The Defeat Of Amaziah And Judah

The Defeat Of Amaziah And Judah 

II Kings 14:11-14 NKJV

[11] But Amaziah would not heed. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went out; so he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah. [12] And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent. [13] Then Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh; and he went to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate—four hundred cubits. [14] And he took all the gold and silver, all the articles that were found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.

In this battle at Bethshemesh, " 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. (2Ch 25:20)"( Guzik ). You don't accredit what God has done to the gods made by human hands. 

    Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, and broke down the defences of Judah. This is another report from Guzik." 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". For a long time Amaziah lost his freedom, but Israel refused to occupy Judah. They had the ability. We will find out someday why they didn't. Was it just God protecting his heritage? Or was it that they understood that they are related? They could have colonized them. Think on it.

   The story of both kings ended in the records being kept. We are reading this today because of the records. Be careful, there are records being kept of our daily lives. May the reading of our records not make us look foolish in the daily decisions we are taking now. I pray that together we will take decisions that will glorify the Lord. Good morning.