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The Thistle and the Cedar - The Book of 2 Chronicles · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And Joash king of Israel sent to
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  Speaker 1: Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in
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  Speaker 1: Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying,
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  Speaker 1: Give thy daughter to my son, to wife. And there
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  Speaker 1: passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and
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  Speaker 1: trod down the thistle. 2 Chronicles 25.18 With continued victory
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  Speaker 1: and blessing, Lord, I acknowledge that my greatest concern will
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  Speaker 1: be that of protecting myself from getting prideful and complacent
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: when it comes to my devotion. When moments arise and
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  Speaker 1: my desired outcome doesn't come how I think it should,
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  Speaker 1: steer my mind back to the fact that you are
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  Speaker 1: in control and you know what is best for me.
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  Speaker 1: Right now, I silence all thoughts that would have me
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  Speaker 1: turn to a false idol created by a man like Amaziah.
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  Speaker 1: I denounce any ungodly actions that would cause me to
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  Speaker 1: stray from the path of my purpose and calling. When
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  Speaker 1: I place my expectation on you, Lord, help me to
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  Speaker 1: be quick to realize that your ways are above mine,
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  Speaker 1: and that as I wait in the midst of my disappointment,
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  Speaker 1: your perfect character will provide exceedingly above and beyond what
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  Speaker 1: I can imagine. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: making prayer a priority in your day. To learn more
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  Speaker 1: about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story. Brought to
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  Speaker 1: you by BibleInAYear.com.
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: The Thistle and the Cedar.
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: In our last story, we met the prophet Jonah, who
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: refused to obey God's calling because of his prejudice against Nineveh. However,
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  Speaker 3: God used Jonah's life as a lesson. A lesson in
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  Speaker 3: caring about the lost. A lesson about humility and responding
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  Speaker 3: to the voice of God. A lesson on what truly matters. Now,
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  Speaker 3: we revisit the tragic story of Kings. In this story,
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  Speaker 3: King Amaziah assumes the throne of Judah. Although he begins
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: his reign righteously, doubt and bitterness consumes him. Eventually, he
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  Speaker 3: raises his sword against an enemy too formidable for him.
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  Speaker 2: Inspired by the book of 2 Chronicles.
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  Speaker 4: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 4: Bible in a Year podcast. In our last episode, we
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  Speaker 4: saw how God spared Nineveh from destruction after they repented
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  Speaker 4: from evil and turned their hearts to the one true God. Jonah,
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  Speaker 4: who had reluctantly delivered God's word to this pagan city,
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  Speaker 4: was angered by God's mercy toward them. But God used
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  Speaker 4: a plant and a worm to show Jonah that the
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  Speaker 4: thousands of souls in Nineveh were actually precious to God.
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  Speaker 4: Today we'll return to Judah to hear of the reign
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  Speaker 4: of King Amaziah. He starts off well, but soon turns
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  Speaker 4: away from God to doubts, resentment, and pride. His pride
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  Speaker 4: would ultimately lead to his demise as he engaged an
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  Speaker 4: enemy far too powerful to defeat. So, once again, let's
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  Speaker 4: listen to God's Word.
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: King Joash of Judah returned to the dust, as is
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  Speaker 3: the way of all men. However, his demise was more
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  Speaker 3: brutal than most. He was assassinated by his own officers
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  Speaker 3: on the road to Sila. His blood covered the streets,
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  Speaker 3: and his reign ended in shame. His son was twenty-five
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  Speaker 3: at the time, and was soon after named king of Judah.
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  Speaker 3: Amaziah was a young man, but filled with promise. He
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  Speaker 3: began his reign with ambition to break the cycle of
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  Speaker 3: his forefathers. He pursued God. He uplifted the poor and needy,
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  Speaker 3: and he established justice in the land of Judah. He
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  Speaker 3: did what was right in the sight of God. But
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  Speaker 3: There was still a lingering apathy resting at the bottom
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  Speaker 3: of Amaziah's heart. Something kept him from truly pursuing God
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  Speaker 3: as David once did. Amaziah knew that his father had
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  Speaker 3: been assassinated by the officers of Judah. Without warning, Amaziah
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  Speaker 3: sent men to ambush them and kill each man who
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  Speaker 3: played a part in killing his father. An eye for
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  Speaker 3: an eye, Amaziah thought. It was the custom for many
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  Speaker 3: kings to kill the families of traitors as well. But
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  Speaker 3: Amaziah refused to enact that sort of cruelty. He knew
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  Speaker 3: what was commanded of God in the law, saying, Fathers
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  Speaker 3: shall not die because of their children, nor children because
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  Speaker 3: of their fathers. But everyone is punished for their own sins.
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  Speaker 3: Only a few months into Amaziah's reign, there was a
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  Speaker 3: threat coming in from the nation of Seir. Amaziah was
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  Speaker 3: proactive in responding to this threat. He gathered every elder
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  Speaker 3: from each tribe of Judah to strategize. From them he
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  Speaker 3: had 300,000 mighty men, young men from Judah who were
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  Speaker 3: eager to fight and defend their country. To further add
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  Speaker 3: to his massive army, he hired 100,000 mercenaries from Israel
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  Speaker 3: to bolster his army. Amaziah was preparing his men for battle.
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  Speaker 3: The camp was bustling with activity. The sound of iron
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  Speaker 3: being forged and swords being sharpened filled the camp as
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  Speaker 3: Amaziah walked through. As he was picking up his armor,
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  Speaker 3: a man of God interrupted him. The man looked at
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  Speaker 3: the king with wise and understanding eyes. The man smiled
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  Speaker 3: as he gestured for the king to sit. Amaziah respected
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  Speaker 3: the prophets of God, so was intent on hearing what
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  Speaker 3: he had to say. My king, you do not need
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  Speaker 3: the extra mercenaries from Israel. They have rejected the Lord,
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  Speaker 3: and God is in the process of refining them.
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  Speaker 2: The king's face was grim at hearing those words.
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  Speaker 3: He knew he needed more men to win the upcoming battle.
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  Speaker 3: The prophet sensed this and encouraged the king further. Do
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  Speaker 3: not be afraid. Do you think God will send you
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  Speaker 3: into your demise? Surely he is with you before your enemy.
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  Speaker 3: The king was not entirely reassured. What of the money
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  Speaker 3: I already paid them?
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  Speaker 2: Should I just waste that? Does not the Lord own
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  Speaker 2: all things?
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  Speaker 3: He can give you much more than one hundred talents
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  Speaker 3: in return for your faithfulness.
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  Speaker 2: The prophet responded.
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  Speaker 3: So the king did as the prophet asked. He sent
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  Speaker 3: away the mercenaries.
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  Speaker 2: Back to Israel.
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  Speaker 3: But he was met with great anger and conflict from
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  Speaker 3: the Israelites. They returned home with a deep anger in
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  Speaker 3: their hearts.
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  Speaker 2: Yet the Lord blessed Amaziah's faithfulness.
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  Speaker 3: He marched into battle, short one hundred thousand men, but
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  Speaker 3: filled with courage from God. Amaziah lifted up his sword
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  Speaker 3: and rode into battle with his men behind him. The
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  Speaker 3: warriors of Seir ran towards them, and the two armies
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  Speaker 3: collided with steel and bone. Amaziah's young arms slashed through
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  Speaker 3: the enemy forces. Blood filled the valley of salt and
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  Speaker 3: poured out like a stream. Over ten thousand men fell
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  Speaker 3: at the hand of Judah before the people of Seir surrendered.
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  Speaker 3: Another ten thousand were captured alive and brought to the
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  Speaker 3: edge of a mountain. With decisive force, the men were
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  Speaker 3: pushed over to their doom. Their skulls cracked on the
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  Speaker 3: rocks below. Amaziah and his men cheered in victory. Their
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  Speaker 3: war cries filled the air and echoed for all the
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  Speaker 3: surrounding nations to hear. Joy filled their hearts as they.
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  Speaker 2: Ventured back to Judah.
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  Speaker 3: A tired smile was on Amaziah's face as he rode
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  Speaker 3: back with elation. However, his smile grew dim when he
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  Speaker 3: saw smoke rising from the distance. Amaziah and his men
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  Speaker 3: rode quickly towards the smoke and saw flames rising from
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  Speaker 3: the outer cities of Judah. The men's hearts began to
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  Speaker 3: break as they saw every city from Samaria to Beth
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  Speaker 3: Horon struck down. Three thousand people had been killed at
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  Speaker 3: the hands of the Israeli mercenaries. Amaziah's heart was broken.
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  Speaker 3: A subtle bitterness swelled up in his heart towards God.
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  Speaker 3: He had sent the men away with the promise that
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  Speaker 3: God would bless him. but here he stood among the
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  Speaker 3: burnt cities of Judah. God had not met his expectations,
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  Speaker 3: and although Amaziah would not say so outwardly, his heart
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  Speaker 3: was calloused towards him. Amaziah sat in the storehouse where
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  Speaker 3: all the spoils of war sat. In their victory against Seir,
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  Speaker 3: they had collected their idols and false gods. Amaziah stared
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  Speaker 3: at the carved images before him, They were gods made
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  Speaker 3: from man. They were gods of carnal pleasures and selfish desires.
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  Speaker 3: They were easy gods to obey, since they allowed men
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  Speaker 3: and women to give in to their own selfish pleasures.
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  Speaker 3: Amaziah got up from his seat and picked up one
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  Speaker 3: of the idols. He held it in his hand.
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  Speaker 2: He was drawn to it.
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  Speaker 3: A deep-seated bitterness in his.
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  Speaker 2: Heart boiled over.
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  Speaker 3: Amaziah placed the carved image on an altar nearby.
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  Speaker 2: And bowed to it.
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  Speaker 3: Perhaps this god would not disappoint him. Amaziah was caught
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  Speaker 3: in the cycle of his forefather Solomon. The lewd and
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  Speaker 3: exotic idols enticed him. Foreign philosophy and pagan worship wrapped
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  Speaker 3: him up.
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  Speaker 2: Like a woman of the night.
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  Speaker 3: He was lordy and intoxicated by the rush of idol worship.
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  Speaker 2: All the while, God's heart broke.
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  Speaker 3: At his servant's downfall. The Lord sent another prophet to
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  Speaker 3: speak truth to the king. The prophet came to the
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  Speaker 3: throne room of Amaziah. He was not his normal self.
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  Speaker 3: The prophet could see a hidden weariness in his eyes.
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  Speaker 3: He began to show symptoms of madness. My king, the
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  Speaker 3: prophet said quietly, why have you run after the gods
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  Speaker 3: of people that clearly care very little for their own?
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  Speaker 2: They are not compassionate or merciful.
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  Speaker 3: They gladly sacrifice their own and... The king raised his
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  Speaker 3: hand to silence the prophet. He stood from his throne
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  Speaker 3: and stepped down towards him. The look in his eyes
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  Speaker 3: sent a chill down the prophet's spine.
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  Speaker 2: Am I mistaken?
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  Speaker 3: Have you somehow been appointed as the royal counselor without
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  Speaker 3: my knowledge?
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  Speaker 2: He asked.
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  Speaker 3: The prophet opened his mouth to respond, but was abruptly
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  Speaker 3: interrupted again. Stop, the king shouted, before you are struck down.
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  Speaker 3: The prophet was flustered at first, but then stood upright.
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  Speaker 3: He was a child and servant of the living God.
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  Speaker 3: He would not be intimidated by a mentally and emotionally
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  Speaker 3: unstable king. The prophet began to depart. but said one
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  Speaker 3: final thing as he left. God is determined to thwart
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  Speaker 3: you before you corrupt the rest of Judah. God will
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  Speaker 3: destroy you for not listening to my counsel. The king
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  Speaker 3: slumped back in his throne, determined to regain control of
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  Speaker 3: his emotions. Amaziah was feeling bold after his victory over
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  Speaker 3: Seir and decided to march against the neighboring nation of
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  Speaker 3: Israel as revenge for his fallen city's Amaziah was beginning
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  Speaker 3: to be consumed with pride. Just as the ancient people
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  Speaker 3: who built the Tower of Babel, Amaziah began to overreach
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  Speaker 3: in search of power.
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  Speaker 2: Let us meet face to face.
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  Speaker 3: Amaziah sent to King Joash. This was a bold challenge,
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  Speaker 3: for Israel under Jehoahaz had amassed a great army, greater
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  Speaker 3: than that of Judah. King Joash calmly replied to the
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  Speaker 3: new king with a story. A small thistle in Lebanon
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  Speaker 3: sent word to a mighty cedar, saying, Let us marry
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  Speaker 3: our son and daughter as equals. But a wild beast
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  Speaker 3: passed by and destroyed the tiny thistle. Its small leaves
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  Speaker 3: and frail twigs were crushed under its foot, but the
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  Speaker 3: beast could not crush the strong cedar. The king of
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  Speaker 3: Israel's words were strong and wise. In his letter he
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  Speaker 3: laid out a warning for the young king of Judah.
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  Speaker 3: The letter continued, saying, Your heart is filled with pride
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  Speaker 3: after your defeat over Seir. But you should stay at home.
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  Speaker 3: Why are you provoking evil against yourself? Joash's words only
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  Speaker 3: fueled Amaziah's anger. Though he was not aware of it,
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  Speaker 3: God was laying a trap for Amaziah. He would allow
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  Speaker 3: the young king to walk right into the consequence of
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  Speaker 3: his own pride. The two kings rode out against one another.
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  Speaker 3: They met at the valley of Beth Shemesh, on the
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  Speaker 3: outskirts of Judah. Amaziah raised his sword and ran into
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  Speaker 3: battle with his men at his side. He was confident, brave,
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  Speaker 3: and filled with the pride of youth. He should have
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  Speaker 3: stayed home. Joash unleashed a fury unlike Amaziah had ever seen.
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  Speaker 3: A new wave of Israelite soldiers flooded the battlefield with
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  Speaker 3: every passing hour. Amaziah's brutish confidence was wiped away under
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  Speaker 3: the boot of Joash and his army. Amaziah saw King
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  Speaker 3: Joash fighting and pursued him. He ran with his sword
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  Speaker 3: high in the air. He was met with a swift
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  Speaker 3: kick to the chest and fell back. He dropped his sword,
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  Speaker 3: and before he could reach for it, he was kicked
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  Speaker 3: in the jaw.
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  Speaker 2: Amaziah writhed in pain. His mouth was filled with blood.
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  Speaker 3: Joash picked him up by his breastplate and threw him
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  Speaker 3: into a group of his guards. They beat him and
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  Speaker 3: tied him to a horse. The battle had been easily won,
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  Speaker 3: and every man of Judah fled back to his homes.
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  Speaker 3: Amaziah was taken into the heart of Judah. He was
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  Speaker 3: paraded around Jerusalem as a captive. Then, Joash had his
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  Speaker 3: men destroy part of the wall of Jerusalem. The bricks
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  Speaker 3: crumbled to the floor along with Amaziah's dignity. Joash sent
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  Speaker 3: his men into the house of God and seized the
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  Speaker 3: gold and silver. He raided Amaziah's home and stole all
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  Speaker 3: his treasure. Lastly, Joash took captives. Women and children were
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  Speaker 3: carted away like cattle. The king of Judah crumbled to
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  Speaker 3: his knees. Joash spat on the ground beside Amaziah and
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  Speaker 3: left him to soak in his own shame. After witnessing
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  Speaker 3: the king's shame, there was a conspiracy to kill him.
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  Speaker 3: So Amaziah fled to Lachish and spent years hiding in exile. Eventually,
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  Speaker 3: he was found and put to death immediately. It was
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  Speaker 3: a shameful end to a shameful life.
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  Speaker 2: Amaziah allowed doubt to plague his mind.
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  Speaker 3: Instead of seeking God and his pain and questioning, he
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  Speaker 3: wrote him off and pursued other gods. His story is
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  Speaker 3: not unlike the story of mankind. For all of human history,
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  Speaker 3: man has struggled for closeness to God. They seek to
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  Speaker 3: understand him and are disappointed when he does not meet
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  Speaker 3: their expectations. One day, a true king would rise up
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  Speaker 3: to restore a close relationship between man and God. But
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  Speaker 3: for now, the struggle continues.
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  Speaker 4: We begin today's passage following the death of Joash of Judah,
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  Speaker 4: who was killed by his own men as he traveled
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  Speaker 4: the road to Sila. His son Amaziah was young, only
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  Speaker 4: 25 when his father died, and he became king of Judah.
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  Speaker 4: It all started off well. Amaziah did many good things,
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  Speaker 4: seeking to do right in the eyes of the Lord
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  Speaker 4: and restore justice to the land. He sought to deal
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  Speaker 4: with the traitors who killed his father, and he put
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  Speaker 4: them to death. But rather than wipe out their entire families,
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  Speaker 4: including their children, Amaziah killed only the guilty, obeying God's law.
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  Speaker 4: There was truly great potential in this new king. But
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  Speaker 4: at the same time, a darkness in his heart held
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  Speaker 4: him back. Soon there was an enemy threatening the peace.
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  Speaker 4: The nation of Seir was preparing to attack. So he
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  Speaker 4: gathered the elders and assembled the troops. Then he hired
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  Speaker 4: soldiers from Israel, mercenaries to fight with them. It was
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  Speaker 4: a sound military strategy. But before they went to battle,
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  Speaker 4: one of God's prophets appeared to speak with the king.
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  Speaker 4: He delivered a word from the Lord, saying the king
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  Speaker 4: did not need the 100,000 mercenaries from Israel. Israel was
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  Speaker 4: a nation in turmoil, and God was not with them.
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  Speaker 4: Sometimes the plan that makes the most sense may not
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  Speaker 4: be the plan God has for you. Those may be
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  Speaker 4: confusing moments that cause you to wonder if God will
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  Speaker 4: still provide or protect. Surely Amaziah wondered the same. So
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  Speaker 4: the prophet assured him, saying in 2 Chronicles 25 and
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  Speaker 4: verse 8, But go, act, be strong for the battle.
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  Speaker 4: Why should you suppose that God will cast you down
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  Speaker 4: before the enemy? For God has power to help or
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  Speaker 4: to cast down. He was being told to trust in
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  Speaker 4: God's power, not his own, not Israel's army. Only trust
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  Speaker 4: God and be strong for the battle and obey him.
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  Speaker 4: Echoes of the words God spoke to Joshua when he
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  Speaker 4: became the leader of God's people. But despite lingering doubts,
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  Speaker 4: Amaziah sent the mercenaries home. The Israelites were angry even
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  Speaker 4: though they had already been paid. But Amaziah obeyed God
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  Speaker 4: and went without them. And just as God promised, he
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  Speaker 4: was with the king and gave him victory, even with
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  Speaker 4: a shorthanded army. The king and his men returned home
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  Speaker 4: confident and victorious, only to find that the Israelite warriors
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  Speaker 4: had attacked several cities, setting fires and killing more than
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  Speaker 4: 3,000 people. Why had God allowed this to happen, the
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  Speaker 4: king must have wondered. He had been obedient and yet
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  Speaker 4: disaster came. And so, because God didn't meet his expectations,
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  Speaker 4: Amaziah became angry at God. His anger turned to resentment.
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  Speaker 4: Obedience to God will always be the right path, but
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  Speaker 4: it will not always be a peaceful or easy path.
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  Speaker 4: Evil is still very real in the world, and until
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  Speaker 4: the Lord Jesus returns, tragedies are going to happen, even
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  Speaker 4: to the most faithful followers of the Lord. In those moments,
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  Speaker 4: we can, like King David, rest in God's goodness and
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  Speaker 4: find comfort and healing in Him, or we can become
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  Speaker 4: bitter like Amaziah and give up on God. Amaziah, in
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  Speaker 4: his anger and hurt, decided he would rather trust in
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  Speaker 4: the idols that he could make, not the God who
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  Speaker 4: made him. These false gods gave him license to do
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  Speaker 4: as he pleased, because he felt that he could control
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  Speaker 4: his own little gods. But as all who give in
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  Speaker 4: to sin and idolatry and disobedience discover, Amaziah became controlled
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  Speaker 4: by the pleasure of the gods he bowed to. God
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  Speaker 4: sent a prophet to talk sense into the king, but
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  Speaker 4: he was too far gone. He would not listen. He
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  Speaker 4: was filled with pride, and in his arrogance, he decided
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  Speaker 4: he could face off against Israel and her army. King
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  Speaker 4: Joash of Israel received his challenge and replied with a
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  Speaker 4: parable about a thistle that wanted to defeat a mighty cedar.
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  Speaker 4: In other words, he was warning Amaziah to back down.
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  Speaker 4: He was outmatched, overmatched. But Amaziah would not listen to reason,
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  Speaker 4: and God was giving him over to his pride. Defeat
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  Speaker 4: came swiftly to Judah as ways of Israelites overwhelmed them.
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  Speaker 4: Amaziah was taken captive and subjected to ridicule, paraded through
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  Speaker 4: his own capital as a prisoner. Humiliated, King Amaziah had
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  Speaker 4: to flee his kingdom to avoid being killed by his
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  Speaker 4: own people. But even then, rather than turn to God
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  Speaker 4: and repent, he clung to his idols, the false gods
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  Speaker 4: he could mold and understand but never could truly depend
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  Speaker 4: upon to save him. His life shows the tragic effects
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  Speaker 4: of pride and trying to force the hand of God
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  Speaker 4: to meet our expectations rather than trusting his plans and
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  Speaker 4: his destiny for our lives. Dear God, we know that
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  Speaker 4: your ways are higher than our ways and why we
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  Speaker 4: do not always understand why you are doing what you do.
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  Speaker 4: We do know that you are God, that you are
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  Speaker 4: in control, that you are on the throne of our
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  Speaker 4: lives when we trust in you. So Lord, we know
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  Speaker 4: that what you do is always good. It is always best.
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  Speaker 4: In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening to today's
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  Speaker 4: Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
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  Speaker 4: Download the Pray.com app and make prayer a priority along
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  Speaker 4: with Bible study in your life. And if you enjoyed
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  Speaker 4: this podcast, be sure and share it with someone you
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  Speaker 4: know because it can truly make a difference in someone
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  Speaker 4: else's life. And if you want more resources on how
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  Speaker 4: you can know the Bible and live the Christian life,
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  Speaker 4: contact me at jackgraham.org. That's jackgraham.org for many resources that
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  Speaker 4: will help you in your walk with God. God bless you.