Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Amaziah

Would you like to read James McNaught’s novel Sinking Sand”? click here: Sinking Sand
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
2 Kings 14:1–7, “In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah. He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his father did. Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places. And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, that he slew his servants which had slain the king his father. But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin. He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day.”

The Davidic dynasty continued in Judah even though the evil queen Athaliah had tried to eliminate the descendants of David from Judah. A new king called Amaziah was anointed king in Judah. It was customary to name the new king’s mother because kings, in those days had many wives. Amaziah continued to follow the Lord and maintain ceremonial worship in the Temple. However, the syncretism that had grown up in Judah over many years, where they continued to show respect for the local gods of the Canaanites as well, continued and the king was unable to bring and end to those practices. Amaziah’s father had been assassinated by some of his close advisors so Amaziah executed them for the crime of regicide. He didn’t, as was often the practice in heathen nations, execute the families belonging to the men who had assassinated his father. During his time Judah fought a war against the Edomites and were able to take some territory that had previously belonged to Judah and lost to the Edomites.

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