Title: Good luck when it goes well
2 Kings (32) Do well when you go out
(2 Kings 14:1-16)
< Historic Sites of King Amaziah and King Joash >
In the second year of Joash, the 12th king of northern Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash, the 8th king of southern Judah, became the ninth king of southern Judah (verse 1). Amaziah became king at the age of 25 and reigned 29 years in Jerusalem (verse 2). He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but he was not like David. He did all that his father Joash had done, but he did not remove the high places, so the people still offered shamanic sacrifices on the high places (verses 3-4).
In the early days of his reign, Amaziah was shaken by the power that assassinated his father Joash, and his power was shaken, but based on his honest faith, he strengthened his national power externally and internally. not (verses 5-6). As the government stabilized and national power increased, he went to conquer Edom, which expanded his power in the southern border region, killed 10,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley, and conquered Sela, the capital of Edom, and named it Jokdeel (verse 7).
After the conquest of Edom, the northern Israelite soldiers who came as mercenaries took turns plundering the cities of Judah and killing 3,000 people (2 Chronicles 29:13). Amaziah sent a messenger to Joash, king of northern Israel, saying, “Come, let us face one another” (verse 8). After Ahab, southern Judah was oppressed by northern Israel due to its inferior military power. Amaziah became arrogant after the conquest of Edom and proposed inter-Korean talks in a arrogant tone, but King Joash of northern Israel accepted this as a declaration of war rather than a proposal for a meeting. .
Then King Joash sent a messenger to King Amaziah and said, “The thorn tree of Lebanon sent a message to the cedar tree in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife.’ A wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled the thorn tree” (verse 9). In this parable, the Lebanese thorn tree symbolizes King Amaziah, the Lebanese cedar symbolizes King Joash, and the wild beasts of Lebanon symbolize Joash's soldiers. In other words, the thorn tree (King Amaziah) proudly asks the cedar (King Joash) for a daughter, and the southern Judah is trampled down by the wild beasts of Lebanon (Joash's soldiers).
Along with the parable, King Joash told him not to go on the path of destruction with pride any longer, but to return, but King Amaziah did not listen. Then King Joash came with an army, and the two armies waged war at Beth-shemesh (verse 11). In that battle of Beth-shemesh, the soldiers of Judah were defeated and each fled to their tents (verse 12). According to 2 Chronicles 25:20, Amaziah's defeat was God's punishment for idolatry who worshiped the gods of Edom, but it was also the result of Amaziah's pride in conquering Edom and intoxicating with victory.
The war between southern Judah and northern Israel was the first civil war that took place after the division of the two Koreas. In that <Beth Shemesh Civil War>, King Joash captured King Amaziah. And when the northern Israelite army came to Jerusalem, they broke down the walls of Jerusalem four hundred cubits from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, and took the gold and silver and all the weapons that were in the treasury of the temple and the royal palace, and took men hostage, and returned to Samaria. -14). After that, when Joash died, his son Jeroboam II became the thirteenth king of northern Israel (verse 16).
< Do well when you go out >
The text reminds us of the lesson that pride is the vanguard of destruction. Amaziah ruled well and honestly in the eyes of God, but immediately after the conquest of Edom, he fell into idolatry worshiping the god of Edom, fell into pride, and eventually fell into a miserable abyss. Even the slightest mistake can cause an elaborate tower to collapse in an instant, so when you build an elaborate tower, you have to cling to God more. Faith that clings to God more when things are going well and when you are comfortable is true faith. If you keep away from God even if you succeed, great defeat awaits you, but if you draw near to God even if you succeed, great achievement awaits you.
At the time of Jesus, John the Baptist was a successful revivalist, but he minimized himself before Jesus when he was at his best. John the Baptist at that time was still popular, full of enthusiasm, and must have had great dreams and visions of self-expansion. At that very moment, the temptation that dims and humbles himself is usually not a great test, but John the Baptist overcame it and humbled himself before Jesus. That, paradoxically, shows his greatness well.
Like John the Baptist, always train to be humble and humble yourself even when you are elevated. To humble yourself does not mean to be a passive or incompetent person who does nothing. John the Baptist was not a passive person. Humility is not refusing, saving yourself, or withering away, but obeying the Word and mission. In other words, even if a task is too overwhelming to handle, if God wants it, we must obey it.
If it is something that is pleasing to God and is pleasing to God, do not reject it even if you fall down while fulfilling your mission and office. Being faithful to one's mission in God's Word is true humility. People often deviate from God's way when they go well rather than when they fail. Recognize that fact, live hard and succeed, but do well when you succeed. When you go out like that, be blessed souls who prepare for greater blessings and achievements by doing well.