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The Thistle and the Cedar · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying,
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  Speaker 1: The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar
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  Speaker 1: that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son,
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  Speaker 1: to wife. And there passed by a wild beast that
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  Speaker 1: was in Lebanon, and trod down the thistle. 2 Chronicles
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  Speaker 1: 25.18 With continued victory and blessing, Lord, I acknowledge that
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  Speaker 1: My greatest concern will be that of protecting myself from
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  Speaker 1: getting prideful and complacent when it comes to my devotion.
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  Speaker 1: When moments arise and my desired outcome doesn't come how
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  Speaker 1: I think it should, steer my mind back to the
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  Speaker 1: fact that you are in control and you know what
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  Speaker 1: is best for me. Right now, I silence all thoughts
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  Speaker 1: that would have me turn to a false idol created
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  Speaker 1: by a man like Amaziah. I denounce any ungodly actions
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  Speaker 1: that would cause me to stray from the path of
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  Speaker 1: my purpose and calling. When I place my expectation on you, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: help me to be quick to realize that your ways
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  Speaker 1: are above mine, and that as I wait in the
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  Speaker 1: midst of my disappointment, your perfect character will provide exceedingly
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  Speaker 1: above and beyond what I can imagine. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.
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  Speaker 1: To learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story.
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  Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: The Thistle and the Cedar. In our last story, we
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  Speaker 2: met the prophet Jonah, who refused to obey God's calling
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  Speaker 2: because of his prejudice against Nineveh. However, God used Jonah's
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  Speaker 2: life as a lesson. A lesson in caring about the lost.
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  Speaker 2: A lesson about humility and responding to the voice of God.
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  Speaker 2: A lesson on what truly matters. Now, we revisit the
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  Speaker 2: tragic story of Kings. In this story, King Amaziah assumes
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  Speaker 2: the throne of Judah. Although he begins his reign righteously,
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  Speaker 2: doubt and bitterness consumes him. Eventually, he raises his sword
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  Speaker 2: against an enemy too formidable for him.
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  Speaker 3: Inspired by the book of 2 Chronicles.
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  Speaker 4: We're so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 4: a Year podcast today. The Bible in a Year podcast
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  Speaker 4: is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries. and can only come
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  Speaker 4: to you each week through the support of listeners just
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  Speaker 4: like you. Your support today is so important that we
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  Speaker 4: want to thank you for your gift by giving you
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  Speaker 4: a copy of my book called The Jesus Book. It
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  Speaker 4: is a powerful guide that shows how every book of
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  Speaker 4: the Bible points to Jesus and how his living word,
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  Speaker 4: the truth of God's word, will transform your life. So
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  Speaker 4: to get a copy of The Jesus Book, simply go
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  Speaker 4: to jackgraham.org slash Jesus. That's jackgraham.org slash Jesus. And thank
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  Speaker 4: you for your support. In our last episode, we saw
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  Speaker 4: how God spared Nineveh from destruction after they repented from
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  Speaker 4: 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. Today,
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  Speaker 4: we'll return to Judah to hear of the reign of
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  Speaker 4: King Amaziah. He starts off well, but soon turns away
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  Speaker 4: from God to doubts, resentment, and pride. His pride would
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  Speaker 4: ultimately lead to his demise as he engaged an enemy
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  Speaker 4: far too powerful to defeat. So, once again, let's listen
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  Speaker 4: to God's word.
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  Speaker 2: King Joash of Judah returned to the dust, as is
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  Speaker 2: the way of all men. However, his demise was more
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  Speaker 2: brutal than most. He was assassinated by his own officers
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  Speaker 2: on the road to Scylla. His blood covered the streets,
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  Speaker 2: and his reign ended in shame. His son was twenty-five
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  Speaker 2: at the time, and was soon after named King of Judah.
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  Speaker 2: Amaziah was a young man, but filled with promise. He
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  Speaker 2: began his reign with ambition to break the cycle of
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  Speaker 2: his forefathers. He pursued God. He uplifted the poor and needy.
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  Speaker 2: and he established justice in the land of Judah. He
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  Speaker 2: did what was right in the sight of God. But
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  Speaker 2: there was still a lingering apathy resting at the bottom
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  Speaker 2: of Amaziah's heart. Something kept him from truly pursuing God
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  Speaker 2: as David once did. Amaziah knew that his father had
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  Speaker 2: been assassinated by the officers of Judah. Without warning, Amaziah
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  Speaker 2: sent men to ambush them and kill each man who
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  Speaker 2: played a part in killing his father. An eye for
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  Speaker 2: an eye, Amaziah thought. It was the custom for many
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  Speaker 2: kings to kill the families of traitors as well. But
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  Speaker 2: Amaziah refused to enact that sort of cruelty. He knew
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  Speaker 2: what was commanded of God in the law, saying, Fathers
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  Speaker 2: shall not die because of their children, nor children because
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  Speaker 2: of their fathers. But everyone is punished for their own sins.
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  Speaker 2: Only a few months into Amaziah's reign, there was a
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  Speaker 2: threat coming in from the nation of Seir. Amaziah was
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  Speaker 2: proactive in responding to this threat. He gathered every elder
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  Speaker 2: from each tribe of Judah to strategize. From them, he
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  Speaker 2: had 300,000 mighty men, young men from Judah who were
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  Speaker 2: eager to fight and defend their country. To further add
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  Speaker 2: to his massive army, he hired 100,000 mercenaries from Israel
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  Speaker 2: to bolster his army. Amaziah was preparing his men for battle.
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  Speaker 2: The camp was bustling with activity. The sound of iron
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  Speaker 2: being forged and swords being sharpened filled the camp as
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  Speaker 2: Amaziah walked through. As he was picking up his armor,
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  Speaker 2: a man of God interrupted him. The man looked at
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  Speaker 2: the king with wise and understanding eyes. The man smiled
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  Speaker 2: as he gestured for the king to sit. Amaziah respected
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  Speaker 2: the prophets of God, so was intent on hearing what
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  Speaker 2: he had to say. My king, you do not need
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  Speaker 2: the extra mercenaries from Israel. They have rejected the Lord,
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  Speaker 2: and God is in the process of refining them. The
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  Speaker 2: king's face was grim at hearing those words. He knew
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  Speaker 2: he needed more men to win the upcoming battle. The
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  Speaker 2: prophet sensed this and encouraged the king further. Do not
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  Speaker 2: be afraid. Do you think God will send you into
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  Speaker 2: your demise? Surely he is with you before your enemies.
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  Speaker 2: The king was not entirely reassured. What of the money
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  Speaker 2: I already paid them?
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  Speaker 3: Should I just waste that?
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  Speaker 2: Does not the Lord own all things? He can give
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  Speaker 2: you much more than one hundred talents in return for
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  Speaker 2: your faithfulness, the prophet responded. So the king did as
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  Speaker 2: the prophet asked. He sent away the mercenaries back to Israel,
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  Speaker 2: but he was met with great anger and conflict from
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  Speaker 2: the Israelites. They returned home with a deep anger in
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  Speaker 2: their hearts. Yet the Lord blessed Amaziah's faithfulness. He marched
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  Speaker 2: into battle, short 100,000 men, but filled with courage from God.
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  Speaker 3: Amaziah lifted up his.
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  Speaker 2: Sword and rode into battle with his men behind him.
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  Speaker 2: The warriors of Seir ran towards them, and the two
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  Speaker 2: armies collided with steel and bones. Amaziah's young arm slashed
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  Speaker 2: through the enemy forces. Blood filled the valley of salt
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  Speaker 2: and poured out like a stream. Over 10,000 men fell
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  Speaker 2: at the hand of Judah before the people of Seir surrendered.
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  Speaker 2: Another 10,000 were captured alive and brought to the edge
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  Speaker 2: of a mountain. With decisive force, the men were pushed
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  Speaker 2: over to their doom. Their skulls cracked on the rocks below.
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  Speaker 3: Amaziah and his men cheered in victory.
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  Speaker 2: Their war cries filled the air and echoed for all
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  Speaker 2: the surrounding nations to hear. Joy filled their hearts as
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  Speaker 2: they ventured back to Judah. A tired smile was on
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  Speaker 2: Amaziah's face as he rode back with elation. However, his
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  Speaker 2: smile grew dim when he saw smoke rising from the distance.
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  Speaker 2: Amaziah and his men rode quickly towards the smoke and
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  Speaker 2: saw flames rising from the outer cities of Judah. The
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  Speaker 2: men's hearts began to break. as they saw every city
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  Speaker 2: from Samaria to Beth Horon struck down. Three thousand people
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  Speaker 2: had been killed at the hands of the Israeli mercenaries.
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  Speaker 3: Amaziah's heart was broken.
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  Speaker 2: A subtle bitterness swelled up in his heart towards God.
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  Speaker 2: He had sent the men away with the promise that
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  Speaker 2: God would bless him. But here he stood among the
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  Speaker 2: burnt cities of Judah. God had not met his expectations.
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  Speaker 2: And although Amaziah would not say so outwardly, His heart
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  Speaker 2: was calloused towards him. Amaziah sat in the storehouse where
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  Speaker 2: all the spoils of war sat. In their victory against Seir,
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  Speaker 2: they had collected their idols and false gods. Amaziah stared
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  Speaker 2: at the carved images before him. They were gods made
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  Speaker 2: from man. They were gods of carnal pleasures and selfish desires.
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  Speaker 2: They were easy gods to obey, since they allowed men
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  Speaker 2: and women to give in to their own selfish pleasures.
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  Speaker 2: Amaziah got up from his seat and picked up one
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  Speaker 2: of the idols. He held it in his hand.
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  Speaker 3: He was drawn to it.
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  Speaker 2: A deep-seated bitterness in his heart boiled over. Amaziah placed
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  Speaker 2: the carved image on an altar nearby and bowed to it.
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  Speaker 2: Perhaps this god would not disappoint him. Amaziah was caught
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  Speaker 2: in the cycle of his forefather Solomon. The lewd and
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  Speaker 2: exotic idols enticed him. Foreign philosophy and pagan worship wrapped
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  Speaker 2: him up like a woman of the night. He was
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  Speaker 2: lured in and intoxicated by the rush of idol worship.
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  Speaker 2: All the while, God's heart broke at his servant's downfall.
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  Speaker 2: The Lord sent another prophet to speak truth to the king.
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  Speaker 2: The prophet came to the throne room of Amaziah. He
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  Speaker 2: was not his normal self. The prophet could see a
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  Speaker 2: hidden weariness in his eyes. He began to show symptoms
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  Speaker 2: of madness. My king, the prophet said quietly, why have
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  Speaker 2: you run after the gods of people that clearly care
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  Speaker 2: very little for their own? They are not compassionate or merciful.
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  Speaker 2: They gladly sacrifice their own and... The king raised his
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  Speaker 2: hand to silence the prophet. He stood from his throne
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  Speaker 2: and stepped down towards him. The look in his eyes
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  Speaker 2: sent a chill down the prophet's spine.
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  Speaker 3: Am I mistaken?
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  Speaker 2: Have you somehow been appointed as the royal counselor without
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  Speaker 2: my knowledge?
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  Speaker 4: He asked.
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  Speaker 2: The prophet opened his mouth to respond, but was abruptly
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  Speaker 2: 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.
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  Speaker 2: And servant of the living God. He would not be
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  Speaker 2: intimidated by a mentally and emotionally unstable king. The prophet
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  Speaker 2: began to depart, but said one final thing as he left.
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  Speaker 2: God is determined to thwart you before you corrupt the
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  Speaker 2: rest of Judah. God will destroy you for not listening
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  Speaker 2: to my counsel. The king slumped back in his throne,
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  Speaker 2: determined to regain control of his emotions. Amaziah was feeling
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  Speaker 2: bold after his victory over Seir, and decided to march
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  Speaker 2: against the neighboring nation of Israel as revenge for his
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  Speaker 2: fallen cities. Amaziah was beginning to be consumed with pride.
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  Speaker 2: Just as the ancient people who built the Tower of Babel,
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  Speaker 2: Amaziah began to overreach in search of power. Let us
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  Speaker 2: meet face to face, Amaziah sent to King Joash. This
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  Speaker 2: was a bold challenge, for Israel under Jehoahaz had amassed
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  Speaker 2: a great army. Greater than that of Judah? King Joash
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  Speaker 2: calmly replied to the new king with a story. A
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  Speaker 2: small thistle in Lebanon sent word to a mighty cedar, saying,
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  Speaker 2: Let us marry our son and daughter as equals. But
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  Speaker 2: a wild beast passed by and destroyed the tiny thistle.
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  Speaker 2: Its small leaves and frail twigs were crushed under its foot,
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  Speaker 2: but the beast could not crush the strong cedars. The
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  Speaker 2: king of Israel's words were strong and wise. In his
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  Speaker 2: letter he laid out a warning for the young king
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  Speaker 2: of Judah. The letter continued, saying, Your heart is filled
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  Speaker 2: with pride after your defeat over Seir. But you should
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  Speaker 2: stay at home. Why are you provoking evil against yourself?
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  Speaker 2: Joash's words only fueled Amaziah's anger. Though he was not
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  Speaker 2: aware of it, God was laying a trap for Amaziah.
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  Speaker 2: He would allow the young king to walk right into
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  Speaker 2: the consequence.
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  Speaker 3: Of his own pride.
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  Speaker 2: The two kings rode out against one another. They met
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  Speaker 2: at the valley of Beth Shemesh, on the outskirts of Judah.
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  Speaker 2: Amaziah raised his sword and ran into battle with his
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  Speaker 2: men at his side. He was confident, brave, and filled
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  Speaker 2: with the pride of youth.
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  Speaker 3: He should have stayed home.
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  Speaker 2: Joash unleashed a fury unlike Amaziah had ever seen. A
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  Speaker 2: new wave of Israelite soldiers flooded the battlefield with every
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  Speaker 2: passing hour. Amaziah's brutish confidence was wiped away under the
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  Speaker 2: boot of Joash and his army. Amaziah saw King Joash
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  Speaker 2: fighting and pursued him. He ran with his sword high
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  Speaker 2: in the air. He was met with a swift kick
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  Speaker 2: to the chest and fell back. He dropped his sword,
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  Speaker 2: and before he could reach for it, he was kicked
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  Speaker 2: in the jaw.
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  Speaker 3: Amaziah writhed in pain. His mouth was filled with blood.
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  Speaker 2: Joash picked him up by his breastplate and threw him
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  Speaker 2: into a group of his guards. They beat him and
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  Speaker 2: tied him to a horse. The battle had been easily won,
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  Speaker 2: and every man of Judah fled back to his home.
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  Speaker 2: Amaziah was taken into the heart of Judah. He was
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  Speaker 2: paraded around Jerusalem as a captive. Then Joash had his
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  Speaker 2: men destroy part of the wall of Jerusalem. The bricks
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  Speaker 2: crumbled to the floor along with Amaziah's dignity. Joash sent
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  Speaker 2: his men into the house of God and seized the
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  Speaker 2: gold and silver. He raided Amaziah's home and stole.
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  Speaker 3: All his treasure.
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  Speaker 2: Lastly, Joash took captives. Women and children were carted away
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  Speaker 2: like cattle. The king of Judah crumbled to his knees.
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  Speaker 2: Joash spat on the ground beside Amaziah and.
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  Speaker 3: Left him to soak in his own shame.
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  Speaker 2: After witnessing the king's shame, there was a conspiracy to
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  Speaker 2: kill him. So Amaziah fled to Lachish and spent years
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  Speaker 2: hiding in exile. Eventually, he was found and put to
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  Speaker 2: death immediately. It was a shameful end to a shameful life.
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  Speaker 3: Amaziah allowed doubt to plague his mind.
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  Speaker 2: Instead of seeking God and his pain and questioning, he
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  Speaker 2: wrote him off and pursued other gods. His story is
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  Speaker 2: not unlike the story of mankind. For all of human history,
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  Speaker 2: man has struggled for closeness to God. They seek to
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  Speaker 2: understand him and are disappointed when he does not meet
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  Speaker 2: their expectations. One day, a true king would rise up
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  Speaker 2: to restore a close relationship between man and God.
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  Speaker 3: But 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 idol 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. And before we go, I
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  Speaker 4: wanted to let you know that the Bible in a
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  Speaker 4: Year podcast is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can
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  Speaker 4: only come to you each week through the support of
• 22:02
  Speaker 4: listeners like you. Your support today is so important that
• 22:07
  Speaker 4: we want to thank you for your gift by giving
• 22:09
  Speaker 4: you a copy of my book called The Jesus Book.
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  Speaker 4: This book is a powerful guide that shows how every
• 22:15
  Speaker 4: book in the Bible points to Christ and how you
• 22:18
  Speaker 4: can better read and understand the Bible and how God's
• 22:21
  Speaker 4: Word transforms our lives. So to get your copy of
• 22:25
  Speaker 4: The Jesus Book, simply go to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's
• 22:30
  Speaker 4: jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank you for your support.