So Close and Yet So Far

2 Chronicles 25:2: "He (King Amaziah of Judah) did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly."



King Amaziah began his reign over the nation of Judah at the age of 25, and he ruled over the people for 29 years. The Scripture records that the king was the kind of person that wanted to straddle the fence of obedience to the LORD. He had one foot on the side of loyalty to God and one foot on the side of his own selfish desires. Of course we know that one is not able to dwell successfully on both sides of the "fence." Ultimately, this duplicity will bring God's judgment.



One of the first things that the king failed to do was remove the high places of worship that had been constructed years before for the purpose of worshipping pagan idols. Because these pagan places were not removed, the people were lured into worshipping gods other than the One True Lord of Hosts. They continued to burn incense there, which was a ceremonious act of submission to those false gods.



God did give temporary victory to King Amaziah over the Edomites, with the hope that Amaziah would recognize the Lord's greatness and would serve Him wholly and exclusively; however, the king did exactly the opposite. After the victory in battle, King Amaziah brought back the gods of the defeated Edomites and set them up as his own gods, "bowing down to them and burning sacrifice to them" (2 Chronicles 25:14). The king had allowed the victory to become a stumbling block in that his pride swelled up within him. Amaziah came to believe that he was invincible and thus could do anything that his heart desired.



God in turn sent a prophet to condemn the king's behavior of rebellion against the Lord; of course, the king wanted to hear none of it. He warned the prophet that if he did not shut his mouth, he would be struck down. The prophet stopped, but not before one final word to the king: "God has determined to destroy you" (2 Chronicles 25:16).



Later in his continued boastful spirit, King Amaziah challenged King Jehoash of Israel to war. Jehoash sent communication to Amaziah to keep his army at home and not pick a fight against the northern tribes of Israel. Jehoash knew that Amaziah was too proud, and he warned the King of Judah that his pride would lead to his downfall if he continued this path of antagonism.



Of course, the brazenly proud Amaziah would not listen; he believed himself invincible against any other nation. The two armies met at a battlefield about 20 miles west of Jerusalem and Amaziah's warriors were defeated. As the army of Judah was scattering in defeat, King Amaziah was captured. Jehoash paraded the defeated king back to Jerusalem, where he forced him to watch the destruction of the wall of Jerusalem and the taking of the precious temple treasures of Judah by the victorious northern tribes of Israel.

King Amaziah had now lost all credibility with his own people. They conspired to murder the king, so he fled westward toward the Philistine territories in order to avoid capture. Amaziah made it as far as Lachish, about 30 miles southwest of Jerusalem, but the pursuers captured him there and executed him.

Proverbs 16:18 tells us that "pride goes before destruction, (and) a haughty spirit before a fall." King Amaziah had so much potential for the Lord, but his self-adulation brought about his belief that he was the center of the universe. Life existed for his own self-fulfillment, not for the purpose of glorifying the Lord through obedience.

We would do well to learn from the fateful end of King Amaziah, namely that when we attempt to exalt ourselves over everyone else (including God), we should not expect that God will provide blessing and protection. As the prophet told Amaziah, God will seek to humble us, if we think too highly of ourselves.