Amaziah, King of Judah

Background and Family

Amaziah was born into the Davidic line during a turbulent period for the Kingdom of Judah. His father, Joash, had been a king who started with great promise but ended his reign in disgrace and was eventually murdered by his own servants, Jozabad and Jehozabad. Amaziah’s mother was Jehoaddan, a woman from Jerusalem. Upon taking the throne at age twenty-five, Amaziah’s first major act of state was to establish his authority by executing the officials who had assassinated his father. In a notable display of adherence to the Torah, specifically the command found in Deuteronomy 24:16, Amaziah did not put the children of the assassins to death, stating that each person should die for their own sin. This early adherence to the Law marked the high point of his spiritual life.

The Edomite Campaign

One of Amaziah's primary objectives was the reclamation of Edomite territory. He organized a massive census of Judah and Benjamin, finding 300,000 elite troops ready for battle. Seeking even greater strength, he hired 100,000 mercenary soldiers from the northern Kingdom of Israel for one hundred talents of silver. However, a man of God warned the king that the Lord was not with Israel and that the inclusion of these mercenaries would lead to defeat.

Demonstrating significant initial faith, Amaziah asked what would happen to the money he had already paid. The prophet replied, "The LORD is able to give you much more than this." Amaziah obeyed, dismissing the Israelite troops. Though the dismissed mercenaries were enraged and raided Judean cities on their return journey, Amaziah proceeded to the Valley of Salt. There, he achieved a decisive victory, striking down 10,000 Edomites (men of Seir).

Spiritual Decline and War with Israel

The victory over Edom proved to be Amaziah's spiritual undoing. Upon returning from the slaughter, he brought back the idols of the Seirites and began to worship them, burning incense to the gods of the people he had just conquered. When a prophet rebuked him for seeking gods that could not even save their own people, Amaziah reacted with arrogance, threatening the prophet with violence.

Fueled by his military success, Amaziah challenged King Jehoash of Israel to a "face to face" meeting—a clear provocation to war. Jehoash responded with a mocking parable about a thistle in Lebanon that was trampled by a wild beast for its presumption. He warned Amaziah that his heart had become proud because of his victory over Edom and advised him to stay at home.

Amaziah refused to listen. The two armies met at Beth-shemesh. The forces of Judah were soundly defeated, and Amaziah himself was captured by Jehoash. The Israelite king then marched Amaziah back to his own capital, Jerusalem, where Jehoash broke down 400 cubits of the city wall, looted the temple and the palace, and took hostages back to Samaria.

Final Years and Death

Amaziah survived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoash of Israel, but his prestige and authority never fully recovered from the humiliation at Beth-shemesh. The biblical text in 2 Chronicles 25:27 links his ultimate downfall to his spiritual apostasy, noting that from the time he turned away from the Lord, a conspiracy began to form against him in Jerusalem.

When the plot became manifest, Amaziah fled to the fortified city of Lachish seeking safety. However, the conspirators sent men after him and assassinated him there. His body was brought back on horses to Jerusalem and buried with his ancestors in the City of David. The people of Judah then took his sixteen-year-old son, Uzziah (also called Azariah), and made him king in his father's place.