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.
— 2 Chronicles 28:23
In the time of King Ahaz, we find a fascinating and sobering account of his downfall. In the verse preceding our text, we are told that in his time of distress, King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the Lord. The posture of his heart was not one that sought after God in times of trouble — rather, distress drove him further away from God, not closer to Him.
Distress as a Spiritual Danger Zone
This is not an unusual phenomenon. Many times the seasons in which we are most prone to unfaithfulness are the very seasons of distress. In fact, times of weakness are often the times when the enemy is most active. The apostle Peter writes:
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
— 1 Peter 5:8
Times of distress are therefore times when we must be especially vigilant, because the enemy is crafty and will use those moments to draw us away from God.
The Foolishness of Sin
For King Ahaz, his unfaithfulness took the form of reasoning himself away from God. After being attacked and defeated in battle, he concluded that perhaps if he changed his allegiance and began worshiping the gods of his enemies, he might fare better in battle.
This is a deeply tragic sight — and it is here that the familiar phrase rings true: sin makes you foolish. The king somehow supposed that the gods his enemies worshiped would switch sides and come to his aid simply because he offered them a sacrifice. When you think about it carefully, this is a profoundly strange line of reasoning. And what makes it worse is that in following this reasoning, the king was actively pulling himself away from the true God of his fathers.
Worse still, the move accomplished nothing. The text tells us plainly that it became his downfall — and not his alone, but the downfall of all Israel with him.
Fixing Our Eyes in Times of Distress
May we be reminded in our own times of distress that the God who is with us in times of victory is the very same God who is present with us in times of suffering and difficulty. Our answer in those seasons should never be to look at what our enemies seem to be doing right, or to chase after whatever appears to be working for the world around us. Instead, our eyes must always return to Jesus — the author and finisher of our faith.
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
— Hebrews 12:1-2
Amen.
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