Read 2 Chronicles 25
Amaziah King of Judah
25 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly. 3 After the kingdom was firmly in his control, he executed the officials who had murdered his father the king. 4 Yet he did not put their children to death, but acted in accordance with what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded: “Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor children be put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.”
5 Amaziah called the people of Judah together and assigned them according to their families to commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He then mustered those twenty years old or more and found that there were three hundred thousand men fit for military service, able to handle the spear and shield. 6 He also hired a hundred thousand fighting men from Israel for a hundred talents of silver.
7 But a man of God came to him and said, “Your Majesty, these troops from Israel must not march with you, for the Lord is not with Israel—not with any of the people of Ephraim. 8 Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow.”
9 Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about the hundred talents I paid for these Israelite troops?”
The man of God replied, “The Lord can give you much more than that.”
10 So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. They were furious with Judah and left for home in a great rage.
11 Amaziah then marshaled his strength and led his army to the Valley of Salt, where he killed ten thousand men of Seir. 12 The army of Judah also captured ten thousand men alive, took them to the top of a cliff and threw them down so that all were dashed to pieces.
13 Meanwhile the troops that Amaziah had sent back and had not allowed to take part in the war raided towns belonging to Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon. They killed three thousand people and carried off great quantities of plunder.
14 When Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them. 15 The anger of the Lord burned against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why do you consult this people’s gods, which could not save their own people from your hand?”
16 While he was still speaking, the king said to him, “Have we appointed you an adviser to the king? Stop! Why be struck down?”
So the prophet stopped but said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”
17 After Amaziah king of Judah consulted his advisers, he sent this challenge to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel: “Come, let us face each other in battle.”
18 But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle underfoot. 19 You say to yourself that you have defeated Edom, and now you are arrogant and proud. But stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah also?”
20 Amaziah, however, would not listen, for God so worked that he might deliver them into the hands of Jehoash, because they sought the gods of Edom. 21 So Jehoash king of Israel attacked. He and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth Shemesh in Judah. 22 Judah was routed by Israel, and every man fled to his home. 23 Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section about four hundred cubits long. 24 He took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the temple of God that had been in the care of Obed-Edom, together with the palace treasures and the hostages, and returned to Samaria.
25 Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. 26 As for the other events of Amaziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? 27 From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord, they conspired against him in Jerusalem and he fled to Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there.28 He was brought back by horse and was buried with his ancestors in the City of Judah.
Go Deeper
When Amaziah comes to power at the age of 25, all the early signs point to him honoring God with his reign—starting with the decision to show mercy to the children of the conspirators who killed his own father. In the ancient world, King Amaziah would have been perfectly justified to take their lives in retribution. But he was bound by God’s law to not hold them accountable for the sins of their fathers. He then raised an army of mercenaries at a great financial expense but was warned by a prophet that God did not need these additional men. Amaziah ate the costs and sent the mercenaries home. He stood firm and was rewarded with total victory over the Edomites.
But then a single decision changed everything about Amaziah’s favor. After destroying the Edomites in battle, Amaziah brought back their gods and began to worship them as his own. Even after God had given him victory, Amaziah still turned to other gods. The decision makes no sense, either logically or spiritually. Why would he adopt the gods of the conquered? Hadn’t those very gods just been proven false?
For us, we also make illogical decisions around where we place our faith. We, too, worship the gods of the conquered. God protects us over and over, but we still compromise our values for a little more money, a little more security, a little more of what we don’t believe God can provide—even though He has shown us over and over that the only enduring sustenance is found in Him.
King Amaziah’s life spirals from there. He eventually loses in battle and sees his kingdom plundered and torn apart. He flees from his own people. A group of men track him down and kill him. The promise of his reign comes to a quick and violent end, like so many of the kings before him.
Questions
- Why does Amaziah send the mercenary army home, and what are his concerns with doing so?
- How does Amaziah challenge the King of Israel? How does Joash respond?
- What becomes of the gods that Amaziah brought back from war with the Edomites?What are the ‘gods of the conquered’ in your own life?
By the Way
When Amaziah challenges Joash, Joash responds with this fable: “A thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife,’ and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle.” For further context on why he responded this way, read Judges 9:8-15.
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7 responses to “2 Chronicles 25”
14 “He set them up as his own gods, bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them.“
Idols are so perniciously seductive. They keep creeping back into our lives and our family lines!
God, please keep me and my family line from idols!
“He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly” (v2)
From the beginning of King Amaziah’s reign, scripture records he had a divided heart. Over and over God sends messages through his prophet to redirect his plans, but like a stubborn child he balks and rebels. How familiar his response is to many of us. Instead of rejecting wise counsel, may we invite the godly discernment of others to speak plainly into our lives. May we see it as a gift and protection of God (and may we know the truth of God’s word so that we can gracefully give it to others).
“He did right in the sight of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart.”
2 Chronicles 25:2 NASB
Don’t be like Amaziah. We can learn from his story. If you have been blessed with good times, then praise be to God. If you have been blessed with struggles and a mess, that God can make into a message then continue to praise God. Pray and ask Him to reveal your idols. You may be surprised.
I have a confession. I love doing the BRP. I get up and study different commentaries, read, try to understand, to see these guys, these kings we are reading about. I want to see how this helps us in our day and time and how that all pertains to the now. But someone said something about it last night and all I could recall was that I was/am reading 2 Chronicles. I could not recall what chapter or how it did pertain to my day. So forgive me for not always retaining what I am studying. I need to ruminate on it during the day and not just do my couple hours in the morning and call it done. As I remember and recall that is what we are shown to do. REMEMBER and RECALL what we are studying to help us grow into a more fully faithful believer. Remembering to talk about what you are learning for growth.
Yesterday Joash was just a follower, he didnt really have his own faith. Today we see Amaziah who did right, for a season, but not completely. The big idea I see in most of these kings is that they are full of pride. They know what is right and even have priests telling them, but they have idols that take over because they think this is better.
God forgive me for not remembering. Thank You that I am doing this to understand, comprehend and above all to know You better. God help me to live and do a life that is whole heartedly devoted to You. Show me who/what/where I am placing other things, idols, above You. Open my eyes of understanding to follow You with all, my complete heart, soul, mind and strength. Thank You that I can recall and tell of what You are teaching me through Your Word. God let me ruminate on how to better serve You with remembering the words and thoughts I have read. God help me to act in obedience today, in these minutes of this day that all I say and do are glorifying to You, in Jesus name amen
“When Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them” (v.14).
Not this again!
Amaziah brings back the gods of other people and worships them, following a terribly familiar pattern of terrible spiritual compromise.
How many times have we seen this in the history of God’s people? It seems even the best of leaders fall short in this regard. So often they leave idols standing, which not only allows others to worship bad gods, but moves them to bow down themselves.
They start out so strong — but then end so badly.
Today’s chapter opens by pointing straight to the problem: “Amaziah wasn’t wholeheartedly devoted to God” (v.2, MSG).
Yep. This again. Spiritual compromise. Half-hearted devotion. Lukewarm worship.
That would be me these days. Starting out strong but slipping. Inconsistent worship that’s half-hearted and compromised. I’m sorry to say — but need to confess — once again I’ve been bowing to a “god of the conquered.”
My Asherah pole? I call it “Emotional Heroine.” A familiar, mental escape I frequently turn to as a way to numb rather than heal.
And it helps to name it, even as I work to pull it down. There’s a strange kind of liberation that comes when we stop softening our idols and finally call them what they are. Hidden idols quietly shape us. Named idols lose their power to rule us.
And that’s one of my takeaways from today’s chapter. There are plenty of these subtle “gods of the conquered” that can sneak into our lives: habits, comforts, distractions, attitudes we allow… all because they feel harmless or familiar.
But compromise always begins with letting something stand that should have been torn down.
While reflecting on all this, I heard a simple but surprising statement from a popular Christian author:
“Jesus… was relaxed.”
That word stopped me.
Relaxed.
What if “relaxed” sums up the kind of whole-being peace that only comes from wholehearted worship?
Jesus was relaxed — not because life was comfortable — but because His devotion was undivided.
We won’t find this at the feet of Asherah poles.
But when only when we come to God with spiritual integrity… wholehearted devotion… and passionate, singleminded worship.
Lord, may we have this again!
I love that picture of Jesus being relaxed. Not because life was comfortable but because His devotion was undivided. Great word picture! 😍
King Amaziah, who “did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not wholeheartedly” WARNING!!
God desires our full commitment, not just outward compliance. Our faith should be a reflection of our love for God, engaging both our hearts and actions. When we serve God with our whole heart, we align ourselves with His will and purpose, experiencing the fullness of His blessings.
Amen!