2 Chronicles 25:17 says, Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us see one another in the face. Following the advice of some who were advising him wrongly, Amaziah sent a message to Joash, the king of Israel, asking that they meet face-to -face. Once again, as was often the case, we see no indication that this was being done by the advice of any priest or prophet of God. We should always be careful who we get our advice from. Verse eighteen adds, And Joash 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. I believe that Joash was comparing himself to a cedar and Amaziah to a thistle and saying he could destroy him even if Amaziah tried to go to war with him. I do know that people of the world today view Christians as little more than an annoyance and believe that they can be easily controlled or destroyed. That is why we should never go to wraith anyone without God's guidance instead of just relying on Him to keep us safe. Verse nineteen continues, Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten the Edomites; and thine heart lifteth thee up to boast: abide now at home; why shouldest thou meddle to thine hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? Joash told Amaziah to remain at home, that his pride over destroying the Edomites was going to lead to his destruction and the destruction of Judah as well. As followers of Christ, we should never do anything out of self-pride, and if we do, it will often lead to spiritual defeat. Verse twenty states, But Amaziah would not hear; for it came of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought after the gods of Edom. This verse says that Amaziah would not listen to Joash because God had sent the message so that He could punish the people of Judah for worshipping the gods of Edom. My personal belief is that God was going to allow Joash to defeat Amaziah because Amaziah would not listen to God and put his faith in idols. I don't believe that God actually empowers sinful people to defeat Christians, but that if we are not obedient to His word, He often removes His protective hand from us. Verse twenty-one adds, So Joash the king of Israel went up; and they saw one another in the face, both he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Bethshemesh, which belongeth to Judah. Joash went to Behtshemesh in Judah to fight with Amaziah. Amaziah may have thought fighting in one of the cities of Judah gave him the upper hand, but he was fighting without the empowerment of God. We may fight the enemies of God in the church building today thinking that puts us in a more powerful position, but if we are not in a right relationship with God in our actions, it doesn't matter where we fight against evil. If God is not empowering us, we are going to be defeated in our battle against Satan and his forces of evil. Verse twenty-two continues, And Judah was put to the worse before Israel, and they fled every man to his tent. The people of Judah were losing their battle against Israel, so they fled to their tents. If we are engaged in battle against the world today outside of the will of God, then we may attempt to flee if we are being defeated, but if we do not repent and return to following God's will, there is no safe place for us. Verse twenty-three says, And Joash the king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Bethshemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits. Joash took Amaziah and returned to Jerusalem with him, breaking down the walls of Jerusalem when he got there. If we have been relying on earthly things to protect us instead of relying on the leadership and power of the Holy Spirit, we are setting ourselves up for failure in this life and in our spiritual life. We do not win the battle against evil because of our own strength but we win through the power of God. Verse twenty-four adds, And he took all the gold and the silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obededom, and the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria. Joash took all the treasures of the temple and the treasures of the king and returned to Samaria. Amaziah's pride had led to a great defeat of Judah, and our pride may lead us to a great spiritual defeat today. We must always act under God's leadership if we are going to be successful spiritually. Verse twenty-five continues, And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. Amaziah lived for fifteen years after the death of Joash, but we are not told that he ever recovered what Joash had taken in the battle. with him. As long as we are living in disobedience to God, even if we are a follower of Christ, we are going to lose many spiritual blessings, and some will be lost forever. Verse twenty-six states, Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? As with all the kings, we are told that the rest of the acts of Amaziah are written in the book of the kings. Verse twenty-seven adds, Now after the time that Amaziah did turn away from following the Lord they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but they sent to Lachish after him, and slew him there. After Amaziah turned away from God, his own subjects began to plot against him, and he heard about it and fled to Lachish. If we are living outside of the will of God, there is no place that is safe for us to flee to. The people of Judah found Amaziah there and killed him. Joash and the people of Israel and Amaziah and the people of Judah were all a part of God's chosen people, but instead of reaching out to the world, they were busy destroying each other, and very few were actually following God's leadership. We as followers of Christ are the church today and are all a part of the same family of God, but we often end up fighting with each other instead of reaching out to the lost people of the world with the gospel. Verse twenty-eight continues, And they brought him upon horses, and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah. Amaziah's body was returned to Jerusalem, and he was buried with his fathers. We have no record of his ever repenting and turning to God once more, and that was all that was really important. If we allow sin back into our life, we need to repent and turn to the leadership of the Holy Spirit once more. What happens to our body is really of little importance. It is our spirit and our everlasting dwelling place that matters. If we are a follower of Christ, we will always be a part of God's family, but we may lose all our spiritual rewards if we sin again and do not repent and ask forgiveness.
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