2 Crônicas 28

2 Crônicas 28

Meyer - 2 Chronicles 28:15 They clothed all that were naked, and gave them to eat and drink. A great burst of generosity was here, for Israel had every reason to be incensed against Judah for the raid made on their territory. But, instead of pushing their advantage to the uttermost, they returned good for evil, and anticipated the words of the apostle, “If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.” Have you in your life people who have done you injury, and against whom you entertain hard thoughts? You do not injure them in return, but you cannot pray for them. So far as you can, you avoid them; you make no attempt to overcome the evil that is in them. But to act thus is to come short of Christ’s standard. It is your duty, not merely to keep at a distance and give a wide berth, but by love to destroy the evil, to transform the enemy into a friend, and to create love and friendship where hostility and alienation had reigned. It is God’s way, and in this we are bidden to be perfect, as our Heavenly Father is perfect. Will you try it? Will you begin by doing kind acts to those who have harmed you? Not because as yet you feel as you would, but because it is right. Then as you dig the trench in right-doing, look up to God, and He will pour into your heart the warm gush of affection. If you sincerely will His will in this matter, and act as the Good Samaritan did to the Jew, and exercise faith, God will come to your aid whilst you clothe others and minister to them, you will find their hard heart melted, and yourselves clothed with the beautiful garments of salvation, and of a meek and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is of great price. 2 Chronicles 28:16 At that time King Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria for help. sent: 2Ki 16:5-7 Isa 7:1-9,17 Parallel Passages 2 Kings 16:7+ So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, "I am your servant and your son; come up and deliver me from the hand of the king of Aram, and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me." Isaiah 7:4-9+ (ISAIAH'S PROPHECY TO KING AHAZ) and say to him, ‘Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands (REZIN OF SYRIA, PEKAH OF ISRAEL), on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah. 5 ‘Because Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrorize it, and make for ourselves a breach in its walls and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7 thus says the Lord GOD: “It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass. 8 “For the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another 65 years Ephraim will be shattered, so that it is no longer a people), 9 and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you surely shall not last.”’ A DECISIVE TIME IN JUDAH'S HISTORY At that time - Whenever you encounter a "time phrase," interrogate the phrase with at least "To what time does it refer?" or "What happens at this itme?", etc, etc. King Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria - Pressured by the combined threat of Aram and Israel, Ahaz chose to seek security from the rising superpower of Assyria rather than from the LORD who had covenanted to protect David’s throne. His decision was driven by fear, not faith. Instead of turning to the God of his fathers, Who had repeatedly delivered Judah in times of danger, Ahaz looked to a pagan empire whose ambitions would ultimately enslave the very nation Ahaz hoped to save. For help (azar; Lxx = boetheo) - This was not just a a diplomatic request. In effect King Ahaz is confession where he placed his trust. By appealing to Assyria, he effectively declared that in his mind human power was more reliable than Yahweh's promise of protection. The prophets of his day, especially Isaiah, had urged him to stand firm and believe (Isa 7:4–9), assuring him that the LORD would defend Jerusalem. Yet Ahaz preferred visible armies to invisible grace, immediate solutions to patient dependence. Ahaz's disloyal act (to God) reaped heavy spiritual consequences. Alliances in the ancient Near East were not merely political, but often involved tribute, loyalty oaths, and acceptance of the ally’s gods and customs. By inviting Assyria’s intervention, Ahaz opened the door to foreign influence, idolatrous practices, and eventual domination by Assria. What humanly speaking appeared to be a practical strategy was, in reality, a step toward disaster for Judah. 🙏 THOUGHT - The verse exposes a timeless temptation: when crisis comes, where do we run first? Ahaz teaches how easily anxiety and fear can overwhelm faith. Help sought apart from God may bring short-term relief, but it often creates long-term bondage. True security for our lives will never be found in the “Assyrias” we may tempted to trust (money, influence, technology, other people’s approval, or my own clever plans). Like Ahaz, we all face moments when fear urges us to grasp the nearest visible solution instead of resting in the unseen faithfulness of our Heavenly Father. But when we chose to run first to human strength, we repeat Ahaz' mistake, trading the steadfast covenant love of Jehovah for a human substitute that cannot truly protect. Andrew Hill: This dangerous diplomacy of playing one ancient superpower (i.e., Assyria) against another (I.e., Egypt) as an ally in petty border wars with neighboring nations was a ploy of the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II – a tactic soundly condemned by Hosea the prophet (Hos. 7:11). (See First and Second Chronicles) Christopher Knapp - “How different was his great ancestor David! ‘In my distress,’ he says, ‘I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God’ (Psalm 18:6). Even his wicked grandson Manasseh sought the Lord his God ‘when he was in affliction.’ But Ahaz seemed determined to fill up the measure of his sins.”