2 Kings 16:10-20 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:10

And King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser King of Assyria. It was a practice of the Assyrian monarchs to hold durbar ' s , or courts, at central places in the provinces, in the course of their military expeditions, whereat to receive the subject princes of the neighborhood, who were expected to do homage, and bring with them presents, or their fixed tribute. Tiglath-pileser held one such court in the earlier part of his reign at Arpad, a Syrian town, at which were present... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:10-17

A wicked king allowed to have his way by a weak priest. The double regime , civil and ecclesiastical, which it pleased God to establish in his first Church, the Jewish, and to continue, with certain modifications, in his second Church, the Christian, seems to have been designed for the mutual advantage of both parties. Authority, in whatever hands it is placed, is always liable to be abused, to over-assert itself, to grow arbitrary, autocratic, tyrannical. Hence the necessity of checks, of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:10-18

Religious changes introduced into Judea by Ahaz . The new position into which Ahaz had brought himself with respect to Assyria was followed by certain religious changes, which were probably, in part at any rate, its consequence, though some of them may have been the result of his own religious (or irreligious) convictions. He had a new altar made and introduced into the temple, which at first he used for his own private sacrifices ( 2 Kings 16:10-13 ); then, that his new altar might... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:10-20

Religious innovations. The remaining events of the reign of Ahaz recorded in this chapter shed a strong light on the king's frivolous and arbitrary character. I. THE DAMASCUS ALTAR . 1. Ahaz at Damascus . We are now introduced to Tiglath-pileser holding court in Damascus, and Ahaz is there as one of the vassals and tributaries of the Assyrian king. He does not seem to feel the humiliation of his position, but is probably pleased to figure as part of so brilliant an... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:11

And Urijah the priest. No doubt the Uriah of Isaiah ( Isaiah 8:2 ), who might be a "faithful witness" to the record of a fact, though a bad man, over-complaisant in carrying out the will of the king. Built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus :—rather, built the altar , i.e. the altar commanded by the monarch— so Urijah the priest made it against King Ahaz came from Damascus. A bold high priest like Azariah ( 2 Chronicles 26:17 ) would have refused to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:12

And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon. It is not necessarily implied in these words that Ahaz, like Uzziah, usurped the priestly functions, though conceivably he may have done so, and Urijah may have stood tamely by. What the writer has it in his mind to record is that the king, on his return from Damascus, at once made use of the new' altar for his private sacrifices. If he had meant to tax Ahaz with so... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:13

And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar. (On the different kinds of offerings, see Leviticus 1-7.) read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:14

And he brought also the brazen altar, which was before the Lord. One sin leads on to another. Having introduced his self-invented quasi-idolatrous altar into the temple, and so inserted "the thin end of the wedge," Ahaz was not satisfied, but proceeded to another innovation. Urijah, having had no express order from the king with respect to the position of the new altar, had placed it in front of the old one, between it and the eastern gate of the court. Thus the old altar, which was... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:15

And King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying. Here the king, no doubt, stepped out of the sphere of his duties, not to usurp exactly the priestly office, but to give directions in matters which belonged, not to the regale , but to the pontificale . Urijah ought to have refused obedience. Upon the great altar. Certainly not so called because of its size (Keil), for it was probably much smaller than the old altar, but because of its position (see the comment on 2 Kings 16:14 ). ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:16

Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that King Ahaz commanded. An emphatic condemnation of the high priest, whose subserviency evidently pro-yokes the writer's indignation. read more

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:10

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:10-17

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:10-18

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:10-20

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:11

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:12

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:13

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:14

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:15

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 16:16

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