2 Chronicles 25:1-28
Amaziah king of Judah is introduced and described in this way early in the chapter:
2 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not wholeheartedly.
However following this, you see he allows his actions to be shaped by the Word of God:
4bbut acted in accordance with what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded.
It seems Amaziah has taken Gods word seriously because remembers what it says about the King way back in Deu 17:
18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees
Amaziah has heard the Word and acted in accord with it, I guess that is why the writer could say: He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. Yet now we wait for the remainder of that verse.
It indeed arrives in verse 14. After a successful victory Amaziah does the unthinkable:
14 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.
Can you believe it!! A king who had been faithful to the Word of God, now despises what was at its heart, the love of God:
7 “You shall have no other gods before me. Deu 5:7
Now Amaziah must wait for the verdict of the Word:
8 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me Deu 5:8-9.
In accord with the Word, Amaziah meets his end:
27 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.
Isn’t it good, we don’t serve a half hearted king:
8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross! Phil 2:8
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