II Chronicles chapter 28 verse 19. And the title of the message should get everyone's attention because the title of the message is Stripped Naked. Uh huh. Alright, II Chronicles chapter 28 and verse 19. For the LORD brought Judah low, because of Ahaz king of Israel. For he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD." There is absolutely no one that wishes to be publicly shamed and humiliated. I realize there's a program on TV at least that's what I'm told, of someone supposedly lost in the wilderness naked. But there's none of us who would ever, ever consider being stripped naked in a public forum. The truth of the matter is most of us would be extremely embarrassed if we just lost our pants or a skirt in public. Others may laugh and think it was funny and humorous, but the one to whom it happened, it would not be funny or humorous. And the interesting thing is that when God created man, the Bible says He created them man and woman, and they were naked and not ashamed. In Genesis 2, verses 23-25, the Bible says, And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of the man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they too shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Now, the Hebrew word for naked there literally means to be naked, to be bare. The Hebrew word for unashamed means that they were not shameful, neither were they embarrassed. They were created naked. In other words, nakedness was the state of their creation. They were also created pure and innocent, and therefore there was no reason to be ashamed or humiliated. I've often said jokingly, should babies be ashamed of the fact that they were born without clothes? I mean, obviously, there would be no reason for Adam and Eve to be ashamed if we're not ashamed of babies being born naked as well. But shame and embarrassment came through sin and because of sin. In fact, we are shamed and humiliated now because we have lost our purity and our innocence. You remember that passage in Genesis 3, verses 9-11, Now the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, I hid myself. And the Lord said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the fruit whereof I commended thee, that thou shouldest not eat? So obviously sin caused us to lose not only our purity, but our innocence, and it caused shame and embarrassment. There have been over the years numerous back to the Eden movements where these people publicly advocate public nudity. In fact, they say that no one should be ashamed of his or her body. Well, that is one point certainly that could be enunciated. Yet the truth of the matter is those who advocate those back to the Eden movements and public nudity have no way to deal with the shame and humiliation and sin and rebellion against God. only Jesus Christ can remove the stigma of sin and rebellion. And the truth of the matter is this, man will never go back to Eden because of our sin and because of our rebellion. Moreover, those who are in Jesus Christ now have something far better than Eden. Whatever we lost in the first Adam, we gained far more in the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ. So, when you think about nakedness, I want to ask you a question. What about Jesus Christ? I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew 27, whole 2 Chronicles, because we're certainly coming back there. But look in Matthew 27, and let's begin reading our verse 27, because the Bible does say that they stripped the Son of God. Notice Matthew 27 and verse 27. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto Him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped Him, and put on Him a scarlet robe. And when they had planted a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head, and a reed in His right hand, and they bowed the knee before Him, and mocked Him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews. And they spit upon Him, and took the reed, and smote Him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him." Now, the interesting thing is in verse 28 the Bible says, they stripped him. The Greek word there is ekduo, which literally means to strip. to take off, to unclothe, and to strip one of his garments. So the question has to be asked, did they strip him naked at that particular point? If you would skip down to verse 35. We know that He was crucified. And the Bible said, And they crucified Him and parted His garments, plural, casting lots that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet. They parted My garments among them, and upon My vesture did they cast lots. So the question has to be asked, did they strip Jesus Christ naked again? We know that they gambled for His garments. If you would look in John 19 and verse 23. John 19, verse 23. Here we read this, Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, plural, and made four parts to every soldier apart, and also his coat. Now, the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. Now, the Greek word for garments here is hamataion, which literally refers to your garments, your cloak, your clothes, your robe, and your apparel. The Bible says they stripped Him. Whether they stripped Him absolutely naked, or where they left what you and I would call underclothes on Him, It would still be a humiliating and embarrassing situation. They purposely and deliberately wanted to mock and humiliate the Son of God. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Hebrews 12, and notice what is said particularly concerning the sufferings of Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 12, beginning there with verse 1, and we'll read through verse 3. Hebrews 12, verse 1, and read through verse 3. The Bible says, Wherefore, seeing we are all so compassed about, with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight in the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Now notice verse 2, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down on the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your mind. So the Bible says that he endured the cross and despising the shame. So regardless of whether or not he was absolutely stripped naked, And it's interesting that the Bible also says concerning the women that they stood afar off, which may indicate that in reality He was. So it is our sin that makes us naked, bare, and polluted, and only Jesus Christ can deal with that sin. I do want you to turn to the book of Ezekiel. And I want you to look in Ezekiel 16 because God is describing how He found Israel. And in that sense of the word, He also describes what we were in and of ourselves before He saved us. So look at Ezekiel 16, and let's begin reading there with verse 4, just showing you the theme of nakedness in the Bible. Notice Ezekiel 16. And notice if you would, beginning there with verse 4. God says, And as for thy nativity, in the day that thou wast born, thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee, thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye pitted thee to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee, but thou wast cast out in the open field to the loathing of thy person in the day that thou wast born." So here's a picture now of a newborn child that no one wanted. No one cleaned, no one swaddled, no one washed. They just threw the child out in the field to die. So He said in verse 5, "'None, I pitted thee to do any of these things unto thee, to have compassion upon thee. But thou wast cast down in the open field to the loathing of thy person in the day that thou wast born. And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee, When thou wast in thy blood, Live! Yea, I said unto thee, When thou wast in thy blood, Live! I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou wast increased in wax and grade, and thou art come to excellent ornaments. Thy breast are fashioned, thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love. Then I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness. Yea, I swear unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine." Then washed I thee with water, yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shopped thee with badger skin, and girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. So here is a picture then of sinners, of what they are in and of themselves. And God says, once again, that we were naked, and we were bare, and we were in our blood and pollution, and cast out to the loathing ourselves. Now here's an interesting thought. I don't know if you've ever thought about the theme of nakedness in the Bible. But do you realize, according to the Scripture, that individuals, families, churches, And even nations can be made naked through sin and rebellion. Now, as far as individuals are concerned, there are a number of passages. Let me just show you two of them. I want you to turn in your Bibles to II Corinthians 5. 2 Corinthians 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 1. The apostle Paul is talking about our bodies, and he says this, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 1, For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, We have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. So he's talking about Christians now. So if this tabernacle, this body were dissolved, we have a new body, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Now look at verse 2. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven. If so be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked. So there's an indication here that those who are without this new body, or without this new house, will be found to be naked. Then he says in verse 4, For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. So those who are in Christ will certainly be clothed. Those who are without Christ will not have that new house, or that new body, and thus will be exposed. If you would look in your Bibles to the book of Revelation chapter 16, here's another verse that relates to individuals. Revelation chapter 16, notice verse 15. Revelation 16 and verse 15. So he says, Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. Keeping your garments here, I believe, would refer to being obedient, to be holy, to be godly. lest, he said, he walk naked, and they see his shame." So there are verses in the Bible that indicate that individuals can be made naked, but there are also verses that indicate that churches can be made naked. For instance, if you would go back to Revelation chapter 3, and look what our Lord says to the church of Laodicea, Revelation chapter 3, and let's begin reading there with verse 14. Watch it. Revelation 3, verse 14, And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things saith the Amen, the fateful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Now look what the church of Laodicea said. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing. And knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked? I counsel thee to buy me gold fried in fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment, righteousness, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear. and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve that thou mayest see. As many as I love I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore and repent." So obviously here is a way that entire churches may be found to be naked. And I'm afraid that there are many Christians as well as churches that shall be ashamed in the day of our Lord because of their nakedness. We may not be ashamed now, but we will be ashamed then. Interesting, the Greek word for naked in the New Testament is the word goumnos. And it is translated as naked or bare and indicates someone who is unclad or unclothed. So obviously one that is made publicly bare, stripped of his clothing, will be embarrassed and will be ashamed. That is for sure. I got tickled at one of our ladies years ago, just to show you how easily embarrassed we are. You do not have to do something great to be embarrassed, but she was coming down the steps of the post office, and there were four or five steps going down, and she tripped and fell, and fell down those, I think it were marble steps, and fell onto the pavement. And she told me, she said, Pastor, do you know the first thing that I did? And I immediately said, well, you hollered for help. No, she said, I looked around to see if anybody else was looking. embarrassed her just because she tripped and fell in public. So I mean obviously we could be embarrassed more so if something like losing your clothes happened. Now I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 32. You must remember in this passage that it was Aaron who made the people naked to their shame. And I want you to see how he did this. Now watch carefully. Exodus chapter 32, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods which shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we want not or know not what is become of him." So Moses is up in the mountain receiving the law of God. And they said, we don't know what's become of you. And Aaron said to them, Break off the golden earrings which were in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people break off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf. And they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made proclamation and said, Tomorrow is a feast of the Lord. And they rose up early on the morrow and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and to drink and rose up to play. Now when the Bible says they rose up to play, it doesn't mean that they rose up to play basketball or baseball or monopoly. No. It means that they rose up to commit fornication. If you will skip down to verse 25. Notice if you would please. And when Moses saw that the people were naked, For Aaron had made them naked, note, unto their shame among their enemies. Moses saw that the people were naked." So we know that individuals can be stripped naked. We know that churches can be stripped naked. But in our text in II Chronicles 28 and verse 19, it is a nation that is stripped naked. Now, let me point out the fact that there is a correlation between Exodus 32 and 2 Chronicles 28 and verse 19. If you've been listening to the news, or reading the news on the You'll notice there have been numerous individuals recently that stripped naked and did things that were just absolutely insane. I just read this week about a woman, I think she was in a minor wreck, and she jumped out of the vehicle, took off all of her clothes, and grabbed a knife and ran straight for a deputy. And he didn't shoot her, thankfully, here in Jacksonville, Florida. The cops had to deal with several who were naked and absolutely insane, high on drugs. You know, the point I'm trying to make is this. When we think about someone who is naked, we're thinking about someone who is without provision. YOU'RE WITHOUT PROTECTION BECAUSE YOUR CLOTHES HELP PROTECT YOU. YOU'RE WITHOUT POWER AND IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE YOU'RE WITHOUT POWER OR WITHOUT CLOTHES YOU JUST TRY EXISTING IN A ZERO DEGREE TEMPERATURE FOR 24 HOURS BEING ABSOLUTELY NAKED. YOU'LL FIND THAT YOU HAVE NO POWER TO DO ANYTHING EXCEPT FREEZE TO DEATH. And of course, if you are stripped naked, you certainly have no peace as well. Now, I want you to look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles 28 and verse 19. Let me read this again, because we're going to go back and look at the context and see what is happening. 2 Chronicles 28 verse 19, For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he made Judah naked and transgressed sore against the Lord." Now there are several truths that have to be observed. First of all, note if you would, it was the Lord who brought Judah low. It's what the Bible says, for the Lord brought Judah low. God is a God of judgment. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 32 and verse 4, He is the rock His work is perfect, for all of His ways are judgment. A God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He." So let me put it to you very plainly. God is not removed from the world which He created. He does not sit idly by and twiddle His thumbs and express no interest in what transpires in the world. The deists say that what God did was that God created the world like a clock, and He wound the clock up, and then God withdrew and just sits back and waits for the clock to run down, and when it finally stops, then God's going to step in. No. The truth of the matter is, He judges and He executes His righteous intervention either in judgment or deliverance. And He does so in time and in history. He is active in bringing His purpose to pass in His providence. So the Bible tells us that God brought Judah low, and He is also the one that's going to bring all the nations low that rebel against Him. Secondly, let me point out, He says in verse 19, for the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel. So God judges nations in light of their wicked rulers. Now, I want you to look at verse 19. For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel. Really? Well, the fact of the matter is Ahaz was king of Judah. Now is the Bible wrong in calling him the king of Israel? No. There's a purpose in that. If you go back to verse 2, look at it. Well, in fact, let's read verses 1 and 2. We'll come back later to this passage. Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. But he did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord, like David his father. For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images to Balaam. Now, it's not just that he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, he did that. Kylan Dalich in their commentary says this concerning Ahaz, listen. Ahaz is called the king of Israel, not simply because he walked in the ways of the kings of the kingdom of the ten tribes, but ironically, because his government was the bitterest satire upon the name of the king of Israel and the people of God. In other words, Ahaz personified all of the sin, all the rebellion, all the wickedness of the kings of Israel. He was a wicked, vile individual. Now, the Bible also tells us. that God brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel. Now watch, for he made Judah naked and transgressed sore against the Lord." So, what did Ahaz do? The answer is, he transgressed sore against the Lord, and in his transgressions, he made Judah naked. His transgressions were against the Lord, and the reason as well as to why he made Judah naked. Now, how did he do this? How did he make Judah naked? Well, let me try to answer that question. First, like Aaron in Exodus 32, he stripped the people of their faith and led them into idolatry. He stripped the people of their faith and led them into idolatry. Go back, if you would, to verse 2. Let's read verses 2 and 3. 2 Chronicles 28 verse 2. We're talking about Ahaz. For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Balaam. Moreover, he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel." Wow! Here's a man that is exceedingly vile. He sacrifices his own children to a false god. He serves Balaam. Skip down, if you would, to verse 22. We'll come back to this passage. And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the LORD. This is that king Ahaz. Look what the Bible says, For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him. And he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, therefore will I sacrifice to them that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him in all Israel. And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD. And he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem, and in every several cities of Judah. He made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers. So by His decrees and by His example, He stripped Judah of their faith, their service, and worship of the true God. So what He did, He caused licentiousness. He caused nakedness to abound in Judah. He allowed Judah to break loose from all restraints of true religion and to turn to any idolatry they preferred. In other words, this apostasy resembles what Scripture refers to as an unfaithful life. Now, it's interesting, in verse 22, the Bible says, this is that King Ahaz. When you look at II Kings 17, verse 21, The Bible says that Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and he made them sin a great sin. So Jeroboam was the first king of the ten northern tribes, and he drove Israel. He drove them. It's like someone taking a whip and beating them and driving them away. And there are numerous ways that he drove them. When you get to II Kings 21 and verse 9, You read about King Manasseh. The Bible said, And Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel. So on the one hand, you have Jeroboam driving, And on the other hand, you have Manasseh seducing. So here's two ways that people can get into idolatry, either being driven or by being seduced. And by the way, if you will study your Bible, you will find that all of the idolatries began with the kings, and they began with government. It was Solomon that introduced idolatry into Israel. It was Jeroboam that introduced idolatry into Israel. It was Manasseh. It was also Ahaz. So on the one hand you have Jeroboam driving, you have Manasseh seducing, and now you have Ahaz. Here's a man that abused the house of God. I'll talk about this a little bit later. But he cut the pieces of the furniture of the temple into, he shut the doors when he stole equipment. When he stole the vessels, the priests could not do the service. When he shut the doors, the people could not enter into the temple to worship. So basically Ahaz was worse than all of the kings before him. And he even denied God because the Scripture said that he put altars in every corner of Jerusalem. In other words, he made his altars and he put those altars on a par and made them equal to and or above the true altar of God. because you couldn't get to the true altar of God, because He shut the doors of the temple. So He's saying, this is where you're going to worship. And He made high places, these idolaters' places, all over Judah and Jerusalem. Now, listen carefully, wherever and whenever Men are not men of conviction and principle. It is possible for civil rulers to drive, seduce, and lead a people into idolatry and apostasy. Think about this. Wherever and whenever you do not have men of principle and conviction, it's easy for a tyrant to drive or seduce or to lead them into apostasy and idolatry. He made them naked, the Bible says, because he drove them from the true God and from the true faith. We have not understood the implications of wicked rulers. Neither have we really understood the implications of politically correct speech and the actions that are going on today that are similarly referred to as cultural cleansing. We are being stripped naked in this nation and we do not even realize what is happening. Let me give you an example. What about the removal of the Confederate monuments and statutes? Well, it's called cultural cleansing. And of course, it's the Marxists, the leftists, the liberals that are doing all of this. And someone says, well, listen, they are after our culture. And here's my response. They're not after our culture. They're after our faith. Because culture is religion externalized. You know what your culture is? Your culture is the outworking of your faith. Look at the culture of Africa, the culture of India, the culture of China, and the culture of America. Your culture is the outworking of your faith. And the monuments and the statutes to godly men and heroic men are symbols of our Southern Christian heritage and faith. I don't care who you read, Northern or Southern, most of these authors will always acknowledge that General Lee, Robert E. Lee, was one of the godliest men that ever lived. Stonewall Jackson, Jeb Stuart, Richard Stoddard Ewell. So the point I'm trying to make, it's not just the monuments they're after, it's our faith. And I will tell you something, once they get through removing your Confederate monuments and statutes of these godly, heroic men, hang on, because now they're going to go after the founding fathers and men of principle and conviction, because they represent biblical Christianity. They're already after Sam Houston in Texas, and Sam Houston was originally from Tennessee. Sam Houston was the man who defeated Santa Ana at the Battle of San Jacinto. Sam Houston was the man Texas a Republican, bring it into being. And now they are after Sam Houston as well. So what Ahaz did, the way he made Judah naked was he stripped them of their faith and consequently he stripped them of their culture as well, because their culture was an expression of their faith. Secondly, Ahaz made them naked by exposing them to their enemies. I want to show you this. His leadership, His wickedness, His actions brought the wrath of God not only upon Ahaz, but upon Judah. Look in 2 Chronicles 28 beginning there with verse 5. I want you to see what happened. You're talking about making someone naked by exposing them to their enemies? Here it is. Verse 5, Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria, and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. So let me just stop right there. So the Syrians have come and smote him. I don't know how many they killed. don't know how many they carried captives, but the Syrians defeated Judah. Watch the latter part of verse 5, And he, that is Ahaz, was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. Now watch, For Pechah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men. Why? Because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. And Zechariah, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king's son, and Azaricum the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king. And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand women, sons, and daughters, and also took away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria." So here, not only have the Syrians destroyed them and defeated them, now Israel has done so and killed 120,000 one day, plus 200,000 prisoners. Can you imagine being exposed to your enemies and being defeated and destroyed like this? Now, skip down to verse 16. Watch verse 16. At that time did King Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him? Well, he said, I need some help. I don't need help from God. I just need help from a stronger king. Watch verse 17. For the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives. The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, of the south of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocco, with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, and Gemezo also with the villages thereof, and they dwelt there. And here it is again, For the LORD brought you to low, because of Ahaz king of Israel. For he made you naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD. Look at verse 20, And Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not. Wow. When a ruler and a people forsake God, God forsakes them and judges them. I want you to look back at verse 6. Here's what is explicitly said in verse 6, For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all value men, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. Watch again how it's reiterated in verse 9, But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded. And he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the Lord God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage that reacheth up into heaven. It cannot be overemphasized that our protection is in the Lord and not in man or in political alliances. Most of us can quote Psalm 127, verse 1, Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. And then, of course, Proverbs 21 and verse 31, the horse is prepared against the day of battle, but safety is of the Lord. And so Ahaz made them naked, by driving them from their faith and their culture, and he made them naked by exposing them to their enemies. Thirdly, Ahaz made the people naked and destroyed the nation, listen carefully, by stealing from God and the people, and by personally following the grossest forms of idolatry. He did so under the pretense seeking to protect the nation. Look at it, 2 Chronicles 28, verse 21, For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the LORD, and out of the house of the king, and the princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria, but he helped him not. Now what did he do? He took away a portion out of the house of the LORD. In other words, he stole from the temple. and out of the house of the king. Well, that may have been his own, but it may not have been. It may have belonged to the nation. And then it says of the princes, that is, he stole from them. He taxed them. He took from them. And he turned around and gave it to the king of Assyria. but he helped him not. Verse 22, And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the LORD? This is that king Ahaz. Now watch what happened. For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him. And he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him and all Israel. He had forsaken God. And he says, well, these dumb idols, they help their people, I'll sacrifice to them. So I'm seeking to protect the nation, but I'm doing so by destroying the nation. verse 24, And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD. And he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem, and in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoke to anger the LORD God of his fathers." What is he doing? He's stealing from God He's stealing from the people. No amount of money, no amount of taxes, no amount of theft can prevent or hinder or thwart the judgment of God. If you have never read the law written by Frederick Bastier, I trust you'll do so. It's a little paperback, just about that thick. And in that book, Bastier distinguishes between illegal plunder and legal plunder. So if I take a pistol and I stick it to Steve's head and I say, give me all your money or I'll kill you, that is the illegal plunder. Everybody understands that. But if I want what he has and I don't want to suffer the consequences of going to jail or chance getting shot by him, what I do then as a politician is I pass a law and make him give to me or else he goes to prison. legal plunder. When even Thomas Jefferson said, it is immoral to make a man pay for and support that which he does not believe in. One of the things that drives me up a wall is property taxes. When you stop and think that about 80% of that or 70% goes to the government schools. I've never had a child in a government school a day in my life or a day in their lives. All my children went to a Christian school all of their lives. I sacrificed, I paid for their education. Why should I pay for the education of Steve's children? That's his responsibility. That's not mine. Moreover, when you think about a property tax, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and they dwell therein. And when man comes along and says, I'm going to tax you on this property, man is assuming ownership of God's world. And many people do not realize that the colonists when they were fighting Georgia Third, tried to get Canada to join with us in fighting Georgia Third. And one of the arguments they had was, if we're not careful, the next thing you know, they'll even be trying to tax our property. So the point I'm trying to make is, here this man was doing everything he could. He thought to protect the nation, and what he was doing was destroying the nation. He made them naked. He made them naked, and God destroyed him. Ahaz made Judah naked, as his sin debased them, so it exposed them. It made them naked to their shame, for it exposed them to contempt. as if a man is unclothed. It made them naked to danger, for it exposed them to assaults as a man unarmed. And we fail to remember that sin strips men. It does so individually, familially, ecclesiastically, and nationally. You know what the Bible says in Proverbs 14, verse 34? Righteousness exalted the nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. And that's a fact. So I made this statement earlier. We're being stripped naked in this country, and we do not even realize it. So here are my applications. First of all, we are being slowly but surely stripped naked. It is our faith, our culture, our history, our heritage that are consistently and constantly attacked and destroyed. Corrupt rulers and politicians and unbelievers may knowingly or unknowingly strip us naked, but that's beside the point. We're still being stripped naked. Those that will not humble themselves unto the hand of God shall be made low. That's what the Bible says. God brought Judah low. Why? Because of their pride and arrogance and rebellion and idolatry. I'd much rather submit to God in a humble manner and be blessed by God than I had to be ruined by Him. I want to show you, look in Psalm 106. Psalm 106. And notice if you would, verses 40 through 43. Psalm 106, beginning there, verse 40. Here's the people that rebelled against God and sinned against God. Psalm 106, verse 40. Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled, note carefully now, kindled against His people, insomuch that he abhorred his inheritance. And he gave them into the hand of the heathen, and they that hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into objection under their hand." What? God judged the people and gave them into the hand of the heathen, and they that hated them ruled over them. Is that not where we are? Let me show you. Go in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 28. Deuteronomy 28. Everybody knows this passage. You say, why in the world would God deliver us into the hands of the heathen? Well, let me show you. Here's a good illustration. In fact, we could begin in verse 43. Let's begin in verse 43. These are the blessings and the curses, and this happens to be the curses. God says, The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high, and thou shalt come down very low. It doesn't take much today to look around and see how the illegal immigrants get far more out of our government than does a citizen. In fact, they have more rights than a citizen today. The stranger that is with thee shall get up above thee very high, and thou shalt come down very low. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him. He shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. Now watch, moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed, because Now hearkenest not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes, which he commanded thee. And they shall be upon thee for a sign, and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. Now watch carefully. Here's why God judges with the heathen. Because thou servest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things. Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies, which the Lord shall send against thee. Look at it in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in the one of all things. And he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. God said, you don't want to serve me joyfully and gladly and willingly? You think my service is hard? I tell you what I'll do. I'll put you in the hands of your enemies. And we'll see whose service is hard. We'll see whether you'd rather serve me or serve them. Obviously, obviously, We are made naked when we forsake the Lord and His Word. The second application is this. We must understand that God is omniscient. That is, He is all-knowing. God knows our hearts, our desires, our thoughts, our actions, our motives. And by the way, let me say this. It is a joy to a righteous man that God knows our hearts, and our thoughts, and our desires, and our motives. Many times we try to do something right, and we mess up, and we can always come to the Lord and say, but Lord, you know my heart, you know the motive, you know what I really want to do that which is right. It just didn't work out. It's a terror to the wicked to know that God does indeed know every desire that they have, and every thought, and every motive. The Bible says in the book of Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 13, neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. So the truth of the matter is this, if we wish to maintain our history, our heritage, If we wish to maintain our families, our churches, and our country, we can only do it by being in a submissive state and in obedience to Him and His law. Or else, if we sin against Him, we shall be found naked. just as Adam was found naked, just as Aaron made them naked, just as Ahaz made them naked, we'll be stripped of everything that God in His mercy has given unto us. And Ahaz made them naked. It is possible for civil rulers to strip a nation naked. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. And Lord, we pray that You would help us to be obedient, to be holy, to be godly, to be submissive. And Lord, if no one else stands, may we stand. If no one else is true, may we be true. If no one else loves Thee, Lord, may we love Thee, and do that which is holy and right and pleasing in Thy sight. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.