2nd Kings Chapter Fourteen

 2Ki 14:1  In the second year of Joash the son of Jehoahaz the king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash the king of Judah reigned. 

2Ki 14:2  He was a son of twenty five years when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 

2Ki 14:3  And he did the right in the eyes of Jehovah, but not like his father David; he did according to all that his father Joash did; 

2Ki 14:4  however, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and offered in the high places. 

2Ki 14:5  And it happened, when the kingdom was strong in his hand, he struck his servants, those who struck his father, the king. 

2Ki 14:6  But he did not cause to die the sons of those who struck him, as it is written in the book of the Law of Moses that Jehovah commanded, saying, The fathers are not to be caused to die for the sons, and the sons are not to be caused to die for the fathers, but each shall be caused to die for his own sin. 

2Ki 14:7  He struck Edom in the Valley of Salt, ten thousand, and captured the Rock by war, and called its name Joktheel to this day. 

2Ki 14:8  Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, the king of Israel, saying, Come, we shall look one another in the face. 

2Ki 14:9  And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah the king of Judah, saying, The thorn that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son as wife; and a beast of the field in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thorn. 

2Ki 14:10  You have certainly stricken Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Glory in it and stay in your house; and why should you stir yourself up to evil so that you may fall, you and Judah with you? 

2Ki 14:11  But Amaziah would not listen, and Jehoash the king of Israel went up; and they looked one another in the face, he and Amaziah the king of Judah, in Beth-shemesh of Judah. 

2Ki 14:12  And Judah was stricken before Israel, and they each fled to his tent. 

2Ki 14:13  And Jehoash the king of Israel caught Amaziah the king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, in Beth-shemesh. And they came in to Jerusalem, and he broke through the wall of Jerusalem at the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits. 

2Ki 14:14  And he took all the gold and the silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the king's house, and the sons of the hostages, and returned to Samaria. 

2Ki 14:15  And the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah the king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Israel? 

2Ki 14:16  And Jehoash lay with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. And his son Jeroboam reigned in his place. 

2Ki 14:17  And Amaziah the son of Joash the king of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz the king of Israel. 

2Ki 14:18  And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Judah? 

2Ki 14:19  And they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; and they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there. 

2Ki 14:20  And they lifted him up on the horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David. 

2Ki 14:21  And all the people of Judah took Azariah (and he was a son of sixteen years), and they made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 

2Ki 14:22  He built Elath and restored it to Judah after the king slept with his fathers. 

2Ki 14:23  In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash the king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Jehoash the king of Israel reigned in Samaria, forty one years. 

2Ki 14:24  And he did the evil in the eyes of Jehovah; he did not turn aside from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he caused Israel to sin. 

2Ki 14:25  He restored the border of Israel from the entering in of Hamath to the sea of the Arabah, according to the Word of Jehovah the God of Israel which He spoke by the hand of his servant Jonah the prophet, the son of Amittai of Gathhepher. 

2Ki 14:26  For Jehovah had seen the affliction of Israel to be very bitter; and none was bound, and none free, and there was no helper for Israel. 

2Ki 14:27  And Jehovah had not spoken that He would blot the name of Israel from under the heavens, but saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash. 

2Ki 14:28  And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, all that he did, and his might with which he fought, and with which he recovered Damascus and Hamath of Judah for Israel, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Israel? 

2Ki 14:29  And Jeroboam lay with his fathers, with the kings of Israel. And his son Zechariah reigned in his place. 

Verses 1-7 Summary: Amaziah becomes king in Judah after Joash. Once established, he kills the servants that killed his father. Amaziah strikes Edom. Amaziah is a good king, although he does not remove the high places.

Notes:
- Amaziah considers the Mosaical law when he dispatches his father's killers. Good.

  This act is encouraging in regards to the mindset of the king. 
- Why do we see this recurring theme of not removing the high places?
- Edom revolted under Jehoshaphat's son Joram/Jehoram in chapter eight. 

Verses 8-16 Summary: Amaziah declares war with Jehoash of Israel. Jehohash warns him, but Amaziah wars anyway and loses. Jehoash robs the temple. Jehoash passes and Jeroboam his son takes his place.

NOTE: We saw one generation before Jehoash of Israel, under Jehoahaz, a (nearly) complete dismantling of Israel's army, and yet Amaziah could not defeat them. 2nd Chronicles 17 cites upward of one million fighting men under Jehoshaphat. So here a few generations later, Judah lacks the wherewithal to claim a victory. So what happened? Why is God favoring Israel?

Verses 17-22 Summary: Amaziah of Judah dies and the people make Azariah king. Amaziah was hunted down and killed.

2nd Chronicles 25 (Additional facts about Amaziah): Amaziah lacked a perfect heart. Amaziah's army was 300,000 chosen plus 100,000 mercenaries of Israel (Ephriam). A holy man tells Amaziah not to use the Israelite forces. Amaziah sends back the Israelites and they are fuming over it. Amaziah conquers Edom in the Valley of Salt. The Ephraim troops run a *looting campaign, killing three thousand and taking much plunder. Amaziah takes the idols from Edom and worships them. God sends a prophet to speak against Amaziah. Amaziah challenges Israel and loses. Because of his idolatry, Amaziah is killed.

2. What Lesson can we learn from 2nd Chronicles 25:7-10? Amaziah is warned by the man of God NOT to ally with Israel. His first thought is "what about the money I've spent?" This is a revelation of heart. It also reveals that he did not inquire of God before this action. Jehoash recognizes Amaziah's overconfidence immediately. It may have been power that was Amaziah's undoing. In my mind, all kings are to be compared to David and how he responds to his acknowledgement of sin.
Christianity fixes this issue. 

3. How was Amaziah like his father? The lure of idolatry was just too great. The holy man said it best "Why have you sought the gods of the people that have not delivered their people out of your hand?" His father Joash did the same and worse by killing the son of Jehoiada, the very man that saved his life.

*NOTE: In 2nd Chronicles, the Ephraim army plundered cities of JUDAH from Samaria to Beth-horon. These noted cities are from Ephraim northward, none in what would be considered Judah. Jehoash of Israel breaks down the wall of Jerusalem at the gate of Ephraim (also known as the gate of Benjamin). This gate was the northern most entry to Jerusalem.

The action of sending back an army would deprive them of any spoils, which may have been part of the reason for their anger. The cities plundered were Judah's realm. How the cities from Samaria to Beth-horon figures into the story is up for interpretation. It may be that they were part of the war that was incited by Amaziah's overconfidence. 
The bottom line for me is that Jehoshaphat's million-man army has depleted over the years. Syria's depletion of Israel's forces was likely limited to the eastern sector tribes (east of the Jordan river). God is not happy with either side.
Even the good kings can't seem to maintain a good standing. What is God telling us?

Verses 23-29 Summary: Jeroboam succeeds Jehoash of Israel. He is an evil king. God takes pity on Israel and they take back some territory.

4. What do we know about the work of Jonah? Jonah was the reluctant prophet of God sent to Nineveh. He was to preach to them so they could repent. He tries to run away, was swallowed by a fish, then end up doing his duty. The city repents, and he is not happy about it.

5. What do we know about the Nation of Assyria and the city of Nineveh at this time? We know that Assyria is becoming more influential/powerful in the region. Eventually, Assyria conquers Israel. As was typical for the day, powerful nations had no qualms with using extreme violence to terrorize and/or overthrow neighboring nations. Assyria was right in the thick of it. Nineveh was a large idolatrous city. It took three days walk through it. Because of the Assyrians' violent nature and idolatry, Jonah would disobey God when told to go there to preach to them.