2 Kings 14

2 KINGS CHAPTER 14

Judah’s King Amaziah

      • In the 2nd year of Israel’s King Jehoash, who was Jehoahaz’s son, Joash’s son Amaziah became king of Judah. He was 25 years old when he became king and he reigned for 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother, whose name was Jehoaddan, was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in Yahweh’s eyes, yet not like his ancestor David. He followed the example of his father Joash. However, the high places were not removed and the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on them.

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible writes, “The twenty nine years of Amaziah’s reign (796-767 BC) included a long co-regency with his son Uzziah (from 792 BC). While Amaziah’s basic spiritual evaluation was satisfactory, he did not serve the Lord wholeheartedly as his ancestor David had (2 Chr 25:2). David continued to be the spiritual standard for evaluating the kings of Judah (2 Kgs 16:2; 18:3; 1 Kgs 15:5, 11). Tolerance for long-established pagan shrines remained a stumbling block for Judah (2 Kgs 12:3; 1 Kgs 14:23; 15:14; 22:43).”

      • As soon as he had secured control of the kingdom, he executed the officials who had assassinated his father the king. But he didn’t execute the assassins’ children in accordance with what is written in the book of the law of Moses where Yahweh commanded: “Parents will not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death with their parents. Each one will be put to death for his own sin.”

        • Guzik says, “This was both just and in the best interest of Amaziah. It was good for him to eliminate those who found the assassination of the king a reasonable way to change the kingdom. It also fulfilled God’s command to punish murderers with execution, first given in Genesis 9:5-7. It was the standard practice of the ancient world to execute not only the guilty party in such a murder, but also his family. Amaziah went against the conventional practice of his day and obeyed the word of God instead (Deuteronomy 24:16).”

      • Amaziah killed 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He captured Sela in battle and renamed it Joktheel, the name that it retains to this day. Then Amaziah sent messengers to Israel’s King Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu, saying, “Come, let’s meet face to face.” Israel’s King Jehoash sent this message back to Judah’s King Amaziah: “In Lebanon, a thistle sent a message to a cedar tree saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild animal in Lebanon came along and crushed the thistle. You have indeed defeated Edom and you’ve become overconfident. Be content with your glory and stay at home. Why stir up trouble and cause your own downfall- you and Judah along with you?”

        • NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible explains, “Edom had revolted against Judahite rule during the reign of Jehoram (8:20-22). Amaziah, established on the throne of Judah in the wake of his father’s assassination (12:19-21), is not noted as reestablishing Judahite control over Edom, but he did win an important battle that had implications for Judah’s ability to trade (cf v. 22).”

        • ESV Study Bible writes, “Emboldened by the success of his Edomite campaign, Amaziah has decided for unstated reasons to confront the more powerful Jehoash of Israel, so Jehoash sends him this insult and warning…”

        • NET Bible’s notes clarify Jehoash’s allegory, “Judah is the thorn in the allegory. Amaziah’s success has deceived him into thinking he is on the same level as the major powers in the area (symbolized by the cedar). In reality he is not capable of withstanding an attack by a real military power such as Israel (symbolized by the wild animal).”

        • Guzik says, “The reply of Jehoash king of Israel was both wise and diplomatic. With this little story and its application, he counseled Amaziah to glory in his previous victory over Edom but then to stay at home…Amaziah should have listened to this word from Jehoash, but he didn’t. He provoked a fight he should have avoided, and did not consider both the likelihood of success and the effect his defeat would have on the whole kingdom of Judah.”

      • But Amaziah wouldn’t listen, so Israel’s King Jehoash attacked. He and Judah’s King Amaziah met face to face at Beth Shemesh of Judah. Israel defeated Judah and the men of Judah ran away, each to his own tent. Israel’s King Jehoash captured Judah’s King Amaziah, who was the son of Jehoash and grandson of Jehu, in Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash went to Jerusalem and broke down a 600 foot section of Jerusalem’s wall, from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. He also took away all the gold and silver, all the items found in the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and some hostages. Then he returned to Samaria.

        • On Beth Shemesh, ESV Archaeology Study Bible notes, “This important town (modern Tell er-Rumeilah) on the northwest border of Judah, about 20 miles by road from Jerusalem, guarded an important pass from the Philistine plain. Defeat here inevitably lead to an assault on Jerusalem and the destruction of about 600 feet of Jerusalem’s wall on its northern side between the Ephraim Gate (the main gate in the center of the northern wall) and the Corner Gate (probably at the northwest corner of the city).”

        • Guzik writes, “Because of his foolish attack against Israel, Amaziah lost his freedom and for a time became a prisoner of the king of Israel. Amaziah had a mighty army and Jehoash had a weak army. Yet God gave Israel the victory over Judah to rebuke the idolatry of Amaziah. It came from God, that He might give them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought the gods of Edom. (2 Chronicles 25:20)…Because of his foolish attack against Israel, Amaziah saw the defenses of Jerusalem broken down. Not only did they lose the battle at Beth Shemesh, but they were also in a weaker position to face future attacks. Because of his foolish attack against Israel, Amaziah lost the treasure of the people of God. It wasn’t just a loss of his personal wealth (the treasuries of the king’s house), but also of the gold and silver of God’s people. Amaziah didn’t have the wisdom to see how losing this battle would hurt others as well as himself. This even extended to hostages who were taken from Jerusalem to Samaria. The decision to attack Israel was his alone, but the price paid for the foolish attack was paid by the whole kingdom of Judah. It is a sober warning to all leaders, to consider how their foolish decisions affect many other people.”

The Death of Jehoash

      • The rest of the events of Jehoash’s reign, including all of his accomplishments and the war he fought with Judah’s King Amaziah, are recorded in the book, “Annals of the Kings of Israel.” Jehoash rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. His son Jeroboam succeeded him as king.

        • ESV Study Bible says, “The surprising repetition of this information concerning Jehoash in the context of Amaziah’s reign (cf 13:12-13) may be intended to contrast the two kings in their deaths: Jehoash, who did not seek conflict with fellow Israelites, came to a natural and peaceful end, while Amaziah, the aggressor who acted as Rehoboam had been forbidden to act, met a violent death (14:19-20; cf 1 Kgs 12:22-24). It is also possible, however, that Jehoash is highlighted here because he was the effective ruler of Judah in this period, as was his son Jeroboam after him; Amaziah is not said to have ‘ruled’ in Judah after Jehoash’s death, but only to have ‘lived’ there…”

The Death of Amaziah

      • Judah’s King Amaziah, who was Joash’s son, lived 15 years after the death of Israel’s King Jehoash, who was Jehoahaz’s son. The rest of the events of Amaziah’s reign are recorded in the book, “Annals of the Kings of Judah.” There was a conspiracy against Amaziah in Jerusalem so he fled to Lachish. But they sent men after him to Lachish and they killed him there. They brought his body back to Jerusalem on horses and he was buried there with his ancestors in the city of David. All the people of Judah took Azariah, who was 16 years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah. Azariah rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah’s death.

        • ESV Study Bible writes, “…Amaziah was bound to be unpopular, given the consequences for the city of Jerusalem from his military folly. The city of Lachish where he died was the most important fortified city in Judah after Jerusalem, defending one of the east-west valleys that gave access to the Judean Plateau and Jerusalem from the coastal plains.”

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible says, “Like his father Jehoash (12:20-21), Amaziah was killed by assassins. The Chronicler blames his spiritual infidelity for the conspiracy against him (2 Chr 25:27)…The fifty-two year reign of Azariah [also known as Uzziah] ended in 740 BC; he was sixteen years old when he became co-regent with his father in 792 BC. Apparently both Jehoash and Amaziah made their sons co-regents before going to war, in order to assure a smooth succession of government.”

        • Guzik adds, “This was the start of the illustrious reign of Azariah (also known as Uzziah). He was the greatest king of Judah after David.”

        • On Elath, the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible notes, “Elath was a port town on the northern coast of the Gulf of Aqaba (the Red Sea), closely associated with Ezion Geber and the trade of the Solomonic era with the wider world (1 Kgs 9:26). It stood at the southern end of the great King’s Highway, which ran all the way north through the Transjordan to Damascus and facilitated trade connections especially with southern Arabia…Presumably Elath was lost to Judah when Edom revolted during Jehoram’s reign (2 Kgs 8:20-22), just as both Israelite and Judahite control of the highway was challenged as a result of both that revolt and also the earlier Moabite uprising (1:1; 3:4-5) and the constant pressure from Damascus…”

Israel’s King Jeroboam II

      • In the 15th year of Judah’s King Amaziah, who was the son of Joash, Jehoash’s son Jeroboam became king of Israel in Samaria. He reigned for 41 years. He did what was evil in Yahweh’s eyes. He did not turn away from all the sins Nebat’s son Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. He restored the border of Israel from Lebo Hamath in the north to the Dead Sea in the south, in accordance with the word of Yahweh, the God of Israel, which He spoke through His servant Jonah. Jonah the prophet was Amittai’s son, from Gath Hepher. Yahweh saw Israel’s bitter affliction. Everyone was weak and incapacitated and there was no deliverer for Israel. But Yahweh had not said that He would blot out Israel’s name from under heaven, so He delivered them by the hand of Jehoash’s son Jeroboam.

Image via ESV Study Bible p. 671

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible clarifies, “The fifteenth year of King Amaziah’s reign in Judah marks the beginning of Jeroboam II’s independent reign (782 BC). His reign of forty-one years includes the earlier co-regency with his father (793-782 BC).”

        • Th same source writes, “Jeroboam II, son of Jehoash, reigned over Israel for 41 years (793-753), longer than any other northern king. He followed the evil example of his (unrelated) namesake, Jeroboam I (2 Kgs 14:23-24). During his era the northern kingdom reached its greatest extent and experienced its greatest prosperity since Solomon (archaeological evidence from Jeroboam’s capital, Samaria, suggests the opulence of Israel’s royal house during this reign). On a human level, an explanation for Israel’s newfound prosperity was that Assyria experienced a decline in power during this time, allowing the northern kingdom to expand. The prophet Jonah, however, predicted this prosperity as the fulfillment of God’s promise (14:25)- although Jeroboam’s reign came after 150 years of apostasy in the northern kingdom, God still exhibited his faithful love by offering Israel his mercy (14:26-27). Jeroboam II was like Jeroboam I in his wicked character. His reign over Israel produced great wealth, but it was not accompanied by justice. The rich land owners oppressed the less wealthy and forced small landowners to migrate from their farms to the cities. Extensive government corruption, the people’s degenerate spiritual state, economic depression, and political weakness multiplied. God raised up prophets to challenge the leaders and people of Israel during this time. Amos and Hosea prophesied against Israel’s vast corruption. Amos was particularly scathing in his attacks on the rich for oppressing the poor, memorably styling the women as ‘fat cows living in Samaria’ (Amos 4:1). He specifically mentions Jeroboam (Amos 7:10-17).”

        • NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible mentions, “…As we can see from 1 Kgs 8:65, Jeroboam II restored the territory of northern Israel to its previous greatest extent under Solomon…”

        • Guzik adds, “This is almost certainly the same Jonah who is famous for his missionary trip to Nineveh. Apparently he also had a ministry among his own people, not only among the people of Nineveh.”

      • The rest of the events of Jeroboam’s reign, including all his accomplishments and how he fought and recovered for Israel Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah, are recorded in the book “Annals of the Kings of Israel.” Jeroboam rested with his ancestors, the kings of Israel, and his son Zechariah succeeded him as king.

        • ESV Study Bible notes, “…Archaeologists at Megiddo discovered a seal dating to the eighth century BC. The seal contains a roaring lion; above the animal in Hebrew is the name ‘Shema,’ and below is the phrase ‘Servant of Jeroboam.’ The finely rendered seal gives evidence of a high level of craftsmanship at this time.”

Image via Biblical Archaeology Society Online Archive

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