TOPIC: Obey Only Lawful Commands Saturday 15, November 2014 TEXT: 2 KINGS 16:10-20 Key Verse: “And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus” (2 Kings 16:11). Man’s crave for innovation or drive to please a supposedly superior being, instead of God, often leads him to collision with his Maker. It also makes man to give the glory which rightly belongs to God to a fellow man instead. This, more often than not, results in idol worship. Ahaz, king of Judah, had gone to meet with Tiglathpileser, at Damascus to pay homage to him. There he saw an altar which he decided to duplicate for his Baal worship back at home (Jerusalem). It is instructive that this same enemy nation (Syria), in partnership with Israel had attacked Judah but unable to conquer it, though they had at different times in the past defeated Judah. The adoption of the altar upon which Syria worshipped her idol was a symbolic acceptance of the pagan god of that idolatrous nation. Anyway, birds of the same feathers flock together. Ahaz himself was deeply involved in idol worshipping. Although the type of priest Urijah was is not indicated in our text, he would have, like Nathan did to David, checked the excesses of Ahaz and made him toe the line of spiritual decency. Though he appeared obedient to the king, by his action, he had made Ahaz slide further into idol worship. Ahaz’s removal of the oxen, as well as the borders of the bases of the smaller lavers, in addition to the coverts for the Sabbath, all of which he subsequently transferred to the king of Syria, was not only a desecration of the temple of God, it also amounted to stripping God of His glory and giving same to man-made gods. Although God commands believers to, “obey them that have the rule over you,” they should, however, note that only lawful commands by superiors should be obeyed. Any command that requires believers to sin against God or that inhibits the worship of the living God should be wisely and firmly turned down. Children of God should also be careful not to give God’s glory to any man. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Doomed is he who courts man’s favour instead of God’s.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 06:30:41 +0000
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