I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Kings 15-16.

In Judah, there were a series of kings who did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight. As a result, when Joash was assassinated, his son Amaziah was made king. Then when Amaziah was assassinated, his son Uzziah was made king. On the other hand, in Israel, king after king did evil in God’s sight. There king after king was assassinated and the assassin was able to seize the throne. None of these kings of Israel turned from the evil done by their predecessors and none of them acknowledged God as sovereign. Each successive king was more interested in their own power and comfort than in doing what was best for the people over whom they ruled.

In Judah there were four successive kings who did what was pleasing in God’s sight, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, and Jotham. But all of them allowed the people to continue worshiping at pagan shrines throughout the land. Then came King Ahaz, who followed the example of the kings of Israel, even going to far as to sacrifice his own son. When Israel and Aram allied against him, King Ahaz bribed the king of Assyria to relieve the siege, making himself a vassal of the king of Assyria. Then King Ahaz replaced the altar in the Temple with one modeled after the altar used by the King of Assyria. King Ahaz further remodeled the Temple to symbolize his subordination to the King of Assyria.