Study Desk

The Aramean army came with only a small group of men, but the Lord handed over to them a very large army from Judah, because the people of Judah had left the Lord , the God of their ancestors. So Joash was punished.

When the Arameans left, Joash was badly wounded. His own officers made plans against him because he had killed Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. So they killed Joash in his own bed. He died and was buried in Jerusalem but not in the graves of the kings.

Amaziah did what the Lord said was right, but he did not really want to obey him.

But Amaziah did not put to death their children. He obeyed what was written in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded, "Parents must not be put to death when their children do wrong, and children must not be put to death when their parents do wrong. Each must die for his own sins."

But a man of God came to Amaziah and said, "My king, don't let the army of Israel go with you. The Lord is not with Israel or the people from the tribe of Ephraim.

You can make yourself strong for war, but God will defeat you. He has the power to help you or to defeat you."

Amaziah said to the man of God, "But what about the seventy-five hundred pounds of silver I paid to the Israelite army?" The man of God answered, "The Lord can give you much more than that."

Then Jehoash king of Israel answered Amaziah king of Judah, "A thornbush in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar tree in Lebanon. It said, ‘Let your daughter marry my son.' But then a wild animal from Lebanon came by, walking on and crushing the thornbush.

You say to yourself that you have defeated Edom, but you have become proud, and you brag. But you stay at home! Don't ask for trouble, or you and Judah will be defeated."

But Amaziah would not listen. God caused this to happen so that Jehoash would defeat Judah, because Judah asked for help from the gods of Edom.

When Amaziah stopped obeying the Lord , the people in Jerusalem made plans against him. So he ran away to the town of Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him.

But when Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his ruin. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God; he went into the Temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar for incense.

Jotham did what the Lord said was right, just as his father Uzziah had done. But Jotham did not enter the Temple of the Lord to burn incense as his father had. But the people continued doing wrong.

But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there. He met the Israelite army when it returned to Samaria and said to them, "The Lord , the God of your ancestors, handed Judah over to you, because he was angry with those people. But God has seen the cruel way you killed them.

Now you plan to make the people of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves, but you also have sinned against the Lord your God.

Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came to Ahaz, but he gave Ahaz trouble instead of help.

Ahaz took some valuable things from the Temple of the Lord , from the palace, and from the princes, and he gave them to the king of Assyria, but it did not help.

He offered sacrifices to the gods of the people of Damascus, who had defeated him. He thought, "The gods of the kings of Aram helped them. If I offer sacrifices to them, they will help me also." But this brought ruin to Ahaz and all Israel.

Ahaz died and was buried in the city of Jerusalem, but not in the graves of the kings of Israel. Ahaz's son Hezekiah became king in his place.

When Ahaz was king, he was unfaithful to God and removed some things from the Temple. But we have put them back and made them holy for the Lord . They are now in front of the Lord 's altar."