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2 Chronicles 25

Life Application Study Bible2 ChroniclesChapter 25

2 Chronicles 25

New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 698, 699, 700

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252 Chronicles 25

Amaziah Rules in Judah

125 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Jehoaddin* from Jerusalem. 2Amaziah did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight, but not wholeheartedly. 3When Amaziah was well established as king, he executed the officials who had assassinated his father. 4However, he did not kill the children of the assassins, for he obeyed the command of the LORD as written by Moses in the Book of the Law: 6Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.”* 8Then Amaziah organized the army, assigning generals and captains* for all Judah and Benjamin. He took a census and found that he had an army of 300,000 select troops, twenty years old and older, all trained in the use of spear and shield. 9He also paid about 7,500 pounds* of silver to hire 100,000 experienced fighting men from Israel. 7But a man of God came to him and said, 11Your Majesty, do not hire troops from Israel, for the LORD is not with Israel. He will not help those people of Ephraim! If you let them go with your troops into battle, you will be defeated by the enemy no matter how well you fight. God will overthrow you, for he has the power to help you or to trip you up.” 9Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about all that silver I paid to hire the army of Israel?” The man of God replied, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this!” 1°So Amaziah discharged the hired troops and sent them back to Ephraim. This made them very angry with Judah, and they returned home in a great rage. 11 Then Amaziah summoned his courage and led his army to the Valley of Salt, where they Pe kos 4 47 killed 10,000 Edomite troops from Seir. 12They captured another 10,000 and took them to the top of a cliff and threw them off, dashing them to pieces on the rocks below. 13Meanwhile, the hired troops that Amaziah had sent home raided several of the towns of Judah between Samaria and Beth-horon. They killed 3,000 people and carried off great quantities of plunder. 14When King Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought with him idols taken from the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down in front of them, and offered sacrifices to them! 5This made the LORD very angry, and he sent a prophet to ask, “Why do you turn to gods who could not even save their own people from you?” 16But the king interrupted him and said, “Since when have I made you the king’s counselor? Be quiet now before I have you killed!” So the prophet stopped with this warning: “I know that God has determined to destroy you because you have done this and have refused to accept my counsel.” 17After consulting with his advisers, King Amaziah of Judah sent this challenge to Israel's 25:17 28 8-20 king Jehoash,* the son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu: “Come and meet me in battle!”* on 18But King Jehoash of Israel replied to King Amaziah of Judah with this story: “Out in the Lebanon mountains, a thistle sent a message to a mighty cedar tree: ‘Give your daughter in marriage to my son.’ But just then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and stepped on the thistle, crushing it! 19“ You are saying, ‘I have defeated Edom,’ and you are very proud of it. But my advice is to stay at home. Why stir up trouble that will only bring disaster on you and the people of Judah?” 20But Amaziah refused to listen, for God was determined to destroy him for turning to the gods of Edom. 21So King Jehoash of Israel mobilized his army against King Amaziah of Judah. The two armies drew up their battle lines at Beth-shemesh in Judah. 2?Judah was routed by the army of Israel, and its army scattered and fled for home. 2°King Jehoash 25:23 ot47 of Israel captured Judah’s king, Amaziah son of Joash and grandson of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh. Then he brought him to Jerusalem, where he demolished 600 feet* of Jerusalem's wall, from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. 24He carried off all the gold and silver and 25:24 all the articles from the Ternple of God that had been in the care of Obed-edom. He also 1 Chr 26:15 seized the treasures of the royal palace, along with hostages, and then returned to Samaria. 25King Amaziah of Judah lived on for fifteen years after the death of King Jehoash of Israel. 26The rest of the events in Amaziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27After Amaziah turned away from the LORD, there was a conspiracy against his life in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But his enemies sent assassins after him, and they killed him there. 28They brought his body back on a horse, and he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David.*

Textual footnotes

  1. At the turn of the year. The first day of the year in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in March or April.
  2. teads Zabad.
  3. one another in the face.
  4. ancient versions (see also 2 Kgs 14:20); most Hebrew manuscripts read the city of Judah.
  5. 25:14
  6. 25:15
  7. 25:18
  8. Judg 9:8-15
  9. 25:19
  10. 25:25
  11. 25:1 As in parallel text at 2 Kgs 14:2; Hebrew reads Jehoaddan, a variant spelling of Jehoaddin. 25:4 Deut 24:16.
  12. 25:2 Chr 28:23
  13. 25:2 Chr 26:11-12
  14. 25:2 Chr 26:16; 32:25
  15. 25:2 Kgs 14:17-22
  16. 25:5 Hebrew commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.
  17. 25:6 Hebrew 100 talents [3,400 kilograms].
  18. 25:17a Hebrew Joash, a variant spelling of Jehoash; also in 25:18, 21, 23,25.
  19. 25:17b Hebrew Come, fet us look
  20. 25:23 Hebrew 400 cubits [180 meters].
  21. 25:28 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and other

Life Application Notes 5 notes

25:2Amaziah did what was right on the outside, but inside he often resented what he had to do. His obedience was at best halfhearted. When the prophet promised God’s deliverance, Amaziah first complained about the money that had been lost (25:9). And he valued military. success more than God’s will. We must search our own hearts and root out any resistance to obeying God. Grudging compliance is not true obedience.

25:9,10Amaziah made a financial agreement with Israelite soldiers, offering to pay them to fight for him (25:6). But before they could go to battle, Amaziah sent them home with their pay because of the prophet’s warning. Although it cost him plenty, he wisely realized that the money was not worth the ruin the alliance could cause. How would you have reacted? Money must never stand in the way of making right decisions. The LORD’s favor is priceless, worth more than any amount of money.

25:14After the victory, Amaziah returned and sacrificed to idols. We are very susceptible to sin after great victories. It is then that we feel confident, relaxed, and ready to celebrate. If, in that excitement, we let our defenses down, Satan can attack with all sorts of temptations. When you win, watch out. After the mountain peaks come the valleys.

25:15Amaziah made a foolish mistake by worshiping the gods of the nation he had just conquered. Impressed by the accomplishments of the Edomites, Amaziah worshiped their idols! How foolish to serve the gods of a defeated enemy. We make the same mistake as Amaziah when we run after money, power, or recognition. By recognizing the emptiness of these worldly pursuits, we can free ourselves from the desire to follow them.

25:18In this parable, Judah is the thistle and Israel's army is the cedar. Amaziah was proud after defeating Edom. He wanted to defeat Israel, but Jehoash warned him not to attack. Amaziah had more ambition than ability, and he paid for it when he was

Charts, profiles & sidebars from the printed pages

Personality profile · page 699

Profile: Joash

All parents want their children to make the right decisions. But to do this, children must first learn to make their own decisions. Making bad ones helps them learn to make good ones. If parents make all the decisions for their children, they leave their children without the skills for wise decision making when they are on their own. This problem seriously affected Joash. He had great advice, but he never grew up. He became so dependent on what he was told that his effectiveness was limited to the quality of his advisers. When Joash was one year old, his grandmother Athaliah decided to slaughter all her descendants in a desperate bid for power. Joash, the only survivor, was rescued and hidden by his aunt and uncle, Jehosheba and Jehoiada. Jehoiada’s work as a priest made it possible to keep Joash hidden in the Temple for six years. At that point, Jehoiada arranged for the overthrow of Athaliah and the crowning of Joash. For many years following, Jehoiada made most of the kingdom’s decisions for Joash. When the old priest died, he was buried in the royal cemetery as a tribute to his role. But after Jehoiada’s death, Joash didn’t know what to do. He listened to counsel that led him into evil. Within a short time he even ordered the death of Jehoiada’s son Zechariah. After a few months, Joash’s army had been soundly defeated by the Arameans. Jerusalem was saved only because Joash stripped the Temple of its treasures as a bribe. Finally, the king’s own officials assassinated him. In contrast to Jehoiada, Joash was not buried among the kings; he is not even listed in Jesus’ genealogy in the New Testament. As dependent as Joash was on Jehoiada, there is little evidence that he ever established a real dependence on the God Jehoiada obeyed. Like many children, Joash’s knowledge of God was secondhand. It was a start, but the king needed his own relationship with God that would outlast and overrule the changes in the advice he received. It would be easy to criticize Joash’s failure were it not for the fact that we often fall into the same traps. How often have we acted on poor advice without considering God’s Word?

• Carried out extensive repairs on the Temple

• Was faithful to God as long as Jehoiada lived

Strengths and accomplishments

Allowed idolatry to continue among his people

• Used the Temple treasures to bribe King Hazael of Aram

• Killed Jehoiada’s son Zechariah

• Allowed his advisers to tead the people away from God

Weaknesses and mistakes

Lessons from his life

• A good and hopeful start can be ruined by an evil end

• Even the best counsel is ineffective if it does not help us make wise decisions

• As helpful or hurtful as others may be, we are individually responsible for what we do

Vital statistics

• Where: Jerusalem © Occupation: King of Judah

• Relatives: Father: Ahaziah. Mother: Zibiah. Grandmother: Athaliah. Aunt: Jehosheba. Uncle: Jehoiada. Son: Amaziah. Cousin: Zechariah

• Contemporaries: Jehu, Hazael

“But after Jehoiada’s death, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before King Joash and persuaded him to listen to their advice. They decided to abandon the Temple of the Loap, the God of their ancestors, and they worshiped Asherah poles and idols instead! Because of this sin, divine anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem” (2 Chronicles 24:17, 18).

Key verses

Joash’s story is told in 2 Kings 11:1—12:21 and 2 Chronicles 22:11—24:27.

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