Chapter 28
Ahaz becomes king in Judah at 20, for 16 years. He is a bad one. Worships Baal, has images made of them, has his sons pass through the fire, and he worships on all the high places. He follows the ways of the Kings of Israel, in the north. And keep in mind that he is doing this as Isaiah, Amos, and Micah are prophesying about the coming destruction of the north. Yet still, Ahaz follows their ways.
Because of this, Syria defeats Judah in battle and takes many captives back to Syria.
2021 - Here is the verse:
5 Therefore the LORD his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force. [2Ch 28:5 ESV]. Note that it starts with "Therefore..." Sometimes it is not at all complicated. In this case, in Ahaz's case, he did bad things, and the Syrians came and defeated them in battle and many captives were taken. Done and done. Not at all like the indirect situation earlier where they had a meeting in heaven to decide how Ahab would go down.
Just uproots them, and takes them as slaves, and there is no one in Judah to come after them or rescue them, and bring them home. They are just gone. Then God has Israel defeat Judah also. Israel kills 120,000 from Judah in a day, and takes 200,000 captive. Many very high ranking people from Judah are killed including the King's son, the commander of the palace, and the King's second in command. Israel takes all these captives, and soon after will be conquered by Assyria. And then those captives are likely captured again and removed still further from home. Argument could also be made that instead of wisely defending from the prophesied and imminent invasion from the north, both Israel and Syria are wasting time and resources grabbing captives from Judah. Perhaps this is God's way of weakening them all for what is coming, and their infighting makes the ambitious King of Assyria turn his eyes toward them.
2025 - We recently saw where Judah's army was 300,000 strong. Then they lose 120,000, killed, and thee must also have been many wounded. Judah would have no defense really after this. Then Israel depopulates the south by taking 200,000 women sons and daughters. They took the families of the dead, and the families of the survivors. We think war is cruel now. We think what's happening in Gaza is cruel now. It isn't a drop in the bucket.
Oded the prophet and other leaders refute this, and return all the captives to Jericho. Making slaves of them had made God even angrier with Israel than He was before. Israel's victory was a punishment to Judah and NOT a reward to Israel! Once this has happened, Ahaz appeals to the King of Assyria for help. He invites a tyrant, an absolute ruler, a pagan, to come and help him.
The Edomites and Philistines also invade. The Philistines even take up residence in much of Judah. Ahaz appeals to Assyria. Tiglath-Pilesar III comes, takes offered tribute, and then does not help Ahaz. These verses:
20 So Tiglath-pilesar king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. 21 For Ahaz took a portion from the house of the LORD and the house of the king and of the princes, and gave tribute to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him. [2Ch 28:20-21 ESV]
Ahaz turns even more to idols. "22 In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the LORD--this same King Ahaz. [2Ch 28:22 ESV]." Look at this wording. The writer cannot believe it either. How could one who is so obviously being corrected by God continue to rebel - to rebel EVEN MORE than before? How can it be. I think it is back to the idea of inexplicable historical actions and decisions being based on the intervention of God to move history in the way he intends. So as God's chastening intensifies, it drives Ahaz further away rather than bringing him home. This is a terrible thing, and shows just how hard hearted and committed to his chosen path in the wrong direction Ahaz has become. Everything is going the wrong way for him, but instead of changing direction, he doubles down on the things he has already been doing. He decides that since Syria's idols helped them, he will sacrifice to them also. And he closes the doors of the Temple so that none can worship there at all, and builds pagan altars all over Jerusalem. He makes these altars out of the cut up and melted down vessels from the Temple of Solomon. How could he have sunk so low?
Here is a FB post about resisting the Holy Spirit. About lives gone wrong and doubling down on wrong instead of admitting wrong.
When he dies at 36, they do not bury him with the kings, but he is buried in Jerusalem. So he dies young at least, though we are not given the cause of death here in 2Ch. His son Hezekiah reigns in his place.