2 Kings 14:1-22

C. THE REIGN OF AMAZIAH IN THE SOUTH 14:1-22

Amaziah the thistle king, is another example of a good start and a tragic end. The account of his reign moves through three stages: (1) his hopeful beginning (2 Kings 14:1-7); (2) his disastrous defeat (2 Kings 14:8-14); and (3) his treacherous death (2 Kings 14:15-22).

Eighth King of Judah
AMAZIAH BEN JOASH
796-767 B.C.
(Strength of Yahweb)

2 Kings 14:1-20; 2 Chronicles 25

Synchronism
Amaziah 1 = Joash 2
Contemporary Prophets
Several unnamed

Mother: Jehoaddan

Appraisal: Good & Bad

A king ready for battle Job 15:24

1. AMAZIAH'S HOPEFUL BEGINNING (2 Kings 14:1-7)

TRANSLATION

(1) In the second year of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah began to reign. (2) Twenty-five years old was he when he began to reign, and he ruled twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. (3) And he did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not like David his father; according to all which his father Joash did, so did he. (4) Only the high places he did not remove; yet the people were offering sacrifices and burning incense in the high places. (5) And it came to pass when he had the kingdom firmly in his control, that he smote his servants who had smitten his father the king. (6) But the sons of the assassins he did not slay according to mat which is written in the book of the Law of Moses which the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be smitten on account of the sons, nor the sons on account of the fathers; but each man shall be executed for his own sin. (7) He slew of Edom in the vale of salt twenty thousand, and took Selah by war; and the name of it is called Joktheel unto this day.

COMMENTS

The authors of both Kings and Chronicles place Amaziah of Judah among the good kings, and yet in his reign there was much amiss. His reign bears quite a marked similarity to that of his father Joash (2 Kings 14:3). Both kings started out better than they ended. Both were zealous for the Lord at first, but turned to idolatry at last. Both opposed themselves to prophets and treated their rebukers with scorn. Both roused conspiracy against themselves by their misconduct and were murdered by malcontents. Further, both were unsuccessful in war, had to withstand a siege on their capital, and bought off their enemy by the surrender of the greater part of their wealth, including the treasures of the Temple.

Only on one score does Amaziah receive the reproof of the author of Kings: He failed to remove the high places (2 Kings 14:4). It was not until the reign of Hezekiah that any attempt was made to abolish the use of these local shrines and enforce the law that insisted on a central sanctuary for national worship. On the other hand, the author specifically points to one very commendable action of this king. When Amaziah had the kingdom firmly under his control he ordered those who had assassinated his father to be executed (2 Kings 14:5; cf. 2 Kings 12:20). But he refused to follow what was standard policy among rulers in the ancient Near East and have the sons of the assassins slain. Here Amaziah was submitting to the Law of Moses which stipulated that sons were not to be executed for the sins of their fathers (2 Kings 14:6). The particular law referred to is found in Deuteronomy 24:16. The reference to Amaziah governing his conduct by this law is fatal to the modern critical notion that Deuteronomy was written by some anonymous persons sometime early in the reign of Josiah over a century after the times of Amaziah.

Edom had revolted against Judah and had recovered its independence during the reign of Jehoram some forty years before the time of Amaziah (cf. 2 Kings 8:20). Since subjugation of Edom was vital to the prosperity of Judah, Amaziah resolved to launch a massive effort once again to conquer that land. According to Chronicles, he mustered an army of four hundred thousand men, which included a hundred thousand mercenaries from the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Rebuked by a prophet for want of faith in enlisting the services of the Israelite mercenaries, Amaziah consented to dismiss them and lead his army, now reduced by twenty-five per cent, into battle against the Edomites and other southern tribes.

The campaign met with great success. Ten thousand of the enemy fell in battle and an equal number were captured and ruthlessly executed by being thrown from a high cliff (2 Chronicles 25:12). The valley of salt which was the scene of the battle is usually identified with the sunken plain at the southern extremity of the Dead Sea. The climax of this campaign was the capture of the almost impregnable Edomite capital of Selah, later known to the Greeks as Petra. Following the lead of many great conquerors, Amaziah gave the city a new name Joktheel, i.e., subdued by God. While the new name persisted until the time that the annals of Amaziah were written (2 Kings 14:7), it did not attach itself permanently to the place. By the time of Isaiah, Obadiah and Jeremiah, the city was again known as Selah.

2. AMAZIAH S BOASTFUL CHALLENGE AND DISASTROUS DEFEAT (2 Kings 14:8-14)

TRANSLATION

(8) Then Amaziah sent messengers unto Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu king of Israel, saying, Come let us look at each other face to face. (9) And Jehoash king of Israel sent unto Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle which was in Lebanon sent unto the cedar which was in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son for a wife. And a wild beast of the field which was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle. (10) You have indeed smitten Edom, and your heart has lifted you up; glory in this, and remain in your house. Why should you mess around with misfortune that you might fall, you and Judah with you? (11) But Amaziah did not hearken, and Jehoash king of Israel went up and they looked one another in the face, he and Amaziah king of Judah in Bethshemesh which belongs to Judah. (12) And Judah was smitten before Israel, and they fled each man to his tent. (13) And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah the son of Joash, son of Ahaziah, in Beth-shemesh, and he came to Jerusalem, and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim gate unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits. (14) And he took all the gold and silver and all the vessels found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and the hostages; and he returned to Samaria.

COMMENTS

Upon returning to Judah, Amaziah discovered that the Israelite mercenaries whom he had dismissed had vented their anger by rampaging through cities of Judah killing some three thousand men and taking much spoil (2 Chronicles 25:13). His confidence bolstered by his successes in Edom, Amaziah determined to avenge the actions of those Israelite soldiers by challenging the Northern king, Jehoash, to a military showdown (2 Kings 14:8). Josephus adds that Amaziah's message demanded that the Northern state submit to the authority of the Davidic dynasty or else face military action (Ant. IX, 9.2).

Jehoash responded to the challenge of Amaziah by means of a fable. The thistle, the lowest and most despised plant of the forest, sent to the mighty and stately cedar to request the hand of his daughter in marriage. In antiquity to request a man's daughter in marriage was tantamount to a claim to be his equal. But a mere beast of the field happened by and trampled the thistle into the dust of the earth (2 Kings 14:9). The application of the fable is obvious: Amaziah had enjoyed a measure of success against Edom and now, like the thistle, thought he was equal to the cedar, the mightiest of kingdoms Amaziah had best stay at home and glory in his past triumphs. If he ventured forth against Israel he would find himself as easily crushed as the thistle beneath the feet of a wild animal (2 Kings 14:10). Jehoash was as confident of success as was Amaziah. His three triumphs over the powerful Arameans was just as good evidence of his military might as Amaziah's one victory over Edom.

The note from Jehoash did not deter Amaziah, but, if Josephus can be believed, spurred him on the more to make his expedition. Jehoash anticipated that confrontation was inevitable and decided that the best defense was an offense; and so his armies crossed the border to carry the battle into Judah. The two forces met at Beth-shemesh, which lies almost due west of Jerusalem on the western frontier of Judah (2 Kings 14:11). Apparently Jehoash decided to avoid the direct line of attack along the mountain highway and led his troops through the Philistine plain in what must have been planned as a sneak attack.

In this test of strength between the two kingdomsthe first since the days of Abijam over a hundred years earlierthe armies of Judah were utterly crushed with each soldier fleeing to his tent, i.e., his home (2 Kings 14:12). Amaziah himself was captured and brought to Jerusalem where, under threat of death, he was forced to order the gates of Jerusalem opened to Jehoash. The king of Israel broke down the walls of Jerusalem, not as a result of siege operations, but as a conqueror who desired to leave his enemy as defenseless as possible. The gate of Ephraim was the main gate on the north side of the city, known elsewhere as the Benjamin gate (cf. Jeremiah 37:13; Zechariah 14:10). The corner gate is generally thought to have been at the northwestern angle of the wall where it turned southward, but this is uncertain. What is certain is that Jehoash destroyed some four hundred cubits, i.e., two thousand yards, of the northern wall of Jerusalem (2 Kings 14:13). The spoils of war fell to the conquerorthe objects of value which had accumulated in the Temple since Joash of Judah had bribed Hazael with its treasure. The treasures of the king's house, including all the spoils Amaziah had captured in Edom, were also taken, as well as hostages which would discourage a retaliatory attack by Judah at a later time (2 Kings 14:14).

3. AMAZIAH'S TREACHEROUS DEATH (2 Kings 14:15-22)

TRANSLATION

(15) Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which 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 he was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place. (17) And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. (18) And the rest of the acts 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. And they sent after him to Lachish, and they slew him there. (20) And they put him upon 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 they made him king in the place of his father Amaziah. (22) He built Elath, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers.

COMMENTS

Having just related what must be regarded as the most dramatic and decisive accomplishment of the reign of Jehoash of Israel, the author repeats with only slight variation 2 Kings 13:11-12 which is the concluding statement regarding his reign (2 Kings 14:15-16). Amaziah outlived his Northern adversary by fifteen years (2 Kings 14:17).

Like his father before him, Amaziah died in a conspiracy. He had aroused much dissatisfaction by his importation of foreign idols (2 Chronicles 25:27), and no doubt by his military inaction after his defeat by Jehoash of Israel. Through the last fifteen years of his life Amaziah seems to have remained passive, cowed by his one defeat. When he got wind of the conspiracy, Amaziah fled to Lachish on the southwestern frontier of Judah. But his enemies were too numerous and too powerful, and Amaziah was assassinated in Lachish (2 Kings 14:19). Though he had died in disgrace at the hands of his own servants, the conspirators were minded to treat the royal corpse with respect. The body of Amaziah was brought back to the capital upon horses, i.e., upon the horse-drawn chariot, and buried in Jerusalem (2 Kings 14:20).

For the first time in the history of Judah the record states that the people took the initiative in selecting the ruler. They elevated Azariah to the throne (2 Kings 14:21). Elsewhere this king is called more frequently, Uzziah.[577] Both names are similar in meaning, Uzziah meaning he whose strength is Yahweh and Azariah meaning he whose help is Yahweh. Some think that upon becoming king the boy changed his name; but the evidence is that this king was known indifferently by two names.

[577] Azariah occurs eight times in 2Kings and once in Chronicles; Uzziah occurs four times in 2Kings, twelve times in II Chronicles and in Isaiah, Hosea, Amos and Zechariah.

The statement that Azariah was sixteen at the time he was made king raises certain chronological problems. 2 Kings 14:21 seems to relate what the people did after the death of Amaziah. However, chronological considerations demand that this action of making Azariah king must have taken place during the lifetime of his father, perhaps not long after Amaziah's ignominious defeat at the hands of Jehoash of Israel. Thiele has Azariah (Uzziah) coming to the throne as coregent in 790 B.C., twenty-three years before the assassination of his father. If this chronology is correct, then Azariah was sixteen years old in 790 B.C. when he became coregent, and thirty-nine when he became sole king.

2 Kings 14:22 seems to confirm the notion that Azariah served as coregent with Amaziah for a time. Azariah built Elath after the king (i.e., Amaziah) slept with his fathers. This statement would be superfluous unless Azariah had spent some time as coregent. The reconstruction of Elath would have opened the southern sea lanes to Judah for the first time since the days of Jehoshaphat.