2 Kings 16:5-9 ESV

5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to wage war on Jerusalem, and they besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. 6 At that time Rezin the king of Syria recovered Elath for Syria and drove the men of Judah from Elath, and the Edomites came to Elath, where they dwell to this day. 7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” 8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasures of the king's house and sent a present to the king of Assyria. 9 And the king of Assyria listened to him. The king of Assyria marched up against Damascus and took it, carrying its people captive to Kir, and he killed Rezin.

5 At si Rezin na hari ng Siria at si Peka na anak ni Remalias na hari ng Israel ay umahon upang makipagdigma sa Jerusalem, at kanilang kinubkob si Ahaz ngunit siya'y hindi nila malupig. 6 Nang panahong iyon, binawi ni Rezin na hari ng Aram ang Elat para sa Aram at pinalayas ang mga taga-Juda sa Elat. Ang mga taga-Aram ay dumating sa Elat at doon ay nanirahan sila hanggang sa araw na ito. 7 Kaya't nagpadala si Ahaz ng mga sugo kay Tiglat-pileser na hari ng Asiria, na ipinasasabi, “Ako ay iyong lingkod at iyong anak. Umahon ka, at iligtas mo ako sa kamay ng hari ng Siria at sa kamay ng hari ng Israel na sumasalakay sa akin.” 8 Kinuha rin ni Ahaz ang pilak at ginto na natagpuan sa bahay ng PANGINOON, at sa mga kabang-yaman ng bahay ng hari at nagpadala ng kaloob sa hari ng Asiria. 9 Pinakinggan siya ng hari ng Asiria; ang hari ng Asiria ay umahon laban sa Damasco, at sinakop ito at dinalang-bihag ang taong-bayan sa Kir; at pinatay niya si Rezin.

A DESPERATE ACT

Rezin, the king of Syria had colluded with Pekah, the king of Israel to subdue King AhaZ, the king of Judah. As Rezin conquered the southern territory of Judah named Elath, King Ahaz was significantly threatened. He must have thought that sooner, if he couldn’t find an outside help, the enemy would come and devour them. Thus, he decided to seek the help of King Tiglath-Pileser [Pul] of Assyria.

Are you facing a threatening situation today? To whom do you seek help? To God or somebody else? God allows our vulnerabilities to make as realize our need of God. However, King Ahaz was already influenced with the leavened of idolatry. Thus, he was quick to ask help from a heathen king. Perhaps, he was oblivious for the fact that this was not just a military and political issue. It was a spiritual one. He left God in the equation altogether.

The situation became messy. Judah and Southern kingdom should have united to fight Syria and Assyria. Instead, they are turning against each other with their respective protectors. And, subjugation to their protectors was inevitable price to pay. Thus, Ahaz sent a message to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” Ahaz was victorious over his enemies because of Assyria. Ironically, he was also a slave to Assyria. As a result, Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasures of the king's house and gave all to him. This is the price of servitude. When God sets us free we are free indeed. Unlike God, Satan won’t gave favor without a corresponding price of serfdom. Paul had pointed this reality by saying, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?[Rom 6:3] Thankfully, as His children, “our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”[Rom 6:6]

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