Just Like It

King Ahaz then went to Damascus to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. While he was there, he took special note of the altar. Then he sent a model of the altar to Uriah the priest, along with its design in full detail. Uriah followed the king’s instructions and built an altar just like it, and it was ready before the king returned from Damascus. 2 Kings 16:10-11

FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, when God brought his people out of slavery in Egypt, he told them that they were to be set apart from every other nation. They were meant to live in purity, loving and enjoying the blessing of the one true God so that all the nations around them would want to worship their God. But instead of remaining distinct, they slowly became just like everyone around them.

In this scene in 2 Kings, Ahaz, the king over Judah, no longer makes any pretense of worshiping or trusting the one true God. He has turned to pagan nations to make alliances that he thinks will ensure their safety. When he visits a town to the north that has been captured by Assyria, the altar in the middle of town catches his eye.

When Ahaz returned to Jerusalem, it was out with the old altar and in with the new. He launched an all-out redesign of the Temple to make it more like the temples of other nations. But this overhaul only led to disaster as the sacrifices offered on the newly designed altars “were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel” (2 Chronicles 28:23, NIV).

Still today, we don’t particularly relish standing out because of our worship of God and obedience to his ways. This can be especially hard for our children as they seek to find their place in the world. So we must lead by example as well as by teaching them God’s Word, which says, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

Lord, we want to be yours and to live for you alone, but we feel the tug of the world that seeks to cast us into its mold. Give ________ courage today to be different from those around him. Help ________ to see that worshiping anything other than you will be his downfall.