Ahaz

Ahaz, son of Jotham, became king of Judah at twenty and reigned sixteen years. The verdict of 2 Kings 16:2 is unsparing: 'he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God, as his father David had done.' He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, made metal images for the Baals, made his sons (the Chronicler says even pass through the fire) in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and offered on every high hill. The Syro-Ephraimite war broke over his head: Rezin of Aram and Pekah of Israel marched against Jerusalem to depose him and replace him with a puppet 'son of Tabeel' (Isaiah 7). Edom and the Philistines also raided. Isaiah came to Ahaz at the conduit of the upper pool with the LORD's word: 'Take care, and be quiet, do not fear … it shall not stand'; the LORD offered him any sign in heaven or earth, but Ahaz piously refused, and was given a sign anyway: 'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel' (Isaiah 7:14). Ahaz instead stripped the temple of silver and gold and sent it to Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria, who duly destroyed Damascus. Ahaz went to meet him there, saw a foreign altar, sent its pattern to Urijah the priest, and had its copy set up in Jerusalem in place of the bronze altar of the LORD (2 Kings 16:10-16). He closed up the temple, made altars in every corner of Jerusalem, and high places in every city of Judah to burn incense to other gods. He was not buried in the tombs of the kings (2 Chronicles 28:27).