2 Kings 16:10-13 - Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet
Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah the priest a sketch of the altar, with detailed plans for its
construction. So Uriah the priest built
an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus
and finished it before King Ahaz returned. When the king came back from Damascus and saw
the altar, he approached it and presented offerings
on it. He offered up his burnt offering and grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his fellowship offerings on the altar.
King Ahaz was an evil king…worshiping idols…even sacrificing
his own son on a pagan altar. He
encouraged the people around him to worship other gods...using the shrines in
the hills to burn incense and bring sacrifices to whatever god he thought would
help him at the time. He went one step
further than the other evil kings before him….for Ahaz took for himself the
bronze altar of God’s Temple…and built a new altar patterned after one he saw in
his travels to Damascus…. for the people of Israel to make their sacrifices
on.
Ahaz’s evil took root in his desire to please himself…and
blossomed into full blown desecration of everything God had taught his people.
He twisted and reconfigured his worship of God to fit his own needs…what he
wanted to have…what would make him happiest…what he thought would achieve the
greatest power from his throne.
I am reminded that we need to worship God for who he is...not
what we selfishly want him to be. He wrote clear directions in his Bible of how
we are to live our lives…and we should follow them without twisting or
reconfiguring them to justify the things we don’t want to give up in our lives.
Sex is an act reserved for a man and woman who have married....so adultery in
any form is included in those ten commandments. Stealing…lying….and coveting
the material wealth of those around you is covered…as well as treating your parents
with the honor and respect they deserve. They also tell us to keep the Sabbath
holy and not misuse the name of God…and love him only.
You can take every one of those 10 rules out of context…find
a verse or two that twists its meaning to be what you want it to be…for God gave
us the ability to choose our path in life. Sure leaves me with a reminder to be
more careful…to check all my current activities against those rules…and make
sure that everything I am involved in…. lines up with what God intended for us
when he gave us those guidelines.
Father…I thank you for the reminder to search my heart to
make sure you are there…in everything I choose to do. Help me to examine the things I do…and make
sure that I have not twisted any of your commands to fit what I want for
myself. Open my eyes to see anything that I am doing that might be displeasing
to you. Amen.
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