Another Fail



2 Kings 14:1-7
1 In the second year of Joash the son of Joahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, began to reign.
2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem.
3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not like David his father. He did in all things as Joash his father had done.
4 But the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places.
5 And as soon as the royal power was firmly in his hand, he struck down his servants who had struck down the king his father.
6But he did not put to death the children of the murderers, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, where the Lord commanded, “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. But each one shall die for his own sin.”
7 He struck down ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt and took Sela by storm, and called it Joktheel, which is its name to this day.

Yet another king ascends the throne in Judah. He isn’t all bad, but he doesn’t fully surrender himself and the kingdom in to God’s hands either. He’s one of those “half-way” guys we’ve already met – like his father. And we’ve already discussed God’s lack of appreciation for that particular spiritual choice. If you would like more detail about the reign of Amaziah, you can read 2 Chronicles 25:5-15. Here you will find that while he listened to God at the beginning, thus gaining some victory, he ultimately turns his back on God and His ways. In fact, after his defeat of the Edomites, he carries off their “gods” and sets them up as his own back in Jerusalem. Obviously this is not pleasing to God. Apparently, he did not learn from the failures of his forefathers.

Here we have another example of stubborn pride taking over and moving good spiritual habits aside. The results of this decision are bad and have lasting impact on everyone. Sometimes, it seems like the story is just too repetitive to be interesting to us. But I must confess my life often seems to circle that same repetitive drain as well. Reading these stories is a must, for they show me my own life.

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