Where Do You Turn? 2 King 16

Where Do You Turn?

2 Kings 16

TURN TO 2 Kings 16

Where do you turn for strength when things are blowing apart? Everyone has a place they go for comfort when life isn’t going as planned. Some to escapist entertainment, some to drink, or food, or a faithful friend, or faith itself. We all turn somewhere. So let me ask you: How capable is your shelter – to protect your joy?

READ 2 Kings 16:1-4

1 WHO DO YOU TURN TO FOR WORSHIP?, vv. 1-4

This morning, we pick up the story of the kings with the life of Ahaz, king of the southern Kingdom of Judah, headquartered in Jerusalem. That means, once again, we’re dealing with a descendant of King David. This is the blood-line of kings that will lead straight to Jesus Christ, the SON of David, the KING of KINGS. We are somewhere between 735 and 715 BC … Ahaz is twenty years old when he rises to the throne and he reigns sixteen years as king in Jerusalem.

Now, we’ve already seen that these heirs of David’s throne have been a mixed bag. Unlike the rulers of the Northern Kingdom of Israel - who are bad, without exception - some of these southern kings have been pretty good - some excellent!

Ahaz is the son of Jotham, the grandson of Uzziah, from last week - both of those kings were ‘okay’. They did what was right in the eyes of the LORD - but not without some flaws. They were 3 star kings, serving a God who is looking for 5 stars.

Well, Ahaz comes along in chapter 16 and he’s NOT good - not good at all. Verse 2 says that, straight up: “He did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God as his father David had done.”

Verses 3-4 tell us why - “He walked in the way of the kings of Israel.”

By this point in the story - we know what this metaphor means - From the time that the one nation of Israel broke into two separate kingdoms - the kings of the North have perverted the worship of God. They don’t want the people going to the temple in Jerusalem - even though that’s exactly what God specifically commanded - so they’ve built worship centers closer to home - worshipping the right God - but in the wrong way. We’ve seen the downward slide in the north - so we know this can not be good for Ahaz.

But it gets worse. Verse 4 - “And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.” Ahaz’s father and grandfather were criticized for not ‘taking down’ the high places - but they were never accused of rolling up their sleeves and actually getting involved. Verse 4 tells us that Ahaz not only tolerates the high places - not only does he go, on the odd occasion, to visit … he goes ‘all in’ - ‘on the high places … AND on the hills … AND under EVERY GREEN TREE.” In other words - like some people and Tim Hortons/ Starbucks - Ahaz can’t seem to drive past a high place without stopping in for a cup of ‘worship’.

But worse than any of that - look at the middle of verse 3: “He even burned his son as an offering, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.”

What the Bible is telling us here, is that Ahaz participated in the worship of the Canaanite god Molech. That means he left his palace, left his city of Jerusalem, walked out of the gates and descended into the Valley of Hinnom …. When you get to the place of worship, you find yourself face to face with the metal image of a human figure with bull’s head and outstretched arms, sitting on its pedestal, ready to receive your sacrifice. The whole image is heated, red-hot, by a fire burning in the hollow inside.

In worship, you place your sacrifice into its arms and watch it roll down into its chest and the furnace, burning below.

Oh, did I mention that the sacrifice required is a HUMAN one? If you want something from the god Molech, you come, carrying your own child as a sacrifice. You take your infant son or daughter and you place your precious baby into those burning hot arms, and watch him roll to a fiery death below. All the while flutes are playing and drums beating - in order to drown out the cries of the victims. Mothers stand by without tears or sobs - to give the impression that everyone is in agreement of this murder.

This is king, Ahaz, bringing his own child?! This man is leader of the people of the God who says, in His 10 commandments: “Worship no other gods before me” .... and, “Thou shalt not kill ....”. THIS is the human ruler of the holy God’s people … and he has descended to this depth of depravity?! This does not bode well for God’s people..

Don’t miss the end of verse 4: “The nations whom the LORD DROVE OUT before the people of Israel.” God fought against the Canaanites and drove them out of their land BECAUSE of evil, just like this .... and now Judah has become them.

The narrator is sending a message here. This is a hint: “IF King Ahaz is going to lead God’s people to do the same sin as the nations God drove out … then they should expect the same consequences”

So what would drive an Ahaz to be so desperate that he would stoop so low? His dad, his grandfather, his great grandfather - they were, none of them perfect … but the LORD gave them all, ‘passing grades’ for their spiritual faithfulness as kings. So what’s happened to change things?

Has the nation fallen on hard times? Is there some great depression that has blown in and driven the nation into the depths of poverty - God has left the people to starve and so Ahaz is desperate to find some god - ANY god - to restore life to the people he leads?

No - that’s not it. We saw last week - there have been decades and decades of stability and growing wealth inside the nation and power outside. IT’s not POVERTY, BUT PROSPERITY - that has lead to the PAGANISM of Ahaz.

FITS THE PATTERN OF OUR OWN DAY.

As for child sacrifice - we should not think of child sacrifice as a pagan practice that belongs only to the distant past. On the contrary, abortion on demand has made child sacrifice more common than ever. It was in a wealthy Canada, in the 1980s that the protection of unborn life was struck down.

“Of course, our abominations are often desacralized - our fertility rites are more often celebrated in university dormitories than at Asherah chapels and Molech receives his due in sterile clinics rather than at religious shrines.” The logic today is really the same as it was in the ancient world: I want my life to be as happy as possible, and I am willing to sacrifice someone else to make sure I get the happiness I think I deserve.

2 WHO DO YOU TURN TO FOR SECURITY? vv.5-9

Sure enough, after reading about Ahaz’ depraved worship, it doesn’t take long before crisis comes. Verses 5-9

An alliance has formed between two of Judah’s neighbours - the nation of Syria, with Rezin as its king and Judah’s blood-relatives in Israel, with Pekah as their king. The 2 leaders come together, organize their soldiers and trudge their dirty feet into Judah - all the way to the capital city of Jerusalem, where their armies set up a seige. Now, do you remember last week - the military advantage and strength that grandfather Uzziah had built up for the country?

Verse 5 tells us that the siege hasn’t been successful yet - “‘(they) besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him.” Well that’s a blessing. Literally. But it doesn’t mean that these are not stressful days for this king.

The clouds are dark above Jerusalem as King Ahaz is huddled in the palace with his foreign policy advisors. The enemy is at the gate and damage has already been done elsewhere in the nation. Verse 6 tells us that Syria has overrun and taken the city of Elath, to the south - on the way to the Red Sea. That was a critical trade city for the ships that would come from Egypt and other exotic, distant locations. It would be similar to BC not falling to a hostile enemy - but they have taken over the Port of Vancouver - talk about supply chain crisis. This is a big problem,

If you take a look at the parallel history - over in 2 Chronicles 28- you see that Judah is crumbling.

2 Chronicles 28:5-8

2 Chronicles 28:18

… Attacks in the north and south and from the Philistines in the west. Exiles being led away, massive casualties in a single day. What do you do when your carefully protected kingdom is coming apart?

2 Chronicles 28:19 makes clear WHY the trouble has hit:

“For the LORD humbled Judah because of Ahaz, king of Israel, for he had made Judah act sinfully and had been very unfaithful to the LORD.”

So you are Ahaz, and your nation is burning around you - there is very little time left - it’s time to push the panic button … and your finger is on it.

So what do you do? Where do you turn for rescue?

Do you call the nation together, declare a day of prayer and confession - join your people on your faces - seeking the LORD and his rescue from enemies you cannot handle on your own, like the King of England did, when the British army was trapped, at Dunkirk, in the Second World War? Do you go to the God who gave you this land in the first place? The One Who rescued from slavery and fought for you every step of the way - until you are here, in this land of milk and honey?

You know you aren’t where you should be .... (and I hope you are seeing yourself in this panicked position of Judah’s king right now). Do you do like the Prodigal son and go home to the Father you have horribly wronged, with nothing to offer except your plea for help?

Not if you’re Ahaz.

2 Kings 16:7-10 READ

Ahaz doesn’t go to the temple to pray – he doesn’t’ go to God at all - he goes to the rising superpower of his day - Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria. The very reason Rezim and Pekah have attacked Judah is because they are afraid of Assyria - and they want Ahaz to join them in a three-nation front.

Ahaz’ first response is to go to the neighbourhood bully and look for a political alliance of his own.

Assyria is one of the most godless nations in all of history - they didn’t just master the art of warfare - they mastered torture techniques too … and bragged about it - depicted it on the walls of their palace and made picture books of it - of how they would take their enemies, cut off limbs, gouge out eyes and then leave the poor victim to roam around. They bragged about mass executions and impaling, beheading, making jewelry out of the severed heads of their enemies .... I could go on and on - but you get the idea of who we’re dealing with here. This is an Empire of Brutality.

If anything - the brutal reputation of Assyria only makes Ahaz more intent on going there for help.

Notice how he approaches Tglath-pileser, in v. 7: “I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me …”.

“I am your servant and your son” - that’s more than self deprecating humility shown to a king who could annihilate you if he wanted .... It’s a little off-putting to watch someone grovel, but you can understand it. This is so much deeper than that.

Judah had always been God’s son, and the king of Judah had always been God’s servant. Going back to the time of Moses and Pharaoh, God had said, “Israel is my firstborn son” (Ex. 4:22). Later, when Jesse’s youngest son was first anointed to be king, God frequently referred to him as “David, my servant” (e.g., Ps. 89:20; 1 Kings 11:32ff.). The house of David continues to enjoy the privilege of sonship. God says so himself, when He promises to David about his son, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son” (2 Sam. 7:14).

So, when Ahaz calls himself the “son” of Assyria and the “servant” of Assyria’s king, instead of servant of ‘The LORD’ and leader of Judah, ‘God’s son” … he’s selling his birthright for a bowl of stew. In effect, he was asking Tiglath-pileser to be his personal savior.

Do you see the parallel to our lives, today?

We make the same mistake whenever we try to find immediate relief for life’s pressures and expedient solutions to our problems rather than waiting for the help that only God can bring. We lose the safety and security of resting in our Father’s arms. This is what is so heartbreaking when children turn their backs on the household of faith: they deny themselves the greatest privilege in the universe, which is to be known and loved as a true child of God.

Who are your alternative saviors? What situations tempt you to come up with your own solutions instead of waiting for God to work things out?

A curious incident from the annals of Oxford University illustrates the danger that Ahaz faced when he denied both his sonship and his servant-hood. When the naturalist Frank Buckland was up at Oxford in the mid-nineteenth century, he was allowed to keep a remarkable collection of animals in his college rooms, including (believe it or not) a live bear. On one famous occasion, the bear wandered into Christ Church Cathedral while a student was reading 2 Kings 16:7. The last thing the student said before fleeing the lectern was the name of Assyria’s king. Henceforth, the bear was fondly known as “Tiglath-pileser.”

Well, Ahaz had invited a bear into his sanctuary, too, and the bear did what bears do: he took whatever he wanted.

According to 2 Kings 16:8, “Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasures of the king’s house and sent a present to the king of Assyria.”

Call it a present if you like, or tributeif you prefer, but it was really ‘protection money’ – mafia style. Once again, the holy temple was plundered by God’s enemies, who will always take as much as God’s people will give them.

People who forfeit the treasure of heaven often pay a high price in earthly currency as well.

Ahaz walks the way of human ingenuity. It may be royal human ingenuity, but it is still human ingenuity. It’s the thinking that says to itself, ‘My troubles are too complex for me to lean on God’s assurances, but I see a clear and very obvious way to solve this problem.’ Yahweh seems such a remote and ineffective help. I suppose Ahaz felt like H. G. Wells when he wrote Rebecca West:

I can’t—in my present state anyhow—bank on religion. God has no thighs and no life. When one calls to him in the silence of the night he doesn’t turn over and say, ‘What is the trouble, Dear?’

Both Ahaz and H. G. longed respectively for help more ‘tangible’ than heaven’s.

3 WHO DO YOU TURN TO FOR INFLUENCE? Vv. 10-20

READ vv. 10-13

There is a leader’s summit between Ahaz and Tiglath-pileser, which takes place in Damascus, the capital of the newly conquered Syria. While the kings enjoy some free-time between meetings, Ahaz uses the time for sightseeing and while touring the city, he notices the altar used in Syria’s religious worship. He’s captivated by it - it’s so trendy, urbane … sophisticated.

The king pulls a napkin out of his pocket and draws a picture of the altar - complete with dimensions. Then he sends the drawing, by courier, back home to Jerusalem, addressed to the priest Uriah.

BY the time the king gets home from his trip - lo and behold, there, in the temple complex, is the very altar he wanted - it’s already made to his specs and ready to use.

And use it he does. Verse 12 tells us that, “The king drew near to the altar and went up on it and ...” - did all of his sacrificing - by himself. Do you remember what happened last week, to his grandfather Uzziah who didn’t follow the LORD’s instructions?

Things didn’t work out very well for him. Ahaz seems to think he doesn’t need to bother with God’s will, when he has the king of Assyria on his side. Assyria has become his salvation and Syria is his life-coach.

So he does what he wants in worship. Israel’s worship is so old-fashioned and ‘limiting’. In fact, he’s not done with the altar ....

READ vv. 14-16

Remember, the temple in Jerusalem was sacredly designed according to the exact blueprint God himself gave - and commanded to be followed. This is how He wanted to be worshiped. Every minute detail of the temple’s structure … right down to the very artwork on the pillars - it is all designed to teach the story of salvation.

So you have the massive bowl, called the ‘Sea’ - 15 feet across and 7 1/2 feet high, given to symbolize cleansing; there is the great bronze altar, given for atonement. From beginning to end - worship in the temple was a great, God-appointed drama of salvation - putting into visual form, just how the holy God of heaven reaches down to rebellious, sin-stained peopl and makes them able to walk with him in forgiveness and joy.

Ahaz says, ‘BORING - I can improve it - I can bring it up to date, so it’s relevant in this modern world.” And he ends up butchering it all.

The king puts his new altar, front and centre … he takes God’s designed altar – and shoves it off to the side. But he still isn’t done.

READ vv. 17-18.

The great sea - he takes from its pedestal - the intricately designed artistry of the 12 bronze oxen - 3 facing in each direction .... and he puts it on a stone block.

Then there are the stands – 10 meticulously made carts with wheels on the bottom, a basin on the top, sitting on a carved crown - pulls the basin off of the top and cuts the sides off - These were made as one piece, with cherubim, lions and palm trees carved into the side. Ahaz chops the sides of - what did he use - a hacksaw?! And this is his idea of improvement!

Do you see the butchery of the worship of the glorious God going on here? And don’t miss how Ahaz gives worship instructions to the actual priest - in v. 15. He tells him to do all of his normal sacrificing … on the brand new altar. And as for the old bronze one - the end of v.. 15, “(B)ut the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.”

And I want to ask this king: “Inquire of WHOM?! God has given you His guidance in His Word - and you’ve ignored it all .... How can you expect to hear His voice, when you are treating him like a dummy with yourself as the ventriloquist?!”

To me - the picture of Ahaz’s worship is a great warning for us against falling into the trap of ‘consumer-driven worship’ - or ‘self-driven’ Christianity - Deciding on how they will relate to God or define their faith - not based on God’s unchanging Word - pursuing His glory and their own joy in the knowledge of him

… Too many people in our society are defining their faith by ‘what works’; ‘what’s trendy’ or ‘socially acceptable’.

Can I ask you friend - Where do you turn, when your world is crumbling around you? Do you turn to the unchanging God of the Bible … humble yourself under His life-giving word? Or do you look inside – do you look at what you feel you want God to be, then look into pop culture and find voices to speak out loud what you want to hear – with a Bible verse here or there to lend some ‘authority’?

DO you treat the Bible, not as an ocean to swim in, but as a box of chocolates, to pick and choose what you want to believe from? Read this week, the testimony of someone who left Evangelicalism as a young man, to follow Progressive Christianity – only to discover, as time went on, that it wasn’t a trustworthy foundation to build a life on. He has since returned to the Historic Christian faith. Here’s a little of his testimony:

Progressives had become just as fundamentalist as the fundamentalists they despised. Only now, instead of traditional values being the litmus test, it was wokeness. If you didn’t toe the party line of progressive orthodoxy, you were an outcast. A heretic.

I’d heard about the dangers of moralistic therapeutic deism (MTD), the default American religion where God simply wants you to live a decent life and not be sad, and doesn’t intrude on your life. I originally ran to progressive Christianity to counter that kind of shallow belief. But what I found was just more of the same, only with new definitions.

Wokeness was the new morality. Therapy was the new path to happiness. Cancel culture was the new church discipline. And like MTD, there was, conveniently, no personal God to place demands on your life in any meaningful way. In this “progressive” MTD, Elizabeth Gilbert’s trope is the only thing left: “God dwells within you, as you.” There’s no way to distinguish between ourselves and God. In this paradigm, we are God.

4 WHERE IS YOUR HOPE? Isaiah 7:1-17

Verse 20 says farewell to king Ahaz, “And Ahaz slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.” And don’t you just want to say, in exasperation - “What a tragic waste”

“Ahaz - you had the king of Glory as your God - Your Father … but you traded Him for the brutal Assyria” And that is a terrible trade!

In fact, in 2 Chronicles 28:19-20 “For the Lord humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made Judah act sinfully and had been very unfaithful to the Lord. So Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him.”

Maybe you are listening today - and you hear about Ahaz wasting his life away. It hits close to home - You know that you are not finding your hope in God, as He’s revealed Himself in His Word. You may consider yourself a Christian .... but you know you’ve been taking your cues from our therapeutic, self-expressive culture. This Ahaz story is God’s message to you.

There’s one more place I want to take you to in Scripture. It’s one more place where Ahaz is dealth with. Turn to Isaiah 7. Last week, we found a little more info on his grandfather in Isaiah 6. Ahaz shows up in Isaiah 7.

I want you to wrap up this king’s life here, because it fills in a few more gaps in our story and increases our vision of the Glory of God.

READ vv. 1-7

“Don’t be afraid” “The plans of your enemy do not have a chance.” Wait - the king is out inspecting the city’s water supply, preparing for the invasion and shaking in his boots. He’s not thinking about God - He’s thinking about how best to protect his ‘felt needs’. But God wants to save him - do you see that? He tells Isaiah to go meet the king and his son. His son’s name is ‘Shear-Jashub’ - which means ‘a remnant shall return’. This is God’s way of assuring Ahaz that even if the worst happens right now … God will have the last word - a remnant will come back in victory.

Isaiah 7:9 “And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’ ””

“Trust me! I’m here for you - but you need to treat me as God.”

Isaiah 7:10-11 “Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.””

Can you believe this? This king, who has committed despicable, murderous atrocities - who has sold his birthright to rent the protection of a terrorist, rather than God … AFTER ALL OF THAT … God comes to him and doesn’t say: “You’ve sealed your fate, traitor - prepare to die”. He comes and says, “Trust me - and I’ll even prove I’m trustworthy .... ask me for a sign.”

“As deep as the realm of the dead or as high as heaven itself - just ask me.”

Isaiah 7:12 “But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.””

But Ahaz won’t do it. God hands him a blank cheque and Ahaz won’t cash it. He doesn’t want to trust God. He wants to keep control himself.

Well, God gives a sign anyway, in one of the great prophetic verses in all the Bible -

Isaiah 7:13-14 “And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

It’s God’s promise of a son for Isaiah in the immediate context … but more than that - it is a prophecy of the birth of Jesus Christ - That’s how the angel introduces Mary to the idea of the child she will bear. Matthew 1: You shall call His name Immanuel – and He SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS.”

It’s God’s great promise to you, Christian - NO matter how great the enemy you face today or next week - or next year .... God will be with you. Greater is He who is in you - than He who is in the world. And no matter your past and the skeletons hidden in your closet - God sees them all - and He has so much for you … if you will only turn to Him – TRUST HIM.

Biography of Adoniram Judson - the first missionary ever to be sent from America overseas. Let me encourage you to get to know him.

His was one of the finest minds America ever produced - - He was so brilliant that when he was 12 years old -- he was teaching the adult S.S. class in his church the book of Revelation - - in the original Greek language!!” Now there is a mind.

He was the son of a pastor, but when he got to college, he made the fatal mistake of thinking he was more brilliant than God - - and came to the point where he disavowed his faith. He went to Brown University and became a terror to his classmates who were Christians. Judson was such a powerful debater that his arguments would shake the foundations of their faith.

He had a roommate - a fellow by the name of Jacob Eames. Eames and Judson became very close, staying up late into the night, debating and discussing every subject, including religion. By graduation, Judson was declared valedictorian of his class, and he and Eames were avowed atheists – Eames gave the credit for his atheism to Judson.

His mother didn’t know how to deal with him, so she just sobbed and prayed for him. His father tried to talk to him, but got nowhere. His arguments were to no avail against his son’s agile young mind. What would this genius do with his life? The whole world lay before him, and he wanted to enjoy life to the fullest.

Years went by - One day, Judson went to N.Y, for an interview - he wanted to joint the theatre. On his way back home to Boston, it got late - - it was a long, long ride and he was very tired. He stopped at an inn and asked if he could get a room.

Innkeeper: “Sorry, sir, we can’t give you a room - we are all full.”

Judson: “I am so tired, I could sleep anywhere. Could I pay you to sleep in the front hall? I’ll get up before dawn and leave - I just need somewhere to lie down.”

“Well” innkeeper said, “I do have 1 room, but I wasn’t going to rent it out, because in the next room over, is a young man who is very sick. From his body is emanating a stench - he is dying. And he has fits of raving, shouting with rage and profanity. But, if you can handle it, you can take that room.”

“I am a grown man. I can handle it.”

But it was a horrible night. Judson lay awake listening to the profanity. Listening to this man in untold agony, crying out for help. He tried to smother the sound with his pillow. He tossed and turned until eventually, the sound subsided and he fell asleep.

In the morning, as he was paying his bill, Judson asked, “What happened, did the man feel better?” No, “In the early hours of the morning, the man died.”

“That’s a shame. He was young, you say?” “Yes, just out of school. He couldn’t be more than your age. He went to that Brown university.”

That was Judson’s school: “Brown, I might have known him. What was his name?” The innkeeper looked at the records: “Jacob Eames”. Jacob Eames, that was Judson’s roommate - his proud comrade in atheism.

Judson says, “I got onto my horse and I started to ride back, and I could not see in front of me, for the tears started to pour down my face and as the tears were pouring down my face, two words were pounding into my heart as the hooves of the horse were pounding into the ground. And the 2 words were: ‘death, hell, death, hell, death, hell.”

He says, I got off my horse and knelt on the dusty road, repented bitterly of the way I had betrayed my God. When Jacob Eames now lay delivering up an account of his own soul, because I had knocked out any faith that he’d had in God.”

He got married, and checked out of the U.S, going as a missionary to India. He was kicked out of Calcutta and went to Burma. His first wife died of a tropical disease she contracted there. Out of sheer loneliness, he remarried. His second wife died. 3 or 4 of his children died. His missionary colleagues died. This man labored as a funeral director, burying almost everybody that had been close to him. And there was no fruit of his labors. It took him 7 years to lead the first Burmese to Jesus Christ.

And yet, God worked. Adoniram Judson was imprisoned by the Burmese authorities because of his successful preaching of the gospel as more and more started to turn to Christ. After being imprisoned for 18 months, enduring the despicable conditions - - people could not even recognize him anymore. The authorities knew he was going to die - so they put him on a boat to send back to America. He never made it. He died on the way back, and was buried at sea.

At Malden Mass., an unimpressive marble tablet tells the story: Adoniram Judson. Born 1788; Died 1850. Malden his birthplace, the ocean is his sepulchre, the Burmese Bible is his monument. His record is on high.

You see he translated the Bible into Burmese, his wife translated it into Thai. And Judson didn’t know this, but in Burmese folklore there was a belief that someday, a man was going to come with a book which would have the truth in it. Judson spent years and years producing that book.