2 Kings 14:1-29

The Last Kings of *Israel and *Judah

Book of 2 Kings

Philip Smith

Chapter 14

Amaziah’s rule as king of *Judah

v1 Amaziah, Joash’s son, began to rule as the king of *Judah. That happened during the 2^nd year of Jehoash’s rule. Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, was the king of *Israel. v2 Amaziah was 25 years old when he became *Judah’s king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem. v3 Amaziah did the things that pleased the *Lord. However, he was not like his *ancestor David. Amaziah did what his father Joash had done. v4 Amaziah did not remove the places where people *worshipped on the hills. People continued to offer *sacrifices there and they continued to burn *incense there.

v5 Amaziah took control of the country. Then, as a legal punishment, he killed the officials that had murdered his father the king. v6 But Amaziah did not kill their children. He obeyed this command that the *Lord gave in Moses’ law. ‘You must not kill fathers for what their children have done. And you must not kill children for what their fathers have done. You must only kill people as a legal punishment for their own crimes.’

v7 It was Amaziah who defeated Edom’s army. He killed 10 000 soldiers from Edom. He did that in the valley of Salt. He *captured Sela city in battle. He called it Joktheel. It still has that name today.

Amaziah was a strong king. He started well, but he did not finish well. He was not as good a king as his *ancestor David. Amaziah did what his father had done. It seems that Amaziah continued to *worship God at the *temple. But Amaziah did not remove the places where people *worshipped on the high hills. Amaziah killed as a legal punishment those officials who had murdered his father. He did not do that until the *kingdom was under his control. At that time, Amaziah obeyed the laws of Moses. He did not kill the children of the people that had murdered his father. (Look at Deuteronomy 24:16.) We should not punish people for other people’s crimes.

The people in Edom had *rebelled against *Judah. That had happened at the time when Jehoram ruled (2 Kings 8:20-22). However, Amaziah defeated them on the plain near the Dead Sea. That plain was called the valley of Salt. Amaziah also *captured a city. Some people think that it was the city called Petra.

Everything that we read about Amaziah’s religion before this battle was good. He obeyed God’s law (verse 6). He followed a *prophet’s advice (2 Chronicles 25:7-10). But after the battle, Amaziah’s character changed. He *worshipped *idols (2 Chronicles 25:14). He refused to listen to a *prophet (2 Chronicles 25:15-16). And Amaziah became proud. Those proud attitudes would cause great trouble for him, as we shall see below.

v8 Then Amaziah sent people with messages to *Israel’s king, Jehoash. [Jehoash was the son of Jehoahaz and the grandson of Jehu.] Amaziah invited Jehoash to fight, if he dared.

v9 But King Jehoash of *Israel sent this reply to King Amaziah of *Judah. ‘There was a weed in Lebanon that sent this message to a *cedar in Lebanon: “Please allow your daughter to marry my son.” Then a wild animal passed by. It put its feet upon the weed and it destroyed the weed. v10 You have defeated the army of Edom and now you are proud. Be content with your success and stay at home. It is not sensible to ask for trouble. That would bring *disaster upon you. And it would bring *disaster upon *Judah also.’

v11 But Amaziah refused to listen, so King Jehoash of *Israel attacked. He fought King Amaziah of *Judah at Beth Shemesh in *Judah. v12 *Israel’s army defeated *Judah’s army. All *Judah’s soldiers ran away to their homes. v13 King Jehoash of *Israel *captured King Amaziah of *Judah at Beth Shemesh. [Amaziah was the son of Joash and the grandson of Ahaziah.] Then Jehoash went to Jerusalem. He pulled down the city’s wall from Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. That section was 600 feet long (about 180 metres long). v14 Jehoash took all the silver and gold. And he took all the equipment from the *Lord’s *temple. He took the valuable things from the palace and he carried them back to Samaria. He also took hostages (people that he kept as prisoners until other people obeyed his demands).

v15 You can read about the other events during Jehoash’s rule. And you can read about his deeds and the things that he achieved. They are in the history of *Israel’s kings. You can also read about Jehoash’s war against Amaziah, *Judah’s king. v16 Jehoash died. People buried him in the royal graves in Samaria. His son Jeroboam became the king after him.

v17 *Judah’s King Amaziah, Joash’s son, lived for 15 years after the death of Jehoash [the king of *Israel and the son of Jehoahaz]. v18 You can read about the other events during Amaziah’s rule. They are in the history of *Judah’s kings.

v19 People plotted against Amaziah in Jerusalem. So he ran away to Lachish. Amaziah’s enemies followed him there and they killed him. v20 People brought his body back to Jerusalem on a horse. They buried Amaziah in Jerusalem, David’s city. They buried him in the royal graves there.

v21 Then all the people in *Judah took his son Uzziah and they made Uzziah the king. He was 16 years old. v22 Uzziah *captured Elath and he built it again. He gave it back to *Judah after the death of his father, that is, Amaziah.

Amaziah invited Jehoash to fight a battle against him, if he dared. That was a foolish invitation. Perhaps Amaziah wanted to join *Israel and *Judah together again. Perhaps it was because of what the *Israelites’ army had done. Amaziah had paid that army to fight the army of Edom. But God had told him not to take the *Israelites’ army with him (2 Chronicles 25:6-10). Amaziah had sent them home, but on the way back, they fought against some cities in *Judah. So Amaziah felt both proud and angry. He was proud because of his army’s great success against Edom. And he was angry with *Israel.

Jehoash used a story to reply to Amaziah. That story was about the forests in Lebanon. Lebanon is a country to the north of *Israel. It is famous for its *cedar trees. They are tall, beautiful and noble trees.

In the story, there was a proud weed. It considered itself to be as important as the noble *cedar tree. And it proposed a marriage so that everyone else would consider it important too. (This refers to the custom for royal families in different countries to arrange marriages.) Clearly, that weed was very proud. And it was too proud to consider the reality of the situation. In fact, the weed was just a weak weed. The weed did not impress the wild animal. The animal probably did not even notice the weed as it walked over it.

The meaning of the story is this. A person does not become great by means of proud words. So Amaziah should consider the reality of the situation. He should be pleased about his success against Edom. But he should not imagine that, therefore, he can defeat any army. Such proud attitudes would be foolish. Jehoash was happy to have peace between *Judah and *Israel. And he urged Amaziah to have the same attitude.

However, Amaziah did not listen to Jehoash, so Jehoash attacked *Judah. Amaziah lost the battle. Jehoash took him prisoner. And Amaziah’s army had to escape to their homes.

Then Jehoash went to Jerusalem and he pulled down part of its wall. He did that to make the city weak, so that its inhabitants would not try to oppose him. He took all the valuable things from the *temple and the palace. He also took people as prisoners. He did that in order to force Amaziah to make *peace.

Then the writer gives brief accounts about the lives of Jehoash and Amaziah. Amaziah lived 15 years longer than Jehoash. During those years, it seems that Amaziah returned to *Judah. Then people from Amaziah’s own nation killed him. He had tried to escape to Lachish, but they found him there. They killed him and then his family buried him in Jerusalem.

Verse 21 probably means that Amaziah’s son started to rule during Amaziah’s life. In other words, Amaziah’s son became the king while Amaziah was a prisoner of Jehoash. That son was called Uzziah. He (the son) also has the name Azariah, but we have only used the name Uzziah in this Commentary. After Jehoash’s death, Amaziah and his son Uzziah probably ruled the country together. Uzziah built Elath again. Before, it had belonged to the rulers of Edom.

Jeroboam’s rule as king of *Israel

v23 Jeroboam, Jehoash’s son, became the king of *Israel in Samaria. That was in the 15^th year of Amaziah’s rule. Amaziah, Joash’s son, was the king of *Judah. Jeroboam ruled *Israel for 41 years. v24 He *sinned against the *Lord. He did all the *sins that Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, made the *Israelites do.

v25 Jeroboam increased the size of the country called *Israel. During his rule, *Israel’s boundaries returned to where they had been before. They went from Hamath in the north. And they went to the Dead Sea in the south. That is what the *Lord, *Israel’s God, had said by means of his servant Jonah. Jonah, Amittai’s son, was a *prophet from Gath Hepher.

v26 The *Lord saw the terrible difficulties that both slaves and free people had in *Israel. There was nobody to help them. v27 But the *Lord had not said that he would destroy *Israel completely. So he rescued the *Israelites by means of Jeroboam, the son of Jehoash.

v28 You can read about all the other events in Jeroboam’s rule. They are in the history of *Israel’s kings. You can read there about his military successes. You can also read about how he won back Damascus and Hamath for *Israel. Those cities had both belonged to *Judah. v29 Jeroboam died. His grave is among the graves of the kings of *Israel. His son Zechariah became the king after him.

This was the second man called Jeroboam that was a king of *Israel. This Jeroboam was the most successful king of *Israel. That is, he ruled for a longer period than any other king of *Israel. Also, his military successes were greater than any other king of *Israel achieved. Jeroboam ruled together with his father for about 12 years (793 to 782 *B.C.). Then Jeroboam started to rule alone as the king. He ruled alone in 782 to 753 *B.C.. That period began in the 15^th year of Amaziah’s rule. In total, Jeroboam ruled for 41 years (793 to 753 *B.C.). Like all the kings of *Israel, Jeroboam did not serve the *Lord. Jeroboam *worshipped images of *bulls, as the first King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had done.

We can read about the state of religion during Jeroboam’s rule in the Books of Hosea and Amos. These *prophets lived at the same time as Jeroboam. They record that the *sins of the people in *Israel were very severe (Amos 1:6-8; Amos 4:1-5). The important people in *Israel were especially guilty (Amos 5:10-12). Such *sins would cause the end of the country called *Israel. But that did not happen until 50 years after Jeroboam’s death.

During Jeroboam’s rule, God decided to help the people in *Israel. God saw that everyone in *Israel was suffering because of the power of their enemies. So God used Jeroboam as his agent to rescue the people in *Israel. That was the reason for *Israel’s military successes during Jeroboam’s rule. But we can see from the *prophecies in Hosea and Amos that the people were not grateful to God. They continued their *sins. And Jeroboam continued to lead the people to *worship *idols.

God sent a *prophet to *Israel before Jeroboam’s military successes happened. God often sent a *prophet to announce what would happen in the future. Then afterwards, people would realise that God brought about the event (compare 2 Kings chapter 7). So the event did not happen merely by chance or by human effort. It happened because God promised it. It interests us to see the name of this particular *prophet. He was Jonah. The Book of Jonah records his visit to Nineveh. Some people have guessed that the Book of Jonah is just fiction. But in fact, Jonah was a real man. And he appears here in a book about *Israel’s history.

During Jeroboam’s rule, the *prophets began to write down their *prophecies. The first one among these *prophets was Amos.

Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
Judah ~ one of the tribes in the nation called Israel; the southern part of that kingdom after it divided.
tribe ~ a group of people that share the same ancestors, language, and customs.
Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
ancestor ~ a previous member of a family, especially someone who was important during a past century.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
Lord ~ the name of God. We use this word to translate two different words in the original language. One word means ‘He is always God.’ The other word means ‘master’.
ancestor ~ a previous member of a family, especially someone who was important during a past century.
worship ~ to praise God (or a false god); to give honour to God (or a false god) by sacrifice, prayer, song or action.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that someone offers to God (or to a false god); to offer something valuable to God (or to a false god).
sacrifice ~ something valuable that someone offers to God (or to a false god); to offer something valuable to God (or to a false god).
incense ~ a substance that gives a pleasant smell when people burn it. Some people use it to show honour to God (or to a false god).
capture ~ to seize (arrest) someone and to keep that person as a prisoner; to take something by force and to keep it under your control.
temple ~ the building that King Solomon built in Jerusalem, and the area that surrounded it. It was the most important place for the worship of the real God. We also use the word ‘temple’ to mean the house of a false god.
worship ~ to praise God (or a false god); to give honour to God (or a false god) by sacrifice, prayer, song or action.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that someone offers to God (or to a false god); to offer something valuable to God (or to a false god).
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
prophet ~ a person that gives a prophecy.
prophecy ~ a message from God (or from a false god) that someone speaks; what someone says will happen in the future.
idol ~ the image of a god to whom people give honour.
cedar ~ a type of tall tree whose leaves are always green. Its branches spread out widely and its wood has a sweet smell.
disaster ~ an event that makes people suffer very greatly. It may cause great damage and death.
Israelites ~ people that belonged to the nation called Israel.
Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
peace ~ the absence of war; a situation when people and groups are friendly towards each other; when it is quiet; a calm and content attitude.
sin ~ an action that is wrong or wicked, which is against God’s moral law; something that is against a law in a religion.
bull ~ the male animal that mates with a cow.
prophecy ~ a message from God (or from a false god) that someone speaks; what someone says will happen in the future.