Excerpt from today’s reading: 1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the LORD, as his ancestor David had done. 2 Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel. He cast metal images for the worship of Baal. 3 He offered sacrifices in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, even sacrificing his own sons in the fire. In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every green tree. . . . 23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him, for he said, “Since these gods helped the kings of Aram, they will help me, too, if I sacrifice to them.” But instead, they led to his ruin and the ruin of all Judah. 24 The king took the various articles from the Temple of God and broke them into pieces. He shut the doors of the LORD’s Temple so that no one could worship there, and he set up altars to pagan gods in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 He made pagan shrines in all the towns of Judah for offering sacrifices to other gods. In this way, he aroused the anger of the LORD, the God of his ancestors. —2 Chronicles 28:1-4, 23-25 Daily insight: The valley of Ben-Hinnom (also known as “Gehenna”), which marked the southern boundary of Jerusalem, became noted as the scene of atrocious pagan practices, including torturous child sacrifice (28:3; 33:6). Later in Jerusalem’s history, it came to be used as the city dump (2 Kings 23:10), the perpetual fires of which became a symbol for hell.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 22:55:14 +0000
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