Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-07-07
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
II Chronicles, 28.1-27.
Golden text-Without faith 1t is
impossible to be well pleasing
unto Him. Heb, g.
By Rev, H, 7. Stevenson,

L
/ Uzziah's punishment for his trans
| erosion served as warning for. Jo-
than. who ruled during his fathers exile
as regent. When Uzziah came to his
end as leper, lothian continued to live
! and rule as man of God. He lived a
religious life in an hour when it was
difficult for one in his position to stand
by his convictions. The seeds of the
| nations decline were manifest in the
gross corruption Of the people. The
last hours Of Jotham's reign were dark
i ened by the threatened invasion of the
! allied kings of Israel and Damascus.
| His faith was not strong enough to
trust Jehovah to watch over and pro-
| tect Judah, SO he constructed great
| Notifications at Ophel, the city's weak
est point. which called forth the con-
| demnation Of Hosea. lothian at his
death left the threatening invasion as
an unpleasant heritage to his son,
Ahaz
| When the young king assembled the
throne to succeed his father, who had
been mighty ruler because he walked
| in Gods ways, there was the need of a
ruler with a strong faith to overcome
| the sinfulness of the nation AhaZ.
| however. was without faith so that his
character. marked both by weakness
and wickedness. lacked the necessary
spiritual strength to make him a great
ruler. During the reign of this double
minded and changeable king, Isaiah,
| the greatest of all prophets of the Old
| Testament. put forth herculean efforts
! to develop in Ahaz spirit of confidence
! in Jehovah's power and protection. He
warned Ahaz of the perils that he faced
| and pointed out the pathway to COM
| plete triumph. but Ahaz did not possess
| the faith in God that was essential to
| success without faith it is impos-
sible to please" God and conquer the
unwholesome influences Of evil environ
ment.
| Although Ahaz had the benefit OF
| Jotham's success and Uzziah's failure
| posed to the teachings and training OF
| his home life. Under the influence OF
| the irreligious spirit of his day he re-
jected the advice Of Isaiah. who had
Righteousness. The king initiated
| Israels idolatry and made molten
| images of the various heather gods
He restored the bloody and licentious
| worship of idols that had been ban
| ished and prohibited since the days OF
Joash. He re-esta blished the worship
| of Moloch. which had been unknown
| from the period sof Solomon. He gave
by presenting his own child a living
| sacrifice to Moloch the national god of
| the Ammonites. This was done by
| placing the children. alive or just
| from which they slid into cistern
| filled with tre. In sacrificing "the fruit
| of the body for the sin of the SOUL
SO that he might obtain favors from
| cruelty. but taught to his countrymen
a false conception Of Jehovah. who
| giveth to all men willingly. not grudg-
/ ingly. In restoring these forms OF
heather worship Ahaz did contrary to
worship of local deities by offering
| sacrifices and burning incense in the
high places. where men had erected
! local affairs that God had condemned,
and ION the hills and under every
/ green tree" specially given over to
RIGHTEOUSNESS and idolatry in its
| basest forms. Tourists crossing the
Lebanon mountains frequently find
ruins of temples and shrines, with
| their carved stones and immense pill
lars of granite that had been imported
| from Egypt. The ruins at Baalbeck
| probably are the finest to be found in
the Holy Land. and many a tourist has
! marveled at the evidence of the skill
OF ancient builders who constructed
such huge temples to the worship of
| the Baal
There is a cause and effect in history
as well as in science The moral wicked
ness of AhaZ brought upon him political
disaster. God first turned loose upon
Judah the forces of Rein of Damascus
and Pekah Of Israel. These two kings had
determined to place Ben Tabeal, who was
not even prince Of the royal family of
Judah. but probably a Syrian nobleman,
upon the throne of Ahaz. This alliance
but the wherefore" points back to the
kings apostasy as the reason for Jehovah
delivering AhaZ into the hands of the
kings Of Syria and Of Israel. His moral
kingdom suffering just as the kaiser's
departure from his professed religious
shortcomings and sin brought upon the
jects the sufferings Of war
~ n i
in which His prophet Oded. who revealed
the characteristic bravery OF the prophets,
boldly denounced the treatment of the
captfves taken from Judah as slaves He
pointed out that 1t was against the law
and that the northern kingdom had trans
crossed more than the southern kingdom
| Made towards by their own sins, they
FASTENED to give their brethren freedom
to return to their homes. The special in
Prevention OF God failed to move the king
from his tdolatrous folly, for instead Of
seeking protection from Jehovah Ahaz
sought aid from the mighty empire of
Assyria-
him further burdens. The Assyrian mon
arch in time would have forced JUDAH
enemies to recognize his supremacy and
have broken up their combination. In
order to secure the assistance from Tigath
Pileser, Ahaz demolished the vessels of
the temple to pay the large tribute requr-
ed by the Assyrian. The one who re-
fused to accept Goa o1er OF assistance
was compelled to beg 1t from an earthly
potentate. who Immediately made Ahaz
a vassal ruler, and made him pay an an
nual tribute to the empires treasury. He
not only reduced the resources of the ma
ton. but he planted the seed that would
ultimately lead to the nations captivity
Ahaz was lacking in faith, so he fol-
lowed after false gods. In Damascus
he had found an altar that attracted
him by its beauty. He had reproduc-
ton Of it placed in the temple at Jeru-
salem and sacrificed unto the gods OF
syria, In his distress) Ahaz had turn
ed to the wrong spiritual power when
he gave credit to the Syrian gods for
the victories that had been won over
Judah. He forgot his own neglect of
religious dependence upon Jehovah and
his rejection Of Isaiah's advice. In his
departure from the faith the apostate
Ahaz went so far as to close the temple
doors to prevent the priests from en-
Itering therein to perform their duty. He
had the various metallic vessels about
ia