"Amaziah then marshaled his strength and led his army to the Valley of Salt, where he killed ten thousand men of Seir. The army of Judah also captured ten thousand men alive, took them to the top of a cliff and threw them down so that all were dashed to pieces." (2 Chronicles 25:11-12) The author of 2 Kings adds this: "He was 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) As we learned in yesterday's study, the name "Joktheel" means "God subdued".
Amaziah begins his reign by being obedient to the Lord but he gets spiritually off track after defeating the Edomites. "When Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them." (2 Chronicles 25:14)
What in the world causes him to do such a thing? The gods of Edom couldn't protect the Edomites against the army of the Lord's people; what could they possibly do for Amaziah? I presume that he initially seized these objects as part of the plunder he took from the Edomites since idols were typically plated in precious metals. But the people of the Lord were forbidden to have anything at all to do with idols. The Lord commanded them never to create graven images for themselves and He commanded them to destroy the graven images of the nations they subdued, saying, "The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it. Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction." (Deuteronomy 7:25-26)
Amaziah sinned against the Lord when he took the idols of Edom as plunder. He was forbidden to do anything at all with a graven image except to destroy it. But I believe he coveted the gold and silver on the idols of Edom. Perhaps he grabbed them up intending to take them back to Judah to melt the gold and silver plating off them to recoup his loss of the 3.4 metric tons of silver he paid to the mercenaries of Israel that he had to let go in yesterday's text. If so, then he not only sinned in taking the idols back to Judah with him but he also sinned in not believing the word of God, for the Lord promised him through the unnamed prophet of 2 Chronicles 25 that the Lord was able to give him back far more money than he'd lost if he would be obedient to the Lord.
I doubt Amaziah took the idols of Edom with the intention of bowing to them and making sacrifices to them, but once they were in his palace he became "ensnared" by them as the Lord warned His people in Deuteronomy 7. He found himself captivated by them. Although there is no God except the God of Israel and although idols are nothing in themselves, there is a very real force behind idolatry. Satan is behind idolatry. Satan wants to be worshiped in place of God but it's difficult to entice people to worship him outright. Most people would never willingly bow to the devil himself. If he cannot tempt people into outright devil worship he will do what he considers to be the next best thing. He will entice them to worship something---anything!---instead of God.
There was some sort of weakness in Amaziah that made him susceptible to the sin of idolatry. But if he had done as the Lord commanded instead of taking the idols home with him, he might have successfully resisted idolatry for his entire life. The Lord sends a prophet to him with a warning but Amaziah doesn't listen. "The anger of the Lord burned against Amaziah, and He sent a prophet to him, who said, 'Why do you consult this people's gods, which could not save their own people from your hand?' While he was still speaking, the king said to him, 'Have we appointed you an adviser to the king? Stop! Why be struck down?'" (2 Chronicles 25:15-16a) The king is so offended by being confronted by his sin that he threatens the prophet with death if he will not be silent. The prophet leaves his presence and says this as his parting shot: "So the prophet stopped but said, 'I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.'" (2 Chronicles 16b)
What Amaziah is doing is detrimental not only to himself but to his family members and to all the citizens of Judah. He is in a position of great power and influence. He can be an example of godly living for the entire nation or he can be an example of ungodly living for the entire nation. Although it's important for every person on the face of the earth to live in a way that honors the Lord, someone in Amaziah's position has an even greater responsibility to live in a way that honors the Lord. What he does impacts far more people than what an average citizen does; therefore he falls under greater judgment than an average citizen.
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