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{{DOD-April}}
Uzziah is sometimes known as [[Judah]] 's great king. Uzziah means "strength of the [[Lord]]." His other name, Azariah, means "help of [[Jehovah]]." Uzziah was elevated to the throne at the age of 16, and under his sound leadership the nation took on a new life of prosperity. His spiritual guide was [[Zechariah]] but, as in the case of Amaziah, we see that pride brought forth Uzziah's ruin.
Chapter 16 covers the reign of Ahaz over [[Judah]]. He was so wicked that he even sacrificed his son to Molock. He reigned for sixteen years, and his friendship with the [[Assyria]]n king led to much trouble. He saw a heathen [[altar]] in Damascus and tried to duplicate it in [[Jerusalem]]. In fact, his new [[altar]] replaced the [[God]]-ordained [[altar]] in the Temple.
Ahaz was led into idolatry because of his friendship with [[Assyria]]. He even stole from the [[Lord]]'s house, and tried to bribe the king of [[Assyria]], but in the end he failed to help [[Judah]] at all. In his reign he tried to compromise and buy his way to [[victory]], but it only led to shame and defeat.
We could all learn a lesson from the life of Ahaz. [[God]] will not tolerate a compromising Christian. He tells us that we are to be separate from the world; that we are to come out from among them that are in the world. It is true that we are to [[love]] the souls of men who are lost in darkness. We are to take the Gospel to them, but we are never to compromise our stand in presenting the Gospel.
Chapter 17 is a record of [[Israel]]'s last king and how he led the Northern Kingdom into final captivity. [[Assyria]] captured [[Samarial]] , the capital of the Northern Kingdom, in 722 b.c., and in verses 7-23 we read of some of the causes of this captivity.
