Ahaz was threatened on all sides, on the north by Rezin and Pekah; on the southeast by Edom 2 Chronicles 28:17; and on the southwest by the Philistines 2 Chronicles 28:18. To these external dangers was added the still greater peril of disaffection at home. A large party in Judah was "weary" of the house of David Isaiah 7:13, ready to join the confederacy Isaiah 8:6, Isaiah 8:12, and to accept for king "the son of Tabeal." Ahaz saw no hope of safety unless he could obtain a powerful protector; and, Egypt being particularly weak at this time, he turned to Assyria.

I am thy servant and thy son - I will obey thee in all, and become tributary to thee; only help me against Syria and Israel.

So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria,.... Of whom see 2 Kings 15:29.

saying, I am thy servant, and thy son; signifying, that he would be his vassal, and become tributary to him, and serve him as a servant to his master, or a son his father, on condition he would come to his assistance, and so he became his servant; hence his son Hezekiah is said to rebel against the king of Assyria, 2 Kings 18:1.

come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king off Israel, which rise up against me; which assistance he had no reason to call in, since the Lord had promised him deliverance from both those kings, and gave him a sign of it, Isaiah 7:4.

In this distress Ahaz turned to Tiglath-pileser, without regarding either the word of Isaiah in 2 Kings 7:4., which promised salvation, or the prophet's warning against an alliance with Assyria, and by sending the gold and silver which were found in the treasures of the temple and palace, purchased his assistance against Rezin and Pekah. Whether this occurred immediately after the invasion of the land by the allied kings, or not till after they had defeated the Judaean army and advanced against Jerusalem, it is impossible to discover either from this verse or from 2 Chronicles 28:16; but probably it was after the first great victory gained by the foe, with which Isaiah 7 and 8 agree. - On קומים for קמים see Ewald, 151, b.

So Ahaz sent {e} messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.

(e) Contrary to the admonition of the prophet Isaiah, Isa 7:4.

16:7 Sent messengers, and c. - But was it because there was no God in Israel, that he sent to the Assyrian for help? The sin itself was its own punishment; for tho' it served his present turn, yet he made but an ill bargain, seeing he not only impoverished himself, but enslaved both himself and his people.

7-9. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser-In spite of the assurance given him by Isaiah by two signs, the one immediate, the other remote (Isa 7:14; 8:4), that the confederate kings would not prevail against him, Ahaz sought aid from the Assyrian monarch, to purchase which he sent the treasures of the palace and temple. Tiglath-pileser marched against Damascus, slew Rezin the king, and carried the people of Damascus into captivity to Kir, which is thought to have been the city Karine (now Kerend), in Media.

16:1-9 Few and evil were the days of Ahaz. Those whose hearts condemn them, will go any where in a day of distress, rather than to God. The sin was its own punishment. It is common for those who bring themselves into straits by one sin, to try to help themselves out by another.