2 Kings 14:1-29


There are times when we think that things should work out one way and we believe that this would be the just way for things to happen.  However, things do not always happen the way that we might think that they should.  The obedient do not always triumph over the disobedient.  When this happens our natural tendency is to question either God’s goodness or His power.  We must be careful not to allow this to happen in our lives.  There are circumstances that we may not understand but we must never doubt the ability of God or the character of God.  When we don’t understand; we do well to take our confusion to the Lord in prayer, leave our doubts with Him and simply trust that He knows exactly what He is doing.

AMAZIAH IS DEFEATED BY JEHOASH: Amaziah was a relatively good king who obeyed God, followed the Law and feared the Lord.  He did not remove all idol worship from Israel, but did not worship these idols himself.  God gave him victory over the Edomites and this gave him great confidence so he challenges Jehoash, the evil king of Israel to a battle.  We would think that Amaziah would win, but that was not the case.  Amaziah failed to seek the Lord in the decisions that he made and paid the price for his own pride.  God obviously had a purpose in doing this and this narrative illustrates our need to trust God when the circumstances of the world around us do not make sense.

JEROBOAM II IS DELIVERED BY GOD: Jeroboam II is now the king in Israel and, like his name sake; he was a wicked and idolatrous king.  However, despite his sinful idol worship, God delivered him from his enemies.  Jeroboam was a mighty warrior and God decided to preserve the kingdom of Israel through him even though he was an evil king.  It is dangerous to take comfort in victory or prosperity.  Just because we or others may “look” successful, does not mean that the Lord approves of our character.  God chooses to have mercy upon and even to use the ungodly of this world to bring about His plan and demonstrate His character.  It is our job to trust and worship the Lord; not be able to understand or explain Him.

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