In the previous chapter, we read a sad depiction of the northern kingdom plummeting toward a final disaster. Yet that chapter was bracketed by two kings of Judah who were more righteous, ruling over a kingdom that was more stable. So if you were a godly Israelite in the north, perhaps you would think about moving south. But would the grass really be greener down there? Not much, especially now that Ahaz is King of Judah. 2 Kings 16 in its entirety is devoted to the reign of Ahaz, but not for positive reasons. As this chapter shows, the lights are going out in Judah also. In fact, the darkness may be even greater down here! Ahaz wasn’t satisfied with the perversions of Israel; he also had to practice the horrors of paganism, including child sacrifice. In this, Ahaz was following the “despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.” The hint is not subtle. If Judah shares in the abominations of those nations, she will share their fate also (v 1-4). Politically, King Ahaz was under intense pressure. Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel were threatening to overrun Jerusalem, Judah’s capital city. The economy was also in trouble, for Rezin had recovered an important port city and driven out the Judeans who lived there. Ahaz had few options left, few buttons to push. But he did have the panic button, so he pushed that one. By calling on King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, the rising superpower of the day, Ahaz was acting like a shrewd politician, but not a faithful believer. Here we have a son of David bowing before a pagan ruler to say, “I am your servant and your son.” As Dale R. Davis puts it, “He wants to accept the Assyrians as his personal savior. And as usual in politics, a handsome bribe buys salvation. It may have been blatant unbelief but it was successful policy; he may repudiate the Davidic covenant but he saves his own skin.” When our own problems are complex, will you and I submit to what God requires... or will we yield to the temptation of choosing a more practical solution? (v 5-9). The decline of Ahaz only accelerates from there. Enamored by pagan religious practices that he observed in his travels, Judah’s king now introduces some of this flavor to Jewish worship at the temple. Compare v 12 to 1 Kings 12:32-33, and you’ll see that Ahaz is a clone of Jeroboam I, Israel’s pioneer of deviant worship practices. As Jeroboam spelled ruin for Israel, Ahaz spells ruin for Judah. And Uriah the priest is a willing accomplice. Regardless what the king tells him to do, he does it. This priest raises no protests and takes no stand. Lacking the courage for a conflict, he simply cooperates with evil (v 10-20). For further meditation: