Ahaz

About Ahaz

Ahaz was the son of Jotham and the eleventh king of Judah. He reigned for 16 years in Jerusalem, beginning at the age of 20. Ahaz did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but followed the ways of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering and sacrificed to idols on the high places. (2Ki.16.1-4; 2Ch.28.1-4)

During his reign, Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, king of Israel, attacked Jerusalem but could not conquer it. (2Ki.16.5; Isa.7.1) The prophet Isaiah encouraged Ahaz to trust in the Lord, but Ahaz instead sought help from Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, offering him tribute. (2Ki.16.7-9; Isa.7.3-12).

Ahaz adopted pagan practices, including building a new altar based on a design from Damascus and offering sacrifices on it. He cut up the temple articles and closed the doors of the Lord's temple. (2Ki.16.10-18; 2Ch.28.24) Ahaz faced military defeats and became increasingly unfaithful to the Lord. (2Ch.28.5-8,16-25).

Hezekiah, Ahaz's son, succeeded him as king. Hezekiah repaired and purified the temple, which had been neglected during Ahaz's reign. (2Ch.29.3-19) The reign of Ahaz was marked by idolatry and unfaithfulness to God, leading to political turmoil and religious decline in Judah. (2Ki.16.2-4; 2Ch.28.1-4,22-25).

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.