Did the priest Uriah sin by building a pagan altar for King Ahaz?
A viewer asks whether Uriah the priest did wrong by building a pagan altar at the request of King Ahaz in 2 Kings 16:10-18, whether it was wrong to offer offerings on it, and whether he should have refused.
Answer
Of course it was wrong; that is why Ahaz was a wicked king, and he got his servants to do his bidding for him. Yes, it was definitely wrong, and Uriah should have refused, since it was pagan. At some points in Israelite history God tested the people that way. There was an occasion where everyone was summoned to worship an idol, and the prophets were waiting to see who would say no, because God had commanded that we worship him alone and not false gods. Most of the people came into the place to worship the idol, and once they were inside the doors were closed and the prophets killed every one of them, because they had made a conscious decision to go along with the king and worship foreign idols. A few refused to go in, and they were saved. So Uriah should have refused rather than build the altar and offer on it.