“Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship. Then Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz came back from Damascus. And when the king came back from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king approached the altar and made offerings on it. So he burned his burnt offering and his grain offering; and he poured his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. He also brought the bronze altar which was before the Lord, from the front of the temple—from between the new altar and the house of the Lord—and put it on the north side of the new altar. Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, ‘On the great new altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. And the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.’ Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that King Ahaz commanded” (2 Kings 16:10-16).
The things written aforetime were written for our learning. Ahaz’ new altar teaches us a lesson about the age-old, often-repeated way of religious digression.
Ahaz saw an altar that appealed to him, but it was not the altar prescribed in the law of Moses, the altar that Judah already had. Not content with the right altar, he ordered the building of an altar according to the pattern of the one in Damascus. Was there something about it that he thought was attractive or advantageous? We don’t know. What matters is that he pursued its pattern with its workmanship instead of being content with God’s, similar to Israel demanding a king “that we may be like all the nations” (1 Sam. 8:20).
It’s one thing to adopt your neighbor’s house paint color, but it’s altogether another to adopt the religious practices of others. That’s what Ahaz was doing, and it continues to happen today.
The church of our Lord Jesus Christ is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). Those apostles were guided into all truth (John 16:13), and they wrote it in words which we can both read and understand (Ephesians 3:1-5). Those words constitute a pattern to be held by all who would be His disciples (Matthew 28:20; 2 Timothy 1:13; 2:2). Standing fast and holding the teachings of the apostles was not an option; it was a necessity (2 Thessalonians 2:15).
The apostles said by the Holy Spirit that men would depart from the faith – the doctrine of Christ (1 Timothy 4:1). That warning is just as relevant today.
Some Christians have adopted the organizational structures of religions around them. This includes human councils, missionary organizations, and all manner of positions within them. Yet the simple New Testament pattern is local, autonomous churches with elders and deacons (Philippians 1:1). Preachers were supported directly by churches, not through some extra organization (2 Corinthians 11:8). Young and old existed then as now, but there was nothing called a youth minister or a geriatric minister in the New Testament. There’s the New Testament pattern, and then there’s the pattern of the religions around us. Which shall we follow?
In other cases, churches that are supposed to belong to Christ have adopted the works of the religions around them. God gave the local church the work of edifying itself (1 Corinthians 14), supporting teaching and preaching to all men (1 Corinthians 9:11-14), and relieving needy saints (1 Corinthians 16:1). But the religions of the day are involved in feeding the poor of the world and a range of social activities. Like the religions around them, some churches have built basketball courts, life centers, and “fellowship” halls. Sports and recreation and the need to socialize existed then as now, but there is no hint of sports and recreational and social facilities in the New Testament instruction to churches. There’s the New Testament pattern, and then there’s the pattern of the religions around us. Which shall we follow?
Finally, in the area of the worship of the church, some churches have adopted the practices of the religions around them. Worship in many religions has become more about entertainment and feelings than about bowing before God in reverence and fear. Instrumental music is widely practiced. And like the religions around them, some churches have brought into the worship of God instrumental music and methods to stir emotions. Musical instruments have existed since at least Genesis 4:21, but in all the New Testament instruction there is no mention or hint of mechanical instruments in worship to God. Again, there’s the New Testament pattern, and then there’s the pattern of the religions around us. Which shall we follow?
But there’s another thing Ahaz did. When he adopted the use of the new altar, he moved the true altar out of its place and then gave it a token recognition, saying it would be for him to inquire by. And just like Ahaz, when churches adopt false ways from the religions around them, they are forsaking the true and moving it out of the way. But one cannot help but think of churches adopting instrumental music and calling it “contemporary” worship while at the same time keeping another period of the now-less-popular non-instrumental worship for the few who still desire “traditional” worship. How diplomatic is that? But they really have done what Jesus charged the Pharisees of his day with: “For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men” (Mark 7:8).
Jesus charged the Pharisees with “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:9) – which were their traditions, but Paul told Christians to “stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle” (2 Thess. 2:15). Traditions are simply those things which are handed down. The difference between that which Jesus condemned and that which Paul commands is the source of the traditions – from men or from God. Those things handed down from God to the apostles and taught in the New Testament – termed traditions by the Holy Spirit in 2 Thess. 2:15 – must be retained, stood for, and held fast.
Ahaz rejected the altar of God’s instruction for the altar of his choosing. Let us be devoted to keeping the “altar” of God’s instruction and not cast longing eyes upon the practices of other religions and the innovations of men. –Larry Jones