Most of us have been taught that if we look hard enough, we will find some good in everyone.
But there’s a person in 2 Chronicles chapter 28 who challenges that. There, King Ahaz is portrayed as someone totally devoid of righteousness.
- He followed after the false gods of his enemies and burned his own children as a sacrifice to these false gods. (2 Chron. 28:3)
- He turned to his own resourcefulness and to pagan nations rather than to God.
- He closed the temple of God and broke all its artifacts hoping to win the favor of pagan gods.
- He wasn’t even deemed worthy to be buried with the other kings of Judah.
- His enemies had more compassion and righteousness than Ahaz (2 Chron. 28:6-15)
No matter how hard you look, you cannot find anything good about king Ahaz.
He became this way through a series of refusals.
- Refusals to hear God.
- Refusals to humble himself before God.
- Refusals to obey God.
God brought repeated defeat and hardship on Ahaz, hoping to get his attention and turn him around. But Ahaz became more deaf and disobedient to God. (2 Chron. 28:22)
Ahaz is so bad it’s hard to see what his story has to do with us. But think about it:
- Have you ever responded to hardship by turning to your own resourcefulness, or looking to someone else for help, rather than God?
- Though you’ve never sacrificed your children in fire, have you ever pursed your own desires to the point where you sacrificed your children?
- Have you ever been tempted to turn away from God when it seemed that He was thwarting you more than helping you?
We might not be all bad, but we all have a little Ahaz in us. (Rom. 3:23) And every decision and attitude we entertain will either shape us more like Ahaz or more like God.
Have you ever responded to hardship by turning to your own resourcefulness, or looking to someone else for help, rather than God?
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I was listening to Pastor David Jeremiah on the way to work this morning and he mentioned that many people ask him for advice that they should be asking God. He said, “Sure, I can ask God for you and get back to you on what he says, but you should just ask him yourself because I have no more clout with him than you do.”
We do often ask the advice of others before or instead of God. I think other believers are there to confirm what God has told us, but we shouldn’t go to them first. I think I do this sometimes. I am going to try to stop that. It’s especially dangerous if the person we’re looking to for answers isn’t where they should be with God. Yikes.
These are all really good points. I’ve been guilty of the same thing. I think, sometimes, we’ve been so conditioned to want and receive fast answers that we have trouble waiting on God (who sometimes seems to answer more slowly.) So we go to others who will give us quick answers. And your right…this can get you in trouble. – Bret