And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering, and the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: and the brasen altar shall be for me to enquire by.
King Ahaz gave orders to Urijah the priest, saying, 'Use the great altar to burn the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king's burnt sacrifice and grain offering, along with the burnt offerings of all the people of the land, their grain offerings, and their drink offerings. Sprinkle all the blood from the burnt offerings and sacrifices on it. But keep the bronze altar for me to seek guidance from God.'
King Ahaz is commanding the priest to use a new altar he built (copying a foreign design) for regular worship, while keeping the original God-ordained altar for his personal religious inquiries.
📚 Historical Context
King Ahaz of Judah had seen an altar in Damascus and ordered a replica built in Jerusalem's temple, replacing God's original bronze altar design. This represented Ahaz's compromise with foreign religious practices and his departure from following God's specific instructions for worship. Ahaz was known as one of the unfaithful kings who led Judah away from proper worship of God.
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