Annotations Upon the Historical Books Part 2, 2 Kings · Chapter 14
CHAP. XIIII.
Verſ. 1. IN the ſecond yeare of Joaſh ſonne of Jehoahaz king of Iſrael, reigned Amaziah, &c.] That is, in the ſecond yeare of his reigne, after he began to reigne alone, his father Jehoahaz being dead: for he began to reigne three yeares before his father dyed, and that was the thirty ſeventh yeare of Joaſh king of Judah (the father of this Amaziah) who reigned fourty years complete. See the note chap. 13.10.
Verſ. 2, And reigned twenty and nine years in Jeruſalem.] Of which nine and twenty years, Joaſh reigned in Iſrael fifteen years complete, and ſomething more; (for he began his reigne the yeare before Amaziah, verſ. 1. In the ſecond yeare of Joaſh ſonne of Jehoahaz king of Iſrael, reigned Amaziah: and he reigned but ſixteen years in all, chap. 13.10. and the other, fourteen years complete, and ſomething more, Jeroboam the ſonne of Joaſh reigned in Iſrael; and therefore it is twice expreſſed, that Amaziah outlived Joaſh king of Iſrael fifteen years, verſ. 17. of this chapter, and 2 Chron. 25.25.) but then may ſome ſay: if Amaziah lived but to the fifteenth yeare of Jeroboam the ſonne of Joaſh; how is it ſaid, that Azariah, or Uzziah the ſonne of this Amaziah, began his reigne in the ſeven and twentieth yeare of Jeroboam, chap. 15.1? I anſwer; either Jeroboam was deſigned king by his father Joaſh twelve years before his death, and ſo that which was but the fifteenth yeare of Jeroboams reigne, to wit, when Azariah or Uzziah was made king of Judah, is counted the ſeven and twentieth from his firſt deſignation to the crown of Iſrael; or rather Azariah or Uzziah was not fully ſeated in the kingdome untill twelve years after the death of Amaziah: ſee chap. 15.1,
Verſ. 3. And he did that which was right in the ſight of the Lord, yet not like David his father, &c.] That is, he did, to wit, in the beginning of his reigne, that which was for the ſubſtance of it approved of God; but he did not do it (as David did) with an upright and perfect heart, 2. Chron. 25.2. And he did that which was right in the ſight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart: he did that good he did, out of reſpect to men, or to his own advantage; not out of a ſincere deſire of pleaſing God: ſuch as his father was, ſuch was he; his father a while out of a reſpect to men (as long as Jehoiada lived) did that which was right, but out of a falſe hollow heart, and ſo afterward fell away to idolatry, and ſo did he.
Verſ. 4. Howbeit the high places were not taken away, &c.] This is added by way of exception not to that which went immediately before, of his doing all things as Joaſh his father did, (for his father Joaſh did not take away the high places, no more then he did) but to that which is ſaid in the begining of the third verſe, that he did that which was right in the ſight of the Lord; to wit, in the beginning of his reigne; for as concerning this outward conformity, which at firſt he yielded to the law of God, herein he failed, that he did not ſuppreſſe that ſuperſtitious worſhiping of God in the high places.
Verſ. 5. And it came to paſſe, aſſoon as the kingdome was confirmed in his hands, &c.] It ſeems the murther of his father Joaſh. chap. 12.20, 21. was at leaſt ſo farre approved and applauded by many of the people, as the juſt judgement of God upon him for his apoſtacie to idolatry, and eſpecially for the death of Zachariah the ſonne of Jehoiada, that Amaziah at his firſt entrance upon the kingdome, thought it good policie to diſſemble his diſpleaſure, and give way to the time; and ſo fo…bore a while to puniſh the traitours: but aſſoon as he perceived his government well eſtabliſhed, and found that the conſpiratours (howſoever the deed done was applauded as the handy work of God) had neither any mighty partakers in their fact, nor ſtrong maintainers of their perſons; he on a ſudden called them to an account, and ſo without any tumult they were put to death.
Verſ. 6. But the children of the murderers he ſlew not, &c.] Which is noted, as one of thoſe acts wherein he carried himſelf commendably in the beginning of his reigne: he might well fear leſt the children of thoſe he now put to death, might ſeek in after times to be revenged on him, and yet he would rather hazard this, then tranſgreſſe Gods law: which enjoyned that the children ſhould not be put to death for any fault of their parents, Deut. 24.16.
Verſ. 7. He ſlew of Edom in the valley of ſalt, ten thouſand, and took Selah by warre, &c.] Of this valley of ſalt, ſee the note 2. Sam. 8.13. whether it were the happy ſucceſſe of Joaſh king of Iſrael, in his warres at this time againſt the Syrians, that kindled in Amaziah a deſire of undertaking ſome expedition, wherein himſelf might purchaſe the like honour; or what elſe it was that firſt put Amaziah upon this invaſion of the Edomites, it is not expreſſed: ſufficient cauſe he had of making warre upon them, becauſe in his grandfather Jehorams time they had rebelled, and ſo continued unto this time; and therefore conſidering of what importance the reducing of them to their former ſubjection would be, he went forth againſt them, and obtained a notable victory, though he did not wholly ſubdue them: the particulars of which enterpriſe are more fully expreſſed, 2. Chron. 25.5—16. as firſt, that though upon a view taken, he found in his own kingdome three hundred thouſand ſerviceable men for the warres, yet thinking it the better way in point of policie, to wage this warre chiefly by mercenaries, he hired an hundred thouſand able valiant men of the Iſraelites for an hundred talents of ſilver, (who were in thoſe times by reaſon of their ſucceſſefull warres againſt the Syrians, become famous ſouldiers) to go with him againſt the Edomites; for which being reproved by a prophet that came to him, and threatned with ill ſucceſſe, if he ſtrengthened himſelf with the help of theſe men, whom God did not love, becauſe they were idolaters, though he proſpered them in their warres againſt the cruell Syrians; however he ſtuck a while at the loſſe of that great ſumme of money, wherewith he had hired them, yet at length he diſmiſſed them; and they enraged hereby to revenge this high diſgrace, (as they eſteemed it) fell upon the cities of Judah in their return, and ſlew three thouſand of them, and took much ſpoil. Secondly that entring afterwards couragiouſly into the Edomites countrey with his own ſouldiers, he obtained againſt them a notable victory, wherein he not onelyonly ſlew of them ten thouſand, as is here expreſſed; but alſo took other ten thouſand priſoners, whom he threw from an high rock, that very place perhaps, which is here called Selah, or the rock: uſing it may be ſuch ſeverity againſt them, becauſe notwithſtanding this his victory, they ſtill ſtood out, and would not be reduced again under the ſubjection of the crown of Judah: & thirdly, that when he returned home, beſotted by I know not what ſtrange witchcraft, he ſet up the idol-gods of the Edomites (which among the other ſpoils he had brought away) to be his gods, and worſhipped them, and burned incenſe unto them; for which being reproved by a Prophet, he would not hearken to him, but checked him for daring to meddle with him, and ſo received from the Prophet that fearfull doom, that God had determined to deſtroy him.
Verſ. 8. Then Amaziah ſent meſſengers to Jehoaſh the ſonne of Jehoahaz, &c.] That is, Amaziah puffed up with his late victory in his warres againſt the Edomites, ſent a proud challenge to Joaſh, wherein he dared him to meet him with his beſt forces, and give him battel: moſt probable it is, that the injurie done him by the Iſraelites, whom he had diſmiſſed when he undertook the late expedition againſt mount Seir, was the firſt occaſion that provoked him to quarrel with Joaſh, 2. Chron. 25.13. But the ſouldiers of the army which Amaziah ſent back that they ſhould not go with him to battel, fell upon the cities of Judah from Samaria, &c. and that this late wrong might alſo bring old matters into queſtion; namely, the ſlaughter which Jehu the grandfather of this Joaſh, had made amongſt the princes of Judah; and eſpecially the title which the kings of Judah had to the kingdome of the ten tribes, as well as thoſe of Judah and Benjamin, the advice which he took with his counſel, 2. Chron. 25.17. Then Amaziah king of Judah took counſel and adviſe, and ſent to Joaſh the ſonne of Jehoahaz the ſonne of Jehu, ſaying, Come, let us ſee one another in the face, ſeems to imply, that they debated amongſt them theſe juſt grounds, which he had to make warre againſt the king of Iſrael: and moſt likely it is, that theſe things were objected by him in this challenge that he ſent; but becauſe he ſent this meſſage in an inſolent manner, as one that did rather deſire to decide the buſineſſe by the ſword, then to have it otherwiſe compoſed, and to try the ſtrength and courage of the king of Iſrael in a pitched battel, therefore is this onelyonly expreſſed, that he challenged him to meet him in the field, and give him battel face to face; for that is the meaning of theſe words, Come, let us look one another in the face.
Verſ. 9. The thiſtle that was in Lebanon, ſent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, &c.] Thus Joaſh anſwered Amaziah by a parable; and the drift of it was to put Amaziah in mind how vain a thing it was for them that are comparatively weak, and of little ſtrength, eaſily overborn and troden down, to entertain proud and aſpiring thoughts concerning themſelves, as if they were above the reach of danger; and he makes the thiſtles pride in this parable, to be the deſiring of the cedars daughter for his ſonnes wife, therein to couch ſecretly an argument from the leſſe to the greater: if it were too much for the thiſtle to offer affinitie with the cedar, much more then to make warre againſt the cedar, which he would have Amaziah know was juſt his caſe; becauſe he looked upon Amaziah as a poore, weak, and contemptible king in compariſon of himſelf, though proud and quarrelſome, he compares him to a thiſtle, the baſeſt of all ſhrubs, though full of prickles; and himſelf (who had ten of the tribes of Iſrael under his command, whereas the other had but two) to a cedar, the moſt noble of all trees; onelyonly, he compares Amaziah to a thiſtle in Lebanon, as well as himſelf to a cedar in Lebanon; becauſe Amaziah was a king as well as he: again, from the fooliſh pride in the thiſtle in ſending ſuch a meſſage, he implies how farre greater the pride and folly of Amaziah was, in ſending ſuch a challenge to him: and laſt of all, by ſhewing what became of the thiſtle, There paſſed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle, he gives Amaziah to underſtand what his end would be, if he perſevered in his reſolution to make warre againſt him; to wit, that his forces would eaſily cruſh and ruine him; and indeed, the miſeries that would befall him are well compared to the treading down of a wild beaſt; becauſe warre (bellum quaſi bellua) doth uſually deſtroy and tread down all before it: and ſouldiers, as men void of all reaſon, and carried on merely with fury and brutiſh paſſions, are wont without all conſideration, in a rude and brutiſh manner, to beat, and trample down all where they come; and therefore is the time of warre called a day of trouble, and treading down, Iſa. 22.5.
Verſ 11. But Amaziah would not heare.] To wit, becauſe God would have him puniſhed for his idolatry, whereunto he was then newly fallen, upon his victory againſt the Edomites, 2. Chron. 25.20. But Amaziah would not heare, for it came of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies; becauſe they ſought after the Gods of Edom.
Therefore Jehoaſh king of Iſrael went up, &c.] That is, he ſtay not till the enemie brake in, and ſpoiled his countrey, but entred the kingdome of Judah, and ſo encountred with him in Beth-ſhemeſh which belonged to Judah; which is added, becauſe there was another Beth-ſhemeſh in the tribe of Naphtali, Joſh. 19.38.
Verſ. 13. And Jehoaſh king of Iſrael took Amaziah, &c.] And thus, in this Amaziah the ſonne of Joaſh, God did yet further revenge the death of Zachariah the ſonne of Jehoiada, who was moſt inhumanely and ungratefully murthered in his fathers dayes, according to that which he ſaid at his death, the Lord look upon it, and require it, and withall Amaziah himſelf was ſeverely puniſhed for his Apoſtacy to idolatry upon his victory over the Edomites.
And brake down the wall of Jeruſalem, from the gate of Ephraim, unto the corner gate, foure hundred cubits.] Some conceive that this part of the wall was broken down, that the inhabitants might be rendred hereby the more fearfull to attempt any thing againſt the kingdome of Iſrael, the ſtrength of the citie being ſo farre impaired; but ſuch a breach that might be ſo eaſily made up again, could be no great curb to them: others ſay that it was done at Joaſh his command, that at that breach he might enter the citie in his chariot, carrying the king before him, as in triumph; but why ſhould foure hundred cubits of the wall be beaten down that he might enter with his chariot? more probable therefore it is, that the citie at firſt ſtanding out againſt him, he battered down that part of the wall by the north gate, which was towards Ephraim, and therefore called the gate of Ephraim, and ſo took the citie by force.
Verſ. 14. And he took all the gold, and ſilver, &c. and hostages, and returned to Samaria.] Theſe hoſtages he took for aſſurance of their performing the conditions he had impoſed upon them; but having Jeruſalem in poſſeſſion, and their king his priſoner, why did he not ſeize upon the kingdome, and joyn the twelve tribes again under his government: I anſwer, that which lately had befallen Athaliah, ſhewed plainly how conſtantly affected the people ſtood to the houſe of David, neither could he tell what forces the people abroad in the countrey might preſently raiſe againſt him; no marvell therefore though he choſe rather to go away with a certain ſpoil, then to hazard all by aiming at the crown of Judah, upon ſuch weak and uncertain terms.
Verſ. 16. And Jehoaſh ſlept with his fathers.] See the note, chap. 13.13. It ſeems he out-lived not long that ſacrilegious act of his, in robbing the Temple of Jeruſalem.
Verſ. 17. And Amaziah the ſonne of Joaſh king of Judah, lived after the death of Jehoaſh ſonne of Jehoahaz king of Iſrael, fifteen years.] To wit, un-unto the fifteenth yeare of Jeroboam the ſonne of Joaſh king of Iſrael. See the note, verſe 2.
Verſ. 19. Now they made a conſpiracy against him in Jeruſalem, &c.] Aſcribing all the miſeries that had befallen their citie and kingdome to him, who had provoked the king of Iſrael to invade their land, whereupon Jeruſalem was taken and pillaged, &c. they were enraged againſt him, and ſo conſpired together to take away his life; which though he diſcovered, and fled to Lachiſh, yet they purſued him thither, and there they ſlew him.
Verſ. 21. And all the people of Judah took Azariah, (which was ſixteen years old) and made him king, &c.] To wit, in the ſeven and twentieth yeare of Jeroboam, chap. 15.1. but his father died in the fifteenth yeare of Jeroboam, verſ. 14. and then (it ſeems) this his ſonne Azariah or Uzziah, being not above foure years old. Concerning which, ſee the note chap. 15.1. In this kings reigne Iſaiah and Hoſea began to prophecie, and Amos and Jonah, Iſai. 1.1. Hoſ. 1.1. Amos 1.1. and verſe 25. of this chapter.
Verſ. 22. He built Elath, and restored it to Judah, &c.] This Elath we find mentioned, Deut. 2.8. ſo that it was now onelyonly repaired, or at leaſt enlarged or fortified. It was a citie of Edom, near the red ſea, and therefore it ſeems was recovered from them by Azariah or Uzziah.
Verſ. 23. Jeroboam the ſonne of Joaſh king of Iſrael, began to reigne in Samaria, and reigned fourty and one years.] To wit, fourteen years and upwards with Amaziah (who reigned nine and twenty years, verſ. 1.) and twenty ſeven years in the dayes of Uzziah or Azariah, who ſucceeded his father Amaziah. How this agreeth with that which is ſaid chap. 15.1. ſee in the note on that place.
Verſ. 24. And he did that which was evil in the ſight of the Lord, &c.] for this cauſe Amos in theſe dayes prophecyed againſt the houſe of this Jeroboam the ſecond, and when Amaziah the prieſt complained thereof to the king, he was enjoyned not to prophecie any more at Bethel, Amos 7.10, 11, 12. Then Amaſiah the prieſt of Bethel, ſent to Jeroboam king of Iſrael, ſaying, Amos hath conſpired against thee▪ in the midſt of the houſe of Iſrael; the land is not able to bear all his words: for thus Amos ſaith, Jeroboam ſhall die by the ſword, and Iſrael ſhall be led away captive out of their own land: Alſo Amaziah ſaid to Amos, O thou Seer, go flee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophecy there.
Verſ. 25. He reſtored the coaſt of Iſrael from the entring of Hamath, unto the ſea of the plain.] Concerning Hamoth, ſee the note, Num. 13.21. and 34.8. The ſea of the plain is that which was called the ſalt ſea, Deut. 3.17. the utmoſt ſouth bounds of the kingdome of Ephraim.
According to the word of the Lord God of Iſrael, which he ſpake by the hand of his ſervant Jonah, &c.] When Iſrael was brought ſo low, as is expreſſed in the following verſe (which was in the dayes of Jehoahaz the ſonne of Jehu, chap. 13.34, 7.) the Lord by Jonah foretold, it ſeems, how they ſhould vanquiſh the Syrians, and enlarge the coaſt of Iſrael, which accordingly came to paſſe; firſt in the dayes of Joaſh, who obtained three great victories againſt the Syrians, chap. 13.25. but more fully in the reigne of Jeroboam his ſonne, the moſt proſperous and victorious king that ever reigned over the ten tribes.
Verſ. 28. He recovered Damaſcus, and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Iſrael.] Though theſe cities had been in the poſſeſſion of the kings of Judah; yet he recovered them for his own kingdome, the kingdome of Iſrael.
Verſ. 29. And Jeroboam ſlept with his fathers, even with, &c.] Having reigned fourteen years in the time of Amaziah and Uzziah kings of Judah, as is above noted verſe 21.