The Bankruptcy of Worldly Insurance: Text: 2 Chronicles 28:16-21
Introduction: The Folly of Pragmatism
There is a kind of thinking that parades itself as wise, sensible, and realistic. It calls itself pragmatism. It is the art of "getting things done," of making the hard but necessary choices. It looks at the world, sizes up the threats, calculates the odds, and then makes a strategic decision based on the available powers. This is the operating system of the world, from the halls of government down to the frantic anxieties of our own hearts. And the Bible has a word for it: folly. It is the wisdom of fools.
King Ahaz of Judah was a master practitioner of this kind of worldly wisdom. He was a man in a bind, beset on all sides. The Edomites were raiding from the south, the Philistines from the west. His kingdom was shrinking, his armies were beaten, and his people were being carried off as captives. The situation was dire. So Ahaz did the "sensible" thing. He looked around for a bigger dog to protect him from the neighborhood strays. He saw the rising superpower of Assyria, a brutal, bloodthirsty empire, and he decided to make a deal. He would pay them, bribe them, and hire them to be his divine providence. He would trade his allegiance to Yahweh for an insurance policy with Tilgath-pilneser.
This is the essence of idolatry. Idolatry is not just bowing to a statue; it is a failure of nerve. It is a refusal to trust God when the pressure is on. It is looking at your problems and then looking for a man-sized solution instead of a God-sized deliverance. Ahaz's story is a case study in the inevitable bankruptcy of this approach. Every time a believer decides that the promises of God are not quite practical enough for the current crisis, he is walking in the footsteps of Ahaz. Every time we look to the state, to a financial plan, to a political savior, or to our own cleverness as our ultimate security, we are sending tribute to Assyria. And as we will see, Assyria never pays its debts. The world's solutions are always a protection racket. They promise security, but they deliver only distress and humiliation.
This passage is a stark warning. It teaches us that covenant unfaithfulness has consequences, that God's humbling hand is behind our troubles, and that worldly alliances are not just ineffective, they are actively hostile to our well-being. The world cannot save you; it can only enslave you.
The Text
At that time King Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria for help. Indeed, again the Edomites had come and struck Judah and carried away captives. 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. 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. So Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and distressed him instead of strengthening him. 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.
(2 Chronicles 28:16-21 LSB)
The Faithless Phone Call (v. 16)
We begin with the desperate and idolatrous decision of King Ahaz.
"At that time King Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria for help." (2 Chronicles 28:16)
The phrase "at that time" connects this decision directly to the preceding context. Ahaz had already suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of Israel and Aram. He had seen his armies slaughtered and his people taken captive. He was in a state of crisis. And in a crisis, a man's true god is revealed. Who do you call when the walls are closing in? Ahaz did not call on the Lord. He called the Assyrians. He sought a political savior, a military solution.
This was a direct violation of the covenant. God had repeatedly warned His people not to trust in foreign alliances, particularly with nations like Egypt and Assyria. To do so was to declare that Yahweh, the God of the armies of Israel, was insufficient. It was a vote of no confidence in the Almighty. Isaiah the prophet was ministering during this very time, and he warned Ahaz directly against this course of action, even offering him a sign from God to bolster his faith (Isaiah 7). Ahaz piously refused the sign, pretending he didn't want to test God, when in reality, he had already decided to trust in the chariots of Assyria. His piety was a thin veneer over a heart of unbelief.
We do the same thing. We face a financial crisis, and our first call is to the bank or the credit card company, not to our knees. We face a health crisis, and we trust entirely in the medical establishment, forgetting the Great Physician. We face a political crisis, and we pour all our hope and energy into a candidate, forgetting the King of kings. Seeking help from earthly means is not inherently sinful, but when that help becomes our ultimate hope, our functional god, we have become modern-day idolaters. We have sent for the Assyrians.
The Tightening Vise (v. 17-18)
The narrative then backtracks slightly to show us the immense pressure Ahaz was under. This was not random misfortune; it was orchestrated, covenantal discipline.
"Indeed, again the Edomites had come and struck Judah and carried away captives. 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." (2 Chronicles 28:17-18 LSB)
Notice the enemies. The Edomites were descendants of Esau, Jacob's brother. The Philistines were longtime, inveterate enemies of Israel. These were not distant superpowers; they were local rivals, nipping at the heels of a weakened Judah. When a nation begins to crumble through unfaithfulness, the jackals start to circle. The hedges of God's protection are removed, and opportunistic enemies pour through the gaps.
This is a picture of covenant curses in action. In Deuteronomy 28, God lays out the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience. Among the curses are defeat before enemies, loss of land, and being carried away captive. This is precisely what is happening to Judah. The Edomites and Philistines are not acting independently; they are God's rod of discipline. They are the tools in His hand to bring His wayward people to their senses. The problem was not fundamentally military or political; it was spiritual. The solution, therefore, had to be spiritual: repentance. But Ahaz could not see this. Blinded by his pragmatism, he saw only a military problem requiring a military solution.
The Divine Diagnosis (v. 19)
The Holy Spirit does not leave us in any doubt as to the ultimate cause of Judah's misery. Verse 19 is the divine commentary on the situation.
"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." (2 Chronicles 28:19 LSB)
Here it is in black and white. "Yahweh humbled Judah." God was the one bringing the nation low. The Edomites and Philistines were merely the secondary means. God is sovereign over the affairs of nations. He raises them up and He casts them down. And He was actively, purposefully humbling Judah. Why? "Because of Ahaz."
This is a crucial lesson in federal headship and corporate responsibility. The leader sets the course for the people. Ahaz's wickedness had a national consequence. He had "caused it to be out of control," which can be translated as "he had promoted licentiousness" or "let them break loose." He had led the people into flagrant apostasy, even sacrificing his own son in the fire (2 Chron. 28:3). His personal unfaithfulness became the nation's downfall. Notice the striking designation: "Ahaz king of Israel." He was the king of Judah, the southern kingdom. But his actions were so identical to the wicked kings of the apostate northern kingdom that the Chronicler brands him with their name. He had made Judah into Israel.
This is why leadership is so vital, in the nation, in the church, and in the home. The unfaithfulness of a leader brings judgment not just on himself, but on all those under his care. When a nation is in chaos, when its borders are overrun and its cities are captured, the first question we should ask is not about policy, but about piety. Where is our unfaithfulness to Yahweh?
The Treacherous Ally (v. 20-21)
The final verses show the bitter fruit of Ahaz's worldly wisdom. His great strategic masterstroke turns into a complete disaster.
"So Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and distressed him instead of strengthening him. 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." (2 Chronicles 28:20-21 LSB)
Ahaz called for help, and Tilgath-pilneser came. But he did not come as a savior. He came as an oppressor. The word "distressed him" means to hem him in, to put him in a tight spot, to afflict him. The hired bodyguard turned on his client. This is always the way of the world. The world's solutions do not solve your problem; they become your new, bigger problem. You invite the vampire in to scare away the wolf, and now you have a vampire in the house.
And look at the price Ahaz paid for this "help." He "took a portion out of the house of Yahweh." He plundered the Temple. He stripped God's house to pay off a pagan tyrant. This is the ultimate act of spiritual bankruptcy. He was literally taking the resources dedicated to the worship of the true God and giving them as tribute to a false one, embodied in the might of Assyria. He was robbing God to pay the devil.
And the final verdict is devastating in its simplicity: "it did not help him." All that compromise, all that faithlessness, all that sacrilege, and for what? Nothing. The worldly insurance policy refused to pay out. He traded away his treasure, dishonored his God, and enslaved his people to a foreign power, and in the end, he was left more vulnerable than when he started. This is the fool's bargain, the inevitable dead end of all godless pragmatism.
Conclusion: The Only Sure Defense
The story of Ahaz is our story. We live in a world that is constantly pressuring us to make alliances with Assyria. When trouble comes, the temptation is to run to the world's power brokers for a solution. The world offers us security through government programs, financial wizardry, political messiahs, and technological fixes. But it always demands a price. The price is always tribute, and that tribute is always taken from the house of God. It requires us to compromise our convictions, to silence our witness, to bend the knee to Caesar, to trust in man.
And the end result is always the same. The world will distress you, not strengthen you. It will not help you.
The alternative is not passivity. The alternative is faith. The true king of Judah, the Lord Jesus Christ, faced a far greater threat than Ahaz ever did. He faced the combined powers of Rome, the Sanhedrin, and Hell itself. He faced the wrath of God against the sin of His people. And what was His strategy? Did He call for the legions of Assyria? No, He could have called for twelve legions of angels, but He refused. He trusted His Father. He walked the path of obedience, even to the point of death on a cross.
And through that faith, He conquered all His enemies. Through weakness, He displayed the ultimate power. Through submission, He achieved the ultimate victory. He is our only sure defense, our only reliable ally, our only true King. When we are in distress, the only call we need to make is to Him. To trust in worldly solutions is to hire an assassin for a bodyguard. To trust in Christ is to be sheltered in the fortress of God's own power. Do not plunder God's house to pay off the world. Rather, take refuge in God's house, for there, and only there, will you find a helper who will never distress you, but will strengthen you and deliver you from all your fears.