2 Kings Chapter 14
The Reigns of Amaziah and Jeroboam II
A. The reign of Amaziah over Judah
1. A summary of his reign
(2 Kings 14:1-4)
“In the second year of Joash the son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah became king. He was twenty five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like his father David. He did everything as his father Joash had done. However the high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.”
a. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord
Amaziah’s reign began with spiritual stability and outward obedience. As the son of Joash, who had been raised under the godly influence of Jehoiada the priest, he inherited a kingdom where the worship of the Lord still maintained prominence. Amaziah continued that direction and upheld the basic structure of covenant faithfulness. His life shows that being raised under godly leadership leaves a lasting imprint, even in a nation often marked by inconsistency.
Knapp observes that Amaziah’s beginning was strong and commendable. He aligned himself with the law of God, honored the established worship in Jerusalem, and sought to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Like many kings before him, however, his obedience in the early years would not guarantee faithfulness in his later ones. The text emphasizes his good beginning, hinting at the tragedy that his life will not finish with the same devotion.
b. Yet not like his father David; he did everything as his father Joash had done
Amaziah’s goodness had limits. The inspired text draws a contrast between Amaziah and the gold standard of Judah’s kings, David. David’s devotion was wholehearted. David’s heart was undivided. David did not tolerate syncretism, divided worship, or the remnants of pagan practice. Amaziah, however, followed in the example of his own father Joash, who served God faithfully only as long as he was under Jehoiada’s influence.
This means that Amaziah’s obedience was incomplete. He followed a pattern of partial reform. He swept some corruption aside, maintained the temple, and honored the Lord publicly, yet he left untouched the longstanding problem of the high places.
Morgan rightly notes that Scripture repeats a familiar theme in Judah’s history. Generation after generation, kings showed partial loyalty to God. They did good, but not all the good they should have done. They feared the Lord, but not with a whole heart. They allowed compromise to stand. They refused to tear down the popular yet forbidden high places, locations where the people attempted to worship the Lord in ways He did not command.
c. However the high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places
This omission highlights the difference between obedience and complete obedience. Amaziah did not lead Israel into paganism, yet he tolerated an established system of unsanctioned worship. The high places represented a persistent area of spiritual compromise in Judah. Though the people claimed to honor the Lord there, it was disobedience nonetheless. God commanded worship in Jerusalem at the temple, not on hills and private altars.
Amaziah was a capable ruler, moral in many respects, but unwilling to confront entrenched traditions that the people loved. The pressure of public opinion often prevents rulers from pursuing full obedience. The high places had existed for generations, and kings who lacked David’s courage left them standing.
Amaziah’s failure here foreshadows greater weakness later. Partial obedience in small matters often blossoms into sin and compromise in larger ones. The pattern of performing what is right in the sight of the Lord while still preserving areas of resistance would define the trajectory of his kingship.
2. An example of Amaziah’s obedience
(2 Kings 14:5-6)
“Now it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, that he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king. But the children of the murderers he did not execute, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, in which the Lord commanded, saying, Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers, but a person shall be put to death for his own sin.”
a. He executed his servants who had murdered his father the king
As soon as Amaziah had secured the throne, he acted decisively and righteously. Joash, his father, had been assassinated by his own servants after turning away from the Lord late in his reign. Amaziah eliminated these conspirators, an action that upheld justice and simultaneously protected his own throne. Anyone willing to murder a king would be dangerous to the next monarch as well, so Amaziah’s actions stabilized the kingdom and upheld biblical justice.
Genesis 9:5-6 reveals God’s foundational principle concerning murder: the one who sheds human blood must receive justice from the hand of man. Amaziah aligned his policies with God's moral order rather than political convenience or personal vengeance. His justice was firm, lawful, and consistent with the command God established long before Israel existed as a nation.
b. But the children of the murderers he did not execute
This is where Amaziah demonstrates remarkable biblical obedience. In the ancient Near East, kings commonly executed entire families of conspirators to prevent revenge. Such collective punishment was normal, expected, and widely praised among pagan nations. Amaziah deliberately rejected that expectation and followed the Law of Moses.
Deuteronomy 24:16 commanded, “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers, but every man shall be put to death for his own sin.” Amaziah obeyed this law at personal risk. Poole notes rightly that sparing the children was dangerous, because those spared children often grow into men who seek vengeance. Yet Amaziah feared God more than political fallout.
This act also demonstrates the dignity and righteousness of God’s law. Pagan nations bound children to their fathers' guilt, but the Lord insisted on personal responsibility, justice, and moral clarity. By following God rather than pagan custom, Amaziah showed both courage and faith.
3. His victory over the Edomites
(2 Kings 14:7)
“He killed ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and took Sela by war, and called its name Joktheel to this day.”
a. He killed ten thousand Edomites
The Valley of Salt had long been a battleground between Judah and Edom (cf. 2 Samuel 8:13; 1 Chronicles 18:12). Amaziah won a decisive victory here, displaying strategic skill and military strength. This was not a minor border skirmish but a crushing defeat of a persistent enemy. It showcased God’s blessing upon Amaziah’s obedience and highlighted Judah’s dominance over Edom at this moment in history.
b. And took Sela by war
“Sela” means “rock,” and many scholars believe it refers to the ancient fortress-city later known as Petra, carved into the sandstone cliffs of Edom. Whether Petra or another fortified site, capturing Sela was a significant military accomplishment. Its defensive strength was legendary, and taking it demonstrated Amaziah’s tactical competence.
Amaziah renamed the city Joktheel, meaning “subdued by God,” a title that acknowledged divine help in the victory.
The parallel account in 2 Chronicles 25:5-16 adds critical detail about this episode:
Amaziah mustered 300,000 soldiers from Judah.
He hired 100,000 mercenaries from the Northern Kingdom of Israel for additional strength.
A man of God warned Amaziah not to rely on Israel, because God was not with that apostate kingdom.
Amaziah obeyed, dismissed the mercenaries, and accepted the financial loss—an act of genuine faith.
God rewarded this step of faith with a decisive victory over Edom.
This illustrates a profound spiritual truth: genuine trust in God precedes genuine victory from God.
c. Amaziah’s tragic inconsistency
The same chapter in Chronicles records a dramatic reversal:
“After Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, he brought the gods of the people of Seir, set them up to be his gods, bowed down before them, and burned incense to them.” (2 Chronicles 25:14)
This is the bizarre irrationality of idolatry. After seeing the Lord grant victory over Edom, Amaziah embraced the defeated gods of the defeated people. Victory did not draw him closer to God; instead, it exposed the instability and incompleteness of his faith. Amaziah’s early obedience (executing the assassins according to the Law) stands in sharp contrast to the foolishness that swiftly follows.
He trusted God for the battle, but not for his life. He obeyed God in one area, but not in another. The divided heart that tolerated the high places eventually yielded to full rebellion.
Amaziah illustrates the danger of momentary faith rather than sustained faithfulness. His story warns that one act of bold obedience does not guarantee a lifetime of devotion unless a person continually submits to the Lord.
4. His defeat at the hands of Jehoash of Israel
(2 Kings 14:8–12)
“Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us face one another in battle. And Jehoash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son as wife, and a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle. You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Glory in that, and stay at home, for why should you meddle with trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you? But Amaziah would not heed. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went out, so he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah. And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent.”
a. “Come, let us face one another in battle.”
Puffed up by his victory over Edom, Amaziah challenged Jehoash of Israel to open war. This was not a defensive decision. It was a proud, aggressive act, fueled by wounded pride and a false sense of military confidence.
i. 2 Chronicles 25:13 explains his political motivation.
When Amaziah dismissed the 100,000 mercenaries from Israel in obedience to God, those mercenaries retaliated violently. As they returned home, they:
raided Judah’s towns,
killed 3,000 people,
took significant spoil.
This enraged Amaziah. Instead of seeking God for direction, he sought revenge.
ii. Amaziah believed the odds were in his favor.
He had:
a 300,000-man army,
a fresh victory over Edom where 20,000 were slain,
and reason to believe Israel was militarily weak.
According to 2 Kings 13:7, Jehoahaz (Jehoash’s father) had been reduced to:
50 horsemen,
10 chariots,
10,000 infantry.
Amaziah looked at numbers, not at the spiritual state of his people. He forgot that Judah had already drifted into idolatry after the Edomite victory (2 Chronicles 25:14), and victory never belongs to numbers, but to the Lord.
b. “The thistle that was in Lebanon.”
Jehoash replied with a parable—a brilliant, diplomatic rebuke.
i. The parable’s meaning
The thistle = Amaziah
The cedar = Jehoash
The marriage proposal = Amaziah pretending to be an equal
The wild beast = the coming destruction
The trampling = Israel’s easy defeat of Judah
Dilday explains the imagery: the thistle imagines itself equal to the cedar, but a passing animal easily crushes it. The cedar remains unmoved.
Jehoash was warning Amaziah:
“You are overestimating yourself because of one victory. Go home before you get crushed.”
ii. It was godly counsel from an ungodly king
Jehoash was no righteous man, yet what he said was true. Even wicked men sometimes speak wisdom. Amaziah should have listened.
c. “Why should you meddle with trouble so that you fall?”
Jehoash warned Amaziah plainly:
Stay home
Enjoy your win over Edom
Do not pick a fight with Israel
You will drag your entire kingdom down with you
Amaziah ignored the warning. His pride had blinded him.
i. He did not consider the consequences
Amaziah failed to think through:
the military reality,
Judah’s spiritual condition,
the cost to his people,
the foolishness of revenge,
the fact that God was not with him.
2 Chronicles 25:15 states clearly that God’s anger burned against Amaziah because he had embraced the gods of Edom.
So God used Jehoash of Israel to bring judgment.
ii. “But Amaziah would not heed.”
This is the core tragedy of Amaziah’s life:
He listened to God when it came to executing assassins.
He listened when told not to use Israel’s mercenaries.
But he refused to listen when rebuked for idolatry.
And now he refused to listen to a wise warning from his northern neighbor.
Amaziah shifted from obedience to stubbornness, from faith to presumption, from humility to self-confidence. That shift determined the course of the rest of his reign.
d. The battle at Beth Shemesh
Jehoash marched south. The two kings met at Beth Shemesh, deep within Judah’s own land. Yet Judah collapsed.
i. “Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent.”
In ancient wording, this means total rout.
The same 300,000 soldiers who had crushed Edom now ran for their lives.
No divine help
No prophetic blessing
No spiritual strength
No godly leadership
Only pride and presumption
Amaziah’s arrogance destroyed his army, humiliated his throne, and weakened Judah for decades.
This battle stands as a solemn warning:
Pride after victory is more dangerous than the battle itself.
5. The result of Amaziah’s foolish war against Israel
(2 Kings 14:13–14)
“Then Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh, and he went to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits. And he took all the gold and silver, all the articles that were found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.”
a. Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah
Because of his proud and unnecessary provocation, Amaziah suffered personal humiliation. He was defeated and captured by a king who—by all outward evaluations—should have been weaker. His captivity was a direct judgment from God.
i. God Himself handed Judah over.
2 Chronicles 25:20 makes the divine cause explicit:
“It came from God, that He might give them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought the gods of Edom.”
This defeat was not merely military miscalculation. It was divine discipline for idolatry.
ii. Amaziah’s name and behavior stood in contradiction.
Knapp notes that the name “Amaziah” means “strength of Yahweh.”
Yet 2 Chronicles 25:11 says, “he strengthened himself,” not God.
His name proclaimed dependence on the Lord, but his life was marked by proud self-reliance.
This spiritual contradiction explains why he fell so easily: when a man leans on himself, he collapses under the slightest pressure.
b. “He went to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem”
Jehoash took his victory further. He dismantled a massive section of Jerusalem’s defensive wall—from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate—totaling roughly 600 feet (four hundred cubits).
This weakened Judah’s national security and humiliated their king before the watching nations.
The one responsible for provoking the war—Amaziah—was still alive to watch his kingdom’s defenses fall.
c. “And he took all the gold and silver”
This battle produced catastrophic economic loss. The plunder included:
the treasures of the king,
the treasures of the temple,
the articles dedicated to the worship of God,
and hostages taken to Samaria.
Amaziah’s private pride resulted in public devastation.
i. His foolishness cost the nation dearly.
Judah lost the wealth of God’s temple, not just the king’s wealth.
Families in Jerusalem lost their sons as hostages.
National morale plunged.
Jerusalem remained vulnerable for years.
Clarke rightly observes:
“The quarrel of Amaziah was certainly just, yet he was put to the rout… he did meddle to his hurt, he fell, and Judah fell with him.”
Leadership never sins alone. A king’s personal arrogance becomes national suffering.
6. Amaziah is rejected as king for his son
(2 Kings 14:15–22)
“Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Jehoash rested with his fathers… Amaziah… lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash… And they formed a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him… and killed him there. And all the people of Judah took Azariah… and made him king… He built Elath and restored it to Judah.”
a. “They formed a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem.”
Amaziah’s reign never recovered from his disastrous war. His humiliating defeat destroyed his credibility.
Trapp notes that though he lived fifteen years after Jehoash’s death,
“It was a kind of lifeless life… he lay all the while under the hatred and contempt of his subjects.”
Once a king loses moral authority and the respect of his people, only a matter of time remains.
b. “He fled to Lachish… and they killed him there.”
Amaziah attempted to escape the conspiracy by running to Lachish, a fortified and influential city in Judah.
i. Lachish was spiritually compromised.
Knapp observes that Lachish had been the first city to adopt Israel’s idolatry according to Micah 1:13.
It is likely that Amaziah sought refuge there because idolatrous men seek comfort among idolaters.
ii. His death paralleled his father’s.
Both he and his father Joash were assassinated after their spiritual decline.
Both died away from honor.
Both died because of their own disobedience.
iii. Dilday suggests a chilling possibility.
Some believe the men who killed Amaziah may have been the surviving sons of those whom Amaziah executed earlier (2 Kings 14:5).
If so, the mercy Amaziah showed in sparing their children eventually returned as violence upon him.
c. “All the people of Judah took Azariah… and made him king.”
Amaziah did not leave the throne by abdication. He was removed by judgment.
Yet the people of Judah—likely weary of instability—quickly placed his sixteen-year-old son Azariah (Uzziah) on the throne.
i. This began one of Judah’s greatest reigns.
Azariah/Uzziah became:
a strong military leader,
a builder of cities and fortifications,
a reformer of Judah’s economy,
and the most successful king since David,
until pride led to his leprosy.
ii. Israel had likely detained Amaziah earlier.
Wiseman notes that the coronation of Azariah may reflect a moment when the people made him coregent while Amaziah was still imprisoned after the Beth Shemesh defeat.
Either way, the kingdom wanted stability—and Amaziah no longer offered it.
B. The Reign of Jeroboam II in Israel
1. (2 Kings 14:23–27) A summary of his reign and God’s assistance to Jeroboam
“In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, became king in Samaria, and reigned forty-one years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. He restored the territory of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which He had spoken through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath Hepher. For the LORD saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, and whether bond or free, there was no helper for Israel. And the LORD did not say that He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, but He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.”
a. “He did evil in the sight of the LORD.”
Jeroboam II—despite his long reign and outward success—continued in the same spiritual corruption that had plagued the Northern Kingdom since the first Jeroboam (Jeroboam the son of Nebat). He maintained the counterfeit worship system which used the golden calves at Bethel and Dan, a system deliberately created to keep Israel from going to Jerusalem.
Jeroboam II’s reign was a testimony to the fact that political strength and spiritual weakness can exist side by side. God blessed his kingdom materially, even though the king and the people remained deeply idolatrous.
i. God raised up prophets during his long reign.
During Jeroboam II’s forty-one years, prophets such as Jonah and Amos ministered.
Jonah proclaimed deliverance and expansion.
Amos warned of coming judgment.
Even in times of national prosperity, God always sends His word.
b. “He restored the territory of Israel… for the LORD saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter.”
Despite Jeroboam II’s wickedness, God had compassion on Israel. Their suffering under Syrian domination had become severe. The text emphasizes God’s grace, not Israel’s merit.
Israel was spiritually rebellious, politically corrupt, and socially unjust (as Amos repeatedly rebukes). Yet God delayed judgment because:
He saw their suffering.
He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (2 Kings 13:23).
He determined to preserve Israel for His purposes.
i. Morgan notes the wonder behind God’s patience.
“It seems to suggest amazement in his mind as he contemplated the patience of Jehovah with the sinning nation.”
God’s mercy toward Jeroboam II’s Israel demonstrates His astonishing willingness to help—even when His people do not deserve it.
c. “According to the word of the LORD… spoken through His servant Jonah.”
This brief reference is remarkable. It likely refers to the same Jonah who traveled to Nineveh. Before being called to preach repentance to Gentiles, Jonah ministered within Israel, proclaiming restoration and expansion under Jeroboam II.
i. Clarke notes God’s encouragement
“God sent them Jonah to encourage them, and to assure them of better days.”
God offered Israel political expansion, even though they were spiritually compromised. This was an act of pure mercy.
2. (2 Kings 14:28–29) Summary of the reign of Jeroboam II
“Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, his might, how he made war, and how he recaptured for Israel, from Damascus and Hamath, what had belonged to Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Jeroboam rested with his fathers, the kings of Israel. Then Zechariah his son reigned in his place.”
a. “His might… how he recaptured for Israel… what had belonged to Judah.”
Jeroboam II ruled during one of Israel’s most prosperous periods. Military strength increased, borders expanded, and wealth flowed. Yet this prosperity was not earned. It was given.
i. Archaeology strongly supports the biblical account.
Archaeologists note that in the eighth century B.C., cities such as Tirzah show two contrasting housing districts:
Large, wealthy estates with luxurious items.
Extremely cramped, impoverished dwellings, smaller than those of earlier generations.
This confirmed:
massive economic disparity,
the rise of an oppressive wealthy elite,
decline in social righteousness,
exactly as Amos condemned (Amos 2:6–7; 8:4–6).
ii. The prophets condemned the nation’s moral condition.
Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah all denounced the moral rot beneath Israel’s prosperity. They warned that judgment was approaching swiftly.
iii. Jeroboam II was likely the unnamed “deliverer” of 2 Kings 13:5.
God had promised to raise a deliverer to rescue Israel from Syrian oppression. Jeroboam II appears to be the fulfillment of that promise.
God often uses flawed men for His purposes, demonstrating that His faithfulness is greater than human sinfulness.
b. “From Damascus and Hamath.”
Syria, Israel’s longtime enemy, was suddenly neutralized—not because Israel grew strong, but because God used the rising power of Assyria to crush Syrian influence.
This allowed Israel to expand and prosper under Jeroboam II, but the prosperity quickly fed pride, injustice, idolatry, and complacency.
i. Amos reveals Israel’s moral response to prosperity: wickedness.
The nation:
exploited the poor,
sold the righteous for silver,
trampled the needy,
lived in comfortable self-security,
and worshiped idols eagerly.
ii. Hosea and Amos ministered during Jeroboam’s reign.
Their writings make clear that although the nation thrived politically, it was rotting spiritually.
“Though there was political revival… there was no real moral or spiritual awakening.” (Knapp)
iii. Patterson and Austel underscore the instability ahead.
When Jeroboam II died in 752 B.C., he left behind a prosperous kingdom that was spiritually hollow. Within decades, Israel collapsed under Assyrian conquest.
c. “Then Zechariah his son reigned in his place.”
Zechariah—the fourth generation of the Jehu dynasty—fulfilled God’s promise to Jehu in 2 Kings 10:30. God said the dynasty would last to the fourth generation, and Zechariah was that fourth.
i. Knapp highlights a divine pattern.
“When judgment is near, testimony is multiplied.”
Indeed, during Jeroboam II’s final years:
Amos thundered warnings,
Hosea exposed Israel’s unfaithfulness,
Jonah’s earlier ministry had encouraged them,
and other prophets preached repentance.
Israel enjoyed more prophetic light than at almost any other time in its history—right before its downfall. Spiritual warning always increases before divine judgment.
