25 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, BUT NOT WHOLEHEARTEDLY. 2 Chronicles 25
Amaziah was the ninth king of Judah and had a good name, means ‘Strength of the Lord or Strengthened by the Lord’. Like so many he was a follower of the Lord, but not totally devoted to Him.
The first thing the Bible says about him is positive, he obeyed the Law of Moses and didn’t punish the sons of those who’d murdered his father, King Joash.
3 After the kingdom was firmly in his control, he executed the officials who had murdered his father the king. 4 Yet he did not put their children to death, but acted in accordance with what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded: ‘Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor children be put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.’
I believe that in N.Korea today, a terrible country for followers of Christ, that if anyone offends the rulers or tries to escape, entire generations of their families are imprisoned or put to death. A country where the enemy rules at the present, but not forever. (We can take a moment and pray for God’s people there and for regime change, that Korea North and South will be united under the Lord)
Amaziah received two words from the Lord. His response to the first led to victory in battle but still resulted in the death of three thousand of his people and them being plundered. 2 Chron. 25:13
7 But a man of God came to him and said, ‘Your Majesty, these troops from Israel must not march with you, FOR THE LORD IS NOT WITH ISRAEL – not with any of the people of Ephraim. 8 Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for GOD HAS THE POWER TO HELP OR TO OVERTHROW.’
A good question to consider in our own circumstances before we decide to give ourselves to something is, ‘IS THE LORD WITH THEM or IS THE LORD IN THIS?’ God cared enough to warn the King before he went into battle allied with people whom He would not bless.
Derek Prince wrote a small book called, ‘Shaping history through prayer and fasting’. During the World War 2 in the Middle East, Britain was suffering defeat at the hands of the German General Rommel. Derek and others began to pray that God would be pleased to APPOINT A LEADER WHOM HE COULD BLESS. The new general who was to be appointed died in a plane crash, I believe on the way to take up his post. General Bernard Montgomery was appointed in his place. Before the first battle, he gathered his officers together and said to them, ‘Let us call upon the Lord, mighty in battle to give us the victory’. The tide of the war turned and the German war machine was stopped from reaching Cairo and also Jerusalem. God sees things in people that may prevent His blessings and we need His perspective on those whom we choose to walk with.
May God bless and keep us and reveal any wrong ties in our relationships today.