Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from 2 Kings chapter
16. In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son
of Ramaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of
Judah, began to reign. Ahaz was twenty years
old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen
years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was
right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his
father David had done. But he walked in the way
of the kings of Israel. Indeed, he made his son
pass through the fire according to the abominations
of the nations, whom the Lord had cast out from
before the children of Israel. And he sacrificed
and burned incense on the high places, on the
hills, and under every green tree. Then Rezin
king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Ramaliah
king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to make
war. And they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome
him. At that time Rezin king of Syria captured
Eilat for Syria and drove the men of Judah from
Eilat. Then the Edomites went to Eilat and dwell
there to this day. So Ahaz sent messengers to
Tiglath -Pileser king of Assyria saying, I am
your servant and your son. Come up and save me
from the hand of the king of Syria and from the
hand of the king of Israel who rise up against
me. And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was
found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries
of the king's house and sent it as a present
to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria
heeded him, for the king of Assyria went up against
Damascus and took it, carried its people captive
to Ker and killed Rezin. Now king Ahaz went to
Damascus to meet Tiglath -Pileser. king of Assyria,
and saw an altar that was at Damascus. And king
Ahaz sent to Orisha the priest the design of
the altar and its pattern according to all its
workmanship. Then Urijah the priest built an
altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent
from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it before
King Ahaz came back from Damascus. And when the
king came back from Damascus, the king saw the
altar, and the king approached the altar and
made offerings on it. So he burned his burnt
offering and his grain offering, and he poured
his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of
his peace offerings on the altar. He also brought
the bronze altar which was before the Lord from
the front of the temple from between the new
altar and the house of the Lord and put it on
the north side of the new altar. Then King Ahaz
commanded Orisha the priest, saying, On the great
new altar burn the morning burnt offering, the
evening grain offering, the king's burnt sacrifice,
and his grain offering, with the burnt offering
of all the people of the land, their grain offering,
and their drink offerings, and sprinkle on it
all the blood of the burnt offering and all the
blood of the sacrifice. And the bronze altar
shall be for me to inquire by. Thus did Orisha
the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded.
And king Ahaz cut off the panels of the carts,
and removed the lavers from them. And he took
down the sea from the bronze oxen that were under
it, and put it on a pavement of stones. Also
he removed the Sabbath pavilion, which they had
built in the temple, and he removed the king's
outer entrance from the house of the Lord, on
account of the king of Assyria. Now the rest
of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Judah? So Ahaz rested with his fathers,
and was buried with his fathers in the city of
David. Then Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.
I hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as
I did, and I look forward to seeing you again
tomorrow to continue on our journey. God bless
you and have a great day.