2 Chronicles 25 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study
2 Chronicles 25 Short Summary:
In 2 Chronicles 25, Amaziah takes the throne of Judah after Joash’s death. God gives Amaziah a military victory against the Edomites, but Amaziah betrays the Lord by trading Him in for the God’s of the Edomites. As punishment for abandoning Him, God allowed the Israelite army to defeat Amaziah and plunder Jerusalem. Several years later, Amaziah was later assassinated.
2 Chronicles 25 Extended Summary
WHEN:
Amaziah was king of Judah for 29 years. His reign fits between the years 840-810 B.C.
KEY CHARACTERS:
Joash (Jehoash) of Judah – The father of Amaziah.
Amaziah – King of Judah after Joash.
Joash of Israel – He ruled as king over Israel during Amaziah’s reign in Judah.
Edomites (Men of Seir) – The fought with Amaziah’s army. They inhabited the land south of the Dead Sea.
WHERE:
Jerusalem – The capital of the Kingdom of Judah and the location of God’s Temple.
Valley of Salt – Amaziah took the army of Judah to fight with the Edomites at the Valley of Salt.
Beth-shemesh – Judah and Israel battled each other at Beth-shemesh.
OUTLINE:
AMAZIAH BECOMES KING IN JUDAH (25:1-4):
When he was 25 years old, Amaziah became king of Judah and reigned 29 years.
“He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart” (25:2).
AMAZIAH AND JUDAH GO TO WAR WITH EDOM (25:5-13):
Amaziah gathered 300,000 men from Judah to go to war with the Edomites (the men of Seir). He also hired 100,000 men from Israel with 100 talents of silver.
But God sent a messenger to Amaziah who told him to send the men from Israel home because the Lord was not with Israel.
Amaziah did as instructed, he dismissed the Israelites, which made them very angry.
Afterwards he went to battle with Edom in the Valley of Salt. God gave him the victory and the army of Judah killed 20,000 Edomites (men of Seir).
As Judah was winning a battle in the south, the angry Israelite army, that Amaziah had dismissed, was raiding towns in Judah. They killed a total of 3,000 people and took the spoils back to Israel.
AMAZIAH WORSHIPS THE IDOLS OF EDOM (25:14-16):
On his return from Edom, Amaziah did something stupid. He brought the idols of the Edomites back to Judah and started worshipping them.
God sent a prophet to rebuke Amaziah. The prophet told the king God was going to “destroy” him.
AMAZIAH STARTS A FOOLISH WAR WITH ISRAEL (25:17-28):
There were tensions between the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel.
Amaziah challenged Joash, the king of Israel, to a battle.
Joash laughed off the challenge, warning Amaziah his victory over Edom had given him a big head.
He compared himself to a cedar tree and Amaziah to a thistle bush.
But Amaziah refused to listen to the warning, “for it was of God, in order that he might give them into the hand of their enemies” (25:20). Amaziah led his army to battle against Israel at Beth-shemesh.
Judah was defeated. Joash commanded his army towards Jerusalem and tore down 400 cubits (600 feet) of the city wall, plundered the city, and took hostages.
Several years after his battle with Joash of Israel, Amaziah was assassinated.
APPLICATION:
It was completely ridiculous for Amaziah to worship the gods of the Edomites after those same gods failed to give the Edomites victory over Amaziah’s army!
Have you ever worshipped lousy gods?
Have you ever worshipped the idols of money, fame, sex, drugs, popularity, selfishness, etc?
So many people worship and pursue these idols even though they’ve seen countless examples of these lousy gods failing other people in the past.
We’ve all seen how money, fame, sex, drugs, popularity, and selfishness fail those who fall in love with them.
Don’t be like Amaziah and trade the only true God, for lousy gods that have a track record of failing their worshipers.
