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Ahaz, King of Judah, is dead. At his death no tear was shed, except some down-trodden one wept for joy that the king was gone. Destitute of true courage, of piety, of noble or elevating thoughts, he has fallen all covered with shame and irreligion.

I. THE WORST OF FATHERS HAVE SOMETIMES LEFT BEHIND THEM THE BEST OF SONS. It was so with Ahaz. But no thanks are due to him. His influence, example, and life were all such as seemed likely to fill the mind of his son with that which was not good. Yet the son was one of the best of kings, and a good man.

II. THE SONS OF BAD FATHERS SUFFER SOME LOSS THROUGH PATERNAL WICKEDNESS AND FOLLY. This does not need much illustration, for, unfortunately, we have too many instances before our eyes almost daily. It is patent to us all that the iniquity of the father is visited upon the children. This is true both in body, estate, and character. We suffer for what our parents were and did, and can't help it. I dare say many of you have lived long enough to believe that many of your weaknesses and much of your poverty are the result, not of your own profligacy and extravagance, but of those who have preceded you. Few of you will question the soundness of my conclusions on these two. You may be disposed to do a little when I say that the son suffers in character because of the bad father.

III. IN THE CASE OF AHAZ, WE SEE HOW GOD SOMETIMES SETS ASIDE THE NOTIONS OF MEN AND SELECTS FROM UNLIKELY SCHOOLS THE INSTRUMENTS WITH WHICH HE WILL ACCOMPLISH GREAT REFORMS AND BRING GREAT BLESSINGS. Hezekiah, reared in the house of Ahaz, became a reformer of the abuses of his nation, restored prosperity to it, and brought the people back to the neglected Temple and the all but forgotten God. The son of an idolatrous king, he became the champion of true religion. Here we get a principle of widest application and illustration. The Bible abounds with it, and our experience too.

IV. I NOTICE THAT HERE WE HAVE A LESSON OF THE MOTHER'S INFLUENCE. Did you notice with what care the sacred writer tells us the name of the mother of Hezekiah, and whose daughter she was? "Abi," or Abijah, "the daughter of Zachariah." It is not often you find it so stated in the Scriptures. Are we to conclude that Hezekiah was the good son mainly because he was the son of a good woman? Be that as it may in this case, the mother's influence is unbounded. It begins with the babe, and never ends. Beecher said, "A babe is a mother's anchor. She cannot swing far from her moorings." And, we may add, the babe cannot swing far from its mother. Her heart is a schoolroom.

(C. Leach, D. D.)

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KJV: And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.

WEB: He did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that David his father had done.