2 Kings 14:1-6: a reflection

1In the second year of Joash, son of Joahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah began to reign. 2He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. 3He did that which was right in the LORD’s eyes, yet not like David his father. He did according to all that Joash his father had done. 4However the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places. 5As soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, he killed his servants who had slain the king his father, 6but the children of the murderers he didn’t put to death, according to that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, as 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 die for his own sin.”

Amaziah becomes king of Judah and does what is right in the Lord's eyes, though the writer notes he was not like David and left the high places standing. His obedience was real but partial. Then, once his kingdom is secure, he executes the officials who had murdered his father the king. But he does something notable in the process: he spares the children of the murderers.

The reason is given explicitly. Amaziah acts according to what is written in the law of Moses: the fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children for the fathers, but each shall die for his own sin. In an age when whole families were often destroyed for one man's crime, Amaziah restrains himself in obedience to God's word, refusing to punish the innocent for the guilty. His justice is bounded by Scripture's principle of individual responsibility.

The principle he obeyed still matters. God holds each person accountable for their own sin, not for the sins of their parents or their children. This frees you from carrying guilt that is not yours, and it also refuses to let you blame your failings on others. Take responsibility for your own life before God, neither crushed by the sins of those before you nor excusing your own. And, like Amaziah, let God's word set the limits of how you treat others, even when custom would allow more.

Lord, you hold each person accountable for their own sin, not for the guilt of others. Free me from carrying blame that is not mine, and keep me from excusing my own failings on anyone else. Help me to take honest responsibility for my life before you, and to let your word set the limits of how I treat others, even when I could do otherwise. Amen.