Lives of Scripture

Amaziah became king of Judah at twenty-five after his father Joash was assassinated by his own servants. He executed the assassins but, in careful obedience to the Law of Moses, spared their children, "each one shall be put to death for his own sin" (2 Kings 14:5-6; Deuteronomy 24:16). He then mustered an army of Judah and hired 100,000 Israelite mercenaries for a campaign against Edom -- but a prophet warned him that the LORD was not with Israel's army, so Amaziah dismissed the mercenaries at a steep financial loss, trusting God's word over his investment (2 Chronicles 25:6-10). He went on to defeat Edom decisively, killing thousands and capturing their capital (25:11-12; 2 Kings 14:7). Victory brought pride and apostasy: Amaziah took the gods of the defeated Edomites, set them up, and worshiped them -- and when a prophet confronted him, he silenced the man with threats rather than repenting (2 Chronicles 25:14-16). Flush with success, Amaziah then recklessly challenged King Jehoash of Israel to battle despite Jehoash's warning parable that he was inviting his own destruction (25:17-19; 2 Kings 14:8-10). Judah was routed, Jerusalem's wall was broken down, and the temple was plundered (2 Kings 14:11-14). Amaziah lived another fifteen years under a conspiracy that finally caught him at Lachish, where he was assassinated (14:17-20).