1-9 Jehoahaz Reigns over Israel
- Son of Jehu (2 Kings 10:35), begins to reign in 23rd year of King Joash, son of Ahaziah of Judah, reigns 17 years.
- He's evil, following in the sins of Jeroboam, and God allows King Hazael of Aram and Hazael's son Ben-hadad, to defeat Israel in battle.
- After Jehoahaz asks God for help, he gives Israel a "savior" (doesn't say who - maybe his son?), and the Israelites are allowed to stay in their homes. However, they still continue to sin, and keep the Asherah (sacred pole) in their land.
- Jehoahaz is left with a small army - 50 horsemen, 10 chariots, 10,000 footmen, which the king of Aram destroys.
- He dies and is buried in Samaria, succeeded by his son Joash.
- Begins to reign in the 37th year of King Joash of Judah, reigns 16 years. Also walks in the sins of Jeroboam.
- His other acts are written in the "Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel."
- See following section and 2 Kings 14:8-15 for more details about Jehoash's reign.
- He sleeps with his ancestors, and his son Jeroboam (II) takes the throne.
- Elisha is sick unto death, and King Joash of Israel comes to him, frantic about the small number of chariots and horsemen he has. He calls him, "My father, my father!" yet expresses no concern about Elisha's health, or maybe it's just not recorded.
- Elisha (patiently) gives him detailed instructions about how to defeat Aram:
- "Get a bow and arrow, open the window to the east, and as I put my hands on your hands, shoot the arrow. That is the LORD's arrow of victory over Aram."
- "Now take the arrows and strike the ground with them."
- So Joash strikes the ground 3 times, but Elisha tells him he should have struck the ground 5 or 6 times, then he would have made an end of Aram. With only 3 times, he'll strike Aram only 3 times. So how was Joash supposed to know this? Or did it indicate he wasn't aggressive enough?
- Elisha dies and is buried. Later, during a spring raid by a band of Moabites, residents are burying a man, and in haste because the Moabites are approaching, they throw the body into Elisha's grave. As soon as the man touches the bones of Elisha, he "came to life and stood on his feet."
- King Hazael oppresses Israel all the days of Jehoahaz (Joash's father), but in compassion, God does not allow Israel to be destroyed.
- When Ben-hadad succeeds Hazael, Joash reclaims the cities that had been taken from his father; he defeats Ben-hadad three times -- just as Elisha prophesied from his death bed.
1-6 Amaziah Reigns over Judah (2 Chr. 25:1-4)
- Begins his reign in the 2nd year of King Joash of Israel, at the age of 25 years, and he reigns 29 years in Jerusalem. His father is Joash of Judah and his mother is Jehoaddin of Jerusalem.
- He does right in God's sight, yet "not with a true heart," not up to David's standards -- more like his father Joash, in that he does not remove the high places.
- As soon as he has enough power, he kills the servants who murdered his father (2 Kings 12:20), but not their children, in obedience to the law of Moses (don't kill the children for the crimes of their parents).
- Amaziah assembles the people and sets them up by tribes into an army, mustering all 20 years and older, for a total of 300,000.
- He also hires 100,000 men from Israel for 100 talents of silver, but "a man of God" tells him not to use them, for they are Ephraimites, and God won't let Amaziah win with them. He discharges the Israelites, causing them to be extremely angry with Judah.
- In battle in the Valley of Salt, his army strikes down 10,000 men of Seir and captures another 10,000 whom they take alive to the top of Sela and throw off the mountain. He renames Sela Jokthe-el ("conquered by God").
- Meanwhile, the Israelites that Amaziah dismissed attack cities of Judah, killing 3000 and taking much booty.
- Amaziah brings home gods of Seir and set them up to worship them. God sends him a prophet who challenges him: "Why have you resorted to a people's gods who could not deliver their own people from your hand?" Good question. Why do any of us resort to behavior we know is self-destructive? Pride? Greed? Self indulgence?
- Amaziah says the prophet is not an appointed royal counselor, so he should stop speaking, or he'll be forced to kill him. The prophet stops, but still gets in that last words: "God will destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my advice." This reading answers the question I had after reading only the 2 Kings account: Why Amaziah's defeat at the hands of Joash of Israel in the next section?
- Amaziah tries to set up a face-to-face meeting (battle) with King Joash of Israel, but Joash warns him (with a parable) that it won't be a good idea; tells Amaziah he is just overconfident after his defeat of Edom.
- But Amaziah doesn't listen (God's doing), and sure enough, Israel defeats Judah. Jehoash captures Amaziah, bring him to Jerusalem and breaks down 400 cubits of the wall of Jerusalem, and seizes all the gold and silver in the temple and the king's house, and takes hostages back to Samaria.
- Amaziah lives 15 years after Jehoash's death. He is killed by conspirators, after fleeing from them to Lachish. They bring him back to Jerusalem to be buried with his ancestors.
- Succeeded by Azariah, his son, who is 16 years old, and who rebuilds Elath and restores it to Judah after his father's death.
- Son of Joash, begins to reign in the 15th year of King Amaziah of Judah, reigns 41 years.
- Follows in the sins of Jeroboam, but he does restore one of the borders of Israel, as prophesied by Jonah, son of Amittai (the Jonah we know), for the LORD did not promise to blot out Israel. He also recovers the cities Damascus and Hamath.
- After he dies, his son Zechariah succeeds him.
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