“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. 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.”
II Kings 14:13-14 NKJV
a. Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah: Because of his foolish attack against Israel, Amaziah lost his freedom and for a time became a prisoner of the king of Israel.
i. 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.(2 Chronicles 25:20)
ii. “His name means ‘strength of Jah’; but we read, ‘he strengthened himself’’ (2 Chronicles 25:11); his character of self-sufficiency thus belying his name – a thing not uncommon in our day.” (Knapp)
b. He went to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem: Because of his foolish attack against Israel, Amaziah saw the defenses of Jerusalem broken down. Not only did they lose the battle at Beth Shemesh, but they were also in a weaker position to face future attacks.
c. And he took all the gold and silver: Because of his foolish attack against Israel, Amaziah lost the treasure of the people of God. It wasn’t just a loss of his personalwealth (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.
i. This even extended to hostages who were taken from Jerusalem to Samaria. The decision to attack Israel was his alone, but the price paid for the foolish attack was paid by the whole kingdom of Judah. It is a sober warning to all leaders, to consider how their foolish decisions affect many other people.
ii. “The quarrel of Amaziah was certainly just, yet he was put to the rout; he did meddle to his hurt; he fell, and Judah fell with him, as Jehoash had said.” (Clarke) (Guzik)
Rebuke!
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.”
Revelation 3:19 NKJV
If we sense we are being disciplined we should pray and ask the Lord to reveal to us what we are doing that displeases Him.
I am reminded of what king David said: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah” Psalms 32:1-5 NKJV
Have you ever been rebuked by the Lord?
Blessings
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