God had given very clear instructions how he wanted his altar to be constructed. We are not told how Ahaz's new altar was different, except that it was evidently larger than the Israelite altar. But bigger is not always better in God's kingdom, especially if the larger thing is something we have done and not God.
Ahaz, the anointed leader of the people, was trying to change the way God was worshipped. He was not a priest and not a prophet, and it was outside of his authority to change God's altar. Besides that, his action could send a wrong message to the people he ruled. The original order required a sacrifice and then a washing before entering the Holy Place. Ahaz now changed that order and even used God's altar for activities that were connected to pagan worship. Ahaz was pushing God to one side.
We may not have physical altars and sacrifices today, but there are ways we can do just what King Ahaz did. We give a higher priority to our own things rather than to God's, even when it relates to how we do God's work.
What is more, like Ahaz, we often copy the ways the world does things, trying sometimes to apply them to Christian service and worship. Far too often we put the values of the world ahead of those of the kingdom of God. As we do so, we send a very wrong message to our children, to our churches, and even to the unbelieving world around us.
"Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind." (Romans 12:1-2)
- 12 SEPTEMBER -