Deeper Commentary
2Ch 25:1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign;
and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was
Jehoaddan of Jerusalem-
Amaziah's father Joash died at 47, so Joash would have been 22 when
Amaziah was born. His mother, 'pleasing to Jehovah', was one of the wives
chosen for Joash by his Godly uncle Jehoiada. He would have lived under the
Godly influence of Jehoiada for some time, and witnessed his father's
apostacy and gross ingratitude to Jehoiada shown by murdering his sons.
2Ch 25:2 He did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, but not with a
complete heart-
There is a common phrase in the record of the Kings of Judah which I
admit to being unable to conclusively interpret: "He did that which was
right in the sight of the Lord". Many of the men of whom this was said
were not very righteous, and some were
punished for their later apostasy. Possible explanations are that they
repented at the end, although unrecorded; or that they were initially
righteous; or that God counted them as righteous although they did wrong
things. I find problems with each of these alternatives. So I am left with
the possibility that a man can do (and perhaps this is the word
that needs emphasis) what is right in God's eyes, but still ultimately be
condemned because his heart is far from God; which is the
teaching of 1 Cor. 13; Mk. 7:6-9 and many other Scriptures. Amaziah "did that which was right in the sight of the Lord,
yet not like (i.e. he didn't do his works like) David his father" (2 Kings
14:3) must be paralleled with 2 Chron. 25:2: "he did that which was right
in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart". Working for God
as David did, therefore involved doing the works with a perfect heart, the
open conscience which David so often displayed in the Psalms. But Amaziah
was deceived by the fact he was doing good works, and the real essence of
his relationship with God was thereby overlooked. And we too can project a
shadow-self to others, an image of spirituality, which eventually we come
to believe ourselves; when our heart is far from God. This feature of
human nature explains why a man or woman can reach such heights of
devotion and then turn round and walk away from it all, out into the
darkness of the world.
2Ch 25:3 Now it happened that when the kingdom was established to him, he
killed his servants who had killed the king his father-
This continues a theme, of the kings of Judah strengthening or
establishing themselves, often when they first became king; but then
having that human strength tested by God or removed. The same word is used
repeatedly (1 Chron. 11:10; 2 Chron. 11:11,17; 12:13; 13:21; 17:1; 23:1;
25:3,11; 26:8,15; 29:3; 32:5). The lesson of course was that it is God's
Angelic eyes who run to and fro in the land promised to Abraham, "to shew
Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward him" (2
Chron. 16:9).
2Ch 25:4 But he didn’t put their children to death, but did according to
that which is written in the law in the book of Moses, as Yahweh commanded
saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the
children die for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin-
Overall this man appears to have spiritually failed. But he as it were
grabs hold of one commandment and religiously obeys it. We see this kind
of thing all the time in 'religious' approaches to Christianity. But it is
the heart which God is looking at, and it was in this that Amaziah failed,
ultimately. Chronicles was written for the exiles, and perhaps they needed
reminding of this principle (as in Ez. 18:20) because of their wrong idea
that they were being unjustly punished for the sins of their fathers.
2Ch 25:5 Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and ordered them
according to their fathers houses, under captains of thousands and
captains of hundreds, even all Judah and Benjamin. He numbered them from
twenty years old and upward, and found them three hundred thousand chosen
men, able to go forth to war, who could handle spear and shield-
After the humiliating defeat by a small army of Syrians, which led to
his father's sickness and death, Amaziah wished to strengthen the military
might of Judah. But he rather misses the point; his father had more
soldiers than Syria, but a small Syrian army defeated Judah's military
might because they were not devoted to Yahweh (2 Chron. 24:24). He failed
to appreciate that an Israel obedient to the covenant would win victories
against far superior forces. His strength numerically was that in Asa's
time (2 Chron. 14:8).
2Ch 25:6 He hired also one hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of
Israel for one hundred talents of silver-
"Thousand" often means a kind of military division, and not literally
1000. He failed to recognize that faith in Yahweh rather than numbers was
significant (see on :5). He failed to learn the lessons of Biblical
history, that military cooperation with the ten tribes had never brought
anything but disaster.
2Ch 25:7 A man of God came to him, saying, O king, don’t let the army of
Israel go with you; for Yahweh is not with Israel, with all the children
of Ephraim-
The implication was that Yahweh was "with" Judah, but would be with
them if Israelite forces were with them. Yet this being "with" Judah was
by grace alone, for all the evidence is that the mass of the people were
not at all with Him but had forsaken Him. But God perhaps wished to give
them just this simple test of obedience regarding not taking the Israelite
forces with them, without tackling the myriad other spiritual issues they
had. We marvel that He did not turn away from them, seeing they had
forsaken Him, but instead worked so patiently to reform them, one baby
step at a time. See on :11.
2Ch 25:8 But if you will go, go and take action, be strong for the battle.
God will overthrow you before the enemy; for God has power to help, and to
overthrow-
There are times when God has influenced men not to respond to the
evidently wise words of other men, in order to fulfill His purpose (e.g. 1
Kings 12:15; 2 Chron. 25:20). God was willing
to confirm and even encourage Amaziah in a wrong way- if this was
Amaziah’s choice. Therefore God has the power to influence the minds of
men in this way, and He uses it. "He takes away the heart of the chief of
the people, and causes them to wander" (Job 12:24 cp. 42:7). And God uses
this ability to make men refuse to respond to the evident Truth of His
word (e.g. 1 Sam. 2:25). Yet in all this, God is only confirming men in
the path they choose to tread.
2Ch 25:9 Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the
hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? The man of God
answered, Yahweh is able to give you much more than this-
I suggest on :17 that this test was repeated when these mercenaries
sacked some cities of Judah, and Amaziah then demands compensation from
Israel for this. This abiding desire for compensation reflects his lack of
faith in the prophetic words to him. We may apparently respond rightly to
a test, but not from the heart. And so it is repeated, and we fail. The
situation also repeated at the time of 2 Chron. 28:13,14, where the
victorious Israelites were told to release the captives they had
apparently legitimately taken in war.
2Ch 25:10 Then Amaziah separated them, the army that had come to him out
of Ephraim, to go home again. Therefore their anger was greatly kindled
against Judah, and they returned home in fierce anger-
This was on one hand great obedience to the prophetic word. And
yet their anger may reflect the fact that Amaziah actually demanded the
payment be returned. For that would explain why they pillaged Judah in
revenge (:13). His obedience was therefore partial, and so he was tested
again in this matter (see on :17) and failed.
2Ch 25:11 Amaziah took courage, and led forth his people, and went to the
Valley of Salt, and struck ten thousand of the children of Seir-
This was where David had won a great victory (1 Chron. 18:12). Amaziah
was being guided to follow in David's footsteps. This, as noted on :7, was
another baby step taken to try to reform him.
2Ch 25:12 The children of Judah carried away ten thousand alive, and
brought them to the top of the rock, and threw them down from the top of
the rock, so that they all were broken in pieces-
Comparing with the Kings record, we learn that these people were from
the fortress garrison of Sela, which Amaziah captured after the
victory of :11. Sela may well be Petra, the apparently impregnable rock
top of Jer. 49:16.
2Ch 25:13 But the men of the army whom Amaziah sent back, that they should
not go with him to battle, fell on the cities of Judah, from Samaria even to
Beth Horon, and struck of them three thousand, and took much spoil-
Samaria and Beth Horon may instead be read as the border cities of
Zemaraim (2 Chron. 13:4; Josh. 18:22) or Ephrain / Ephron (2 Chron. 13:19
cp. Josh. 15:9). I suggested on :10 that they did this because perhaps
Amaziah didn't in fact pay them or demanded his payment be returned.
2Ch 25:14 Now it happened, after that Amaziah had come from the slaughter of
the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them
up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense to
them-
The imperfect tense suggests he continued this bowing down to them.
This is a common Biblical theme; that men worship the very gods which have
been proven powerless, and which God has demonstrated to them to be so,
through observed experience. But we have the same human nature. For
example, we all learn by observed experience that wealth doesn't bring
happiness, and we lament families ruined by the possession of wealth. But
many still eagerly worship the idol of wealth.
2Ch 25:15 Therefore the anger of Yahweh was kindled against Amaziah, and He
sent to him a prophet who said to him, Why have you sought after the gods of
the people, which have not delivered their own people out of your hand?-
GNB "from your power". "Amaziah" means 'power of Yah'. The word play is
intentional. The prophet is saying that Amaziah has denied his own name,
the personality and character which was potentially to be his. There is
likewise a personal path mapped out for each of us, which we can deny by
our lack of faith and apostacy.
2Ch 25:16 It happened, as he talked with him, that the king said to him,
Have we made you one of the king’s counsellors? Stop! Why should you be
struck down? Then the prophet stopped, and said, I know that God has
determined to destroy you, because you have done this, and have not listened
to my counsel-
"Counsellors" is the same Hebrew word translated "determined". It
occurs again in :17 ("consulted"). The word for "counsellor" is associated
with rulership and kingship; a king's counsellors were effectively the
kings (Is. 1:26; 9:6; Ezra 7:28; 8:25; Job 3:14), and often in the Bible,
the counsel of men is contrasted with that of God. We feel this tension
too; for the counsel of God is so often different and opposed to the
counsel of the majority of those looked up to for secular advice and
counsel. Amaziah wanted a prophet who counselled as he wished it to be (as
did Ahab before him). He was not humble to God's word. We too need to
somehow clear ourselves of all preconceptions and come to God's word with
a second naiveté, willing to be counselled by it; rather than wanting to
appoint our own counsel.
2Ch 25:17 Then Amaziah king of Judah consulted his advisers, and sent to
Joash, the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come,
let us face off against each other-
The soldiers he had hired were apparently mercenaries. They had been
paid, but not used in the battle. And so they had gotten offended and
sacked cities of Judah (:13). And Amaziah was demanding compensation for
this. By so doing he demonstrated that his apparent willingness to lose
the money paid for them was not a decision taken from the heart. He was
still after compensation for his losses, rather than believing that God
could give him all riches (see on :9).
2Ch 25:18 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 his wife. Then a wild animal that was in
Lebanon passed by, and trampled down the thistle-
This is similar to the parable of the trees in Jud. 9:7-15, which also
talks of the land of Israel as "Lebanon" (Jud. 9:15). The king of Israel
presents himself and Amaziah as both living in the same land, and
considered himself to be the glorious cedar and Amaziah merely a thistle.
It was quite inappropriate, he felt, for Amaziah to provoke him over the
fact mercenaries from his country had ransacked towns in Judah over an
argument about money and payment. He is saying that it as inappropriate as
a poor man asking a wealthy man to give him his daughter to marry the poor
man's son. And he threatens to act not just as an elegant cedar, but to
morph into a wild beast who would trample down Amaziah. Perhaps Amaziah
had indeed provoked Joash by making a marriage proposal which he knew
Joash would turn down.
2Ch 25:19 You say to yourself that you have struck Edom; and your heart
lifts you up to boast. Now stay at home. Why should you meddle with trouble,
that you should fall, even you, and Judah with you?-
Literally, "You say", but he meant as interpreted by NEV, "to
yourself". The importance of self talk is repeatedly emphasized in the
Bible. For this is the basis of true spirituality. The victory against
Edom was from God, but by accepting the vanquished gods of Edom, Amaziah
shows that he trusted in his own strength rather than that of Yahweh. So
often the victories God gives, be it passing an exam or military victory,
lead to pride and boasting.
2Ch 25:20 But Amaziah would not listen; for it was of God, that He might
deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they had sought after
the gods of Edom-
See on :8. There are a number of other passages which mention how "it was of the
Lord" that certain attitudes were adopted by men, resulting in the
sequence of events which He desired (Dt. 2:39; Josh. 11:20; 1 Sam. 2:25; 1
Kings 12:15; 2 Chron. 10:15; 22:7; 25:20). It is tempting to read Jud.
14:4 in this context, meaning that God somehow made Samson desire that
woman in order to bring about His purpose of freeing Israel from
Philistine domination. The fact a man does something "of the Lord" doesn't
mean that he is guiltless. In the same context of God's deliverance of
Israel from the Philistines, men who did things "of the Lord" were
punished for what they did (Dt. 2:30; 1 Sam. 2:25; 2 Chron. 22:7; 25:20).
God through His Spirit works to confirm men in the path they wish to go.
And this is the huge significance of the work of the Holy Spirit in our
lives today.
2Ch 25:21 So Joash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of
Judah confronted each other at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah-
This was on the border of Judah and Dan, the frontier of Judah. The
pagan name, "house of the sun", had not been changed; and reflects Judah's
abiding penchant for idolatry.
2Ch 25:22 Judah was defeated by Israel; and they fled every man to his
tent-
This was not because Israel were more spiritual or faithful, but
because God has a special interest in judging pride. Victories of secular
people must be understood in this context. The giving of victory by God
(in whatever context) is multi factorial and is not simply a reflection of
His pleasure with the victor.
2Ch 25:23 Joash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of
Joash the son of Jehoahaz-
"Jehoahaz" is also called Ahaziah (2 Chron. 21:17).
At Beth Shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and broke down the
wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four
hundred cubits-
This is s.w. Neh. 1:3; 4:7, and would have helped remind the exiles
how the walls of Jerusalem had come to be so broken down. It would seem by
the implication of Jer. 31:38; Zech. 14:10 that this gate was on the north
of Jerusalem. Depending how we define a cubit, this would have been
between 600 and 700 feet.
2Ch 25:24 He took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were
found in God’s house with Obed-Edom, and the treasures of the king’s
house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria-
This faithful family who had cared for the ark had been entrusted
with caring for the gold and silver in the temple. But Joash had given
much of this to the Syrians previously.
2Ch 25:25 Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of
Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years-
The implication may be that he was given ample opportunity to repent;
and we have noticed that in the lives of other kings.
2Ch 25:26 Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold,
aren’t they written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?-
This may not necessarily be the same books of Kings which we have in
our Bible.
2Ch 25:27 Now from the time that Amaziah turned away from following
Yahweh, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem-
Athaliah, Joash and Amaziah each died due to a conspiracy. Surely
Amaziah was intended to learn from the deaths of his predecessors, but the
great theme of Biblical history is that so few learn from it. And that is
the challenge to us. The planning of the conspiracy apparently took at
least 15 years (:25).
He fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish, and killed
him there-
Perhaps he was trying to flee to Egypt, ever representative of human
strength which fails. For Lachish was on the road there.
2Ch 25:28 They brought him on horses, and buried him with his fathers in
the city of David-
Horses were forbidden to the kings of Israel (Dt. 17:16) so this is an
appropriate end for an unfaithful man who trusted in human strength.
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