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Verse 19
Theosis · English Bible
4 Kingdoms (2 Kings)

4 Kingdoms (2 Kings) 16

Old TestamentTheosis · English Bible

1In the seventeenth year of Phakee son of Romelias began Achaz the son of Joatham king of Juda to reign. 2Twenty years old was Achaz when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not that which was right in the eyes of the Lord his God faithfully, as David his father had done. 3And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, he made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel. 4And he sacrificed and burnt incense on the high places, and upon the hills, and under every shady tree. 5Then went up Raasson king of Syria and Phakee son of Romelias king of Israel against Jerusalem to war, and besieged Achaz, but could not prevail against him. 6At that time Raasson king of Syria recovered Ælath to Syria, and drove out the Jews from Ælath, and the Idumeans came to Ælath, and dwelt there until this day. 7And Achaz sent messengers to Thalgath-phellasar king of the Assyrians, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, deliver me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me. 8And Achaz took the silver and the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and of the king's house, and sent gifts to the king. 9And the king of the Assyrians hearkened to him: and the king of the Assyrians went up to Damascus and took it, and removed the inhabitants, and slew king Raasson. 10And king Achaz went to Damascus to meet Thalgath-phellasar king of the Assyrians at Damascus; and he saw an altar at Damascus. And king Achaz sent to Urias the priest the pattern of the altar, and its proportions, and all its workmanship. 11And Urias the priest built the altar, according to all the directions which king Achaz sent from Damascus. 12And the king saw the altar, and went up to it, 13and offered his whole-burnt-offering, and his meat-offering, and his drink-offering, and poured out the blood of his peace-offerings on the brazen altar that was before the Lord. 14And he brought forward the one before the house of the Lord from between the altar and the house of the Lord, and he set it openly by the side of the altar northwards. 15And king Achaz charged Urias the priest, saying, Offer upon the great altar the whole-burnt-offering in the morning and the meat-offering in the evening, and the whole-burnt-offering of the king, and his meat-offering, and the whole-burnt-offering of all the people, and their meat-offering, and their drink-offering; and thou shalt pour all the blood of the whole-burnt-offering, and all the blood of any other sacrifice upon it: and the brazen altar shall be for me in the morning. 16And Urias the priest did according to all that king Achaz commanded him. 17And king Achaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them, and took down the sea from the brazen oxen that were under it, and set it upon a base of stone. 18And he made a base for the throne in the house of the Lord, and he turned the king's entrance without in the house of the Lord because of the king of the Assyrians. 19And the rest of the acts of Achaz, even all that he did, are not these written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Juda? 20And Achaz slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Ezekias his son reigned in his stead.

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4 Kingdoms (2 Kings) 16:19

Theodoret of Cyrus

Theodoret of Cyrus5th century

To whom did Ahaz instruct the construction of an altar within the house of the Lord (See 4 Kings 16:10-16)? It seems unlikely that he dedicated it to the Almighty God; rather, it appears he turned to one of the pagan deities. This implication can be found in the Book of Chronicles, which states: And Ahaz continued to stray from the Lord, and King Ahaz declared, I will invoke the gods of Damascus that oppress me, saying, The gods of the king of Syria assist them. Therefore I will present offerings to them, and they will aid me. And they were a cause for his downfall and that of all Israel (2 Chron. 28:22-23). This is further supported by the following passage: And Ahaz assembled the sacred vessels from the house of God, breaking them, and he closed the doors of the house of the Lord, erecting altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 28:24). He engaged in these actions and more. The Book of Kings corroborates this (cf. 2 Chronicles 28:22-25). It is recorded: And King Ahaz went to meet Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, in Damascus, where he observed the altar that was in Damascus; and King Ahaz sent a model of the altar and a detailed diagram of its entire structure to Uriah the priest (4 Kings 16:10). Consequently, he promptly relocated the bronze altar that Solomon had constructed and installed a new altar in its place. The subsequent words reveal the fate of the stands, as it is written: And King Ahaz severed the rims of the stands and removed the basin from them. He also committed further acts of wickedness, transferring the doorways of the king's chambers into the temple of God, thereby creating an entrance from the holy space.