But I will use the bronze altar for seeking guidance.

 

Tuesday, November 14, 2023


Psalm 34

2 Kings 16

Matthew 23:1-15


But I will use the bronze altar for seeking guidance.


King Ahaz seems hell bent on pursuing the destruction of his kingdom. All he can see is what is immediately in front of his face; the record of his rule that we have here in the sixteenth chapter is nothing more than a series of reactions.


Going along with the flow, he begins his rule in ignominy. Foolishly thinking he can mix the worship of the Lord with the observance of pagan religion, he even goes so far as to murder his own son by setting him on fire. Behold the folly of mixing true religion with culture.


We are following the one true God, the Almighty who sees everything and knows everything. Everything we could ever need or know will be freely given to us by our loving Father. All we have to do is to ask Him. But He is also a jealous God. Our Father is jealous for our affections; jealous for our spiritual well-being. He knows even better than we do that if we stray from His ways even in the slightest then we open ourselves up to danger beyond our understanding. And so we keep close in His tight embrace, trusting Him for everything, and ourselves for nothing.


King Ahaz finished his misrule by shuffling around the holy furniture in the temple. The altar of the Lord was moved off to the side of the room. No longer the object of affection and devotion, the God of the universe was put in the corner, a sort of magic genie whom Ahaz could turn to in order to find out the future.


Our loving Father is so wonderfully majestic that not even the altar in the middle of the room is good enough! And yet in his folly, Ahaz puts Him off to the side, as one helper amongst many. Our interaction with the spiritual realm needs to be done to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. Without God to guide us through these places, we are in terrible danger. But when we do have God as our centre, as our entirety, then all the spiritual blessings of heaven and earth are opened to us.

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