DAY 187: 2 Kings 14; 2 Chronicles 25

Welcome to 5-Minute Bible, your daily guide for your daily reading. Today's July the 6th and we'll be looking at 2 Kings 14 and 2 Chronicles 25. Now yesterday we saw Joash of Judah beginning well. He repaired the temple and then tragically murdered the prophet Zechariah in that same sacred space.

Amaziah’s Half-Hearted Obedience and the Warning of Pride

Well today we move into the second generation, Amaziah, who's the son of Joash, now reigning in Judah. And his life continues basically along the same sobering pattern. He has a promising beginning, real moments of obedience, but then he's exposed with a heart full of pride.

Now at the same time, the northern kingdom of Israel continues its uneasy survival beneath the mercy and the judgment of God in spite of their grave and horrendous sins. These chapters also give us an important chronological marker because the prophet Jonah is mentioned during the reign of Jeroboam II.

Which matters because tomorrow we're going to step into the book of Jonah not as a random sort of interruption, but because the prophet falls within the reign of a king. So whenever we come to the reign of a particular king, we are going to also read the books of the prophets that serve during the exact same time.

So that you will get a totally chronological view of when the prophets served, under what king they served, and that's sort of the way that we're going to move going forward. Because now we're going to be having prophets interspersed with particular kings.

Now with that, today we're going to look at Amaziah, who becomes king of Judah and he receives a very qualified commendation. He does what's right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like David, his father.

And 2 Chronicles even adds that he does it not with a whole heart, which is a phrase that explains this entire episode. Now at first, Amaziah begins with some genuine obedience. He punishes the servants who murdered his father, but he does not execute their children obeying the law of Moses.

And then he prepares for war against Edom and he hires soldiers from the northern tribes of Israel. And a prophet warns him not to take the northern mercenaries because the Lord is not with them. The Lord has even abandoned Israel.

But Amaziah listens and he sends them away and trusts the Lord despite the financial loss that this caused, which is obviously obedience. And then God gives him victory. But then the story turns sharply because after defeating Edom, Amaziah brings back the gods of the very people he just conquered and then he worships them.

A prophet confronts him with the obvious madness of the sin. Why worship gods who couldn't save the people that you just conquered? But instead of repenting, Amaziah threatens the prophet. And after this, Amaziah grows proud and challenges Jehoash, also called Joash, king of Israel.

And Jehoash warns him with a parable about a thistle challenging a cedar tree. But Amaziah refuses to listen and Judah is defeated. Jerusalem's wall is broken. The temple and the palace treasuries are plundered and Amaziah's reign ends in conspiracy and death.

Now, meanwhile, in Second Kings 14, it tells us that Jeroboam II, the king of Israel, was expanding Israel's borders according to the word of the Lord that was spoken through Jonah. And this places Jonah within the same historical setting of Israel's temporary resurgence under King Jeroboam II.

The Danger of Partial Obedience

Now, as you read today, I want you to ask the following question. What happens when obedience is real, but it's actually not wholehearted? Amaziah shows us that partial obedience may produce real reform and all sorts of blessings for a season.

But a divided heart will eventually turn victory into pride and pride will turn into danger. The central tension in that way is between outward obedience and a wholehearted faithfulness. At first, Amaziah looks promising.

He obeys God's law regarding justice. He listens to the prophet about Israelite soldiers. He accepts even the loss of money rather than keep in an army that God had forbidden. And in those moments, his obedience is visible.

It's costly and it's even real. But then after his victory, his heart was exposed. And this is where the personal application becomes really sharp for us because sometimes defeat humbles us, but sometimes victory exposes us.

Amaziah could trust God when he needed help, but once he won, pride began to grow in his heart. And even worse, he brought home the gods of Edom like trophies and then bowed down to them, which is insane.

This is spiritual insanity. But it's also painfully familiar because we often despise sins when it hurts us and then admire it when it appears useful, beautiful, impressive, or powerful. We defeat something outwardly, but then we secretly make room for it inside of our hearts.

In the same way, Amaziah's refusal to receive correction shows just how far his heart had drifted earlier when he listened to the prophet, but now later he's threatening one. The difference is not that God stopped speaking to Amaziah.

The difference is that Amaziah stopped listening. So the warning is very clear. Do not measure faithfulness merely by strong beginnings or public victories or even occasional obedience. Ask whether your heart is becoming softer or harder towards the word of the Lord and you'll know what direction you're heading.

Mercy for Israel and the Promise of Jonah

Now, at the same time, Jeroboam II's expansion reminds us that God's mercy can appear even in a compromised era. Israel is not righteous, yet the Lord sees their affliction and he grants relief based on the promises that he made to Abraham.

And that mercy sets the stage for the prophet Jonah, where the prophet who announced mercy for Israel will be sent to announce mercy to Israel's enemies. And we will see more about how that happens tomorrow.

But we also see today that Amaziah shows us that there is a great need in Judah for a better king. Sure, he does what's right, but not with a whole heart, which sets the stage for Christ, who obeys his father perfectly, entirely and without division.

Amaziah wins a battle and becomes proud, but Christ receives all authority in heaven and on earth and yet remains meek and lowly in heart. Amaziah brings defeated idols into Judah, whereas Christ conquers the idols and cast them down.

Amaziah threatens the prophet who confronts him, and yet Christ is the true prophet who receives the threats and rejections and even death from the very people he came to save. The mention of even a Jonah also points us forward because under Jeroboam II, God shows mercy to undeserving Israel by restoring territory through Jonah's prophetic word.

And tomorrow that same prophet is going to be sent to Nineveh, Israel's enemy, and we will see God's mercy is far wider and greater and deeper than Jonah could ever imagine. And that also prepares us for Christ, who is greater than Jonah.

Jonah will go reluctantly to his enemies, but Christ will come willingly to save those who hate him. Jonah will be delivered from the belly of a fish after three days, but Christ will rise from the heart of the earth after three days, securing mercy not only for Israel, but for all the nations.

So as you read 2 Kings 14 today and 2 Chronicles 25, I want you to notice how dangerous partial obedience becomes when the heart is divided. Amaziah wins a battle, but he loses wisdom. Israel receives mercy through Jonah's prophetic word, but tomorrow we will meet that prophet directly and discover that he struggles to rejoice when God's mercy reaches people that he actually despises.

But with that, read your Bible carefully, devotionally, and joyfully, and may the Lord use his word to sanctify you completely, and we will continue our journey tomorrow. God bless you.