King Amaziah. The High Price of Not Remaining Faithful! Amaziah

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1 King Amaziah The High Price of Not Remaining Faithful! Amaziah Amaziah was the son of King Joash of Judah. Joash was the 7 th king of the nation of Judah and he obeyed God all the days that Jehoiada the priest lived. Jehoida and his wife had saved Joash from being murdered by his grandmother when he was less than a year old. The good influence of Jehoiada the priest and his wife was able to keep the Kingdom of Judah on the right track for several years. 1

2 The End of King Joash However after the death of Jehoiada the priest, Joash turned away from God and met a tragic end. 2Ch 24:17 Now after the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them. The End of King Joash 18 Therefore they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. 19 Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the LORD; and they testified against them, but they would not listen. 2

3 The End of King Joash 20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, "Thus says God: 'Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He also has forsaken you.'" 21 So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD. The End of King Joash 22 Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son; and as he died, he said, "The LORD look on it, and repay! Zechariah and Joash probably were raised together This would have been very similar to Joash killing his own brother. 3

4 The End of King Joash 23 So it happened in the spring of the year that the army of Syria came up against him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the leaders of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. The End of King Joash 24 For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men; but the LORD delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash. 4

5 The End of King Joash 25 And when they had withdrawn from him (for they left him severely wounded), his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died. And they buried him in the City of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings. The End of King Joash King Joash was like many of the other Kings to come before him. He started off well but when he was older he turned away from God. He failed to learn from the example of Kings like Saul and Solomon. Our lesson today is not about Joash but about his son Amaziah 5

6 Amaziah Amaziah became King after the death of his father. He was 25 years old. This meant he lived thru most of his fathers 40 year reign and had the opportunity to see his father s turn from God and the terrible results it produced. You would think this would have had a profound impact on the life of this young man and it may have for a while Amaziah Amaziah s reign was summed up in this way: 2Ch 25:2 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a loyal heart. He came up short of doing what God wanted him to do. Like a lot of people he obeyed God in most things. That simply is just not enough! 6

7 Amaziah decides to go into battle against Edom with the approval of God 2Ch 25:5 Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together and set over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, according to their fathers' houses, throughout all Judah and Benjamin; and he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found them to be three hundred thousand choice men, able to go to war, who could handle spear and shield. 6 He also hired one hundred thousand mighty men of valor from Israel for one hundred talents of silver. 7 But a man of God came to him, saying, "O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel-not with any of the children of Ephraim. 7

8 8 "But if you go, be gone! Be strong in battle! Even so, God shall make you fall before the enemy; for God has power to help and to overthrow." 9 Then Amaziah said to the man of God, "But what shall we do about the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?" And the man of God answered, "The LORD is able to give you much more than this." 2Ch 25:10 So Amaziah discharged the troops that had come to him from Ephraim, to go back home. Therefore their anger was greatly aroused against Judah, and they returned home in great anger. 11 Then Amaziah strengthened himself, and leading his people, he went to the Valley of Salt and killed ten thousand of the people of Seir. 8

9 12 Also the children of Judah took captive ten thousand alive, brought them to the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, so that they all were dashed in pieces. So far so Good. He is doing things the way God wants. He listens to God and sends the mercenaries home He goes into battle with 100,000 fewer men than he thought necessary and by the power of God wins a decisive victory. After God tells him thru the prophet that he will have a victory against Edom and then the prophecy is fulfilled look at what Amaziah does. 2Ch 25:14 Now it was so, after Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the people of Seir, set them up to be his gods, and bowed down before them and burned incense to them. 9

10 15 Therefore the anger of the LORD was aroused against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, "Why have you sought the gods of the people, which could not rescue their own people from your hand? This was a really dumb mistake on the part of Amaziah! These gods had proved themselves to be powerless by not protecting the Edomites who worshipped them. Why then do we think Amaziah would have worshipped them? From a purely logical standpoint, it made no sense There must have been something about the worship service that he liked. That sounds familiar doesn t it? 10

11 Surely Amaziah is going to be ok. He has listened to the prophet of God before. Lets read on. 2Ch 25:16 So it was, as he talked with him, that the king said to him, "Have we made you the king's counselor? Cease! Why should you be killed?" Then the prophet ceased, and said, "I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice." What a turn around. Before the victory over Edom he is willing to listen to the prophet afterward he is not. I believe it to be a combination of a couple of things He liked worshipping the idols. He enjoyed the worship service Pride, rather than giving God the credit for defeating Edom, I believe Amaziah felt he had something to do with it and this was even noticed by the King of Israel. 11

12 Not to long after this, because of his arrogance, Amaziah challenges Joash King of Israel to a battle. 2Ch 25:18 And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, "The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son as wife'; and a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle. 19 "Indeed you say that you have defeated the Edomites, and your heart is lifted up to boast. Stay at home now; why should you meddle with trouble, that you should fall-you and Judah with you? Joash tells Amaziah, compared to me you are like twig compared to a giant tree. You better let me alone before I step on you! 12

13 A pretty good sign that we are arrogant is when we don t listen to the good advice given to us by others. Amaziah didn t listen to the advice of the prophet or from Joash King of Israel 2Ch 25:22 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent. 23 Then Joash the king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth Shemesh; and he brought him to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate-four hundred cubits. 24 And he took all the gold and silver, all the articles that were found in the house of God with Obed-Edom, the treasures of the king's house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria. 13

14 25 Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, from first to last, indeed are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? 27 After the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there. What a sad end this is to a man who started off well. He just didn t learn the lesson from what happened to his father. 14

15 What Can We Learn From Amaziah? Ro 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. What can we learn from Amaziah? Remain faithful to God: Amaziah s straying from God was his downfall physically and spiritually Re 2:10... Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. What Can We Learn From Amaziah? Don t choose how we worship based on our likes and dislikes but solely on the word of God: We hear people all the time today trying to find a Church by seeing what they have to offer Entertaining worship services Youth groups Day care Cheap meals 15

16 What Can We Learn From Amaziah? Our choice of how to worship God cannot be based on such things. Mt 15:9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. The way we worship must be based on the authority of Christ found only in the scriptures What Can We Learn From Amaziah? Col 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Pride will lead to our destruction: God has never been pleased with a prideful, arrogant person Pr 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. 16

17 What Can We Learn From Amaziah? Jas 4:6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. Those who are proud are also included in the list of terrible sins in Roman chapter 1 Ro 1:29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, What Can We Learn From Amaziah? 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. 17

18 Conclusion There is one other lesson we can learn from Amaziah that may be as important as any other and that is to Learn from the mistakes of others. He should have learned from the examples of men like Joash, Solomon and Saul What about us? Are we going to learn from the examples of those who have come before us? 18