In our last study session we found Amaziah sentencing to death the two men who had conspired to kill his father Joash while Joash was bedridden due to a battle wound. What these men did was commit premeditated murder and premeditated murder was a capital offense in the Bible and in most (if not all) cultures of the world then and now. Amaziah went by what the word of God said concerning such cases and we discussed how it was not only a matter of abiding by the law but also a matter of security for himself and the nation.
As we begin today's study we find Amaziah taking further steps to strengthen and defend the nation of Judah. He works on building up the army so that it is a formidable force. "Amaziah called the people of Judah together and assigned them according to their families to commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He then mustered those twenty years old or more and found that there were three hundred thousand men fit for military service, able to handle the spear and the shield." (2 Chronicles 25:5)
He is going to make war with the Edomites, who have rebelled against the kingdom of Judah. David defeated them during his reign and made them subject to the nation of Israel (which was intact at that time) but as we learned earlier in our study of the kings: "Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king." (2 Kings 8:20) The rebellion began during the reign of King Jehoram, Ahaziah's great-grandfather, which resulted in a battle that Jehoram did not win. By the time Amaziah comes to the throne, Edom is still in rebellion against Judah. Amaziah wants to take back control of that land.
He doesn't feel that 300,000 troops are enough to do the job. We briefly looked last week at this next event, since this passage was combined with our study of the reign of King Jehoash of Israel, but we didn't look at these verses word by word. "He also hired a hundred thousand fighting men from Israel for a hundred talents of silver." (2 Chronicles 25:6) It was a common practice in ancient times for kings to hire mercenaries to go to battle with the king's own troops. However, it is not necessary for the Lord's people to do this; their security is in Him. We've already seen the Lord winning many battles for His people on the pages of the Bible even when His people were vastly outnumbered. More manpower is not what Amaziah needs. More "faithpower" is what he needs. Amaziah is going to lose his money because he didn't consult the Lord before making a deal with these men.
"But a man of God came to him and said, 'Your Majesty, these troops from Israel must not march with you, for the Lord is not with Israel---not with any of the people of Ephraim. Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow.'" (2 Chronicles 25:7-8) The people of the northern kingdom of Israel are worshiping at the golden calf sites located at Dan and Bethel. Although these calves are intended to symbolize the Lord, the calves are an abomination to the Lord because He forbade anyone to make images to represent Him. The people of the northern kingdom are not idolaters by the strictest definition of the word but they are living in disobedience to the Lord by using the images and by not taking their offerings and sacrifices to the Lord's house as commanded by Him. Therefore, the Lord won't bless an alliance between Ahaziah's army and the hired soldiers from Israel. At this time in his reign Amaziah is still doing what is right in the Lord's eyes, spiritually speaking, and to ally himself in battle with the hired soldiers would represent being "yoked together with unbelievers", as the Apostle Paul described close alliances between those who are living in obedience and those who are not.
Amaziah listens to the prophet's words and is willing to do what the Lord says. But he's concerned about the money he's already handed over to the mercenaries, which is estimated to have been approximately 3.4 metric tons of silver. "Amaziah asked the man of God, 'But what about the hundred talents I paid to these Israelite troops?'" (2 Chronicles 24:9a) A metric ton of silver at today's prices would be worth around $690,549. This means that in today's money Amaziah paid the men $2,347,866! We can see why Amaziah is reluctant to part with this sum but part with it he must.
"The man of God replied, 'The Lord can give you much more than that.'" (2 Chronicles 24:9b) Amaziah would have been wise to consult the Lord in the first place, before hiring the men, and then he would not have incurred the loss. The mercenaries kept their end of the bargain by packing up, leaving the northern kingdom and leaving whoever and whatever belongs to them there, and traveling to Jerusalem to fight in a war for a king who is not their king. They showed up as promised and no doubt they would have performed as promised. Amaziah is the one breaking his end of the bargain and he cannot ask for his money back.
The prophet reassures Amaziah that the Lord supplies the needs of His people. The Lord will restore the hundred talents of silver many times over if Amaziah will be obedient to Him. To his credit, Amaziah does what the prophet advises him to do. "So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. They were furious with Judah and left for home in a great rage." (2 Chronicles 24:10) This great rage and the way they handle it is the reason for the war (which we've already studied) between King Amaziah of Judah and King Jehoash of Israel. The mercenaries begin attacking cities and towns of Judah, looting the houses and businesses and killing 3,000 citizens in the process, resulting in Amaziah declaring war on Israel. But why are they in a great rage after being paid over two million dollars without having to fire a single shot in battle?
Although they've been paid a considerable amount of money, they stood to make a great deal more if they fought a victorious war against Edom while allied with Judah. Sharing in the battle with Judah entitled them to share in the plunder with Judah. The men of Ephraim would have been carrying home far more than the 3.4 metric tons of silver; they would have taken home large amounts of the items that had belonged to the Edomite army and the Edomite citizens, such as more precious metals, horses, chariots, weapons, shields, armor, tents, food supplies, clothing, and so on. Being sent home means they won't have access to any of these valuables. Being sent home also means their reputation as an elite fighting force is in danger of being tarnished. Rumors will go around that the king of Judah found them unsatisfactory and they might never get hired again by anyone.
Amaziah may have lost a lot of money but by obeying the words of the Lord he doesn't lose the fight against Edom. His own reputation will soar to new heights as he becomes known as "the one who defeated ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt and captured Sela in battle, calling it Joktheel, the name it has to this day". (2 Kings 14:7) We will study Amaziah's war against the Edomites in our next study session but as we conclude today's study we learn that he gives the Lord all the credit for his victory. We know this because he names the city he captures "Joktheel" which means "God subdued".
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