2 Chronicles 25: 17-28
Following his victory in fighting the Edomites, Amaziah's advisers encouraged him to send a challenge of combat to Joash, King of Israel. Joash warned him that he was getting proud because of his success with the Edomites and that he would be defeated, but Amaziah wouldn't listen.
They met in battle, Judah was defeated, and Joash took Amaziah back to Jerusalem, where the Israelites broke down approximately 183 metres of the city wall and took all the treasures and hostages.
Amaziah lived another 15 years after the death of Joash, but his subjects finally conspired against him. He fled to Lachish, but was caught and killed. He was then brought back and buried with his ancestors.
The words that caught my attention this morning are in verse 20, 'But Amaziah would not hear; for it came of God'.
On first glance this may seem harsh and we could become fatalistic in our thoughts, thinking that sometimes there is no point in trying if God has decreed otherwise, or even 'blame' God for Amaziah's refusal to listen to Joash and his subsequent defeat. These thoughts suggest that God is unkind or unfair, but the Bible tells us that God is love and bears long with our disobedience, loving to have mercy on us. What does this mean then?
If we return to the context, in the previous section Amaziah had been given an amazing victory against the Edomites, which was clearly from divine intervention and help, but Amaziah hadn't acknowledged this. Instead he had taken the very idols which the Edomites had worshipped and set them up as his own gods. When warned by God's prophet of the wrong he was doing, Amaziah had given a very proud answer and threatened to have him killed. He continues to act in pride as is then seen in the answer that Joash gives him when Amaziah challenges him to fight.
We see God's mercy to Amaziah in firstly sending him his prophet to warn him of the wrong he was doing, that he might repent and be forgiven. (Even Manasseh, a king who made Jerusalem's streets run with blood, when he repented God 'was intreated of him, and heard his supplication...and Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God', 2 Chronicles 33:13).
But Amaziah resisted this counsel and thus had to suffer the consequences - we reap what we sow. God is holy and cannot let sin pass without consequences otherwise he would just be turning a blind eye as if it doesn't matter. Even in this situation we see God's mercy in sparing Amaziah's life from Joash, although he suffered much as a result. Sadly, we do not read of him recognising his wrong and repenting.
We need an 'eye of awareness' to observe how the Lord is leading us and speaking to us through our circumstances. When things seem to be going wrong, it is a good moment to reflect and consider if we have left the Lord in some way, and if he is speaking to us to bring us back to him, acknowledging and repenting of our wrongs - secret or less so.
King David captures this in words which we can pray,
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