July 13, 2026

In 2 Kings 16, Ahaz, King of Judah, followed after the ways of the kings of Israel rather than following the Lord. He sacrificed his sons to Molech and deliberately dismantled and distributed sacred treasures of the temple, indicating indifference to the covenants of God and choosing to serve others. This is a deafening example of selling ones covenants, or in more plain and updated terms, not remaining faithful to ones covenants.

Meanwhile, in Israel, in the next chapter we read "And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made" (verse 8).

There is only room inside of us to serve one master, "for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other" (Matthew 6:24). Thus we see the tribes of Israel making room for idolatry by sending out of the temple the things of God and bringing back into into worship the heathen idols which God had previously helped them drive out to make room in their hearts for Him.

"And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers" (2 Kings 17:15).

In relation to my notes above:

If our hearts are filled with the things of God, there is no room in them for wickedness. If they are filled with evil things, there is no room for God. If the latter is true, the only way to fit God into a heart filled with sin, is to change, repent. This change starts with turning towards Christ and offering Him our sins as a sacrifice, our broken heart. As He takes them, there is now room in the heart. We then are faced with a pivotal decision - what do we fill that space with? If we choose not to fill it with acts of righteousness (scriptures, temple worship, service, missionary work, calling, etc...), it will end up filled again with one sin or another. The heart cannot remain empty for long. This is why repentance is not just removing the sin, but replacing it with righteousness - that is true change.

If we want to remove a favorite sin, we must replace it, not simply remove it.

(2 Kings 17 - God removed heathen to make room, then they removed God and the temple items, to make room for heathen again)

2 Kings 17 contains the origin of the Samaritans and why, in the time of Christ, the Jews hated them. The Assyrians took the 10 tribes from out of Israel (which was Samaria), and planted other heathens there. Lions attacked and killed some of them and so they said it was because they did not know the God of that land. So, the Assyrians sent a priest of Jehovah back to Israel/Samaria to teach them about Jehovah. They learned to fear God to an extent, but also kept their other idols. Thus when some Jews were permitted to return later, they despised the Samaritans for their intermixed faith.

Compare the practicing of Jehovah's religion mentioned above in 2 Kings 17 to Abinadi and King Noah in Mosiah. They claimed to fear Jehovah, but also did not listen to Him. This is also relevant to Joseph Smith's first vision where Christ says they honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. See also Matthew 7:22-24.

The hearts being far from God represents the absence covenants and ordinances that join us in relationship to know God (yada).

Pretty cool, explicit reference to a commandment in the Old Testament to do ordinances in relation to covenants evermore.

37 And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods.

38 And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods.

Stiff neck or hardened neck means their head won't turn (to look towards God). Pride and lust keep us from seeing God. If we don't look towards Him, we can't see His hand in our lives. Miracles go right over our head.