not bribe a worldly power to save Him; He paid the price Himself. He is the only ally who never fails, the only source of help that does not distress us in the end. Our security is not in Assyria, but in the atonement. Therefore, when trouble comes, let us not be like Ahaz, stripping the temple to pay a tyrant. Let us be those who run to the true Temple, Jesus Christ, and find there all the treasure of grace and mercy we will ever need.