2 Chronicles 25

This chapter belongs to the chronicle of the kings of Judah in 2 Chronicles. Following the previous chapter, in which his father Joash was murdered by his servants, it tells how Joash's son Amaziah succeeded to the throne. Part of its content parallels 2 Kings 14.

Outline

• Verses 1–4: Amaziah becomes king at age twenty-five and reigns twenty-nine years. He does what is right, though not with a perfect heart. He executes the servants who killed his father but, in keeping with the law of Moses, spares their children.
• Verses 5–10: He musters 300,000 men aged twenty and above from Judah and Benjamin and hires 100,000 mighty men of valor from Israel for one hundred talents of silver. Heeding the warning of a man of God, he sends the hired troops home.
• Verses 11–13: In the Valley of Salt he kills ten thousand of the children of Seir and casts another ten thousand down from the top of a rock. Meanwhile, the dismissed Israelite soldiers raid the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-horon, killing three thousand.
• Verses 14–16: Amaziah worships the idols of the children of Seir. A prophet who rebukes him is threatened and withdraws, foretelling the king's destruction.
• Verses 17–24: Amaziah challenges Joash, king of Israel, to battle. Joash tries to dissuade him with the parable of the thistle and the cedar. Amaziah is defeated and captured at Beth-shemesh; four hundred cubits of the wall of Jerusalem are broken down, and the treasures of the temple and the royal palace are carried off along with hostages.
• Verses 25–28: Amaziah lives fifteen years after the death of Joash. When a conspiracy arises against him, he flees to Lachish but is killed there, and he is buried in the city of Judah.

Key Verses

• 2 Chronicles 25:2: "And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart." This assessment summarizes Amaziah's entire life.
• 2 Chronicles 25:4: "But every man shall die for his own sin." Quoting the law directly, the verse sets forth the principle of individual responsibility.
• 2 Chronicles 25:9: "The LORD is able to give thee much more than this." The verse addresses obedience that is willing to accept loss.

People and Places

• Amaziah: King of Judah, the son of Joash.
• Joash (king of Israel): The son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu; he captures Amaziah.
• The man of God and the prophet: The figures who warn Amaziah; their names are not given.
• Obed-edom: Appears as the one who had charge of the gold, silver, and vessels of the temple.
• Edom (the children of Seir), Samaria, Jerusalem
• Valley of Salt, Beth-shemesh, and Lachish: Respectively, the site of battle, the site of defeat, and the place where Amaziah died.

Points for Reflection

• Verse 4 quotes Deuteronomy 24:16 and connects with the principle of individual responsibility in Ezekiel 18:19–20.
• The hired army, the idolatry, and the prophet's warning are absent from 2 Kings. Through them the Chronicler presents Amaziah's defeat and death as the consequence of disobedience, and many interpreters read this as reflecting the Chronicler's distinctive perspective on retribution.
• The parable in verse 18 is often compared with the parable of the trees told by Jotham (Judges 9).
• The New Testament does not directly quote this chapter.

In Korean Churches

Verse 2 is often used as a sermon text cautioning against "a faith that is not wholehearted," and verse 9 as a text for sermons on obedience that accepts loss.