2 Chronicles 28 explained: A King Who Doubled Down

Ahaz turns away (vv. 1-4)

Ahaz worshiped the Baals, Canaanite storm and fertility gods, and offered sacrifices at hilltop shrines and under trees instead of at the temple in Jerusalem. Worst of all, he burned his own children as sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom just outside the city, a practice Israel's law condemned outright.

Crushed by Aram and Israel (vv. 5-8)

Aram (roughly modern Syria) and the northern kingdom of Israel, Judah's own relatives, defeated Judah's army and carried off huge numbers of people; other books tell us these two kingdoms had joined forces against Ahaz. The writer presents this as the result of Judah abandoning the LORD, and scholars debate whether the very large numbers are meant literally.

A prophet frees the captives (vv. 9-15)

The prophet Oded tells the victors that winning did not give them the right to massacre or enslave their own kin, especially when they carried plenty of guilt themselves. Local leaders back him, and the captives are given clothes, sandals, food, drink and soothing oil, the weak are set on donkeys, and all are escorted to their own people at Jericho, a scene Christians often compare to Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan.

Buying help from Assyria (vv. 16-21)

With Edom and the Philistines also raiding his land, Ahaz paid Assyria, the great power of the day, using treasure taken from the temple, the palace and his officials. The Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser did attack Damascus, but the writer says the deal brought Judah trouble rather than real help.

Shutting the temple (vv. 22-25)

Ahaz reasons that the gods of the nation that beat him must be stronger, so he starts sacrificing to them. He breaks up the temple's sacred objects, locks its doors, and spreads altars and shrines to other gods through every street corner and town.

A dishonored burial (vv. 26-27)

Ahaz is buried in Jerusalem but kept out of the royal tombs, a public mark of disgrace. His son Hezekiah takes over, and the next chapter shows him reopening the temple.

Key verse: 2 Chronicles 28:22

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on how to read the chapter's tight link between a nation's unfaithfulness and its military disasters: some see it as a lasting principle of how God deals with nations, others as specific to ancient Israel's covenant with God and to this writer's way of telling history.

Something to think about

What do you think it takes for people who have just won, like the soldiers returning to Samaria, to stop and show mercy to the people they have beaten?