25:1
Amaziah reigned for twenty-nine years, from 796 to 767 BC. During this time, he shared the throne with his son Uzziah, starting in 792 BC.
Study notes
2 Chronicles 25
25:1–28:27 Section
Amaziah hired soldiers from the northern kingdom. Then a prophet told him not to use those soldiers. God wanted the kings to depend on him when they fought battles. Their success didn’t depend on the size of their army. Amaziah listened to the prophet and obeyed his message.
Later, God sent another prophet to Amaziah. That prophet spoke against Amaziah for worshipping false gods. Amaziah didn’t want that prophet’s advice. Instead, Amaziah listened to advisers that he chose. With them he made a foolish decision to attack the northern kingdom. God brought judgement against Amaziah by allowing the northern kingdom to win the battle.
Amaziah’s son Uzziah worshipped God and obeyed him faithfully. But then he became full of pride. He didn’t respect the differences between kings and priests. He tried to burn incense at the altar in the temple. Many years before, Korah and his followers had tried to offer incense to God (Numbers 16). God had made it very clear that only priests were to do that.
Uzziah’s son Jotham followed God with all his heart. But Jotham’s son Ahaz didn’t follow God. He wasn’t like David at all. He led the people to worship false gods and he sacrificed children to those gods. Ahaz didn’t turn away from his sin. He didn’t repent even when armies attacked the southern kingdom. Ahaz tried to get help from the king of Assyria instead of from God. Then Ahaz shut the doors of the temple. This means that he fully stopped the community’s practices for worshipping the true God.
25:2
but not wholeheartedly: See 2 Kings 14:3–4 for more details.
25:3–4
Amaziah executed the officials to avenge his father and fulfill the justice described in the Law.
25:5
Including Benjamin in this list of military officers shows that this tribe was part of the kingdom of Judah then.
25:6
Amaziah's army of 300,000 was smaller than Asa's 580,000 or Jehoshaphat's 1,160,000. This might explain why Amaziah wanted to hire more troops from Israel, the northern kingdom.
25:7–8
The phrase a man of God referred to a prophet (as in Deuteronomy 33:1; 1 Samuel 2:27; 9:6–10; 1 Kings 13:1–31).
The kingdom of Israel was politically foreign and spiritually unfaithful. Relying on Israel's troops for military strength would lead to spiritual compromise and God's opposition.
25:11
The Valley of Salt, located south of the Dead Sea, was a frequent battlefield. David also fought the Edomites there (2 Samuel 8:13; see Psalm 60).
Amaziah did not capture the port at Elath (2 Chronicles 26:2); his conquest was limited to northern Edom.
25:14–15
Conquerors sometimes worshiped the gods of a defeated nation, mistakenly thinking those gods helped them win. Amaziah shared this belief; he did not accept that the Lord is the only true God (see Isaiah 40:18–28; 42:8; Jeremiah 10:1–16).
25:20
Amaziah showed his pride by not seeking God. He overestimated his military strength after defeating Edom. His choice to fight Jehoash came from trusting other gods and ignoring God's judgment (see 2 Chronicles 18:9–34; 2 Thessalonians 2:11).
25:21
Beth-shemesh guarded the entrance to the Sorek Valley and Jerusalem's route to the coast. Jehoash might have wanted to block Jerusalem's trade or expand his own trade routes.
25:23
The Ephraim Gate was on the north side of the city, and the Corner Gate was on the west wall.
Verse notes: Adapted by Mission Mutual (Aquifer Open Study Notes) from Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. CC BY-SA 4.0. Section notes: Biblica Study Notes © 2023 Biblica, Inc. CC BY-SA 4.0, via BibleAquifer. About the sources