2 Chronicles 25: 1 – 28
Don’t Come Back
25 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a loyal heart. 3 Now it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established for him, that he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king. 4 However he did not execute their children, but did as it is written in the Law in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, “The fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall the children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall die for his own sin.” 5 Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together and set over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, according to their fathers’ houses, throughout all Judah and Benjamin; and he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found them to be three hundred thousand choice men, able to go to war, who could handle spear and shield. 6 He also hired one hundred thousand mighty men of valor from Israel for one hundred talents of silver. 7 But a man of God came to him, saying, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel—not with any of the children of Ephraim. 8 But if you go, be gone! Be strong in battle! Even so, God shall make you fall before the enemy; for God has power to help and to overthrow.” 9 Then Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?” And the man of God answered, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this.” 10 So Amaziah discharged the troops that had come to him from Ephraim, to go back home. Therefore, their anger was greatly aroused against Judah, and they returned home in great anger. 11 Then Amaziah strengthened himself, and leading his people, he went to the Valley of Salt and killed ten thousand of the people of Seir. 12 Also the children of Judah took captive ten thousand alive, brought them to the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, so that they all were dashed in pieces. 13 But as for the soldiers of the army which Amaziah had discharged, so that they would not go with him to battle, they raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon, killed three thousand in them, and took much spoil. 14 Now it was so, after Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the people of Seir, set them up to be his gods, and bowed down before them and burned incense to them. 15 Therefore the anger of the LORD was aroused against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of the people, which could not rescue their own people from your hand?” 16 So it was, as he talked with him, that the king said to him, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Cease! Why should you be killed?” Then the prophet ceased, and said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice.” 17 Now Amaziah king of Judah asked advice and sent to Joash the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face one another in battle.” 18 And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife’; and a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle. 19 Indeed you say that you have defeated the Edomites, and your heart is lifted up to boast. Stay at home now; why should you meddle with trouble, that you should fall—you and Judah with you?” 20 But Amaziah would not heed, for it came from God, that He might give them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought the gods of Edom. 21 So Joash king of Israel went out; and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 22 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent. 23 Then Joash the king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth Shemesh; and he brought him to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate—four hundred cubits. 24 And he took all the gold and silver, all the articles that were found in the house of God with Obed-Edom, the treasures of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria. 25 Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, from first to last, indeed are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? 27 After the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there. 28 Then they brought him on horses and buried him with his fathers in the City of Judah.
Today we are going to witness another king of Judah that started off so well in his devotion to our Holy God Yahweh. Then like his previous ancestors he was filled with himself and started walking on his own without depending on our Merciful and Gracious God. Our Holy and Loving God sent a prophet to correct this drifting leader. But instead of taking correction he became indignant and continued his downward spiral to destruction.
To get his attention our Holy Master allowed him to be taken captive. Then after some years he was freed to go back home. However, by this time the people of Judah were sick and tired of his leadership and rejected his leadership. In a way they informed him, ‘Don’t come back. We don’t want you anymore.’
He ignored any warnings and came back just to personally understand the truth where he fled for his life. It did not work out for him as we will soon read about.
There is a musician who put together a song with just this type of rejection. It is called, "Don't Come Back" created by Tarrus Riley. Here is just a few stanzas of this song.
Adios mi amor,
If you walk out through the door
Goodbye, my love,
I won't take it anymore
Adios mi amor.
Russian, she tek me for a joke
Don't come back
One, go
Don't come back
I won't cry
I'll be fine
Don't come back
Anytime you're ready
When you're ready
You're free to go
Don't come back
The reign of Amaziah received qualified approval from the Chronicler. He says of him that he ‘did what was right in the eyes of YHWH but not with a perfect heart’. 2 Kings 14.3 puts it, ‘yet not like David his father. He did according to all the Joash his father had done.’ In other words, he mainly followed in the pathway of encouraging the worship of Yahweh, but later to some extent came short as we shall see.
Once his kingship was established he avenged the death of his father by executing his assassins and won approval by not also avenging himself on their children. He then amassed his troops in preparation for an invasion of Edom. But he made the mistake of hiring mercenaries from Israel, for which he was rebuked on the grounds that in YHWH’s eyes Israel and its assistance was unacceptable. Israel could only drag Judah down. Having remedied this at some cost, he then defeated Edom soundly and they presumably became subject to him. Meanwhile the Israelite mercenaries took revenge on a portion of Judah. And it was at this stage that Amaziah fell and began to worship the gods of Edom which he had captured and taken back with him to Jerusalem.
Because of his turning to idolatry the Chronicler informs us that God then put it in his heart to invade Israel. Humanly speaking this may well have been because of the activities of the Israelite mercenaries against Judah. This venture, however, ended in disaster because YHWH was no longer with Him, and therefore part of the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and all the treasures of Judah, including the Temple treasure, were taken as spoil by Israel together with a number of important hostages.
The disaster he had brought on Judah aroused the leaders of Judah against him. Because of his following idols, and no doubt as a consequence of his fiasco against Israel, a conspiracy grew in Judah which meant that he eventually had to flee for refuge in Lachish. But the conspirators eventually followed him to Lachish and slew him. So, the reign that had begun so promisingly ended in disaster. Meanwhile it would appear that Uzziah was acting as his co-regent in Jerusalem. The conspiracy had been against Amaziah, not against the house of David.
25 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign. That means that he was born in the fifteenth year of the reign of Joash, and therefore in his early years would have come under the influence of Jehoiada and would have been aware of the renewing of the Temple while it was still important to Joash.. He would then have witnessed Joash’s defection from YHWH, the murder of Zechariah, and God’s later punishment of Joash. This was almost certainly a factor which influenced the early years of his reign, ensuring that he was pleasing to YHWH.
He reigned for twenty-nine years, for the first part of which he did what was right before YHWH, and as usual we are given the name of the Queen Mother who in this case was a native of Jerusalem.
2 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a loyal heart.
For the first part of his reign he did what was right in the eyes of YHWH. That indicated that he worshipped YHWH truly, encouraged Temple worship, and discouraged idolatrous worship at the high places, although not too carefully (2 Kings 14.4). His behavior was being like that of Joash his father, who was also righteous for the first part of his reign, rather than that of David who continued righteous to the end (2 Kings 14.3).
‘But not with a perfect heart’ indicates that his worship of YHWH was not as genuine as it should have been, which was why later he could sink into idolatry.
Here is a truth we need to think about. Those who are half-hearted are always in danger of falling.
3 Now it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established for him, that he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king.
The reference to the kingdom taking time to be established suggests that there were some problems when he first began to reign. Some of the conspirators against Joash may well have been seeking to put on the throne their own candidate. We are told nothing of the details, but it is apparent that Amaziah in the end triumphed so that his position on the throne was made secure. And it was then that he began to deal with those who had opposed him. Seemingly among them were the two named assassins of his father, and he therefore had them put to death.
4 However he did not execute their children, but did as it is written in the Law in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, “The fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall the children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall die for his own sin.”
But his faithfulness at this time to YHWH was evidenced by the way in which he obeyed the Torah of Moses. It was the test of a good king that he read and obeyed the Torah (Deuteronomy 17.18-19). Thus, in obedience to Deuteronomy 24.16 he did not carry out a program against the children of the conspirators. This was unusual for kings who had to fight for their thrones. Usually they exterminated whole households of those who had conspired against them. We can compare also how when Ahab falsely accused Naboth to obtain his vineyard, he also slew his sons (2 Kings 9.26).
So, in this introduction Amaziah is pictured as ruling faithfully, encouraging the worship of YHWH, and, at least half-heartedly, discouraging idol worship, whilst himself seeking to understand YHWH’s will in His word, and living in accordance with it.
The strong relationship between Judah and Israel appears to have been maintained. At no stage has Israel threatened Judah (although this could possibly partly have been because they were afraid of the Syrian threat on their northern border), And Amaziah clearly felt happy at the thought of using Israelite mercenaries. It suggested confidence in Israel and was something which must have been acceptable to the King of Israel, who was thus encouraging a friendly relationship. But God was not happy with that relationship, for He knew where it might lead. He thus discouraged the use of Israelite mercenaries, pointing out that Israel were disapproved of by Him. The revolution of Jehu, whose descendant was now on the throne of Israel, was not seen as having resulted in an Israel that truly worshipped YHWH. Once again, a king of Judah was to learn that relationship with Israel led to chastening because YHWH disapproved (verse 13).
So when Amaziah amassed his force in order to retake Edom, which had been lost to them by Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, the hiring of Israelite mercenaries was seen as unacceptable to YHWH, Who sent a prophet to rebuke Amaziah for doing so on the grounds that He was not ‘with Israel’ and would not therefore assist any army which contained Israelites who dwelt in Israel.
5 Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together and set over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, according to their fathers’ houses, throughout all Judah and Benjamin; and he numbered them from twenty years old and above and found them to be three hundred thousand choice men, able to go to war, who could handle spear and shield.
Presumably with his invasion of Edom in view Amaziah ‘gathered Judah together’, Judah being made up of Judah and Benjamin and Israelites who had settled in Judah and had been combined. They were organized in thousands and further divided into hundreds, with commanders over them.
6 He also hired one hundred thousand mighty men of valor from Israel for one hundred talents of silver.
Presumably because he thought that his army was not large enough Amaziah then hired mercenaries from Israel. This suggests that there were good relations between Israel and Judah. He hired a hundred large military units and offered them a hundred talents of silver (three hundred thousand shekels), a talent of silver per unit. They would then expect to gain even more wealth from the spoils of war.
But this was both encouraging relations with Israel, and coming under obligation to it, both things which were not pleasing to YHWH. Association with Israel involved association with idolatry and false worship of our Holy Father God Yahweh and could lead down to a watering down of Judah’s own faith. As we know they had enough problems with idolatry already without importing any.
7 But a man of God came to him, saying, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel—not with any of the children of Ephraim.
Thus a ‘man of God’ (a prophet) came to him and denounced what he had done. He pointed out that YHWH was not supportive of Israel and would therefore not support anyone who fought alongside them. It would therefore be wise to separate his army from that of Israel so that YHWH could then go with them. Note the stress on the fact that the Israel in question consisted of ‘the children of Ephraim’, that is those who were faithful to the northern kingdom and its idolatry. Northern Israel were becoming known by the name of their largest tribe.
8 But if you go, be gone! Be strong in battle! Even so, God shall make you fall before the enemy; for God has power to help and to overthrow.”
He then warned them if they did go ahead and take the Israelite contingents with them, then, however strong they were, and however bravely they fought, it would do them no good. God would cast them down before their enemy. For it was in God’s power to aid or to cast down.
There was a clear indication in this that if Amaziah used only his own forces God would give him victory, no matter what their size, as He had in the past with Asa and Jehoshaphat.
9 Then Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?” And the man of God answered, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this.”
It was to Amaziah’s credit at this stage that he accepted the prophet’s word. He was willing to do what the prophet had directed. But he had paid a large sum for their assistance. What was he to do about that? The Israelites would be unwilling to hand it back. The prophet assured him that that did not matter, for YHWH was able to give him much more than one hundred talents.
We are reminded here that delayed obedience is disobedience. His dallying with the assistance of Israel had already resulted in the loss of 100 talents. But there would be an even greater cost when the Israelite mercenaries retaliated (verse 13). His moment of weakness would cost Judah dear (but nowhere near what it would have cost if he had taken the Israelite mercenaries with him). God may enable us to restore ourselves, but He does not guarantee that it will be without loss.
By his folly in establishing a relationship with idolatrous Israel Amaziah had put himself in a difficult position from which it was impossible for him to extricate himself without further cost. Meanwhile, however, he accomplished his purpose in defeating the forces of Edom. YHWH was with him in his battle against Edom, but would not assist him to avoid the recompense from the Israelite mercenaries that he had brought on himself and Judah.
10 So Amaziah discharged the troops that had come to him from Ephraim, to go back home. Therefore, their anger was greatly aroused against Judah, and they returned home in great anger.
In obedience to the words of the man of God Amaziah separated the Israelite troops from his own and sent them home. And although they had been duly paid they were furiously angry with Judah, presumably because they had been anticipating rich amounts of spoil.
11 Then Amaziah strengthened himself, and leading his people, he went to the Valley of Salt and killed ten thousand of the people of Seir.
Amaziah then led forth his men to the Valley of Salt, the marshy plain in the valley south of the Dead Sea which continued the Jordan rift valley (the Arabah). And there he seemingly faced twenty thousand Edomite fighters. Ten of these were destroyed before him and the other ten seemingly surrendered.
12 Also the children of Judah took captive ten thousand alive, brought them to the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, so that they all were dashed in pieces.
The ten units which surrendered were dealt with without mercy. They were carried off alive and hurled down from the top of the Rock, with their bodies shattered on landing. We can compare how when David took Moabite prisoners he put two thirds of them to death (2 Samuel 8.2). The idea was to so weaken the enemy that any future resistance was prevented. It was horrific, but typical of the times. It was not God’s doing, but men. We are not told that Edom again subjected themselves to Judah at this time, but it seems probable that at least part of it did, although Uzziah would later have to retake Elath (26.1).
2 Kings 14.7 tells us that during that war he captured Sela (which means ‘the Rock’) permanently enough for it to be renamed Joktheel ‘to this day’. Renaming a city was a comparatively rare occurrence and indicated permanent occupancy. By this means he was seeking to redress the previous failure of Jehoram (8.20-22).
This invasion probably took place because, in view of the military problems that Judah had been having due to Hazael’s incursion, and the unrest that had led to Joash’s assassination, Edom had seen an opportunity of interfering with the trade routes, or even trying to take them over. Important trade routes ran through the Negeb from the King’s Highway towards Egypt, and to the port of Elath on the Red Sea, which gave access to south Arabia, both of which could be affected by Edom.
It is doubtful if this Sela was the city of Petra, which was certainly also called Sela, because he does not appear to have gained control of Elath (see 26.1). Had he been so successful that he had captured Petra, that would hardly have been so. The name means ‘the Rock’, and could apply to a number of sites. Comparison with Judges 1.36 might indicate a site in the Arabah south of the Dead Sea, which may well have been a city overseeing the trade routes.
13 But as for the soldiers of the army which Amaziah had discharged, so that they would not go with him to battle, they raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon, killed three thousand in them, and took much spoil.
Meanwhile the Israelite mercenaries whom Amaziah had sent back to Israel determined that they would obtain the spoil of which they considered they had been robbed, by attacking cities of Judah and taking spoil from them. Departing from Samaria to which they had returned, they fell on cities of Judah as far as Beth-horon, smiting three thousand residents and taking much spoil.
We are probably intended to see that by this means Amaziah was punished for having made the steps towards Israel that had resulted in the hiring of the mercenaries. Whilst by sending them back he had prevented his army being defeated by the Edomites, he had not got off scot free.
Beth-horon was divided up into Upper and Lower, and controlled the Valley of Aijalon up which went the road from the Coast Plain to the hill country.
It is testimony to the sinfulness of man’s heart that Amaziah, having been given the victory by YHWH, began to worship the gods of his defeated foe. We do not know what about them was so attractive to him. Perhaps he considered that they had aided his victory (conquerors often saw their success as indicating that their enemies gods had favored them). But whatever it was he set them up, bowed down before them and burned incense to them. And when a prophet of God sought to warn him of the consequences, he dealt with him cursorily by advising him to ‘shut up or else’. We can only assume that he ignored the fact that the victory was from YHWH and had begun to take all the credit for the victory himself. He may also have been reacting to the fact that having previously obeyed YHWH parts of Judah had been devastated as a result. He may conveniently have overlooked the fact that had he not entered relationships with Israel in the first place it would never have happened. Indeed, his folly totally justified YHWH’s position, for if he was foolish enough to worship the gods of a defeated foe, how much more likely was he to worship the gods of a successful ally.
14 Now it was so, after Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the people of Seir, set them up to be his gods, and bowed down before them and burned incense to them.
It was a common practice in the Ancient Near East for a conqueror to claim that he had been assisted in his victory by the gods of the defeated nation. Possibly the hope was then to render those nations quiescent claiming their servitude was the will of their gods. Thus, when the Assyrian Rabshakeh called on Jerusalem to surrender in the days of Hezekiah, he claimed that it was YHWH who had sent him to take Jerusalem because of the behavior of Hezekiah (2 Kings 18.22, 25).
Certainly, the bearing off the gods of a defeated nation is well attested. Compare how the Philistines carried of the Ark which to them represented the God of Israel (1 Samuel 5.1-2), and the Assyrians carried off the gods of Babylon (Isaiah 46.1-2). In contrast David burned the gods of the Philistines which he had captured (1 Chronicles 14.12). He knew that he owed them no gratitude.
It is an indication of how prone Amaziah was to idolatry, that having captured the gods of Edom he bowed down before them and burned incense to them. It may well have been because he was deceived by his own propaganda that they had helped to give him the victory. It does serve to demonstrate how willing he may have been to serve the gods of Israel if he had had a successful alliance with them. No wonder that YHWH had forbidden such an alliance. He did not want His glory to go to false gods.
15 Therefore the anger of the LORD was aroused against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of the people, which could not rescue their own people from your hand?”
Amaziah’s actions brought YHWH’s wrath on him, and He sent an unnamed prophet to try to bring him to his senses. The fact that he was unnamed indicates how loyal the Chronicler was to his sources. It would have been so easy to give him a name, especially the name of a known prophet. And this prophet pointed out to him the folly of his position. Why had he worshipped gods who had been unable even to deliver their own people out of his hand? Was he really suggesting that YHWH would have been unable to bring about the victory for him without their aid? It was a denial of the all-sufficiency of YHWH.
16 So it was, as he talked with him, that the king said to him, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Cease! Why should you be killed?” Then the prophet ceased, and said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice.”
The king’s response demonstrated the truth of what was in his heart. He rejected the prophet of YHWH and asked him who had made him one of the king’s counsellors. He did not want YHWH’s counsel, but the counsel of men whom he himself had appointed. And having in mind what his father had done to the prophet Zechariah, son of Barachiah, son of Jehoiada, he warned him to cease prophesying lest he also be smitten. It was at least in his favour that he gave the prophet a chance to withdraw. But it was a clear rejection of YHWH.
Recognising the total unwillingness of Amaziah to listen, the prophet gave up his efforts, but not without warning him that because of his attitude God had determined to destroy him, both because he had worshipped idols, and because he had refused to listen to the counsel of a prophet of YHWH. It was a brave response which could well have had him executed.
Please notice the use of ‘God’. The prophet wanted him to recognise that there was only one God. Note also the play on the word ‘counsel’. The king relied on the counsel of his own appointees (verse 16a). He thus rejected the counsel of YHWH through His prophet (verse 16b). But it was the counsel of his own appointees which would result in his destruction as determined by YHWH (verse 17).
Rejecting the counsel of YHWH Amaziah turned to the counsel of his own appointees who, no doubt seething at what the Israelite mercenaries had done to a portion of northern Judah, advised retaliation against Israel. Both he and they were encouraged by what they had done to Edom. Thus he called on Israel to meet him in battle.
Joash’s reply was hardly conciliatory. It was rather in the form of an insult. He likened Amaziah to a thistle likely to be trodden down by any passing wild beast. He further suggested that Amaziah was deluding himself because of his victory over Edom. Let him rather stay at home like a good little boy, and not try to interfere with those who were superior to him, something which could only bring him hurt. It gives the impression that he was trying to goad him into an invasion.
We are told that in the end it was YHWH Who was in control. It was He Who was ensuring that the battle went ahead so that He could punish Amaziah.
17 Now Amaziah king of Judah asked advice and sent to Joash the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face one another in battle.”
Having rejected the counsel of YHWH Amaziah turned to his own appointees for counsel, the ones about whom he had boasted to the prophet of YHWH (verse 16a). And they advised retaliation against Israel for what the Israelite mercenaries had done. So Amaziah called on the king of Israel to meet him in battle. Such a call was an indication of his arrogance and of his new-found self-confidence. He could have invaded without warning, as the mercenaries had done, punished Israel and then withdrawn. He may have known how weak Israel was in the days of Jehoahaz and not have recognized how Jehoash of Israel had rebuilt its strength (Jehoash had subdued the Arameans (Syrians)). Perhaps he hoped that the king of Israel would capitulate and give compensation for the invasion.
18 And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife’; and a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.
Jehoash (Joash) King of Israel tried to warn Amaziah off. This may partly have been in order not to have to waste his own resources in fighting against Judah when the keeping out of Aram was his prime concern, but the reply was so insulting that we might see it as deliberately goading Amaziah to continue his action. No self-respecting king could have done anything but ignore the message, which would no doubt have been delivered in front of his courtiers.
His warning was in the form of a parable and followed a well-known kind of illustration (Judges 9.7-15). He was stressing to Amaziah both his arrogance and his smallness. Compared with Israel, Judah was like a thistle contrasted with a cedar, a thistle that could easily be trodden down or blown away. Something of little account. Let him therefore continue to glory in his petty victory over Edom and not be foolish enough to take on someone as large as Israel, something which could only result in he himself being hurt.
19 Indeed you say that you have defeated the Edomites, and your heart is lifted up to boast. Stay at home now; why should you meddle with trouble, that you should fall—you and Judah with you?”
Jehoash pictures Amaziah as talking to himself and saying boastfully to himself. ‘Look what you have done, you have smitten Edom’. He then pictures him as getting above himself as a result with the consequence that he boasts about what he will do to Israel. And he then puts him in place. He tells him to stay at home, as though he was a silly schoolboy, and not to meddle in something that can only bring harm to him. For if he does he will fall and bring Judah down with him. The advice was good, but the way of presenting it was calculated to achieve the opposite effect.
20 But Amaziah would not heed, for it came from God, that He might give them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought the gods of Edom.
Understandably Amaziah would not listen. Indeed, had he done so he would have been belittled in front of his court. But we learn that this was all of God Who had determined by this means to bring Amaziah down and deliver him into the hands of his enemies, because he had sought after the gods of Edom. He had proved an unworthy ruler of YHWH’s people.
That Joash of Israel had intended all along to do battle with Amaziah comes out in that he went around to Beth-shemesh of Judah to face him, rather than to the usual border crossing between the two countries. Beth-shemesh guarded the route from the uplands to the Coastal Plain and was thus important trade wise. It may not be without significance that the mercenaries had also attacked Beth-horon, another city which guarded a route from the Coastal Plain eastwards. Joash may well have coveted it for that reason. There he trounced Judah, who fled before him, leaving Amaziah captive in his hands. Accordingly, he bore Amaziah up to what was now a Jerusalem, and deliberately made a large breach in the walls of Jerusalem. He then spoiled Jerusalem, taking both the king’s treasures, and the treasure of the house of God. Along with these treasures he also took hostages of whom Amaziah was probably one, necessitating the ascension to the throne of his young son Uzziah (Azariah) as his co-regent earlier than had been intended.
21 So Joash king of Israel went out; and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah.
It will be noted that Joash was clearly already for battle and himself chose where the battle would take place. Had he really been wanting peace he would have waited for Amaziah’s next action, but instead he chose to take the battle to Amaziah on Judean territory. He went around to Beth-shemesh ‘which belongs to Judah’ and ‘they looked each other in the face’. This clearly indicates that the latter phrase means that they prepared for battle. The fact that they met at Beth-shemesh in the north-west of Judah may suggest that there was a border quarrel taking place between the two countries in that area, which indeed may have been part of the reason for Amaziah’s challenge, but there can be little doubt that Amaziah also had in mind what the Israelite mercenaries had done to Judah. Being such a large force, the mercenaries could hardly have done what they did without at least Joash’s tacit approval. In normal circumstances we would have expected the two armies to face up to each other on the route through Benjamin usually taken by Israelite invasion (16.1). The fact that they did not suggests preplanning by Joash. Beth-shemesh of Judah was important because it guarded the trade route between the Transjordan and the coastal plain via Jerusalem. Such cities were important means of wealth in those days for they could demand tolls of passing merchants.
22 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent.
Because of the battle that took place Judah were defeated and had to flee the battlefield. Fleeing suggests that they had been routed. It was made apparent that despite His dislike of Israel (verse 7), YHWH was no longer backing Amaziah. Fleeing to their tents might be literal (fleeing back to their camp) or more likely it indicates that they disbanded and made for their homes. The word tent was regularly used by the men of Judah to indicate home, based on their wilderness experience when their homes had literally been tents.
23 Then Joash the king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth Shemesh; and he brought him to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate—four hundred cubits.
YHWH’s punishment of Amaziah now reached its height. He was dragged off to a defenseless Jerusalem by the King of Israel who then proceeded, no doubt in his sight, to smash down the walls of Jerusalem over 600 feet, from the gate of Ephraim (Nehemiah 8.16; 12.39) to the Corner Gate (26.9; Jeremiah 31.38; Zechariah 14.10). The Gate of Ephraim would be in the northern wall, the Corner Gate to the west of it.
It is probably not accidental that in verse 17 the Chronicler has stressed that the King of Israel was ‘Joash, the son of Jehoahaz’ (of Israel), who has now defeated Amaziah, ‘the son of Joash, the son of Jeoahaz (of Judah). It was as though he was saying that, thanks to YHWH’s wrath, Amaziah had met his nemesis.
24 And he took all the gold and silver, all the articles that were found in the house of God with Obed-Edom, the treasures of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.
Joash (Jehoash), the King of Israel, having broken down the defenses of Jerusalem, leaving it defenseless, now proceeded to strip Jerusalem of its treasures. He ransacked both the king’s house and the House of God, the latter treasure being under the control of the Levite Obed-edom. (The Chronicler had a particular interest in Levites as we have seen again and again. He had in mind the position of the Levites in his own day). he also gathered a number of important hostages who probably included Amaziah himself and returned with them to Samaria. Amaziah’s idol worship had cost him dear. The mention of the hostages, who are usually not mentioned even though they were regularly taken, emphasizes that in this case they were seen as important. They were a guarantee of Judah’s future co-operation.
Neither Kings nor Chronicles were interested in the sequel to this defeat. The Young Uzziah began to reign as regent in his father’s absence and no doubt went quietly until the death of Joash, when Amaziah was seemingly released. Perhaps for a time he also had to pay tribute (we are not told). But the situation does not appear to have done Judah lasting harm for under Uzziah’s long rule Judah attained new heights. However, what the Chronicler was interested in doing was not to outline history, but to use history to demonstrate that when the son of David was obedient to YHWH all was successful, but that when he turned from YHWH to follow idols disaster followed. It was a salutary warning to the people of his own day, and a reminder that the final Coming King would be wholly true to YHWH.
The account of the life of Amaziah is completed by a brief description of his final years lived in ignominy and shame. His unacceptable lapse into idolatry had heaped up disaster on him. It was a lapse into which many in Judah were constantly prone, which was why the high places continued to flourish even when good kings sought to get rid of them. Thus, what the people suffered was not simply due to the lapses of the king, but also to their own intransigence. However, the lapses of the king encouraged their behavior which was why he especially came under God’s judgment.
25 Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel.
It was not usual for the Chronicler to tie up the reigns of the kings of Judah with those of the kings of Israel, and we are therefore justified in asking why he did so in this case. An obvious reason would be that he knew that Amaziah was released from captivity in Israel on the death of Joash, king of Israel, and was thus able to return to his kingship in Judah for a further fifteen years This would explain why Uzziah took the throne at so young an age. It was because he was forced into it by Amaziah’s captivity. But as verse 27 makes clear, he found that all was not well for him. He now had to face a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, presumably by the men who had supported Uzziah’s kingship (26.1).
26 Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, from first to last, indeed are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?
What happened to Amaziah on his release was seemingly recorded in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel, which was probably the official court record, along no doubt with previous information concerning his reign.
27 After the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.
The time that Amaziah turned away from following YHWH was presumably when he began to worship the gods of Edom. It was thus early on in his reign. But it apparently turned a party in Jerusalem against him, possibly because they saw it as a betrayal of YHWH. They had not forgotten the lessons learned from the behavior of previous kings. They thus began to conspire against him. His captivity in Israel would have enabled them to appoint Uzziah in his place, and it may well be that they rested content with that and made little effort to obtain Amaziah’s release. It was only when he finally returned that the conspiracy against him once more raised its head, and the murmurings were sufficient to make him recognize that life would be healthier elsewhere, and caused him to think of changing his residence to Lachiah, Judah’s second largest city, and reigning from there, leaving Uzziah in charge in Jerusalem.
How long he continued in Jerusalem before finally taking refuge in Lachish we are not told, but it is quite clear that he at some stage began to realize that in Jerusalem he was in danger of his life. However, his residence in Lachish did not save him. It would appear that they too were disaffected by him. Thus, the conspirators in Jerusalem were able to send men to Lachish to have him put to death there, seemingly without interference. He had totally lost the loyalty of his people.
28 Then they brought him on horses and buried him with his fathers in the City of Judah.
His body was then returned to Jerusalem ‘on horses’. There is probably in this statement an indication of disapproval. The Chronicler usually blatantly avoids mentioning horses in relation to Judah. Remarkably his last mention in relation to Judah was when Solomon traded in horses with Egypt in direct disobedience to the Law of Moses in terms of Deuteronomy 17.16. The statement may well therefore be derogatory. Horses had foreign connections
This is confirmed by the reference to him as being buried with his fathers in ‘the city of Judah’. 2 Kings 14.20, and a few MS here together with versions read ‘the city of David’. But ‘city of Judah’ is probably the correct text. It suggests an unwillingness on the part of the Chronicler to mention Jerusalem in connection with him. He was an outcast from Jerusalem. In external texts Jerusalem is also spoken of as ‘the city of Judah’, so it is not unprecedented.
