Pray the word with David Platt is a resource from Radical.net.

You built the altar in accordance with all that King A has had sent from Damascus.

So you're right, the priest made it before King A has arrived from Damascus.

Do you realize what's happening in these couple of verses?

Not only is A has not seeking God as King, but he goes to Assyria and he takes forms of idolatry

from there and brings them into Israel's worship.

The picture here is A has trusting in Assyria and the ways of Assyria.

Even the worship practices of Assyria more than he's trusting in God.

He's working in accord with the way Assyria works instead of the way God works.

Instead of the way God is to be worshipped, he's trying to worship God, the one true God,

in the way the world around him, worships little G false gods.

So as we see this picture in 2 Kings chapter 16, let's pray God to help us to worship you

according to your word, not according to the ways of this world.

Oh God, forgive us for the ways we approach you, the ways we claim to worship you.

When the reality is we are just doing what we see around us in this world.

God, we pray that you would help us to worship you in the way you have prescribed

in spirit and in truth with holy lives, with holy thoughts, holy desires and light of your word

in Romans chapter 12. We would offer our bodies today as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to

you. This is our spiritual act of worship. God, even as we think about all the times in the old

testament when you said to your people, you bring me offerings, you offer songs, you perform

rituals. I've asked for your humility and your holiness. I've asked for your hearts and devotion

to me. God, to help us not to sing our songs and to go through religious motions of supposed

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