Back and forth the story goes between faithfulness and unfaithfulness. Joash is faithful until late in life. His son Amaziah is unfaithful. Amaziah’s son, Uzziah, is faithful until late in life. His son, Hotham, is faithful. Jotham’s son, Ahaz, is unfaithful, but his son, Uzziah, is faithful – at least until he is older.
What surprises me is how rebellious sinful people can get when they know they are sinful, and know they are being punished for it. Looks like they would learn a lesson – but they don’t.
Ahaz “walked in the ways of Israel.” There was a pagan altar on every street corner. When God sent punishment through the invading armies of Edom and Philistia, Ahaz, rather than turn to the Lord, turned away from Him, and the result was even more trouble. Even then, rather than repent, Ahaz simply boarded up the temple.
There are those people who seem to believe if God doesn’t do as they expect, they, in their anger, will do all in their power to punish God.
They never succeed. God is not a human. He is in His heaven. He will have His way. The hardest thing for us to do is submit, but submitting is in our best interest, and one way or another is also our final destiny.