2 Kings 14:1-22--Amaziah Reigns in Judah

2 Kings 14:1-22
English Standard Version

Amaziah Reigns in Judah
14 In the second year of Joash the son of Joahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. 3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not like David his father. He did in all things as Joash his father had done. 4 But the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. 5 And as soon as the royal power was firmly in his hand, he struck down his servants who had struck down the king his father. 6 But he did not put to death the children of the murderers, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, where the LORD commanded, “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. But each one shall die for his own sin.”

7 He struck down ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt and took Sela by storm, and called it Joktheel, which is its name to this day.

8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us look one another in the face.” 9 And Jehoash king of Israel sent word to Amaziah king of Judah, “A thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife,’ and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle. 10 You have indeed struck down Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Be content with your glory, and stay at home, for why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?”

11 But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another in battle at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 12 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his home. 13 And Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for four hundred cubits, from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. 14 And he seized all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king's house, also hostages, and he returned to Samaria.

15 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash that he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 16 And Jehoash slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.

​17 Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. 18 Now the rest of the deeds of Amaziah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 19 And they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent after him to Lachish and put him to death there. 20 And they brought him on horses; and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David. 21 And all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 22 He built Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers.

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We're now back in Judah and after Joash the king of Judah died, his son Amaziah reigned in his place, starting his reign at king of Judah when he was 25 years old (far different from his father who started to rule when he was only seven years old.  Amaziah reigned for 29 years from Jerusalem.  His mother's name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem.  He followed in the footsteps of his father Joash, doing the same good things he had done, but failing in the same ways his father had failed--neither was as good as David, who was supposed to be their template for how they were to govern the LORD's people.

How exactly was it that Joash and Amaziah failed to live up to this high standard?  They refused to tear down the high places where the people made sacrifices and offerings to other gods.  Also, as soon as he had power, his first act as king was to kill those who had assassinated his father, and he only punished the guilty parties according to the Law of Moses not killing the parents, children, or other family members of those who committed this act of treason (as so many other kings would have done putting the families of their enemies to death), because he had learned the Law of the LORD from his father and that each person must be held accountable for his own actions and his actions alone.

He struck down the Edomites in the region of the Valley of Salt, capturing the city of Sela and changing its name to Joktheel.  It apparently was still known by that name when this history was recorded after the fact, or an editorial note by those who recopied the text later was added to say that it was still called by that name "to this day."

After his victory over the Edomites, Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash saying that they should see each other face-to-face--we'll see from Jehoash's response that he takes it that Amaziah wants to face him in battle. Jehoash sends back word that compares Edom to bramble in the forest that easy to trample, but Jehoash compares himself to a cedar of Lebanon--tall, proud, with deep roots that make it immovable and unshakeable.  Jehoash also tries to tell Amaziah that he needs to be happy with the victory that he has won and think about the people that he is leading, for if he dies in battle, all of Judah would fall with him.

Amaziah is not deterred by Jehoash's words, and the two of them face-off with each other, so they faced-off with each other at Beth-shemesh in Judah.  That day, the LORD gave Judah and Amaziah into the hands of Israel and Jehoash.  The armies of Israel broke down the walls of Jerusalem for 400 cubits (that is 600 feet) from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate.  Jehoash captured King Amaziah and took all the silver and gold items from the king's treasury as well as the LORD's treasury (from the Temple), including the gold and silver items used in the Temple for the worship of the LORD,  and he took hostages, and returned to Samaria.

The rest of the story of Jehoash, king of Israel, can be found in the book of Chronicle, including more about his war against Amaziah, king of Judah.  Jehoash died and was buried among his fathers and the other kings of Israel in Samaria, and his son Jeroboam (we'll call him Jeroboam II for clarity to not confuse him with the first king of Israel) ruled in his place.  That tells you where Jehoash's heart was to name his son after such an evil man.

Amaziah lived 15 years after the death of Jehoash, king of Israel.  It is unclear from today's text how he lived out his final years, but if we look at the parallel text in 2 Chronicles that the author here is referencing, we see that first there was a reason that the LORD let Amaziah be defeated by Joash, and that is that he brought the gods of the Edomites back to Jerusalem and worshiped them, so the LORD was very angry with him.  After this conflict with Joash, threats were made by Amaziah's own people against his life so that he spent his final years in hiding.  However, he was given the state funeral that he deserved and buried among the other kings of Judah when he died.

After his death, the people of Judah took Azariah, the 16-year old son of Amaziah, and made him king of Judah in his father's place.  He built Elath and restored it to Judah after his father's death.