Amaziah is another king who starts well but doesn’t finish well. He serves the Lord but not with a whole heart.
2 Chronicles 25: Amaziah Reigns in Judah
1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart.
3 And as soon as the royal power was firmly his, he killed his servants who had struck down the king his father.
4 But he did not put their children to death, according to what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, "Fathers shall not die because of their children, nor children die because of their fathers, but each one shall die for his own sin."
Amaziah's Victories
5 Then Amaziah assembled the men of Judah and set them by fathers' houses under commanders of thousands and of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He mustered those twenty years old and upward, and found that they were 300,000 choice men, fit for war, able to handle spear and shield.
6 He hired also 100,000 mighty men of valour from Israel for 100 talents of silver.
7 But a man of God came to him and said, "O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel, with all these Ephraimites.
8 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."
9 And Amaziah said to the man of God, "But what shall we do about the hundred talents that I have given to the army of Israel?" The man of God answered, "The LORD is able to give you much more than this."
10 Then Amaziah discharged the army that had come to him from Ephraim to go home again. And they became very angry with Judah and returned home in fierce anger.
11 But Amaziah took courage and led out his people and went to the Valley of Salt and struck down 10,000 men of Seir.
12 The men of Judah captured another 10,000 alive and took them to the top of a rock and threw them down from the top of the rock, and they were all dashed to pieces.
13 But the men of the army whom Amaziah sent back, not letting them go with him to battle, raided the cities of Judah, from Samaria to Beth-horon, and struck down 3,000 people in them and took much spoil.
Amaziah's Idolatry
14 After Amaziah came from striking down the Edomites, he brought the gods of the men of Seir and set them up as his gods and worshiped them, making offerings to them.
15 Therefore the LORD was angry with Amaziah and sent to him a prophet, who said to him, "Why have you sought the gods of a people who did not deliver their own people from your hand?"
16 But as he was speaking, the king said to him, "Have we made you a royal counsellor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?" So the prophet stopped, but said, "I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel."
Israel Defeats Amaziah
17 Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent to Joash the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, "Come, let us look one another in the face."
18 And Joash the king of Israel sent word to Amaziah king of Judah, "A thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son for a wife,' and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle.
19 You say, 'See, I have struck down Edom,' and your heart has lifted you up in boastfulness. But now stay at home. Why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?"
20 But Amaziah would not listen, for it was of God, in order that he might give them into the hand of their enemies, because they had sought the gods of Edom.
21 So Joash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another in battle at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah.
22 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his home.
23 And Joash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for 400 cubits, from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate.
24 And he seized all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God, in the care of Obed-edom. He seized also the treasuries of the king's house, also hostages, and he returned to Samaria.
25 Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel.
26 Now the rest of the deeds of Amaziah, from first to last, are they not written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel?
27 From the time when he turned away from the LORD they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent after him to Lachish and put him to death there.
28 And they brought him upon horses, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David..
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Things to think about…
1. In 2Chr 25:2, where we read the introduction about Amaziah where it describes him as doing “what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not with a whole heart”, what do you make of this statement? Will we see Amaziah in heaven or not? Would this statement describe you in any way? I think it describes us at different points. Praise God we are saved by grace and not our works. Stand this statement in contrast to king Abijah in 2Chr 13. It seems Abijah had more faith and obedience than Amaziah yet 1 Kings 15 describes Abijah (Ahijah) as a man who “walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God”, 1Kings 15:3. I think there is still hope for Abijah because it adds “the Lord his God”. Grace seems to have still been present in Abijah. But only God knows.
2. We see Amaziah trusting in God by listening to the prophet in 2Chr 25:5-13. He sends the 100 000 men from Ephraim (Israel) home. Amaziah and his army defeat the old enemy, Edom. They killed 10 000 and threw another 10 000 Edomites over a cliff, ghastly! Was God totally in this or not? What do you make of the 3000 people that were killed in the cities of Judah by the men of Ephraim when the men of Judah were off fighting the Edomites? God seemed to have punished Amaziah when he did the right thing. Obedience here brought a burden and not a blessing. Many of us have been in this position. The Lord has blessed us with faith but doesn’t answer as prayer for an unsaved family member or for relational strain somewhere. The issue here was with Amaziah’s heart in his obedience. Throwing 10 000 off a cliff is barbaric, it seems Amaziah’s level of grace barely touched his heart.
3. Amaziah takes the idols of Edom (Seir), that couldn’t save the Edomites and brings them back to Judah, 2Chr 25:14-16, and then has people offer sacrifices and worship these idols. Amaziah, rather than taking the advice of the prophet as he did initially, hardens his heart to the counsel of the prophet. We may look at this obvious spiritual rebellion and recognise Amaziah’s fault, but is there any possibility that we do the same thing when we put our trust in a bank, a doctor, an employer, or our own resources to solve a matter that should firstly be taken to our Lord? This would be the beginning of Amaziah’s downfall as prophesied by the prophet when Amaziah returned from Edom with Edom’s idols.
4. Amaziah wants retribution for the 3000 killed in Judah and the spoil that was taken. He goes to war with Israel is defeated by Joash (Israel’s king) even though he was given wise counsel by Joash to stay at home. No doubt the prophets in Judah would have told him the same thing. But at this point Amaziah is not listening to them. Joash takes all the gold and silver as well as the vessels in the house of the Lord, 2Chr 25:24 and destroys 400 cubits, about 200 meters, of the wall of Jerusalem. Even though Amaziah lives 15 years longer than Joash, vs 25, he was murdered in Lachish due to a conspiracy against him. This was because he had turned away from the Lord, vs 27. Amaziah seemed to start out well, but didn’t finish well. We have seen this theme a number of times in 2Chronicles. Why do people, even Christians, sometimes drop the ball later in life? Some become angry and bitter, even though they still claim faith. Why does this happen? What measures can be put in place to make sure we are tender to the Lord’s Spirit, even in old age? I spoke to woman yesterday who I knew as a Christian at a Baptist church we went to almost 30 years ago. She said she hadn’t been to church for 15 years. She has been chasing conspiracy theories, instead of faithfully serving in Christ’s body and blessing the community with a united witness in the gospel. Half hearted Christianity comes in via a slow fade.
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the school holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Title was “You win, but don’t deserve it” from 2 Chronicles 13
1. Abijah only reigned in Judah for 3 years. The description of this man in 1 Kings 15:1-3 is not very flattering, yet in 2 Chronicles 13 we see the Lord bless his faith and obedience. When you read the passage in 2Chr 13 what does the Lord use to bring about such a great victory for Abijah? What does Abijah say and do that honours the Lord?
2. Jeroboam lost 500, 000 men. What do you remember about the character of Jeroboam, what was he known for? What was Jeroboam’s legacy?
3. Israel never recovered after losing 500, 000 men. Judah would attract people from Israel back to worship the one true God. This is still the case today. Even though Abijah was not wholly true to the Lord, he was still blessed. Do you see some similarities of Abijah in your own life? In what way?
4. Pray for prayer points and for each other.
Prayer Points
1. Peace to rest over Ukraine.
2. Pray for new people as they settle into life at CBC.
3. Upcoming Australian elections – pray for the Lord’s choice of MP’s.
4. Continue to pray for the flood clean-up as well as the money donated to help.
5. Folk sick with Covid – relief and healing.
6. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
7. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Worship on Sunday – thankyou team.
2. The rain this week and the inevitable flooding in NSW and QLD.
3. More visitors to CBC over the weekend.
4. God’s word affecting people for Christ
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Members meeting 22nd May after the service.
2. Remember to check your duty rosters.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for May...
Q. 3. Will Christ come again? A. Yes; at the last day Christ will come to judge the world.
