(REFLECTIONS ON 2 Kings 16:1-20)

The bronze altar described in today’s Scripture, established for the worship of the Lord at His temple in Jerusalem, was replaced by Ahaz with a copy of an altar he saw in Damascus. The bronze altar, the altar of the Lord, being replaced speaks to the spiritual corruption in Judah.

However, this spiritual corruption started way before replacing the altar of God. Rather than turning to the Lord for help when Ahaz was attacked by Rezin king of Aram and Pekah king of Israel, he turned to Assyria and sought assistance from them.

He took what was the Lord’s, from the house of the Lord and sent a present to the king of Assyria. Upon his victory, he visited Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria and that is where he saw the altar which was in Damascus.

Ahaz king of Judah trusted in the powers of the world, and sought the source of those powers by replacing God’s altar with a copy of what he saw in Damascus. Replacing the altar of God reflects Ahaz king of Judah replacing God in his heart with the things of the world.

God wasn’t enough for him, wasn’t his hope and savior. In addition to the things from the house of the Lord, he had also given his heart to the king of Assyria as well.

The sacrifices in Jerusalem would thus be made on the copy of the altar in Damascus, but we also read that the bronze altar of the Lord would be used by Ahaz himself as a personal altar to inquire by.

Scripture doesn’t tell us to whom Ahaz inquired of, whether it was God or other gods, but we see that he took away the bronze altar from the people of Judah, replaced the altar of God, and selfishly kept it for his own use.

Brothers and sisters, have we replaced the altar of God? What have we turned worship into? Have we replaced the altar of God with a copy of something the Lord never intended to stand in His place?

We read that King Ahaz restructured the temple in Jerusalem “because of the king of Assyria.” Who owns Ahaz’s heart now? Who owns our heart now?

The tragedy of Ahaz was not merely that he copied a foreign altar, but that he no longer trusted the Lord who had redeemed His people. Christ calls us to return to Him, not to a different altar, but to Himself, our true hope and our perfect sacrifice. May our worship once again be centered on the Lord alone, for where our heart belongs, our worship will follow.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: 2 Kings 16