The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 160, Amaziah King Of Judah, Part Two

We are studying the reign of King Amaziah of Judah. In yesterday's text we learned that he was twenty-five when he inherited the throne. When he is certain he has plenty of support behind him, he takes action against the men who killed his father, King Joash. You'll recall from 2 Kings 12:20-21 and 2 Chronicles 24:25-26 that Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer conspired against Joash and assassinated him at Beth Millo. As we begin today's passage we find Amaziah avenging his father's death.

"After the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, he executed the officials who had murdered his father the king." (2 Kings 14:5, 2 Chronicles 25:3) Amaziah's ascension to the throne came about not because his father died of natural causes but because his father's life was taken. He cannot allow the men to get away with what they've done, not only because they committed a capital crime but also because they could present a danger to himself and to his own family. In addition, not dealing with these men would make him appear weak and this would only lead to feelings of dissatisfaction and distrust among the officials and citizens of Judah. He has to make an example of these men in order to protect himself and his family. He must also do it to foster confidence in his subjects and to make the enemies of Judah think twice before attacking a nation whose king is not afraid to take decisive action.

Amaziah does not do what a son of an assassinated king of a heathen nation of his day would have done. It was customary in pagan nations to wipe out the entire family of the person or persons who killed their nation's leader. "Yet he did not put the children of the assassins to death, in accordance with what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses where the Lord commanded: 'Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.'" (2 Kings 14:5-6, 2 Chronicles 25:4) 

The law quoted by these authors is found in Deuteronomy 24:16. The Lord put this law in place because a person cannot control the behavior of others. Parents may do the best job they can possibly do in raising their children to be godly, law-abiding citizens but proper upbringing does not guarantee righteous behavior. I personally know several people who raised families in which all but one child grew up to be responsible members of society. They don't know why one of their children grew up to have no respect for them, for the Lord, or for the laws of the land. It would not be right to punish these parents for the deeds of their wayward children. Likewise, it would not be right to punish children for the deeds of their parents. The only behavior a person can control is his or her own behavior. No one can force another person to care about and follow the Lord's laws or the nation's laws. 

In yesterday's study we were informed that Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, at least in the beginning of his reign, and here we find an example of this. Amaziah doesn't handle his father's assassination in the way pagan kings would handle it. He uses the word of God as his guidebook when he orders capital punishment to be carried out on the men who committed a crime worthy of death. These men lay in wait for his father when Joash was vulnerable and unsuspecting---as he lay in bed trying to recover from wounds he received in a battle with the Arameans---and they took advantage of his weak condition to end his life. Amaziah has the legal right to order these men executed, not only as the leader of the government but as the "avenger of blood" (the male next of kin) of the murdered man. We studied about the "avenger of blood" earlier in the Old Testament and we won't go back over that material again but I bring the subject up to point out that the word of God gives Amaziah the right to do what he does in today's text. In fact, it would have been wrong not to take action. It would have violated laws the Lord put in place to deal with such crimes, it would have violated moral laws, and it would have sent the wrong kind of message to anyone thinking about attacking King Amaziah, his family, or the nation of Judah. He would have been doing his people a disservice if he had not dealt with the crime in the manner it deserves. Even had he wanted to, which is doubtful, he could not in good conscience pardon Jozabad and Jehozabad. 

Now that he has secured his throne against threats from within the nation, in our next study session he will take steps to secure his nation against threats from enemy nations.