July 21, 2025 • 21 mins
In this Bible Story, we learn about the rule of Amaziah. He defeats a great threat, but grows arrogant and pompous. The Lord humbles Amaziah in the battle against Israel, and dies in exile. This story is inspired by 2 Chronicles 25 & 2 Kings 14:1-22. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.
Today's Bible verse is 2 Chronicles 25:18 from the King James Version.
Episode 145: The people of God needed a strong, courageous, godly King, and Uzziah provided that hope for the people. The young man was sixteen when he sat on the throne, and he sought God for wisdom just like Solomon did. He leaned on this wisdom of his elders and held the word of the prophet close. He sought God, fought battles against the Philistines, and gained the respect of the nations around him. However, as the stories about him grew, so did his ego. And in his arrogance, he walked into the temple of God without a priest and began to burn incense, as if he were a priest, beginning his downfall.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray. And joe Ash King of Israel, sent
to Ameziah, King of Judah, saying, the thistle that was
in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying,
give thy daughter to my son to wife. And there
passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon and
trod down the thistle Second Chronicles twenty five eighteen. With
(00:26):
continued victory and blessing, Lord, I acknowledge that my greatest
concern will be that of protecting myself from getting prideful
and complaisant when it comes to my devotion. When moments
arise and my desired outcome doesn't come how I think
it should, steer my mind back to the fact that
(00:50):
you are in control and you know what is best
for me. Right now, I silence all thoughts that would
have me turn to a false idol created by a
man like Ameaziah. I denounce any ungodly actions that would
cause me to stray from the path of my purpose
(01:11):
and calling. When I place my expectation on you, Lord,
help me to be quick to realize that your ways
are above mine, and that as I wait in the
midst of my disappointment, your perfect character will provide exceedingly
above and beyond what I can imagine. In Jesus name, Amen,
(01:39):
Thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.
To learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story,
brought to you by Bible in a Year dot com.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
The Thistle and the Cedar. In our last story, we
met the prophet Jonah, who refused to obey God's calling
because of his prejudice against Nineveh. However, God used Jonah's
life as a lesson, a lesson in caring about the lost,
a lesson about humility and responding to the voice of God,
(02:22):
a lesson on what truly matters. Now we revisit the
tragic story of kings. In this story, King Amasiah assumes
the throne of Judah. Although he begins his reign righteously,
doubt and bitterness consumes him. Eventually, he raises his sword
against an enemy too formidable for him. Inspired by the
(02:45):
Book of Second Chronicles.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Hello, I'm pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
Bible in a Year podcast. In our last episode, we
saw how God spared Nineveh from destruction after the repented
from evil and turned their hearts to the One True God. Jonah,
who had reluctantly delivered God's word to this pagan city,
was angered by God's mercy toward them. But God used
(03:12):
a plant and a worm to show Jonah that the
thousands of souls in Nineveh were actually precious to God. Today,
will return to Judah to hear of the reign of
King Amaziah. He starts off well, but soon turns away
from God to doubts, resentment, and pride. His pride would
ultimately lead to his demise as he engaged an enemy
(03:33):
far too powerful to defeat. So once again, let's listen
to God's word.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
King Joe Ash of Judah returned to the dust, as
is the way of all men. However, his demise was
more brutal than most. He was assassinated by his own
officers on the road to Scilla. His blood covered the streets,
and his reign ended in shame. His son was twenty
five at the time and was soon after named King
(04:02):
of Judah. Amaziah was a young man, but filled with promise.
He began his reign with ambition to break the cycle
of his forefathers. He pursued God, He uplifted the poor
and needy, and he established justice in the land of Judah.
He did what was right in the sight of God,
but there was still a lingering apathy resting at the
(04:26):
bottom of Amaziah's heart. Something kept him from truly pursuing
God as David once did. Amaziah knew that his father
had been assassinated by the officers of Judah without warning.
Amaziah sent men to ambush them and kill each man
who played a part in killing his father in I
for an Eye. Amaziah thought it was the custom for
(04:48):
many kings to kill the families of traitors as well,
but Amaziah refused to enact that sort of cruelty. He
knew what was commanded of God and the laws saying
fathers shall not die because of their children, nor children
because of their fathers, but everyone is punished for their
own sins. Only a few months into Amaziah's reign, there
(05:10):
was a threat coming in from the nation of Seer.
Amasiah was proactive in responding to this threat. He gathered
every elder from each tribe of Judah to strategize from them.
He had three hundred thousand mighty men, young men from
Judah who were eager to fight and defend their country.
To further add to his massive army, he hired one
(05:33):
hundred thousand mercenaries from Israel to bolster his army. Amaziah
was preparing his men for battle. The camp was bustling
with activity. The sound of iron being forged and swords
being sharpened filled the camp as Amaziah walked through. As
he was picking up his armor, a man of God
(05:53):
interrupted him. The man looked at the king with wise
and understanding eyes. The man smiled as he gestured for
the king to sit. Amaziah respected the prophets of God,
so was intent on hearing what he had to say.
My King, you do not need the extra mercenaries from Israel.
They have rejected the Lord and God is in the
(06:15):
process of refining them. The king's face was grim at
hearing those words. He knew he needed more men to
win the upcoming battle. The prophet sensed this and encouraged
the king further. Do not be afraid. Do you think
God will send you into your demise? Surely He is
with you before your enemy. The king was not entirely reassured.
(06:40):
What of the money I already paid them? Should I
just waste that? Does not the Lord own all things?
He can give you much more than one hundred talents
in return for your faithfulness, the prophet responded. So the
king did as the prophet asked. He sent away the
mercenaries back to Israel, but he was met with great
(07:00):
anger and conflict from the Israelites. They returned home with
a deep anger in their hearts. Yet the Lord blessed
Amaziah's faithfulness. He marched into battle, short one hundred thousand men,
but filled with courage from God. Amaziah lifted up his
sword and rode into battle with his men behind him.
The warriors of Seyr ran towards them, and the two
(07:23):
armies collided with steel and bone. Amaziah's young arms slashed
through the enemy forces. Blood filled the valley of Salt
and poured out like a stream. Over ten thousand men
fell at the hand of Judah before the people of
ser surrendered. Another ten thousand were captured alive and brought
to the edge of a mountain with decisive force, The
(07:45):
men were pushed over to their doom. Their skulls cracked
on the rocks below. Amaziah and his men cheered in victory.
Their war cries filled the air and echoed for all
the surrounding nations to hear Boy filled their hearts as
they ventured back to Judah. A tired smile was on
Amaziah's face as he rode back with elation. However, his
(08:09):
smile grew dim when he saw smoke rising from the distance.
Amaziah and his men rode quickly towards the smoke and
saw flames rising from the outer cities of Judah. The
men's hearts began to break as they saw every city
from Samaria to Betharon struck down. Three thousand people had
been killed at the hands of the Israeli mercenaries. Amaziah's
(08:31):
heart was broken. A subtle bitterness welled up in his
heart towards God. He had sent the men away with
the promise that God would bless him, but here he
stood among the burnt cities of Judah. God had not
met his expectations, and although Amasia would not say so outwardly,
(08:52):
his heart was calloused towards him. Amaziah sat in the
storehouse where all the spoils of war sat. In their
victory against Seyer, they had collected their idols and false gods.
Amaziah stared at the carved images before him. They were
gods made from man there were gods of carnal pleasures
(09:15):
and selfish desires. They were easy gods to obey, since
they allowed men and women to give in to their
own selfish pleasures. Amaziah got up from his seat and
picked up one of the idols. He held it in
his hand. He was drawn to it. A deep seated
bitterness in his heart boiled over. Amaziah placed the carved
(09:38):
image on an altar nearby and bowed to it. Perhaps
this god would not disappoint him. Amaziah was caught in
the cycle of his forefather Solomon. The lude and exotic
idols enticed him. Foreign philosophy and pagan worship wrapped him
up like a woman of the night. He was lured
(10:00):
and intoxicated by the rush of idle worship, all the
while God's heart broke at his servant's downfall. The Lord
sent another prophet to speak truth to the king. The
prophet came to the throne room of Amaziah. He was
not his normal self. The prophet could see a hidden
weariness in his eyes. He began to show symptoms of madness.
(10:23):
My king, the prophet said, quietly, why have you run
after the gods of people that clearly care very little
for their own. They are not compassionate or merciful. They
gladly sacrificed their own, and the king raised his hand
to silence the prophet. He stood from his throne and
stepped down towards him. The look in his eyes sent
(10:45):
a chill down the prophet's spine. Am I mistaken? Have
you somehow been appointed as the royal counselor without my knowledge?
He asked. The prophet opened his mouth to respond, but
was abruptly interrupted again. Stop, the king shouted, before you
are struck down. The prophet was flustered at first, but
(11:06):
then stood upright. He was a child and servant of
the living God. He would not be intimidated by a
mentally and emotionally unstable king. The prophet began to depart,
but said one final thing as he left. God is
determined to thwart you before you corrupt the rest of Judah.
(11:27):
God will destroy you for not listening to my counsel.
The king slumped back in his throne, determined to regain
control of his emotions. Amaziah was feeling bold after his
victory Overseer and decided to march against the neighboring nation
of Israel as revenge for his fallen cities. Amaziah was
(11:48):
beginning to be consumed with pride, just as the ancient
people who built the Tower of Babel, Amaziah began to
overreach in search of power. Let us meet face to face,
Amaziah sent to King Joash. This was a bold challenge
for Israel. Under Jehoah has had a master, great army,
(12:08):
greater than that of Judah. King Joash calmly replied to
the new king with a story a small thistle, and
Lebanon sent word to a mighty cedar, saying, let us
marry our son and daughter as equals. But a wild
beast passed by and destroyed the tiny thistle. Its small
(12:29):
leaves and frailed twigs were crushed under its foot. But
the beast could not crush the strong cedar. The King
of Israel's words were strong and wise. In his letter,
he laid out a warning for the young king of Judah.
The letter continued saying, your heart is filled with pride
after your defeat over Seer, but you should stay at home.
(12:51):
Why are you provoking evil against yourself. Joash's words only
fueled Amaziah's anger, though he was not aware of it.
God was laying a trap for Amaziah. He would allow
the young king to walk right into the consequence of
his own pride. The two kings rode out against one another.
They met at the valley of Bethshemesh on the outskirts
(13:14):
of Judah. Amaziah raised his sword and ran into battle
with his men at his side. He was confident, brave,
and filled with the pride of youth. He should have
stayed home. Joe Ash unleashed a fury unlike Amaziah had
ever seen. A new wave of Israelite soldiers flooded the
battlefield with every passing hour. Amaziah's brutish confidence was wiped
(13:39):
away under the boot of joe Ash and his army.
Amaziah saw King joe Ash fighting and pursued him. He
ran with his sword high in the air. He was
met with a swift kick to the chest and fell back.
He dropped his sword, and before he could reach for it,
he was kicked in the jar. Amaziah riddthed in pain.
(14:01):
His mouth was filled with blood. Joash picked him up
by his breastplate and threw him into a group of
his guards. They beat him and tied him to a horse.
The battle had been easily won, and every man of
Judah fled back to his home. Amaziah was taken into
the heart of Judah. He was paraded around Jerusalem as
a captive. Then Joash had his men destroy part of
(14:25):
the wall of Jerusalem. The bricks crumbled to the floor
along with Amaziah's dignity. Joash sent his men into the
House of God and seized the gold and silver. He
raided Amaziah's home and stole all his treasure. Lastly, Joash
took captives. Women and children were carted away like cattle.
(14:46):
The King of Judah crumbled to his knees. Joash spat
on the ground beside Amaziah and left him to soak
in his own shame. After witnessing the king's shame, there
was a conspiracy to kill him, so Amaziah fled to
Lakeish and spent years hiding in exile. Eventually he was
(15:06):
found and put to death immediately. It was a shameful
end to a shameful life. Amaziah allowed doubt to plague
his mind instead of seeking God, and his pain in questioning,
he wrote him off and pursued other gods. His story
is not unlike the story of mankind. For all of
human history, man has struggled for closeness to God. They
(15:29):
seek to understand him and are disappointed when he does
not meet their expectations. One day, a true king would
rise up to restore a close relationship between man and God,
but for now the struggle continues.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
We begin today's passage following the death of Joe Ash
of Judah, who was killed by his own men as
he traveled the road to sella His son, Amasiah, was young,
only twenty five when his father died and he became
King of Judah. It all started off well. Amaziah did
many good things, seeking to do right in the eyes
(16:08):
of the Lord and restore justice to the land. He
sought to deal with the traders who killed his father,
and he put them to death, But rather than wipe
out their entire families, including their children, Amaziah killed only
the guilty, obeying God's law. There was truly great potential
in this new king, but at the same time, a
(16:30):
darkness in his heart held him back. Soon there was
an enemy threatening the peace. The nation of Syr was
preparing to attack, so he gathered the elders and assembled
the troops. Then he hired soldiers from Israel mercenaries to
fight with them. It was a sound military strategy. But
(16:50):
before they went to battle, one of God's prophets appeared
to speak with the king. He delivered a word from
the Lord, saying the king did not need the one
hundred thousand mercenaries from Israel. Israel was a nation in turmoil,
and God was not with them. Sometimes the plan that
makes the most sense may not be the plan God
has for you. Those may be confusing moments that cause
(17:14):
you to wonder if God will still provide or protect.
Surely Amaziah wandered the same. So the prophet assured him,
saying in Second Chronicles twenty five and verse eight, but
go act, be strong for the battle. Why should you
suppose that God will cast you down before the enemy,
For God has power to help or to cast down.
(17:37):
He was being told to trust in God's power, not
his own, not Israel's army. Only trust God and be
strong for the battle and obey him. Echoes of the
words God spoke to Joshua when he became the leader
of God's people. But despite lingering doubts, Abaziah sent the
mercenaries home. The Israelites were angry, even though they had
(18:00):
already been paid but Amaziah obeyed God and went without them,
and just as God promised, he was with the king
and gave him victory, even with a shorthanded army. The
king and his men returned home confident and victorious, only
to find that the Israelite warriors had attacked several cities,
setting fires and killing more than three thousand people. Why
(18:24):
had God allowed this to happen, The king must have wondered.
He had been obedient, and yet disaster came, and so
because God didn't meet his expectations, Amaziah became angry at God.
His anger turned to resentment. Obedience to God will always
be the right path, but it will not always be
(18:45):
a peaceful or easy path. Evil is still very real
in the world, and until the Lord Jesus returns, tragedies
are going to happen, even to the most faithful followers
of the Lord. In those moments, we can, like King David,
rest in God's goodness and find comfort and healing in him,
or we can become bitter like Amaziah and give up
(19:08):
on God. Amaziah, in his anger and hurt, decided he
would rather trust in the idols that he could make,
not the God who made him. These false gods gave
him license to do as he pleased because he felt
that he could control his own little gods. But as
all who give into sin and idolatry and disobedience discover,
(19:29):
Amaziah became controlled by the pleasure of the gods. He
bowed to God sent a prophet to talk sins into
the king, but he was too far gone. He would
not listen. He was filled with pride, and in his arrogance,
he decided he could face off against Israel and her army.
King Joe Ash of Israel received his challenge and replied
(19:50):
with a parable about a thistle that wanted to defeat
a mighty cedar. In other words, he was warning Amaziah
to back down. He was outmatched, overmatched, but Amaziah would
not listen to reason, and God was giving him over
to his pride. Defeat came swiftly to Judah as ways
of Israelites overwhelmed them. Amaziah was taken captive and subjected
(20:14):
to ridicule, paraded through his own capital as a prisoner. Humiliated,
King Amaziah had to flee his kingdom to avoid being
killed by his own people. But even then, rather than
turned to God and repent, he clung to his idols,
the false gods he could mold and understand, but never
could truly depend upon to save him. His life shows
(20:36):
the tragic effects of pride and trying to force the
hand of God to meet our expectations rather than trusting
his plans and his destiny for our lives. Dear God,
we know that your ways are higher than our ways,
and why we do not always understand why you are
doing what you do. We do know that you are God,
(20:57):
that you are in control, that you are on the
th of our lives. When we trust in you, so Lord,
we know that what you do is always good, It
is always best in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for
listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm pastor
Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download Theprey dot com app
(21:21):
and make prayer a priority along with Bible study in
your life. And if you enjoyed this podcast, be sure
and share it with someone you know because it can
truly make a difference in someone else's life. And if
you want more resources on how you can know the
Bible and live the Christian life, contact me at Jack
(21:41):
Graham dot org. That's Jack Graham dot org for many
resources that will help you in your walk with God.
God bless you.
Let us pray. And joe Ash King of Israel, sent
to Ameziah, King of Judah, saying, the thistle that was
in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying,
give thy daughter to my son to wife. And there
passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon and
trod down the thistle Second Chronicles twenty five eighteen. With
(00:26):
continued victory and blessing, Lord, I acknowledge that my greatest
concern will be that of protecting myself from getting prideful
and complaisant when it comes to my devotion. When moments
arise and my desired outcome doesn't come how I think
it should, steer my mind back to the fact that
(00:50):
you are in control and you know what is best
for me. Right now, I silence all thoughts that would
have me turn to a false idol created by a
man like Ameaziah. I denounce any ungodly actions that would
cause me to stray from the path of my purpose
(01:11):
and calling. When I place my expectation on you, Lord,
help me to be quick to realize that your ways
are above mine, and that as I wait in the
midst of my disappointment, your perfect character will provide exceedingly
above and beyond what I can imagine. In Jesus name, Amen,
(01:39):
Thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.
To learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story,
brought to you by Bible in a Year dot com.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
The Thistle and the Cedar. In our last story, we
met the prophet Jonah, who refused to obey God's calling
because of his prejudice against Nineveh. However, God used Jonah's
life as a lesson, a lesson in caring about the lost,
a lesson about humility and responding to the voice of God,
(02:22):
a lesson on what truly matters. Now we revisit the
tragic story of kings. In this story, King Amasiah assumes
the throne of Judah. Although he begins his reign righteously,
doubt and bitterness consumes him. Eventually, he raises his sword
against an enemy too formidable for him. Inspired by the
(02:45):
Book of Second Chronicles.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Hello, I'm pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
Bible in a Year podcast. In our last episode, we
saw how God spared Nineveh from destruction after the repented
from evil and turned their hearts to the One True God. Jonah,
who had reluctantly delivered God's word to this pagan city,
was angered by God's mercy toward them. But God used
(03:12):
a plant and a worm to show Jonah that the
thousands of souls in Nineveh were actually precious to God. Today,
will return to Judah to hear of the reign of
King Amaziah. He starts off well, but soon turns away
from God to doubts, resentment, and pride. His pride would
ultimately lead to his demise as he engaged an enemy
(03:33):
far too powerful to defeat. So once again, let's listen
to God's word.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
King Joe Ash of Judah returned to the dust, as
is the way of all men. However, his demise was
more brutal than most. He was assassinated by his own
officers on the road to Scilla. His blood covered the streets,
and his reign ended in shame. His son was twenty
five at the time and was soon after named King
(04:02):
of Judah. Amaziah was a young man, but filled with promise.
He began his reign with ambition to break the cycle
of his forefathers. He pursued God, He uplifted the poor
and needy, and he established justice in the land of Judah.
He did what was right in the sight of God,
but there was still a lingering apathy resting at the
(04:26):
bottom of Amaziah's heart. Something kept him from truly pursuing
God as David once did. Amaziah knew that his father
had been assassinated by the officers of Judah without warning.
Amaziah sent men to ambush them and kill each man
who played a part in killing his father in I
for an Eye. Amaziah thought it was the custom for
(04:48):
many kings to kill the families of traitors as well,
but Amaziah refused to enact that sort of cruelty. He
knew what was commanded of God and the laws saying
fathers shall not die because of their children, nor children
because of their fathers, but everyone is punished for their
own sins. Only a few months into Amaziah's reign, there
(05:10):
was a threat coming in from the nation of Seer.
Amasiah was proactive in responding to this threat. He gathered
every elder from each tribe of Judah to strategize from them.
He had three hundred thousand mighty men, young men from
Judah who were eager to fight and defend their country.
To further add to his massive army, he hired one
(05:33):
hundred thousand mercenaries from Israel to bolster his army. Amaziah
was preparing his men for battle. The camp was bustling
with activity. The sound of iron being forged and swords
being sharpened filled the camp as Amaziah walked through. As
he was picking up his armor, a man of God
(05:53):
interrupted him. The man looked at the king with wise
and understanding eyes. The man smiled as he gestured for
the king to sit. Amaziah respected the prophets of God,
so was intent on hearing what he had to say.
My King, you do not need the extra mercenaries from Israel.
They have rejected the Lord and God is in the
(06:15):
process of refining them. The king's face was grim at
hearing those words. He knew he needed more men to
win the upcoming battle. The prophet sensed this and encouraged
the king further. Do not be afraid. Do you think
God will send you into your demise? Surely He is
with you before your enemy. The king was not entirely reassured.
(06:40):
What of the money I already paid them? Should I
just waste that? Does not the Lord own all things?
He can give you much more than one hundred talents
in return for your faithfulness, the prophet responded. So the
king did as the prophet asked. He sent away the
mercenaries back to Israel, but he was met with great
(07:00):
anger and conflict from the Israelites. They returned home with
a deep anger in their hearts. Yet the Lord blessed
Amaziah's faithfulness. He marched into battle, short one hundred thousand men,
but filled with courage from God. Amaziah lifted up his
sword and rode into battle with his men behind him.
The warriors of Seyr ran towards them, and the two
(07:23):
armies collided with steel and bone. Amaziah's young arms slashed
through the enemy forces. Blood filled the valley of Salt
and poured out like a stream. Over ten thousand men
fell at the hand of Judah before the people of
ser surrendered. Another ten thousand were captured alive and brought
to the edge of a mountain with decisive force, The
(07:45):
men were pushed over to their doom. Their skulls cracked
on the rocks below. Amaziah and his men cheered in victory.
Their war cries filled the air and echoed for all
the surrounding nations to hear Boy filled their hearts as
they ventured back to Judah. A tired smile was on
Amaziah's face as he rode back with elation. However, his
(08:09):
smile grew dim when he saw smoke rising from the distance.
Amaziah and his men rode quickly towards the smoke and
saw flames rising from the outer cities of Judah. The
men's hearts began to break as they saw every city
from Samaria to Betharon struck down. Three thousand people had
been killed at the hands of the Israeli mercenaries. Amaziah's
(08:31):
heart was broken. A subtle bitterness welled up in his
heart towards God. He had sent the men away with
the promise that God would bless him, but here he
stood among the burnt cities of Judah. God had not
met his expectations, and although Amasia would not say so outwardly,
(08:52):
his heart was calloused towards him. Amaziah sat in the
storehouse where all the spoils of war sat. In their
victory against Seyer, they had collected their idols and false gods.
Amaziah stared at the carved images before him. They were
gods made from man there were gods of carnal pleasures
(09:15):
and selfish desires. They were easy gods to obey, since
they allowed men and women to give in to their
own selfish pleasures. Amaziah got up from his seat and
picked up one of the idols. He held it in
his hand. He was drawn to it. A deep seated
bitterness in his heart boiled over. Amaziah placed the carved
(09:38):
image on an altar nearby and bowed to it. Perhaps
this god would not disappoint him. Amaziah was caught in
the cycle of his forefather Solomon. The lude and exotic
idols enticed him. Foreign philosophy and pagan worship wrapped him
up like a woman of the night. He was lured
(10:00):
and intoxicated by the rush of idle worship, all the
while God's heart broke at his servant's downfall. The Lord
sent another prophet to speak truth to the king. The
prophet came to the throne room of Amaziah. He was
not his normal self. The prophet could see a hidden
weariness in his eyes. He began to show symptoms of madness.
(10:23):
My king, the prophet said, quietly, why have you run
after the gods of people that clearly care very little
for their own. They are not compassionate or merciful. They
gladly sacrificed their own, and the king raised his hand
to silence the prophet. He stood from his throne and
stepped down towards him. The look in his eyes sent
(10:45):
a chill down the prophet's spine. Am I mistaken? Have
you somehow been appointed as the royal counselor without my knowledge?
He asked. The prophet opened his mouth to respond, but
was abruptly interrupted again. Stop, the king shouted, before you
are struck down. The prophet was flustered at first, but
(11:06):
then stood upright. He was a child and servant of
the living God. He would not be intimidated by a
mentally and emotionally unstable king. The prophet began to depart,
but said one final thing as he left. God is
determined to thwart you before you corrupt the rest of Judah.
(11:27):
God will destroy you for not listening to my counsel.
The king slumped back in his throne, determined to regain
control of his emotions. Amaziah was feeling bold after his
victory Overseer and decided to march against the neighboring nation
of Israel as revenge for his fallen cities. Amaziah was
(11:48):
beginning to be consumed with pride, just as the ancient
people who built the Tower of Babel, Amaziah began to
overreach in search of power. Let us meet face to face,
Amaziah sent to King Joash. This was a bold challenge
for Israel. Under Jehoah has had a master, great army,
(12:08):
greater than that of Judah. King Joash calmly replied to
the new king with a story a small thistle, and
Lebanon sent word to a mighty cedar, saying, let us
marry our son and daughter as equals. But a wild
beast passed by and destroyed the tiny thistle. Its small
(12:29):
leaves and frailed twigs were crushed under its foot. But
the beast could not crush the strong cedar. The King
of Israel's words were strong and wise. In his letter,
he laid out a warning for the young king of Judah.
The letter continued saying, your heart is filled with pride
after your defeat over Seer, but you should stay at home.
(12:51):
Why are you provoking evil against yourself. Joash's words only
fueled Amaziah's anger, though he was not aware of it.
God was laying a trap for Amaziah. He would allow
the young king to walk right into the consequence of
his own pride. The two kings rode out against one another.
They met at the valley of Bethshemesh on the outskirts
(13:14):
of Judah. Amaziah raised his sword and ran into battle
with his men at his side. He was confident, brave,
and filled with the pride of youth. He should have
stayed home. Joe Ash unleashed a fury unlike Amaziah had
ever seen. A new wave of Israelite soldiers flooded the
battlefield with every passing hour. Amaziah's brutish confidence was wiped
(13:39):
away under the boot of joe Ash and his army.
Amaziah saw King joe Ash fighting and pursued him. He
ran with his sword high in the air. He was
met with a swift kick to the chest and fell back.
He dropped his sword, and before he could reach for it,
he was kicked in the jar. Amaziah riddthed in pain.
(14:01):
His mouth was filled with blood. Joash picked him up
by his breastplate and threw him into a group of
his guards. They beat him and tied him to a horse.
The battle had been easily won, and every man of
Judah fled back to his home. Amaziah was taken into
the heart of Judah. He was paraded around Jerusalem as
a captive. Then Joash had his men destroy part of
(14:25):
the wall of Jerusalem. The bricks crumbled to the floor
along with Amaziah's dignity. Joash sent his men into the
House of God and seized the gold and silver. He
raided Amaziah's home and stole all his treasure. Lastly, Joash
took captives. Women and children were carted away like cattle.
(14:46):
The King of Judah crumbled to his knees. Joash spat
on the ground beside Amaziah and left him to soak
in his own shame. After witnessing the king's shame, there
was a conspiracy to kill him, so Amaziah fled to
Lakeish and spent years hiding in exile. Eventually he was
(15:06):
found and put to death immediately. It was a shameful
end to a shameful life. Amaziah allowed doubt to plague
his mind instead of seeking God, and his pain in questioning,
he wrote him off and pursued other gods. His story
is not unlike the story of mankind. For all of
human history, man has struggled for closeness to God. They
(15:29):
seek to understand him and are disappointed when he does
not meet their expectations. One day, a true king would
rise up to restore a close relationship between man and God,
but for now the struggle continues.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
We begin today's passage following the death of Joe Ash
of Judah, who was killed by his own men as
he traveled the road to sella His son, Amasiah, was young,
only twenty five when his father died and he became
King of Judah. It all started off well. Amaziah did
many good things, seeking to do right in the eyes
(16:08):
of the Lord and restore justice to the land. He
sought to deal with the traders who killed his father,
and he put them to death, But rather than wipe
out their entire families, including their children, Amaziah killed only
the guilty, obeying God's law. There was truly great potential
in this new king, but at the same time, a
(16:30):
darkness in his heart held him back. Soon there was
an enemy threatening the peace. The nation of Syr was
preparing to attack, so he gathered the elders and assembled
the troops. Then he hired soldiers from Israel mercenaries to
fight with them. It was a sound military strategy. But
(16:50):
before they went to battle, one of God's prophets appeared
to speak with the king. He delivered a word from
the Lord, saying the king did not need the one
hundred thousand mercenaries from Israel. Israel was a nation in turmoil,
and God was not with them. Sometimes the plan that
makes the most sense may not be the plan God
has for you. Those may be confusing moments that cause
(17:14):
you to wonder if God will still provide or protect.
Surely Amaziah wandered the same. So the prophet assured him,
saying in Second Chronicles twenty five and verse eight, but
go act, be strong for the battle. Why should you
suppose that God will cast you down before the enemy,
For God has power to help or to cast down.
(17:37):
He was being told to trust in God's power, not
his own, not Israel's army. Only trust God and be
strong for the battle and obey him. Echoes of the
words God spoke to Joshua when he became the leader
of God's people. But despite lingering doubts, Abaziah sent the
mercenaries home. The Israelites were angry, even though they had
(18:00):
already been paid but Amaziah obeyed God and went without them,
and just as God promised, he was with the king
and gave him victory, even with a shorthanded army. The
king and his men returned home confident and victorious, only
to find that the Israelite warriors had attacked several cities,
setting fires and killing more than three thousand people. Why
(18:24):
had God allowed this to happen, The king must have wondered.
He had been obedient, and yet disaster came, and so
because God didn't meet his expectations, Amaziah became angry at God.
His anger turned to resentment. Obedience to God will always
be the right path, but it will not always be
(18:45):
a peaceful or easy path. Evil is still very real
in the world, and until the Lord Jesus returns, tragedies
are going to happen, even to the most faithful followers
of the Lord. In those moments, we can, like King David,
rest in God's goodness and find comfort and healing in him,
or we can become bitter like Amaziah and give up
(19:08):
on God. Amaziah, in his anger and hurt, decided he
would rather trust in the idols that he could make,
not the God who made him. These false gods gave
him license to do as he pleased because he felt
that he could control his own little gods. But as
all who give into sin and idolatry and disobedience discover,
(19:29):
Amaziah became controlled by the pleasure of the gods. He
bowed to God sent a prophet to talk sins into
the king, but he was too far gone. He would
not listen. He was filled with pride, and in his arrogance,
he decided he could face off against Israel and her army.
King Joe Ash of Israel received his challenge and replied
(19:50):
with a parable about a thistle that wanted to defeat
a mighty cedar. In other words, he was warning Amaziah
to back down. He was outmatched, overmatched, but Amaziah would
not listen to reason, and God was giving him over
to his pride. Defeat came swiftly to Judah as ways
of Israelites overwhelmed them. Amaziah was taken captive and subjected
(20:14):
to ridicule, paraded through his own capital as a prisoner. Humiliated,
King Amaziah had to flee his kingdom to avoid being
killed by his own people. But even then, rather than
turned to God and repent, he clung to his idols,
the false gods he could mold and understand, but never
could truly depend upon to save him. His life shows
(20:36):
the tragic effects of pride and trying to force the
hand of God to meet our expectations rather than trusting
his plans and his destiny for our lives. Dear God,
we know that your ways are higher than our ways,
and why we do not always understand why you are
doing what you do. We do know that you are God,
(20:57):
that you are in control, that you are on the
th of our lives. When we trust in you, so Lord,
we know that what you do is always good, It
is always best in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for
listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm pastor
Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download Theprey dot com app
(21:21):
and make prayer a priority along with Bible study in
your life. And if you enjoyed this podcast, be sure
and share it with someone you know because it can
truly make a difference in someone else's life. And if
you want more resources on how you can know the
Bible and live the Christian life, contact me at Jack
(21:41):
Graham dot org. That's Jack Graham dot org for many
resources that will help you in your walk with God.
God bless you.
Host
Jack Graham
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