2 Chronicles 25:1-28

2 Chronicles: God desires loyal people

The *Kingdom called Judah

2 Chronicles Chapter s 10 to 36

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 25

Amaziah prepares for war – 2 Chronicles 25:1-10

v1 Amaziah was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan, and she was from Jerusalem. v2 Amaziah did what was right in the opinion of the *LORD. But he did not really serve the *LORD sincerely. v3 He made himself safe and strong as the ruler of the *kingdom. Then he immediately killed the officials who had murdered his father, the king. v4 But he did not kill their children. He obeyed the *LORD’s command in the Book of Moses: ‘You shall not kill fathers because of their sons. And you shall not kill the sons because of their fathers. Each person must die because of his own *sins.’

v5 Amaziah called for the people in Judah to come together. He put into groups by family all the men from Judah and Benjamin. He put officers over each group of 1000 and over each group of 100. He counted the men who were 20 years old and older. There were 300 000 of them who were ready to be soldiers. They were all able to use *spears and *shields. v6 Also, he hired 100 000 soldiers from *Israel. This cost 100 *talents of silver.

v7 But one of God’s *prophets came to Amaziah. He said, ‘My king, *Israel’s army must not go with you. The *LORD is not with *Israel or with any of the people from Ephraim. v8 With them, you may be strong and you may fight well in the battle. But God will use the enemy to defeat you. God has the power to help you or to defeat you.’

v9 Amaziah said to the *prophet, ‘But what about the 100 *talents that I have paid for *Israel’s army?’ The *prophet replied, ‘The *LORD can give you much more than that.’

v10 So, Amaziah sent the soldiers that he had hired from *Israel back home to Ephraim. They were very angry with the people in Judah and they went home angry.

Verses 1-4 Amaziah became king after his father Joash died. He was 25 years old and he ruled for 29 years in Jerusalem (796-767 *BC). For the first 14 years of his rule, Jehoash was the king in *Israel. Then for the rest of Amaziah’s rule, Jeroboam II was the king in *Israel.

Amaziah started his rule well. But he did not serve the *LORD with all his heart and with all his mind. He did not remove the high places for *worship where the people *sacrificed to other gods. Later in his rule, Amaziah *turned from the *LORD. He set up his own gods. He had brought these gods back from Edom.

Amaziah made himself safe and strong as the ruler of the *kingdom. Then he killed those who had murdered his father. But he did not kill their families. In this, he obeyed the word of the *LORD (Deuteronomy 24:16). Each person is responsible for his own *sins.

Verses 5-6 Amaziah counted all the men over the age of 20 years who were able to fight. He organised them with officers who were over units of 1000 men and over units of 100 men. He had 300 000 soldiers. This was a much smaller army than that of King Asa (14:8). This reduction was probably the effect of several wars. And the number of people in Judah may have been less than before.

During his rule, Jehoram lost control over Edom (21:8-10). Amaziah decided to fight against Edom and to establish his control over them. But he thought that his army was too small. He needed more men for the war that he wanted to fight. So, he hired a further 100 000 soldiers from *Israel. He paid 100 *talents of silver to hire these men. That was about three and three quarter tons of silver.

Verses 7-10 The *LORD sent a *prophet to Amaziah. He told the king that the *LORD was not with *Israel. He used the name Ephraim to mean *Israel. Ephraim was the centre of *worship for the false gods in *Israel. The army of Amaziah was strong enough for the battle. But if he took the men from *Israel with him the *LORD would be against him. The *LORD would help Edom to defeat Judah.

Judah should depend on God. They should not depend on *Israel or on any other nation.

Amaziah had paid a lot of money to hire the men from *Israel. But it was better to lose the money than to lose the war. The *LORD was able to give to Amaziah very much more than the loss of this money.

Amaziah obeyed the word of the *LORD. He sent the men from *Israel back to their homes. They were angry. They probably thought that this order was an insult. They had hoped to take very many things from the enemy. Now they had to go home with nothing.

The war against Edom – 2 Chronicles 25:11-16

v11 Amaziah became brave and he led his army to the Valley of Salt in the country called Edom. There, his army killed 10 000 men from Seir. v12 Also the army of Judah *captured 10 000 men alive. They took these prisoners to the top of a cliff. Then they threw the prisoners from the cliff. All the prisoners died as they hit the rocks below.

v13 The soldiers that Amaziah had sent back attacked the towns in Judah from Samaria to Beth-Horon. He had sent them back because they could not go to battle with his army. They killed 3000 people and they took many valuable things.

v14 After the defeat of the soldiers from Edom, Amaziah came back to his home. He brought with him the gods that the people in Edom *worshipped. He made them his own gods. He *worshipped them and he gave *sacrifices by fire to them. v15 The *LORD was very angry with Amaziah. The *LORD sent a *prophet to him. The *prophet said, ‘You have asked the gods of Edom for help. But those gods could not even save their own people from you.’

v16 As the *prophet spoke, Amaziah replied to him. ‘We did not appoint you to advise the king. You must stop. If you do not stop, I will make my men kill you.’ The *prophet stopped speaking. But, then he added, ‘I know this. God has decided to kill you because you have done this. And you would not listen to my advice’.

Verses 11-12 Seir or Edom was the territory South of the Dead Sea and to the east. It had been free from the control of Judah for half a century. In about 785 *BC, Amaziah led his army into Edom. They met the army of Edom in the Valley of Salt. The Valley of Salt was about 6 miles (10 kilometres) south of the town called Zoar. Amaziah won the battle. And he went on to *capture the city called Sela. He changed the name of Sela to Joktheel (2 Kings 14:7). Sela was the capital city of Edom.

In the battles, Amaziah’s army killed 10 000 of the soldiers of Edom. They *captured 10 000 men. Then they threw these prisoners from a cliff so that they all died.

Verse 13 The soldiers from *Israel that Amaziah sent home attacked towns and villages in Judah. They had gone home to Samaria. Then they came back into Judah. They killed about 3000 people and they took valuable things.

Beth-Horon was about 10 miles (16 kilometres) from Jerusalem. It was near the border between Judah and *Israel.

Verses 14-16 Among the nations in the east, it was normal practice to take the gods of the enemy. This was evidence that the gods of the winner were stronger. So, Amaziah took the gods of Edom. The people in Edom gave *sacrifices and they burned *incense on *altars to these gods.

Amaziah should have given thanks to the *LORD. Instead, he set up the gods of Edom and he *worshipped them. He gave *sacrifices by fire to them. It made God very angry with Amaziah.

The *LORD sent a *prophet to him. The gods of Edom could not save Edom. The *LORD God had helped Amaziah to defeat Edom and its gods. So to *worship these gods was a stupid thing to do. Amaziah would not allow the *prophet to speak. He would kill the *prophet if he spoke again. But the *prophet did speak once more. He said that the *LORD would kill Amaziah. That was because of what he had done. And it was because he would not listen to the *prophet.

War against *Israel – 2 Chronicles 25:17-24

v17 Amaziah, king of Judah talked with those who advised him. Then he sent a message to Jehoash, king of *Israel. Jehoash was the son of Jehoahaz, who was the son of Jehu. Amaziah spoke to Jehoash. ‘Come, let us fight each other.’

v18 Jehoash, king of *Israel answered Amaziah, king of Judah. He said, ‘A *thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a *cedar tree in Lebanon. It said, “Marry your daughter to my son.” Then a wild animal in Lebanon came and it walked on the *thistle. v19 You say to yourself that you have defeated Edom. Now you are vain and proud. But stay at home. Do not ask for trouble. If you do, we will defeat you and Judah.’

v20 But Amaziah would not listen. God caused this to happen so that Jehoash would defeat Judah. That was because Judah had asked for help from the gods of Edom. v21 So, Jehoash, king of *Israel came to attack Judah. He and Amaziah, king of Judah met in battle at Beth-Shemesh in Judah. v22 *Israel defeated Judah, and every man from Judah ran away to his home. v23 At Beth-Shemesh, Jehoash, king of *Israel *captured Amaziah, king of Judah. (Amaziah was the son of Joash, who was the son of Ahaziah.) Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem. Jehoash broke down the wall of Jerusalem, from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. That was a length of about 600 feet (200 metres) of the wall. v24 He took all the gold and silver and all the valuable things from God’s *temple. Obed-Edom had taken care of all these things. Jehoash took the valuable things from the palace. Also, he took some people away as prisoners. Then he returned to Samaria.

Verses 17-24 Amaziah would not listen to the advice of God and the *prophet. But he talked with the men who advised him.

He was so proud of his defeat of Edom that he wanted to fight *Israel. *Israel was much stronger than Judah. But the *LORD was acting in this because Amaziah asked for help from the gods of Edom. And the *LORD used this battle to punish Amaziah.

Jehoash answered Amaziah with a story. The purpose of the story was to show how silly it would be for Judah to fight against *Israel. The result of such a battle would be *disaster for Amaziah and for Judah. But Amaziah was too proud to listen to this good advice.

Jehoash attacked Judah and they fought at Beth-Shemesh in Judah. Beth-Shemesh was a town on the border of Judah. It was about 15 miles (24 kilometres) south and west of Bethlehem (Joshua 15:10). The army of *Israel defeated the army of Judah. All the men from Judah went to their homes. Then Jehoash *captured Amaziah.

Jehoash marched to Jerusalem and he took Amaziah with him. He broke down the wall from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. The Ephraim Gate was on the west of the city. And the Corner Gate was probably on the north and west side of the city.

Jehoash took away the valuable things from the *LORD’s *temple. He took the valuable things from the palace. And he took some people away as prisoners.

Death of Amaziah – 2 Chronicles 25:25-28

v25 Amaziah lived for 15 years after the death of Jehoash. Amaziah, the king of Judah was the son of Joash. Jehoash, the king of *Israel was the son of Jehoahaz. v26 The book of the kings of Judah and *Israel has a record of all that Amaziah did. That record shows his actions from the beginning to the end. v27 Amaziah had *turned away from the *LORD. From that time, some people in Jerusalem plotted against him. So, he ran away to the town called Lachish. But they sent men after him to Lachish and they killed him. v28 They brought him back on a horse. And they buried him with his *ancestors in the city of Judah.

Jehoash, the king of *Israel died in about 782 *BC. Then the son of Jehoash, Jeroboam II ruled *Israel in Samaria. He was the king there for the rest of Amaziah’s rule. Amaziah died in about 767 *BC.

Amaziah had *turned from the *LORD after the defeat of Edom. From the time that Jehoash defeated him, some people in Jerusalem plotted against him. It got too dangerous for him in Jerusalem. Then he ran away to the town called Lachish. It was a strong city in the south and west of Judah.

Men came from Jerusalem and they killed him in Lachish. That was in about 767 *BC. They took him back to the city of Judah and they buried him with his *ancestors. The city of Judah is Jerusalem.

There was a record of Amaziah’s rule in the book of the kings of Judah and *Israel.

Uzziah – 2 Chronicles 26:1-23

kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It means that God has always been.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. Those who sin are sinners.
spear ~ a long and thin weapon of war, like a sword but they usually threw it.
weapon ~ a tool of war; people use it in attack or in defence when in a fight (like a sword or a gun).
shield ~ soldiers carried shields in their hands for protection in battle; they were like covers to protect the body from swords or from other weapons. Solomon’s shields of gold were probably not for use in war.
weapon ~ a tool of war; people use it in attack or in defence when in a fight (like a sword or a gun).
talent ~ weight equal to 75 pounds or 34 kilos.
prophet ~ person who speaks on behalf of God. He or she can sometimes say what will happen in the future. Some prophets worshipped false gods. So, not all prophets spoke words from God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
sacrifice ~ something that people give to God. If it was an animal, the priests would burn all or part of it on an altar. That was to say thank you to God, or to ask him to forgive. God made Jesus to be a sacrifice because of our sins. To sacrifice is to give a sacrifice.
altar ~ the special table that someone made out of stone or wood or metal; on it they burnt animals or they offered other gifts to God or to false gods.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. Those who sin are sinners.
turn ~ to decide to support someone. Or, to decide to oppose someone. If a person ‘turns away from God’, that person decides not to be loyal to God. If a person ‘turns to God’, that person decides to be loyal to God.
capture ~ to fight for something and to make it yours as a result; or, to make somebody a prisoner.
incense ~ something that gives a sweet smell when it burns. The priests burned it when they praised God in the temple.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or of other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
altar ~ the special table that someone made out of stone or wood or metal; on it they burnt animals or they offered other gifts to God or to false gods.
thistle ~ a plant with sharp points on its leaves.
cedar ~ a kind of tree; or the wood from that tree.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or of other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
disaster ~ when something very bad happens.
ancestors ~ people in history that your family has come from.