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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Wednesday, 17 December 2025:
2 Chronicles 25:1 — Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
Amaziah begins with stability, heritage, and opportunity. He inherits a throne preserved by God’s mercy and reform under Jehoiada’s influence in the previous generation. His reign length suggests endurance, but longevity alone is not faithfulness. The Chronicler signals from the outset that Amaziah’s story will hinge not on how long he reigns, but how deeply he walks with the Lord.
2 Chronicles 25:2 — And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart.
This single sentence defines the tragedy of Amaziah’s life. Partial obedience is still disobedience. External correctness without internal devotion creates a life that looks faithful but lacks resilience. A divided heart obeys when it is convenient, safe, or advantageous, but withholds trust when obedience becomes costly. God desires wholeness, not compliance. Jesus later exposes this same condition when He confronts those who honor God with their lips while their hearts are far from Him (Matthew 15:8).
“My fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.” (Joshua 14:8, NIV) “…not one [who originally left Eygpt] except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun [crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land], for they followed the LORD wholeheartedly.” (Numbers 32:12) Only two of the original generation (millions of people) who left Egypt during the great exodus made it across the Jordan River into the Promised Land – Why? Because they were wholehearted. If you want to experience the Kingdom of God, enter the Kingdom of God — you can’t half enter. And when you enter, stay there, live there, abide there.
The First Commandment is, “You shall have no other gods before me,” and The Greatest Commandment is, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Apparent obedience that is not really inspired by genuine reverence and love for the Almighty is artificial and short-lived. This is why Jesus said things like, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27, 28) In this example, hidden lust reveals a heart that doesn’t revere and love God enough to care about what He cares about, to desire what He desires. That is were sin starts, in the heart. Jesus was tempted in the desert, externally by Satan, not internally from His heart – He remained without sin. External temptations don’t cause us to sin; our hearts cause us to sin. “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” (Matthew 15:11)
2 Chronicles 25:3-4 — As soon as the royal power was firmly in his hand, he killed his servants who had struck down the king his father. But he did not put their children to death, according to what is written in the Law in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers, but each one shall die for his own sin.”
Amaziah begins well by anchoring justice to God’s Word rather than personal vengeance. He executes judgment where appropriate but restrains himself according to Scripture. This is obedience informed by God’s law, not emotional reaction. Yet obedience here is selective; it governs his actions but has not yet captured his heart. Knowing the Law is not the same as loving the Lord who gave it.
2 Chronicles 25:5 — Then Amaziah assembled the men of Judah and set them by fathers’ houses under commanders of thousands and of hundreds, for all Judah and Benjamin. He mustered those twenty years old and upward, and found that they were three hundred thousand choice men, fit for war, able to handle spear and shield.
Amaziah prepares for war with organization and confidence. Strength, numbers, and readiness are emphasized. Humanly speaking, he is well resourced. But preparation without dependence is dangerous. Military strength can easily replace spiritual trust when the heart is divided.
2 Chronicles 25:6 — He hired also a hundred thousand mighty men of valor from Israel for a hundred talents of silver.
Here the first crack widens. Amaziah supplements God’s provision with a pragmatic alliance. Israel at this time is spiritually corrupt. The hire makes sense militarily, but it violates the deeper principle of reliance on the Lord. A divided heart reaches for worldly reinforcement when faith feels insufficient.
2 Chronicles 25:7 — But a man of God came to him and said, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel, all these Ephraimites.”
God intervenes early with clarity and grace. The issue is not capability but companionship. God will not bless alliances that compromise holiness. Success gained through disobedience always carries hidden cost. God warns Amaziah before the battle, giving him a chance to choose trust over pragmatism.
2 Chronicles 25:8 — But if you suppose that you can fight with them, know that God will cast you down before the enemy, for God has power to help or to cast down.
This is a direct confrontation with self-reliance. Victory is not secured by manpower but by alignment with God. The same God who grants strength also withholds it when hearts drift. Scripture consistently teaches that God opposes pride but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
Once again, the Bible warns about partnering with ungodly people and putting your trust in worldly powers rather than in God. Amaziah had already hired the Israelites but then listened to God’s word and sent them home, losing his investment but ultimately winning the battle. However, the Israelite warriors plundered Judah’s cities on the way home, killing thousands. Amaziah and his people still suffered consequences for not obeying God in the first place. Working with the ungodly doesn’t ‘work’ for God. What consequences do God’s people face today in compromise with the world? It is tempting to partner with unbelievers rather than relying on God. It takes courage to resist pressures to compromise holiness and join with the world; it takes faith to rely on God.
2 Chronicles 25:9 — And Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents that I have given to the army of Israel?” The man of God answered, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this.”
This verse exposes Amaziah’s real concern: loss. Obedience feels expensive. The fear of wasted investment often keeps people bound to bad decisions. God’s response reframes the issue: obedience never impoverishes the faithful. What is surrendered in faith is never truly lost. Jesus later echoes this truth, promising that whoever loses for His sake will receive far more (Matthew 19:29).
2 Chronicles 25:10 — Then Amaziah dismissed the army that had come to him from Ephraim, to go home again. And they became very angry with Judah and returned home in fierce anger.
Amaziah obeys, but obedience triggers conflict. Faithful decisions do not guarantee peaceful responses. Sometimes obedience provokes hostility. This is where partial-hearted obedience begins to strain; it costs relational capital and invites backlash. Jesus warned His followers that faithfulness would bring division and opposition (John 15:18-20).
2 Chronicles 25:11 — But Amaziah took courage and led his people and went to the Valley of Salt and struck down ten thousand men of Seir.
God honors Amaziah’s obedience with victory. Courage here flows from alignment. When God’s people trust Him fully, He supplies strength beyond natural capacity. This victory should have reinforced Amaziah’s dependence on the Lord.
2 Chronicles 25:12 — The men of Judah captured another ten thousand alive and took them to the top of the rock and threw them down from the top of the rock, so that they were all dashed to pieces.
Victory gives way to brutality. Success without humility hardens the heart. When obedience is not rooted in love for God, it can quickly turn cruel. Power reveals character. This act hints that Amaziah’s heart has not been softened by dependence but emboldened by success.
2 Chronicles 25:13 — But the men of the army whom Amaziah sent back, not letting them go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria to Beth-horon, and struck down three thousand people and took much spoil.
Consequences arrive. Obedience does not eliminate fallout from earlier compromises. The alliance Amaziah flirted with now bears bitter fruit. This is not God’s punishment but the natural harvest of divided loyalty. Scripture warns that what we sow, we reap (Galatians 6:7).
2 Chronicles 25:14 — After Amaziah came from striking down the Edomites, he brought the gods of the men of Seir and set them up as his gods and worshiped them, making offerings to them.
This is the turning point. Amaziah attributes victory incorrectly. Instead of worshiping the God who delivered him, he adopts the idols of the defeated. This is spiritual insanity: honoring powerless gods after experiencing the living God. Success without intimacy leads to idolatry. When people stop thanking God, they start replacing Him (Romans 1:21–23).
“…the LORD was angry with Amaziah and sent to him a prophet, who said to him, ‘Why have you sought the gods of a people who did not deliver their own people from your hand?’” A true prophet is compelled to speak the truth against sin, regardless the audience and regardless the consequences.
God sends His messengers to warn sinners to repent. We are Christ’s Ambassadors, proclaiming to others, whether they want to hear it or not, His message of repentance and forgiveness.
Those who follow sin unrepentantly will often respond violently to God’s word.
2 Chronicles 25:16 — But as he was speaking, the king said to him, “Have we made you a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?” So the prophet stopped and said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”
Amaziah silences correction. This is the final stage of drift. When people reject truth, they often attack the messenger. Unteachable hearts seal their own collapse. The refusal to listen confirms the trajectory. Scripture repeatedly warns that rejecting correction leads to destruction (Proverbs 15:10).
2 Chronicles 25:17-19 — Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent to Joash… “Come, let us look one another in the face.” … And Joash warned him…. “But Amaziah would not listen, for it was of God, in order that he might give them into the hand of their enemies, because they had sought the gods of Edom.”
Pride replaces discernment. Amaziah confuses courage with arrogance. Even his enemy offers wisdom, but Amaziah cannot hear it. God allows his stubbornness to run its course. Sometimes judgment takes the form of letting people pursue the path they insist on walking.
2 Chronicles 25:20-24 — So Joash king of Israel went up… and Judah was defeated by Israel… and he broke down the wall of Jerusalem… and took all the gold and silver…
Public humiliation follows private compromise. The king who once feared losing silver now loses far more. Disobedience always costs more than obedience ever would. What Amaziah tried to protect through self-reliance is stripped away.
2 Chronicles 25:25-28 — Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of Joash…. And from the time that Amaziah turned away from the LORD they made a conspiracy against him…. And they brought him on horses, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David.
Amaziah finishes poorly. The Chronicler marks the exact moment of decline: when he turned away from the Lord. His reign continues outwardly, but spiritually it is already over. A divided heart eventually collapses under its own weight. He is buried with honor, but Scripture records the truth: compromise defined his legacy.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 17 December 2025: Examine the alignment of your heart today. Identify one area where obedience is partial rather than whole. Release the fear of loss that keeps you divided. Choose wholehearted trust over calculated compromise.
Pray: “Father, search my heart and expose every divided loyalty. I do not want outward obedience without inward devotion. Give me a whole heart that trusts You fully, even when obedience feels costly. Keep me teachable, humble, and quick to listen to Your correction. Let my victories lead me closer to You, not away from You. Help me finish well, fully devoted to You. Amen.”
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