He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree. – 2 Kings 16:4

Today's Scripture Reading (April 20, 2026): 2 Kings 16

Many years ago, I had contact with a young woman in the church. She had just left a church that she had previously called home, and, as I was talking with her, I seriously wondered if aliens had abducted her. My problem was with the reason she gave for leaving her church. She had attended this church for several years, and her church had a fairly relaxed dress code. People came to church wearing a wide range of clothes. You could see suits and nice dresses, but you could also see jeans and T-Shirts; the church openly accepted whatever dress the person felt comfortable in. It didn't matter what you wore. My friend was one who would show up at church wearing jeans and a T-shirt, which was totally acceptable. Incidentally, her old church had the same dress code as the church that I led. I couldn't care less what you are wearing, I am just glad that you are in church.

As she was telling me she had left her church, she also indicated where she had decided to go, adding that her new church had a strict dress code. Her new church required men to wear suits and ties and women to wear dresses. And when I asked her why she had changed churches, she told me she liked that her new church required a dress code, while her old church hadn't. I mentioned that she could have worn a dress to her old church, but she wanted a place that would demand it of her, not one that would let her come as she was. The whole thing seemed strange, almost alien, to me. It is usually the ones wearing the suits and dresses who want people to dress like them, not the t-shirt crew wishing someone would tell them how to dress.

Ahaz became king. His fathers had walked in the ways of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But Ahaz looked out at the world and realized that there were other gods who might demand more of him. So, Ahaz started to sacrifice, not just to the God of his Father's, but to every other god he could conceive of. It wasn't that he made too few sacrifices; it was that he made too many. In his mind, he wanted to make sure that he covered all of the bases. And in covering all of the bases, he actually missed them completely.

God makes this statement throughout the Bible. I desire your obedience more than I desire your sacrifice. I desire your respect more than I desire to dress you in a particular way. And the reality is this: being obedient is much more demanding than making many sacrifices because it occupies all of who we are. It is much easier to follow many rules than to build a relationship with God. My friend wanted the rules more than she wanted the relationship. It is easier to dress in a certain way than it is to give God all of who we are. But God desires the latter more than the former. Giving God all that we are is the life path that honors him.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 1

See also 2 Chronicles 28:4