The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

II Chronicles 26:22-28, “Now in the time of his distress this same King Ahaz became
yet more unfaithful to the LORD.
23 For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, and said, ‘Because
the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.’
But they became the downfall of him and all Israel.
24 Moreover, when Ahaz gathered together the utensils of the house of God, he cut the utensils of the house of God in pieces; and he closed the doors of the house of the LORD
and made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem.
25 In every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked
the LORD, the God of his fathers, to anger.
26 Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
27 So Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did
not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel; and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.“

So there are degrees of unfaithfulness? Indeed there are! The brevity of the passage before
us prohibits the exhibition of all of Ahaz’s sins; yet, the use of the word “more” in verse 22,
indicates that Ahaz had previously committed similar sins. Yet he was so mesmerized by the
gods that had defeated him, that he offered sacrifices to them! That’s like raising the salaries
of the losing team!

The proliferation of sacrifices to foreign (non-existent) gods provoked the LORD God to
anger! Oh, and by the way, Ahaz destroyed the utensils that were used in the worship of
the LORD, and even “made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem.” He burned
incense to virtually every foreign god that did not exist, provoking the LORD to anger! In the
end, Ahaz died, leaving a worthless track record before the LORD.

No doubt you’ve been employing a comparison between yourself and what the LORD both
deserves and requires. The life that He has given us cannot be more worthy than when it
is given to Him. It’s more than just being a born-again Christian; it’s being a Christian whose
life is focused on being like Jesus!

The world has it’s sufficiency of wicked and evil men, wouldn’t you say? It’s time for those
of us who have been born again, to cast of the mantle of selfishness and let the world see
and know what a true Christian is and how deeply we love and treasure our LORD-Provider!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom