We're in Second Kings chapter 16 in your Bibles. Second Kings chapter 16. We're moving toward the end of the northern kingdom. Chapter 17 will mark their carrying away by Assyria into captivity. The 16th chapter of Second Kings is given over entirely to the reign of a king in the southern kingdom, Judah, the king Ahaz. This also is recorded in 2 Chronicles chapter 28, and we will be looking into that parallel chapter as well. Ahaz is one of those men in the Bible giving unique opportunities and privileges by God. One of those privileges was both his father and grandfather. who were kings before him are noted as being good kings. 2 Kings 15, verse 3, his grandfather Uzziah, or as he's called, Azariah here, he did right in the sight of the Lord. His father, verse 34 of chapter 15, he did right in the sight of the Lord. as his father Uzziah had done. So he had this kind of godly heritage preceding him. A second privilege given to Ahaz is one of the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, Isaiah, ministered to Ahaz. And we'll be looking into the prophecy of Isaiah. So he not only has a father and a grandfather who ruled before him who would have had influence on him, but he had the prophet Isaiah. And yet Ahaz is one of the most ungodly kings to reign in Judah. A godless man who rejects the truth of God and the grace of God as offered to him. Godly heritage doesn't guarantee that the child will be godly. Exposure to the word of God, even through a great prophet like Isaiah, doesn't assure that there will be a response of faith to the word that's given. So each person is accountable before God and makes their response to God. Ahaz comes in at this time in an extensive portion given to him. because the events of his reign intersect in important ways with this time period in the northern kingdom. And as Assyria comes into the picture, Ahaz plays an important role. And his kingdom will be impacted in a significant way as well by the Assyrians. Let's look at the chapter as it opens up, then we'll be looking at some other parallel portions. In the 17th year of Pekah, the son of Ramaliah, Ahaz, the son of Jotham, king of Judah, became king. Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king. He reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord, his God, as his father David had done. Remember, the standard is David. So repeatedly, as we have seen in these southern kings, it goes back to David. Did he do as David had done? He did right as his father, David, had done. He did not do right as his father, David, had done. He reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. If you have your list of the kings in under Judas Kings, number 12 is Ahaz. You'll note he really reigned 20 years, but it says he reigned 16 years. But four of those years, he was the co-regent. With his father, and so the 16 years are the years he reigned as the sole king. Counting the years that he was viewed as co-regent with his father, he had a total reign of 20 years. Verse three, he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. Now remember, Ahab is king over the southern kingdom, Judah. But he walked in the way of the northern kings, and none of them were godly. He even made his son pass through the fire according to the abominations of the nations which the Lord had driven out from before the sons of Israel." This shows something of the decadent, depraved character of Ahaz and the fact that The Northern Kingdom is bottoming out, if I can speak that way spiritually. It's come to the point where judgment is a necessity. Remember, the book of Second Kings would have been written during the time of the Babylonian captivity after the Southern Kingdom also was carried into captivity. And it is reminding the Jews. As they have been carried away to foreign lands, why this judgment of God was necessary. Ahaz even caused his son to pass through the fire. Turn back to Leviticus, chapter 18. Leviticus 18, verse 21. We're in the Mosaic law, the law as God has given it to Moses. It's a preparation for when Israel will go into the land and their accountability to God. In verse 21, you shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of the Lord your God. I am the Lord. That offering to Molech would be a sacrifice where you burned your son as a sacrifice to the god Molech. A god primarily associated with the Ammonites. Over in Leviticus chapter 20, Beginning the chapter, the Lord spoke to Moses saying, you shall say to the sons of Israel, any man from the sons of Israel or from the alien sojourning in Israel who gives any of his offspring to Moloch, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. I will set my face against that man. We'll cut him off from among his people because he has given some of his offspring to Moloch. So as to defile my sanctuary, to profane my holy name. goes on in the judgment that he warns them of. Turn over to Jeremiah, chapter 19, Isaiah, Jeremiah. Chapter 19, Jeremiah is writing at a later period, giving his prophecies a later period during the time of the Babylonian captivity. Which occurred in 586 B.C. And in Jeremiah chapter 19, we'll pick up with verse 4. Because they have forsaken me and have made this an alien place and have burned sacrifices to other gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent, have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire, as an offering to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter my mind. Totally removed from any way that I could be acceptably worshipped, that you would burn your children, it said in the metal statue of Molech. Part of the practice was they heated that statue. Then they would slay their son and then place it in the arms of that red hot statue and allow it to be consumed in that way. Just a terrible religion. Terrible worship. And here you have the king of Judah. Following this practice. And offering his son as a sacrifice to the god Mole. Come back to second Kings. Verse 4 of chapter 16, He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills and under every green tree. Even the godly kings had not done away with these places of worship scattered throughout the kingdom. Even though God had said He can't be worshipped in those places, even the best of the kings, Ahaz's father and grandfather, marked out as good kings, tolerated the worship going on in the high places. He gets involved in that. The point is, he's totally pagan. He's worshipping the god Moloch, even to the point of willing to burn one of his sons as a sacrifice to Moloch. He's involved in all the sacrifices going on wherever they're scattered around. Verse 5, verses 5 to 9 talk about the war that Ahaz, king of the southern kingdom, has with two kings, the king of Israel in the north and the king of Aram, Syria, Rezan and Pekah. Verse 5, Then Rezan king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war and they besieged Ahaz, but they could not overcome him. At that time Rezan king of Aram recovered Elah for Aram. and cleared the Judeans out of Eilat entirely. And the Arameans came down to Eilat and they have lived there to this day. Modern day we call it a lot down to the Red Sea. It's a vacation spot today. So they've come down the eastern side of Israel all the way down to the Red Sea and conquered that city. They have made war with Jerusalem. This has been going on since the days of Ahaz's father, Jotham. These kings, Rezan and Pekah, have been successful in inflicting serious losses on Judah, but they're unable to conquer Jerusalem. I'll leave a marker in Kings and come over to 2 Chronicles 28. And we will be going back and forth, so you may want to leave a marker or a bulletin or piece of paper in 2 Chronicles 28 when we leave here again. In 2 Chronicles chapter 28, the chapter opens up the first four verses repeating what we just read about Ahaz and him sacrificing, burned his sons in the fire. Verse 3, and then sacrificing on all the places of worship throughout the land. Verse 5, wherefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Aram. Remember, Aram is Syria. They defeated him and carried away from him a great number of captives and brought them to Damascus. He was also delivered into the hands of the king of Assyria, who inflicted him with heavy casualties. For Pekah, the son of Ramaliah, flew in Judah 120,000 in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. You see, it's the hand of the Lord has delivered Judah over into the hand of his enemies now. 120,000 soldiers lost in one day. So they're taking tremendous losses. The king's son was killed, verse 7. The ruler of the royal household was killed. The one second in command of the king was killed. Verse 8, the sons of Israel carried away captive of their brethren 200,000 women, sons and daughters. They took a great deal of spoil from them, brought the spoil to Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom. So you can imagine with 120,000 valiant soldiers slain, who's to defend? The women, children. Great numbers carried away, 200,000 captives and all the spoil and booty that would go. But the Lord intervenes on behalf of Judah. Again, the grace of God is there. Now remember, You've gone as a member of the Southern Kingdom into the Babylonian captivity. When you're reading this, you can appreciate the way God's grace was manifested, but it wasn't enough to turn even the Southern Kingdom away from their evil ways. But a prophet of the Lord was there whose name was Oded. He went out to meet the army, which came to Samaria and said to them, Behold, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he has delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage which has reached heaven. Now you are proposing to subjugate for yourselves the people of Judah and Jerusalem for male and female slaves. Surely do you not have any transgressions of your own against the Lord your God? Warning here. You've been used of the Lord to punish Judah for their sins. But don't go beyond what the Lord intends for you as His instrument. One thing for you to feed them in battle, now to think you're going to enslave your brethren, these are fellow Jews, by carting away these 200,000 to Samaria and you will enslave them. You better stop and think. Don't you have any transgressions of your own? You go beyond what the Lord intends, His wrath, is going to be poured out in greater ways on you. Now, therefore, listen to me. Return the captives who you have captured from your brothers, for the burning anger of the Lord is against you. So some of the heads of the northern kingdom step forward and say enough. And they won't allow the captives to be brought and maintained. So verse 13, they step forward and say, you shall not bring the captives in here. You're proposing to bring upon us guilt against the Lord, adding to our sins and our guilt for our guilt is great so that his anger is burning against Israel. So the armed men left the captives in the spoil before the officers and all the assembly. And so what they do, then they come in because what they've done, they have stripped these people naked, total humiliation and marched them as slaves, if you will, to the northern kingdom. But now they take, they give them clothes, they feed them, give them things to drink. Those who were weakened, too feeble to walk, they put on animals, donkeys. They bring them down to Jericho and release them. And they return to Samaria. So an interesting response from the northern kingdom of all places. You wonder what in the world happens here, but in the grace of the Lord. This northern kingdom responds to the message of the prophet Oded. And returns the captives. Even this is a reminder to those sitting in the Babylonian captivity, because we're going to go on to see when the prophet Isaiah spoke to Judah. And the king has Judah didn't listen. So those of the southern kingdom might sit there and think the northern kingdom deserve their captivity. We didn't. But you understand, even at times, the northern kingdom listened to the prophets of the Lord and the southern kingdom didn't. So I don't think you are any better, any less deserving of judgment. Now, even though the captives have been returned, Rezan and Pekah are not done with Jerusalem. They return to attack Jerusalem. This time, the Edomites have been brought into the alliance. They're trying to strengthen themselves so they can overthrow Ahaz and replace him with a man that will be aligned with them. Down in verses 16 and 17, at that time, King A has sent to the kings of Assyria for help. For again, the Edomites had come and attacked Judah and carried away captives. The Philistines are attacking and you have Resenantika attacking. Now we have to turn over to the book of Isaiah. So now you have a marker in Second King 16, a marker in Second Chronicles 28, and you will soon have a marker in Isaiah 7. Why you when you get Isaiah seven, hold your finger there and back up the Isaiah one. I just want you to note the context of Isaiah's prophecy. The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amos, concerning Judah and Jerusalem, though Isaiah is a prophet to the southern kingdom. Which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. So if you have your list of Judah's kings, You can see number 10 is Uzziah. And Hezekiah is number 13. So Isaiah's ministry is carried on during the time of those kings, as Isaiah 1 makes clear. You see a great ministry going on during that time. When you come to Isaiah chapter 7, you begin a series of chapters that deal with the reign of Ahaz. where we are in 2nd Kings 16. You'll note how it starts. Chapter seven of Isaiah, verse one. Now it came about in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezzin, king of Aram and Peacock, son of Ramaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not conquer it. So that's our context. You come down to verse five. Because Aram with Ephraim The son of Remaliah has planned evil against you, saying, let us go up against Judah and terrorize it and make for ourselves a breach in its walls and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it." So you see what the intention of Thicke and Resen is. They want to replace Ahaz. The problem is Ahaz won't join them in their rebellion and resistance to Assyria. They want to replace him with a king that will be supportive of them and in their activities. So that's the context of Isaiah coming and addressing Ahaz, verse 3 of chapter 7. Then the Lord said to Isaiah, go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Sheer Jaseph. At the end of the conduit, and so on, say to him, take care and be calm, have no fear, do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands on the account of the fierce anger of Rezan and Aram and the son of Remaliah. And this is their plan to overthrow Ahaz, but the Lord says in verse 7, it shall not stand or come to pass. Now you enter into that section so familiar to us where God gives a great promise to Ahaz. You come down to verse 10, Thus the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God. Make it as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord. He's not saying, you know, I wouldn't put the Lord to the test by asking for a sign. He's just unwilling. Not open. To the ministry of Isaiah, not interested in the intervention of the Lord, you know where Ahaz is going, he's not going to the Lord, he's going to Assyria. It's at this time, rather than accepting the gracious invitation of the Lord to intervene on his behalf, Ahaz sends to Assyria and asked them to come to his aid and rescue him from Pekah and Rambaliah. Rezin, son of Rambaliah. It almost dumbfound you. Again, put yourself as a Jew sitting in the Babylonian captivity and see the grace of the Lord. Rejected again. Even on the very edge of the destruction of the northern kingdom, the king of the south, the king of the southern kingdom is no better. The mighty prophet Isaiah comes and says, thus says the Lord, ask me. Ahaz says, no, I won't do it. And he's sending messengers off to Assyria, come help me. In other words, I don't want the help of the Lord. I'll take Assyria. And you have that great prophecy, virgin birth, Prophecy Isaiah said in verse thirteen, listen now, O House of David is too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men that you will try the patience of my God as well. Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign, behold, a virgin will be with a child and bear a son and she will call his name Emmanuel. He will eat curds and honey at the time he knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken. In chapters 7-12 of Isaiah, deal with this period of time. Ahaz, rule as king. Leave a marker in Isaiah 7 and come back to 2 Kings 16 and we pick up what happens. Verse 7, So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, saying, I am your servant and your son. Come up and deliver me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel who are rising up against me. Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king's house and sent a present to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria listened to him, and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and captured it, carried the people of it away into exile to Ker and put Rezan to death. Tiglath-Pileser III. Sounds like Ahaz plan works. Tiglath-Pileser comes up. The Syrians can't stand against the Assyrians. Don't confuse them. The Syrians and the Assyrians. The Syrians have their capital at Damascus. The Assyrians have their capital over on the Tigris with Nineveh, sometimes at Babylon, which they used also. Rezan is killed. Now you have Pekah and he is killed in a coup. That puts the pro Assyrian Hoshea on the throne of the northern kingdom. Let's see what's happening here. The Assyrians come marching in. The ally of the northern kingdom, Syria, falls. The king's put to death. You know what has to happen? We have to get rid of our anti-Assyrian king in the north and replace him. And so this was recorded back in chapter 15 of First Kings as we move the history a little ahead and then we back up. But look in Second Kings, chapter 15, verse 29. In the days of Pekah, king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, came and captured Aion and Abel-Beth-Meachah and Jonah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them away captive to Assyria. So you see, Assyria has come in down through Syria, and now you're into the Galilee, the region of Galilee, northern part of Israel. Hosea, the son of Elah, made a conspiracy against Pekah, the son of Ramaliah, struck him and put him to death and became king in his place. The 20th year of Jotham, son of Uzziah. So this is all the intrigue going on. Hosea now has replaced Pekah as king of the northern kingdom, Pekah being anti-Assyria, Hosea being pro-Assyria. A delaying tactic, if you will, not necessary for the Assyrians to conquer the northern kingdom at this time, because now they have an ally who supports Assyria. Ahaz got his way. Both kings are gone. I didn't need the Lord, I worked it out, I used Assyria. Both those kings that were after me have now been removed. So it seems like things may have worked out. But Ahaz will suffer for his disobedience, and Judah is going to suffer at the hands of the Assyrians. Did you leave a marker in Isaiah 7? Flip back to Isaiah 7, verse 17. The Lord will bring on you, on your people, and on your father's house such days as have never come since the days that Ephraim separated from Judah. He'll bring on you the king of Assyria. In that day, the Lord will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the rivers of Egypt, for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. They will come and settle on the steep ravines, on the ledges of the cliffs, on all the thorn bushes, on the watering places. The Lord just like whistling for the fly, the bee, to come and land everywhere. In other words, they're just going to swarm in. In that day, the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from the regions beyond the Euphrates, that is, with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the legs. He'll remove the beard. You know what, Ahaz? You've hired the king of Assyria. You know what? I've sent for him. You know the result of his coming? You're going to be subjugated to him. He ends up being A poor ally. Come back to Second Chronicles, Chapter 28. Second Chronicles, Chapter 28. The context here, verse 19, For the Lord humbled Judah because of Ahaz, king of Israel, for he had brought about lack of restraint, and Judah was very unfaithful to the Lord. So Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. I hired you to help me. I've got a problem. You invited the fox into the hen house, so to speak. Assyria has marched its armies over here. Already got the wealth from Judah. So Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, afflicted him instead of strengthening him. Although Ahaz took a portion out of the house of the Lord and out of the palace of the king and of the princes and gave it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him. You put these passages from Kings and Chronicles and Isaiah together and you see something of the setting in the picture. And Ahaz's stubborn refusal to respond even to the gracious Word of God through Isaiah the prophet. In fact, we're told, in the time of his distress, this same King Ahaz became more unfaithful to the Lord. So it indeed is a tragic time in Israel. Come back to 2 Kings 16. We pick up the account here when Tiglath-Pileser arrives in Damascus with his armies. Ahaz goes to meet him. I'm thinking I have a close ally here. So verse 10, now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria. And while there, he saw the altar, which was at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest, the pattern of the altar and its model, according to all his workmanship. He has his servants who were with him in Damascus when he goes to meet Tiglas by the Ezer, get an accurate rendition of the altar at Damascus, and has the plans taken back to Uriah, the priest in Jerusalem. So Uriah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, thus Uriah the priest made it before the coming of King Ahaz from Damascus, so it would be ready when King Ahaz got back from his meeting with Tiglath-Pileser in Damascus. When the king came from Damascus, the king saw the altar, the king approached the altar, went up to it, he burned his burnt offering, his meal offering, poured his drink offering, sprinkled blood of the peace offerings on the altar. One person wrote this, Ahaz was the consummate syncretist. He tried anything from anybody's religion. that might give him any kind of advantage. He had no concept of the God of Israel. Here he brings this altar from Damascus, sets it up at the Temple of Jerusalem. He had no concept that the God of Israel is the only true God. Here's an altar, worship, what good's the altar at Damascus? He's going there to meet Tiglath-Pileser, you know. The God of Damascus didn't preserve them, but doesn't, sin makes no sense, so Ahaz has it set up. And now he mixes. He's going to do his burn offerings, verses 12 and 13, these offerings. They burn his burn offering, verse 13, his meal offering, his drink offerings, his peace offerings. These are sweet savor offerings. They were to represent Israel's fellowship with God. He hasn't totally abandoned the worship system of Israel. He's wedded it to the paganism of Damascus, the Syrian worship, the worship of the Syrians. In doing that, he has totally rejected the God of Israel. But you know, he just didn't come down and sweep it clean at this point. He brings it and sets it up in the temple. And he's still offering the sacrifices required by the law. But he's offering them on a pagan altar at the temple. You see, really, he's playing God here and set up his own worship system. He makes the new altar, verse 14, the focus of the worship. So the bronze altar, which was before the Lord, he brought from the front of the house, puts it on the north side of his altar. Then King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, saying, upon the great altar, burn the morning, burn offering, the evening meal. The meal offering, the burn offering of all the people and all these. But the bronze offering will be for me to inquire by. So we got a new focus of worship. That'll be my private place, the former bronze altar that we've moved out of the way. The sad thing is you're right, the priest goes along with all this. You see the corruption of Israel, the Jews sitting in the Babylon captivity as they're reading this history, wondering why are we in captivity? How are they better? than the northern kingdoms that God had to judge as will continue to dismantle the furniture of the temple until he finally shuts down the temple. If you want to turn over to Second Chronicles, chapter twenty eight. Verse twenty four. Moreover, when he has gathered together the utensils of the house of God, he cut the utensils of the house of God in pieces. He closed the doors of the house of the Lord, made alters for himself in every corner of Jerusalem, in every city of Judah. He made high places to burn incense to other gods and provoke the Lord, the God of his fathers, the anger. So you see, before he's done, he just shuts the temple down completely. So you see that drift of that compromise, that mixing. That wedding of paganism and the worship of the true God. And pretty soon we don't need the temple at all. He just spreads the pagan worship throughout Jerusalem. While you're in Second Chronicles 28, you know, sometimes pressure, trials, difficulties are graciously used to drive people to the Lord. That didn't happen with Ahaz, it had the opposite effect. We already read verse 22 of chapter 28. Now, in the time of his distress, this same King Ahaz became yet more unfaithful to the Lord. And that precedes what we just read about him shutting down the temple. Now, it's in the midst of this kind of paganism that Isaiah the prophet is carrying on his ministry, that Micah the prophet, who wrote the book we have as the Prophecy of Micah, was carrying on his ministry. Come over to Isaiah again, chapter 1, if you would. You see the situation in Israel. Isaiah chapter 1. We read verse 1, the context, and here we are during these kings. What does Isaiah have to say? Listen, O heavens, verse 2 of Isaiah 1. Hear, O earth, for the Lord speaks. Sons I have reared and brought up, but they have revolted against Me. An ox knows its owner. A donkey its master's manger. But Israel does not know. My people do not understand. Alas, sinful nation! People weighed down with iniquity. Offspring of evildoers. Sons who act corruptly. They have abandoned the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel. They have turned away from Him. Where will you be stricken again as you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick, the whole heart is faint, from the sole of the foot even to the head. There is nothing sound in it. This is the condition that God says is true of Judah. Verse 7, your land is desolate, your cities are burned with fire, your field strangers are devouring them in your presence. Judgment comes. It's only the grace of the Lord. Anybody survives. Verse nine. So verse 10, hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom, give ear to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah. What a terrible denunciation. God addresses Judah. And he calls them Sodom and Gomorrah. I mean, cities that are the epitome of godless depravity. And when he sends Isaiah to address Judah, he says, call them Sodom, call them Gomorrah. That's how I see them. What are your multiplied sacrifices to me, says the Lord? I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams, the fat of fed cattle. I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs and goats. When you have come to appear before me, who requires of you this trampling of my courts? Bring your worthless offerings no more. And I can't stand it. I hate your new moon festival here. Any wonder with a mixture we've seen. The depravity going on, and yet then it's like people sin all they do, and then they come to church and they think everything's OK. Israel will bring a sacrifice. And of course, we're worshiping in all these other places and honoring these pagan gods as well. And out of all this mix, I'm sure God is pleased and everything's good. I mean, we are bringing sacrifices, aren't we? Lord ought to be happy we even do that for him. You know, easy to get that mindset. We're doing the Lord a favor. At least we come an hour or two on Sunday. What else he want for me? That ought to be good enough. You know, you read it when somebody else is doing it. You say, oh, my goodness. And this is Judah. This is the best of the nation. They haven't bottomed out yet. The Northern Kingdom will go in 722, the Southern Kingdom will have till 586. But you realize it's only the grace of God, and yet God is gracious. What does he say in the midst of this? Chapter one of Isaiah, verse 18, Come now and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow, though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. If you can sin and obey, you'll eat the best of the land. I want to bless you. I'll claim you. I'll make you clean if you will bow in obedience to me. But if you refuse and rebel, you'll be devoured by the sword. Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken. And you say, no choice, I'm on my knees before the Lord. Not Judah. No, this is the Southern Kingdom, this is Isaiah prophesying to the Southern Kingdom, to Isaiah. to his generation, how the faithful city has become a harlot. She was full of justice. Righteousness once lodged in her, now murdered. Your silver has become dross. Your drink diluted with water. On it goes. And yet, in this context, it leads in to verse 27, you will be redeemed with justice. Her repentant ones with righteousness. Transgressors and sinners will be crushed together. Those who forsake the Lord will come to an end. But you come down into verse two, we'll come about in the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains. They will say, come, let's go to the mountain of the Lord. The ultimate fulfillment, God's grace. Will ultimately bring salvation to Israel, you turn over to chapter five and we're done while you're in Isaiah. Again, it sets you the context of what the southern kingdom is like with had a stress on the northern kingdom, remember, through second Kings and press with their depravity. But you understand the southern kingdom is on the same slide, just not as far down the slide yet. So chapter five, let me sing now for my beloved, a song of my beloved concerning his vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed its stone, planted it with choicest vine, built a tower in the middle of it, hewed it out, wine vat in it, expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only worthless ones. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it when I expected it to produce good grapes? Did it produce worthless ones? Now, let me tell you what I'm going to do to my vineyard. I will remove its edge. It will be consumed. I will break down its wall. It will become trampled ground. I will lay it waste. It will not be pruned or hoed. Briars and thorns will come up. I will charge the clouds, not the rain on it. Judgment's coming on God's vineyard. And who is it? The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel. The men of Judah, his delightful plant. Thus, he looked for justice. Behold, bloodshed for righteousness. You hold a cry of distress. Woe to those. And on it goes. Down to verse 13. Therefore, my people go into exile for their lack of knowledge. Their honorable men are famished. Their multitude is parched with thirst. Jerusalem's splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry, the jubilant within her descend into it. The eyes of the proud will be abased. The Lord of hosts will be exalted in judgment. The holy God will show himself holy in righteousness. Down the end of verse 24, they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. On this account, the anger of the Lord has burned against his people and he has stretched out his hand against them and struck them down. The alternative given. Come now and let us reason together as gracious invitations rejected again and again and again and again till judgment comes and Then there is no deliverance for them. So that's the course the Southern Kingdoms on. But first, we'll have to go back to the Northern Kingdom and they will come to an end in Chapter 17. The Southern Kingdom will continue to 586, the tragedy of rejecting the grace of God. The offer of his cleansing, let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your grace. Grace manifested to your people again and again. You sent them your prophets. You gave them your Word. You graciously invited them to your salvation. You desired to give them your blessings, but they would have none of it. They turned to their own ways. They allowed themselves to be corrupted. They corrupted themselves. Turned aside to other gods. Rejected you, the God who so graciously blessed them. And Lord, they came to ruin. Lord, what a lesson for us. Reminded of the wonder of your grace. Your gracious invitation to salvation, to cleansing. And the terrible thing it is to turn and reject the grace of the living God. and thus be subjected to His devastating judgment. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your patience. And thank you, Lord, that the last chapter of Israel, a chapter of glory, of coming blessing, of the victory of your grace, but the awful judgment that must be borne by that nation. The worst is yet to come before the best. of your promises will be fulfilled. Thank you for your Word, in Christ's name, Amen.