Today in God's Word—March 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
March 7, 2 Chronicles 25
And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart. - 2 Chronicles 25:2
It is no compliment to speak of someone's effort or dedication and say that the person was "halfhearted" about their work or attitude. People frequently ask me for recommendation letters, and I am happy to help when I can. I especially like it when the person who requested the letter is trustworthy, reliable and stable. I do not think any prospective employer or scholarship committee would be impressed with the applicant if I told them that they were halfhearted about their tasks. I doubt the friend or church member who asked for the letter would be very happy with me if I said they were halfhearted in my description and evaluation.
That's how the comment about Amaziah from the text sounds, too. God repeatedly calls for wholehearted love, wholehearted trust and wholehearted service. Amaziah was not effective as the king of Judah, nor did he please the LORD when he failed to serve God and walk in the Lord's way with his whole heart.
The author of Chronicles does mention some things that King Amaziah did that were right. For instance, he followed God's commands and did not kill the children of a law-breaker who was being put to death. He also recorded a time when Amaziah made a mistake by hiring 100,000 soldiers from Israel to go out with him and the army of Judah to fight against Edom. A man of God (a prophet) confronted the king about the soldiers and told him not to take the soldiers from Israel. He said God was not with Israel because of their apostasy and idolatry. Amaziah was worried about losing the money he'd already paid for the hired soldiers, but the prophet assured him that the LORD was able to give him much more than that. Amaziah and the army of Judah won a decisive victory against the men of Seir. God blessed Judah and their
king when they listened to the word of God and obeyed.
But the Chronicler also recorded some examples of Amaziah's disobedience when his heart was not devoted to God. What was the king thinking when he brought back the idols from Edom, set them up and worshiped them with offerings? God was angry and sent a prophet to ask the obvious question: "Why have you sought the gods of a people who did not deliver their own people from your hand?" But this time, Amaziah did not listen. He asked the prophet if he was now a royal counselor. The prophet stopped, but not without warning Amaziah that God was going to destroy him because he wouldn't listen and obey.
Emboldened by the victory over the men of Seir, Amaziah issued a challenge to Joash king of Israel to come out to fight with Judah. Joash replied with a parable that sounded a lot like the one Jotham told the people of Israel about Abimelech back in Judges. He advised the challenger to stay home. But Amaziah insisted, and Israel and Judah fought again. Judah suffered a costly and humiliating defeat. Joash came to Jerusalem, tore down about 200 yards of the wall around the city, stole all the valuables out of the temple and the palace, and left the humbled and humiliated Amaziah on his throne. The people of Judah were fed up with Amaziah's foolish disobedience. A group of conspirators followed the king to Lachish and put him to death there. They did bring his body back to Jerusalem and give him a proper burial among the kings of Judah.
When Amaziah refused to listen and obey the LORD, it set an example for the whole nation to become like him. The prophets God sent prophets to plead with the nation, but they would not listen. Instead they persisted in their rebellion and disobedience. Their stubbornness brought about their ruin.
There's a powerful lesson for us in this ancient story. The culture around us is one of relativism.
People feel free to accept or reject the truth when they hear it. But we need to remember that God's word is not like a fellow human being's opinion or judgment about a matter. We imperil our own souls when we ignore warnings and refuse God's guidance for our lives.
When the prophet of God forbade Judah to partner with Israel's troops to go to war, that warning should remind us to be separated from (not associated with) unbelievers and wicked people. Let's also remember that listening to God and doing what he says always brought his people victory. The same will be true of us in our lives today. Conversely, when they stopped up their ears and insisted on doing what they pleased, they lost battles they could have and should have won.
Let's ask ourselves, “Am I a good listener when it comes to hearing God's word? Do I hear and do what God says? Or do I prefer to do as I please?" Those questions will help us purge the stubbornness that divides our hearts’ allegiance to the Lord. They will keep us from suffering defeat and ruin like Amaziah and Judah when they got those questions wrong.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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