Ahaz(achaz)
“He has grasped or possessor”
Summary
The twelfth king of Judah who reigned for sixteen years, notorious for his idolatry and the introduction of foreign worship, yet during whose reign Isaiah prophesied the birth of Immanuel.
☩Accession and Character
Ahaz was the son and successor of Jotham, becoming the twelfth king of Judah around 735 BC. From the beginning of his reign he pursued a course of open idolatry, making molten images of the Baalim and reviving the abominations of Moloch worship in the Valley of Hinnom, even making his own son pass through the fire. He sacrificed on high places, under every green tree, and is represented as one of the most wicked kings of Judah.
☩The Syro-Ephraimite Crisis
During his reign, Rezin king of Damascus and Pekah king of Israel formed a league against Judah, intending to depose Ahaz and place on the throne 'the son of Tabeel,' probably a Syrian noble. The allies laid siege to Jerusalem, and the heart of Ahaz and his people trembled 'as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind.' The prophet Isaiah met Ahaz at the conduit of the upper pool to assure him that these 'two tails of smoking firebrands' would fail, and offered him a sign from God. When Ahaz hypocritically refused, God gave the sign regardless: 'A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.'
☩Alliance with Assyria
Instead of trusting God's promise, Ahaz appealed to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, sending him the treasures of the temple and palace with the message, 'I am thy servant and thy son.' The Assyrian king freed him from the Syrian and Israelite threat by invading Damascus, killing Rezin, and devastating Israel's northern territories. But Ahaz purchased this help at a costly price: Judah became an Assyrian vassal state, paying heavy tribute, and the Assyrian 'distressed him but strengthened him not.'
☩Religious Innovations
Visiting Damascus to pay homage to Tiglath-pileser, Ahaz saw an altar that pleased him and sent its pattern to Urijah the priest, who built a copy for the temple. On his return, Ahaz displaced the brazen altar, introduced worship of the heavenly bodies, shut the doors of the temple, extinguished the golden lampstand, and ceased the regular offerings. He set up 'the horses of the sun' near the temple and built altars on the palace roof for astral worship. These acts represented a comprehensive apostasy from the worship of Yahweh.
☩Death and Legacy
Ahaz died at about fifty years of age after reigning sixteen years. He was buried in Jerusalem but, because of his wickedness, was refused burial in the royal sepulchers of the kings. He was succeeded by his godly son Hezekiah, who would reverse his father's religious policies. The prophets Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah all ministered during his reign, and Ahaz's rejection of Isaiah's counsel stands as a warning against faithless political expedience over trust in God.
Related Verses48 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Ahaz," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Ahaz," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.Philip Schaff and Johann Herzog (ed.), "Ahaz," in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. I (Funk and Wagnalls, 1908–1914).
- 4.George Morrish, "Ahaz," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).