Scripture Daily

Context No. 1708 of 4322 · 2 Kings

Context · Reflection

2 Kings 14:15-20: in context

15Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 16Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place. 17Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, fifteen years. 18Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 19They made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there. 20They brought him on horses, and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in David’s city.

This passage records the deaths of two kings. Jehoash of Israel dies and is buried in Samaria, his son reigning after him. And Amaziah of Judah, who had reigned in Jerusalem, meets a darker end: a conspiracy is formed against him, and though he flees to Lachish, his enemies pursue him there and kill him. His body is brought back on horses and buried with his fathers in the city of David. So the reigns close, and others take their place.

Amaziah's end is a quiet reminder of how little security earthly position finally gives. He had been a king, with a throne, a capital, an army; and none of it saved him. A conspiracy formed against him among his own people; he fled, and was hunted down and killed in the town where he had sought refuge. All the trappings of power could not secure his life; the position that looked like safety proved no refuge at all. And he is not alone in the chapter; kings come and go, reign and die and are buried, one after another, their successors stepping into their places, the whole procession moving on. There is a sobering perspective in these death notices for anyone tempted to find their security in position, status, or power. Amaziah's throne did not keep him safe; the very people he ruled turned on him. Earthly power, status, wealth, the things we are tempted to trust for security, offer no final safety; they can be lost, and they cannot ward off the end that comes to every reign. The kings of Judah and Israel, for all their crowns, slept with their fathers like everyone else, and some, like Amaziah, met violent ends despite their power. The one sure refuge is not a throne or a position but God himself, who does not pass away as the kings do. To build our security on power or status is to build on what turned on Amaziah and buried him; to build it on God is to rest on the one refuge that holds when thrones fail.

Am I tempted to find my security in position, status, or power, the things that could not save Amaziah when his own people turned on him, or can I learn from these passing kings that earthly power is no sure refuge, and root my security instead in the God who does not pass away as the kings do?

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