I expressed the opinion that he likely scooped up idols from the land of Edom because they were coated in gold or silver. Perhaps he coveted the precious metals on them and intended to have the metals melted off (contrary to the Lord's commands) after he got the images back to Jerusalem. But something in his character caused him to have a weakness where idolatry was concerned. Having these items in his possession was a temptation and a snare to him. We don't know how long it took him to become captivated by the idols to the point of making sacrifices to them, but when a prophet of the Lord rebuked him for his behavior, he threatened the prophet with death if he did not shut his mouth. I do not think Amaziah set out to become an idolater when he seized the graven images of the Edomites but what happened to him clearly illustrates what a slippery slope we are on when we choose to interact closely with something the Lord has forbidden.
The prophet's parting shot as he left the palace was, "I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel." We talked about the enormous amount of influence the king has on the people of Judah. It's bad enough for any average citizen to live in an ungodly manner and to be a bad influence those close to him. But the king is a highly visible public figure. His ungodly actions have more far-reaching consequences than the actions of someone who is not in the public eye. This is why the Lord's word of judgment for him is especially harsh.
When we studied the reign of King Jehoash of Israel, who was a contemporary of King Amaziah, we studied the war that took place between the two men. Men of Israel were attacking cities and towns of Judah while Amaziah was off to war against the Edomites. He challenged the king of Israel to a fight---a fight that Amaziah lost because the Lord was not with him due to his idolatry. We might have expected the prophecy against Amaziah to come true at that time but the Lord gave him time and opportunity to repent. After capturing Amaziah in battle, King Jehoash took him with him to Jerusalem as a hostage because this allowed Jehoash to break through the city wall without opposition from the people. Then, after looting the city and the palace and the temple and taking many people as captives, he contemptuously left Amaziah on the throne of Judah as if he considered him of so little consequence that he felt no need to kill him.
King Jehoash appears not to have lived a very long time after defeating Amaziah in battle, for the authors of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles mentions his death right after telling us of his victory over the king of Judah. Amaziah outlives him by fifteen years. "Amaziah son of Joash king of Israel lived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel." (2 Kings 14:17, 2 Chronicles 25:25) Amaziah's military defeat should have caused him to think about why the Lord wasn't with him in battle against Israel in the way He was with him in battle against Edom. The difference was that he was still faithful to the Lord when he went to quell the rebellion in Edom but he was being unfaithful to the Lord by the time he challenged the king of Israel to a fight. But Amaziah never considers his ways and repents of them. This is why the prophecy against him comes true.
"From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord, they conspired against him in Jerusalem and he fled to Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there. He was brought back by horse and buried with his ancestors in the City of Judah." (2 Chronicles 25:27-28)
The author of 2 Kings provides us with this same information except for not telling us exactly when the conspiracy began against the king. We don't know whether people began turning against him because they heard of his idolatry or whether they (unlike the king himself) realized that the invasion of Jerusalem by Jehoash was a direct result of Amaziah's unfaithfulness toward the Lord. A conspiracy, likely among those officials or military men close to him, forms and the king suspects it or receives word of confirmation about it. He flees to Lachish in an effort to escape the threat against his life but it is no use. Some scholars think that the people of Lachish gave him up to the conspirators. We don't know exactly how his death came about but there's one thing we know for certain: the idols of Edom (which he very well may have taken with him when he fled from Jerusalem) were no help to him. He didn't repent of turning away from the Lord and there was no place on earth he could have hidden from his judgment. To quote the words of Moses: "You may be sure that your sin will find you out." (Numbers 32:23)
"Then all the people took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah." (2 Kings 14:21-22) Azariah is also called Uzziah in the Scriptures. The author of 2 Chronicles will use the name Uzziah for him and, as the details of his life are clearly the same as those of the man called Azariah by the author of 2 Kings, there is no doubt that Azariah and Uzziah are one and the same. His reign will be one of the longest of the kings of Judah.
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