What I Noticed Today (2 Kings 14; 2 Chronicles 25)
2 Kings 14
In verses 1-14, Amaziah, son of Joash began to reign over Judah in the second year of Jehoash, king of Israel.
- Amaziah was 25 years old when he became king, and he ruled 29 years in Jerusalem (790-767 B.C.).
- He was a good king, doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
- But he failed to remove the high places and allowed the people to continue to make sacrifices there.
- Amaziah won a major military victory over the Edomites.
- After that, he challenged Jehoash, king of Israel. The king of Israel warned him not to come up against him, but Amaziah didn't listen. Amaziah lost the battle. Jehoash broke down a significant section of the wall at Jerusalem and plundered the gold and silver in the house of the Lord and the king's house.
In verses 15-16, Jehoash, king of Israel died and his son, Jeroboam ruled in his place. He was a bad king doing evil in the eyes of the Lord.
In verses 17-21, 15 years after the death of Israel’s King Jehoash, a conspiracy rose up against Amaziah king of Judah. Amaziah was killed and his son, Azariah, ruled in his place. Azariah was 16-years old when he became king.
In verses 23-29, Jeroboam II became king of Israel in the 15th year of Amaziah king of Judah. Jeroboam II reigned in Samaria for a total of 41 years.
Note: Jeroboam II served as coregent with his father, Jehoash for nine years (793 – 782B.C.) and reigned as sole king until 753 B.C.
- Jeroboam II was an evil king. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam I.
- Jeroboam II was able to restore the borders of Israel to those similar to what existed in the time of Solomon.
- Jeroboam died and his son, Zechariah, reigned in his place.
2 Chronicles 25
In verses 1-4 following Joash’s assassination, Amaziah, his son, became king.
- Amaziah became king when he was 25 years old, and he ruled Judah for 29 years from Jerusalem (796-767 B.C.).
- Amaziah started out as a good king doing right in the eyes of the Lord.
- As soon as the kingdom was his, he executed the servants who had murdered his father, Joash.
Note: Amaziah did not execute the children of the servants who murdered his father because it was forbidden by Moses (see Deuteronomy 24:16).
In verses 5-10, Amaziah assembled his army and prepared for war, and decided to hire 100,000 additional troops from Israel.
- A man of God came to him and told him not to take the Israelites into battle with him, so he paid them and let them return home.
- This angered the Israelites, so they raided cities of Judah, killed 3,000 people, and took much spoil (v. 13).
In verses 11-16, Amaziah went into battle against Seir (Edomites) and won a significant victory.
- Amaziah’s army struck down 10,000 Edomites in the battle. They also captured 10,000 Edomites and killed them by throwing them off a cliff.
- For some unknown reason when Amaziah returned, he abandoned the Lord and turned instead to worship the gods of the Edomites whom the Lord had just help him defeat!
- When a prophet confronted Amaziah, he threatened the prophet and told him to be quiet.
In verses 17-24, full of pride from having defeated the Edomites, Amaziah challenged the Israelites to battle.
- King Jehoash of Israel defeated Amaziah, tore down some of the wall surrounding Jerusalem, seized treasures from the king’s house, and took the plunder and hostages back home to Samaria.
In verses 25-28, Amaziah lived 15 years after the death of King Jehoash of Israel.
- The people of Judah so disliked Amaziah after he turned away from the Lord that he fled from Jerusalem and lived in Lachish (30 miles southwest of Jerusalem).
- Amaziah was eventually assassinated like his father, Joash.
