2 Kings 14
Two kingdoms dominate this chapter: Judah under Amaziah, and Israel under Jeroboam II. Amaziah begins with promise - he does right in the sight of the Lord. Yet one victory over Edom lifts his heart with pride, leading him to challenge a far stronger king. The parable Jehoash speaks - the thistle and the cedar - carries a wisdom Amaziah refuses to hear. His defeat is swift and humiliating.
Yet the chapter does not end in darkness. Jeroboam II, though he does evil and departs not from the sins of his grandfather, reigns over a kingdom that experiences remarkable expansion. The Lord saw Israel's affliction and saved them. This is the Northern Kingdom's final flourishing before the prophets Amos and Hosea call them to repentance - and before Assyria carries them away. Here we see both a king humbled by pride, and a nation saved by the God whose mercy reaches even those who will not turn.
Tap any highlighted phrase to jump to the commentary that unpacks it.
2 Kings 14:1-7Amaziah Reigns with Partial Faithfulness
1In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah. 2He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. 3And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his father did. 4Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places.
Amaziah does right in the sight of the Lord, but the refrain echoes through Kings: "yet not like David." He is a man of mixed allegiance. He follows the pattern of his father Joash - good, but incomplete. The high places remain. He reigns twenty-nine years, longer than many, yet his legacy will be marked not by completion but by pride.123
5And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, that he slew his servants which had slain the king his father. 6But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, Wherein the Lord commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
Amaziah's father Joash was killed by servants (2 Kings 12:20-21). When Amaziah's kingdom is secure, he executes the murderers. This is justice - a king must answer for those who killed his predecessor. But notice what he does not do.
This is one of the most beautiful citations in Scripture. Amaziah does not slay the children of the murderers, but instead appeals to the law of Moses - Deuteronomy 24:16. It is a theology of personal responsibility: every soul bears its own sin. The children are not guilty of their fathers' crime. Amaziah recognizes this boundary. In a world where blood feuds and generational vengeance were common, he chooses the way of justice, not revenge.
2 Kings 14:7Victory Over Edom; Pride Takes Root
7He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day.
Amaziah defeats Edom decisively - ten thousand in the valley of salt. He captures Selah (the great rock fortress), renames it Joktheel, and the name sticks for generations. It is a real victory, a genuine military achievement. But victories, especially when the heart is not fully turned toward the Lord, often sow the seeds of ruin.
2 Kings 14:8-10Amaziah's Challenge; Jehoash's Parable
8Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face.
Amaziah sends messengers with a provocative message: let us look one another in the face. This is not a diplomatic greeting. This is a challenge. He has defeated Edom; now, flush with victory, he wants to test his strength against a king of Israel. The pride that lifted his heart after Edom has found its target.
9And Jehoash the 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 thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee up: glory of this, and tarry at home: for why shouldest thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?
Jehoash responds not with rage, but with a parable. The thistle, proud and small, sends to the cedar, mighty and towering. The thistle asks for a marriage alliance - a union of equals. But then a wild beast passes by and tramples the thistle. The parable says: you are small; you are great in your own estimation, but in truth you are nothing. Your heart has lifted you up because of Edom, but why should you meddle to your own hurt? Why should both you and Judah fall? It is a wisdom offered freely, a last chance to hear reason. Amaziah will refuse.
2 Kings 14:11-14Judah Defeated; Jerusalem's Walls Broken
11But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth-shemesh, which belongeth to Judah. 12And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to their tents.
They meet at Beth-shemesh, a city belonging to Judah. Amaziah insisted on the meeting; Jehoash granted it. But the outcome is swift and terrible. Judah is put to the worse - a phrase that means utter defeat. The armies flee. Amaziah's presumption has cost him a kingdom's worth of warriors.
13And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits. 14And he took all the gold and the silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.
The humiliation is complete. Jehoash captures Amaziah himself. He marches on Jerusalem. He breaks down four hundred cubits of the city's wall - not all of it, but enough to make Jerusalem defenseless. He takes the gold and silver from the house of the Lord, the treasures of the king's house. He takes hostages. The temple is plundered. The city is opened. And then he returns to Samaria, his message clear: do not challenge Israel.
2 Kings 14:15-20Amaziah's Decline; Conspiracy and Death
15Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and 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? 16And Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his stead.
Jehoash's reign ends. He has defeated Amaziah, plundered Jerusalem, and expanded Israel's borders. His son Jeroboam II will succeed him, and under Jeroboam, Israel will reach the height of its power - an Indian summer before the prophets Amos and Hosea call the nation to repent.
17And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. 18And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 19Now they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem: and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish, and slew him there. 20And they brought him on horses: and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David.
Amaziah outlives Jehoash by fifteen years, but those years are marked by decline. His kingdom has been broken. His treasures are gone. His walls are down. His people begin to conspire against him. He flees to Lachish, a city in the south, but there is no escape. They track him down and kill him. He is brought back to Jerusalem on horses and buried with his fathers in the city of David - the end of a reign that began with promise and ended in death far from home.
2 Kings 14:21-22The People Raise Azariah to the Throne
21And all the people of Judah took Azariah, which was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 22He built Elath, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers.
The people take matters into their own hands. They choose Azariah (also called Uzziah), only sixteen years old, to be king. It is a break with the normal succession - perhaps the people saw in Amaziah's shame a warning, and in a young, untested king a chance for renewal. Azariah will reign for fifty-two years and will be the most successful king of Judah since David and Solomon.
2 Kings 14:23-29Jeroboam II: Israel's Expansion and Spiritual Decline
23In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign, and reigned forty and one years. 24And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
Jeroboam II reigns for forty-one years - a long reign during which Israel reaches unprecedented prosperity. Yet the opening words are stark: he did evil in the sight of the Lord. He departs not from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, the first king of Israel who led the nation into idolatry. The pattern repeats. Political success does not bring spiritual faithfulness.
25He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.
Yet even in his evil, Jeroboam expands Israel's borders dramatically - from Hamath in the north to the sea of the plain (the Dead Sea) in the south. This restoration happens "according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah." The prophet Jonah - the same Jonah of the great fish - lived generations before that famous story and prophesied Israel's restoration. God uses even unfaithful kings to accomplish his purposes.
26For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter: and there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel. 27And the Lord said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Joash.
These verses reveal the heart of God toward even an unfaithful people. The Lord saw Israel's affliction. The nation had been pressed hard; there was not anyone shut up (safe), nor any left (none remaining), nor any helper. Israel was desperate, broken, nearly destroyed by the Arameans in previous decades.
And God said He would not blot out the name of Israel. He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Joash. This is the astonishing grace of God: He uses an unfaithful king to save an unfaithful people. The restoration comes not because Israel repented, but because God saw their affliction and could not abandon them. This is grace - unearned, undeserved, given to those who do not turn from their sins.
2 Kings 14:28-29The End of Jeroboam's Reign
28Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 29And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even the kings of Israel; and Zachariah his son reigned in his stead.
Jeroboam's reign is marked by military success. He recovers territory that belonged to Judah for Israel - he wars successfully, expands the kingdom, builds power. He sleeps with his fathers, honored as a king of Israel. But what comes next? His son Zachariah reigns in his stead. The succession seems secure. Yet within a few years, Zachariah will be assassinated, and the Northern Kingdom will spiral into civil war. The Indian summer ends. The prophets Amos and Hosea will soon call Israel to account for the very sins Jeroboam committed - the idolatry, the injustice, the refusal to turn.
Further study
- Elisha the ProphetSefariaElisha's ministry of miraculous healing and prophecy succeeding Elijah.
- Elisha: Miracles and MinistryBible Odyssey/SBLElisha's role as prophet in Israel's northern kingdom during the period of decline.
- Archaeology of Northern KingdomIsrael Antiquities AuthorityExcavation evidence for cities and settlements in the northern kingdom of Israel.