2 CHRONICLES 28

1 Ahaz was 20 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of Yahweh, like David his father:

The spiritual malaise which Jotham had failed to arrest was worsened by his son, Ahaz, who began his reign with an immediate descent into idolatry and immorality of the worst kind. He exceeded the kings of Israel in his folly and excess, 10 disgracing his office and corrupting the nation, who as usual were only too eager to follow him.

The consequences were manifest, for the judgments of God came relentlessly upon him, as the military gains won by Amaziah, Uzziah and Jotham were all successively lost. In the nadir of his unfaithfulness before God he turned to the gods of Syria, and in a final act of spiritual treachery, shut fast the temple doors, and abolished the system of temple worship. 11

There were no singers at the sanctuary, for the songs of Yahweh were not allowed. Yet once more, in a time of dire spiritual distress, the House of Asaph retreated to practise their songs in private. 12 They knew they would be needed again, and, as it transpired, that moment came sooner than expected, for from the moment Hezekiah began he was gripped by a sense of urgency to launch a spiritual reformation. By the blessing of God, a son arose who immediately set about reversing the wickedness of his father's reign.

10 He is called a "king of Israel", an apt indictment, since in spirit he was no better than their kings, and worse than most of them for the sheer effrontery of his corruption (2 Chronicles 28:19).

11 2 Chronicles 28:24; 29:7.

12 Between the reigns of Joash and Hezekiah, the words "sing", "singing", or "singers" never appear, and yet the House of Asaph would be ready the instant Hezekiah called upon them for support!

Bro Roger Lewis - The House of Asaph Ch 7

14 So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation [sarim and kol HaKahal].

15 And the men which were expressed by name [shemot] rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them [put balm on them], and carried all the feeble of them upon asses [donkeys], and brought them to [Yericho], the city of palm trees [ Ir Temarim], to their brethren [achim]: then they returned to Samaria [Shomron].

When those thus addressed realised that their victory over Judah was God's dispensation of bitterness to Judah because of their sins, it modified their feelings greatly, and led to one of the most extraordinary incidents in the history of war.

Thus excellent are the dispositions of men when swayed by reason and the fear of God. The time will come when all men shall thus be animated. How pleasant a place will the earth then be to live in, and how interesting and delightful the race of mankind everywhere!

The song of the angels will yet become the true description of affairs on earth. The enchanting performance in the still air of night on Bethlehem's plains, will not for ever be mocked by the triumph of folly in all earth's valleys and mountains.

When the babe, whose birth they celebrated, reigns omnipotent head of all the kingdoms of the world, the glory of Yahweh will be in the ascendant, and peace and goodwill prevail to the utmost bounds.

Ways of Providence Ch 21.