A Devotional for Thoughtful Disciples
2 Kings 14 divides its canvas between Judah (Amaziah, vv. 1-22) and Israel (Jeroboam II, vv. 23-29). At first the chapter feels like a ledger of dates, battles, and tombstones, yet beneath the surface run themes that touch every age:
• partial obedience vs. whole-hearted devotion
• pride that picks needless fights
• the surprising patience of God toward flawed rulers
• covenant faithfulness that refuses to die
Keep these threads in mind as we read our own lives into the text.
“[He] did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not like his father David” (New International Version). The line sums up Amaziah: compliant, yet compromised. He honors the Mosaic law (see Deuteronomy 24:16) by punishing only the assassins of his father Joash, not their children. That is real faithfulness—just not full faithfulness. The high places, those convenient country shrines, remain.
Many of us live in this tension. We keep the commandments that match our temperament while tolerating “high places” that serve our comfort—little altars of habit, resentment, or quiet pride. The Spirit invites a deeper cleaning.
Amaziah’s campaign in the Valley of Salt echoes earlier Judean triumphs (cf. 2 Samuel 8:13). He captures Sela—likely the cliff-fortress later called Petra by the Nabateans—and renames it Joktheel (“God is able”). Archaeologists have traced Edomite fortresses and copper mines here; the setting speaks of hard-won wealth. After victory, however, comes vanity. Amaziah’s heart swells; success masks spiritual drift.
Jehoash of Israel answers Amaziah’s challenge with a vivid fable:
“A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar… ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ A wild beast trampled the thistle.”
It is a literary gem—parallelism, irony, and gentle satire wrapped in three Hebrew lines. Western readers may miss the honor-shame undertone. In the Ancient Near East, to propose marriage to a superior house without invitation was an insult; the story publicly lowers Amaziah’s status. Jehoash warns, “Enjoy your glory at home; do not pick a fight you will lose.”
Pride deafens. Amaziah marches anyway, and Judah’s army is scattered at Beth-Shemesh. Jerusalem’s wall is broken, its palace and temple treasuries looted, and hostages taken north. One impulsive decision undoes decades of temple repairs we read about in chapter 12.
Cross-reference: Proverbs 16:18; Luke 14:31-32 (Jesus’ counsel to count the cost before war).
Years later, conspirators chase Amaziah to Lachish, a fortified city whose massive gate complex still towers in Israeli digs today. There he is killed. His body returns to Jerusalem on horses—an ironic glance at royal dignity after ignoble death.
Early church writers (e.g., St Jerome) saw in Amaziah a warning to those who begin in the Spirit but finish in the flesh. John Calvin adds that God often lets our very achievements become the rods of our correction.
Israel’s new king, Jeroboam II, “did evil,” yet God used him to restore borders “from Lebo-Hamath to the Dead Sea.” Assyrian records confirm that Damascus and Hamath were weakened at this time, giving Israel breathing room. Samaria’s ivory palaces and the rich strata at Megiddo date from his reign—material proof of a brief golden age.
Verse 25 introduces “Jonah son of Amittai”—the same prophet whose book will later wrestle with divine mercy for Nineveh. Here Jonah preaches hope, not repentance; one prophet, two very different assignments.
Amos and Hosea, who also ministered under Jeroboam II, stressed that economic bloom without covenant loyalty is a ticking bomb. God’s kindness is meant to lead to repentance (Romans 2:4).
• Amaziah – ʼAmats-yāh, “The LORD is strong.” Name
and life stand in tension: he trusted God for one battle, not for his
nation’s soul.
• Joktheel – Yoqtʹēl, “God is able/prevails.” The
city’s new name preaches a sermon Amaziah himself forgets.
• Repeated formula “He did what was right, but…” (v. 3) uses the
conjunction ʼak (but/however) to mark the tragic gap between good intent
and complete surrender.
• Valley of Salt: south of the Dead Sea, a dried
lake-bed still sparkling with minerals; pottery shards from Iron Age
forts lie scattered nearby.
• Selah/Petra: high-walled, rose-red cliffs; Edomite
inscriptions and later Nabatean carvings witness centuries of shifting
powers.
• Beth-Shemesh: excavated four-room houses and city
gate speak of a frontline town caught between Israel and Judah.
• Lachish: Assyrian siege ramps (later, 701 BC) confirm
its strategic value.
These stones remind us that biblical faith is earthed in real places and dirt under fingernails.
Suggested cross-readings: 2 Chronicles 25; Psalm 20 (trust vs. chariots); Amos 6 (warning during Jeroboam II’s wealth).
“May the Mind of Christ, My Savior” – Katie Barclay Wilkinson,
1912.
Its plea for humble, unobtrusive Christlikeness is the perfect antidote
to Amaziah’s boast and Jeroboam’s complacency.
Sovereign Lord,
You are able, though we are weak;
faithful, though we are fickle.
Search our hearts for hidden high places.
Restrain our pride before it breaks city walls.
Raise up leaders—even flawed ones—through whom You may show mercy,
and teach us to walk in whole-hearted obedience,
remembering always that Your strength is made perfect in humble
trust.
Through Jesus Christ, the true King without compromise.
Amen.