Why Count the Cost Now?

Recently I was reading in 2 Kings.  Anyone who’s read it probably remembers how many “bad” kings there were in Judah and Israel at this time—ones who “do evil in the eyes of the Lord and don’t turn away from the sins of their fathers,” generally leading to the nation being overrun by their enemies.
So chapters 12-15 were a little refreshing, with King Joash of Judah repairing the temple and “doing what’s right in the eyes of the Lord,” followed by his son Amaziah.   The line of righteousness continued with their descendants King Azariah and his son Jotham.   
Then I got to chapter 16:  “Ahaz son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. . . . Unlike David his father [ancestor], he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God.  He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire” (vv 1-3).
What?!  How did a man coming from 4 generations of reformers end up so degenerate as to sacrifice his son to a pagan god?  Was he just some aberration? I went back and read more closely the accounts of the reigns of all these kings.
There are many references in the Old Testament to “high places.”  These were places of pagan worship; or as the Message translation calls them, “local sex and religion shrines.”  In every account of the 4 kings before Ahaz it says: “The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there” (12:3, 14:4, 15:4, 15:35).
Ahaz saw generations of his family worshipping God and building up his temple.  He also saw them turn a blind eye to what else was going on while doing it.  And after 137 years of what we could call revival, Judah ended up with a king who returned the nation to pagan idolatry, leading to besiegement by Israel and Syria and defilement of the temple.
Our children are watching us.  What we ignore today doesn’t disappear tomorrow.  What we think we can tolerate in our own lives will spark or feed a hunger leading to devastation in someone else.  And when we try to move on and build something new without taking the time and effort to tear down the old, we leave behind a foundation of desolation our children or grandchildren are going to build upon.  Who will count the cost for those not even born yet? 

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