2 Kings 14

The Voice

14 During the second year of Joash (son of Joahaz, Israel’s king), Amaziah (son of Joash, Judah’s king) inherited the throne in Judah. ²Amaziah was 25 years old when he took the throne, and he sat upon it in Jerusalem for 29 years. Amaziah’s mother was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. ³Amaziah did what was good in the Eternal’s eyes, but not to the extent that his forefather David had. Amaziah was a lot more like his father, Joash, than he was like David, for he was not as devoted to the Lord as David was. ⁴But the high places were not destroyed. They remained standing, and everyone continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

⁵As soon as Amaziah inherited the throne, he crushed all the servants who participated in the assassination of his father, King Joash. ⁶But he left the sons of the murderers alive because of the Eternal’s command written in Moses’ book of laws, “Fathers should not be killed because of the sins of their sons, and sons should not be killed because of the sins of their fathers. Every man is to be held accountable for his own sins.”^[a]

⁷Amaziah crushed 10,000 Edomites while fighting in the valley of Salt, and he won Sela in battle and renamed it Joktheel. That name remains today.

⁸Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, Israel’s king, who was the son of Jehoahaz (Jehu’s son).

Amaziah’s Message: Let’s see how brave you are; I challenge you to come meet me face-to-face.

Jehoash’s reply: ⁹There was a thornbush in Lebanon that said to the cedar tree in Lebanon, “Hand your daughter over to my son as a wife.” But a wild animal in Lebanon walked by about that time and destroyed the thornbush.

¹⁰You have crushed Edom, but your heart has become swollen with pride. Take pleasure in what you have already won, and delight in your home for a while. Why would you want to stir up unnecessary troubles and have yourself and Judah taste defeat?

¹¹But Amaziah was stubborn and did not listen to Jehoash’s advice. So Jehoash (Israel’s king) went to meet Amaziah (Judah’s king) face-to-face at Beth-shemesh, in the land of Judah. ¹²Israel won the victory, and Judah was left defeated. Then both went back to their own tents. ¹³Jehoash (Israel’s king) took Amaziah (Judah’s king) captive at Beth-shemesh and brought him to Jerusalem. Jehoash demolished a large part of the Jerusalem Wall—from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, 600 feet in all. ¹⁴He then took possession of all the precious valuables he could find—the gold, silver, and objects that were in the Eternal’s temple and in the king’s palace treasuries. He also took hostages and then went back to Samaria.

¹⁵Are not the remainder of Jehoash’s deeds—his mighty actions and how he defeated Amaziah (Judah’s king)—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings? ¹⁶Jehoash left this world to sleep with his fathers and was laid to rest in Samaria with Israel’s kings. His son, Jeroboam, then inherited the throne in Israel.

¹⁷Amaziah (Joash’s son), king of Judah was alive for 15 years after the death of Jehoash (Jehoahaz’s son), king of Israel. ¹⁸Is not the rest of Amaziah’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Judah’s kings? ¹⁹They plotted against him in Jerusalem, and he ran away to Lachish. But they followed after him to Lachish and killed him. ²⁰They brought his body back to Jerusalem on horses, and they buried him with his ancestors in the city of David, as was tradition. ²¹Everyone in Judah raised up his 16-year-old son, Azariah, to be king. Azariah then inherited his father’s throne. ²²After his father left this world to sleep with his fathers, Azariah rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah.

²³During the 15th year of Amaziah (Joash’s son), Jeroboam (Jehoash’s son) inherited Israel’s throne in Samaria. Jeroboam’s reign lasted 41 years. ²⁴Jeroboam (Joash’s son) committed evil in the Eternal’s eyes. He walked the wicked path of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) causing the Israelites to live sinful lives. ²⁵He reinstated Israel’s border from the Hamath entrance to Aram all the way to the Arabah Sea. He did this exactly as the Eternal One, the True God of Israel, had said through his servant, the prophet Jonah (Amittai’s son) who was from Gath-hepher.

Several of the prophets whose writings are included in the Old Testament are active at this time. While the writings of Jonah do not relate to these events, many of the other prophets’ works do. Amos and Hosea are both prophesying to the Northern Kingdom, warning them to return to God or else their nation will be destroyed. Joel, Jeremiah, and Zephaniah are doing the same thing in the Southern Kingdom, while Isaiah and Micah really get around, prophesying to both kingdoms.

²⁶The Eternal One observed Israel’s intense, bitter suffering whether they were free men or slaves. There was no one who came to the aid of Israel. ²⁷The Eternal had not said He would erase the reputation or remembrance of Israel from under heaven, so He rescued them through Jeroboam (Joash’s son).

²⁸Is not the rest of Jeroboam’s story—how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah in Israel^[b] through his military exploits—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings? ²⁹Jeroboam left this world to sleep with his fathers, including Israel’s kings. His son, Zechariah, then inherited the throne.