2 Kings 16:1-4

Ahaz’s assessment 16:1-4

Pekah’s seventeenth year (2 Kings 16:1) was 735 B.C. Ahaz did not follow David’s example of godliness (2 Kings 16:2). Rather he followed the kings of Israel and those of his pagan neighbors and went so far as offering at least one of his sons as a human sacrifice (Leviticus 18:21; Deuteronomy 12:31; cf. Deuteronomy 3:27). [Note: See Wiseman, pp. 260-61.] These sacrificial rites took place near the confluence of the Hinnom and Kidron valleys at a place called Topheth. This place developed a reputation for wickedness, and then filth, because it became a constantly burning garbage heap. Jesus compared it to the place of eternal punishment (Gehenna; cf. Matthew 5:22; Matthew 5:29-30; Matthew 10:28; et al).

". . . desperate to solve his political problems, Judah’s king becomes a dedicated polytheist in hopes that some god may deliver him from his trouble." [Note: House, p. 336.]