Famed Alabama football Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant once said, “Don’t give up at half-time. Concentrate on winning the second half.” Many of the kings of Judah started their lives out well, walking with God. But obstacles are thrown in their way by the great adversary, Satan, and their lives are re-directed towards other pursuits. I want us to study the life of King Amaziah, one who had a divided heart when it came to obedience to God…
AMAZIAH’S (800-783 B. C.) BACKGROUND – 25:1-4:
Amaziah did “right” in the sight of the Lord God but not quite as completely as did King David. In fact, in a phrase parallel to this phrase “not with a whole heart,” the writer of 2 Kings (14:3), says that Amaziah did right, yet “not like David, his father.” That is, his obedience was not complete; it was not entire; it was not full-hearted. He followed, to a large degree, the path set by his dad.
AMAZIAH DOES WHAT IS RIGHT – 25:5-13:
Amaziah took a census of his military and found that he had a 300,000 man army. Not only that, but he hires 100,000 men from the northern nation of Israel to fight with them. But God sends a prophet to him in 25:7-10. The northern tribes of Israel were much more heavily immersed in idolatry than the southern tribes of Judah were and the prophet tells Amaziah that God is not with Israel. He is not with Ephraim, the largest and most influential tribe in the north.
The prophet warns Amaziah not to take Israel with him to battle. If he does, he might fight hard but God is going to bring him down (vs 8). In verse 9, Amaziah expresses concern about losing his investment but the prophet tells him that God is able to give him much more in return. Amaziah wins the battle against Edom.
AMAZIAH TURNS HIS HEART AWAY FROM GOD – 25:14-16:
Why would you bring home the gods of the people whom you just destroyed and worship them? Why would you trust in something that has proven to be worthless to other people? Oh the irrationality of anything except Christianity! Christianity is the only religion that makes sense; that is logical.
God sent a prophet to Amaziah but Amaziah responds foolishly to the prophet. Amaziah has not “listened” to the counsel of the prophet. The word “listen” is found in 1 & 2 Chronicles 20 times! Keep in mind that the Hebrew verb could also be translated “obey.”
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AMAZIAH SEEKS TO MAKE A NAME FOR HIMSELF – 25:17-24:
One battle, one time, apparently swelled the head of Amaziah and he thought now that he could do anything he wanted to do, including waging a battle against his northern neighbors and brothers, the nation of Israel and her king, Jehoash.
Verse 20 summarizes Amaziah’s attitude, not just toward Jehoash but toward God, in the later years of his life. “Amaziah would not listen.” The verb “listen” is used 27 times in 1 & 2 Kings. It is one of the major themes that runs through the history of Israel. Amaziah would not listen. Why? Because God wanted to punish Amaziah for worshipping false gods! (25:20).
Verse 22 tells us that Judah was defeated by Israel. In fact, Jehoash takes Amaziah as a POW and then marches on into Jerusalem and sacks the capital city of Judah. How embarrassing! How demoralizing!
THE IGNOMINIOUS DEATH OF KING AMAZIAH – 25:25-28:
King Jehoash dies and King Amaziah lives another 15 years. It appears that he was able to return to Jerusalem but, in a weakened position, he, too, has men who want him dead. He is chased out of Jerusalem to the village of Lachish and there, he is killed.
To go back to the quote from “Bear” Bryant: Don’t give up at halftime. Concentrate on winning the second half. Christianity is the same way. We can start off well but if we don’t make daily decisions about choosing God and His ways first, it will not be long before we are worshiping and trusting idols as King Amaziah has done here.
Realize how fragile faithfulness can be. Remain close to God so you can remain strong against the Devil’s temptations.
Paul Holland
