The Godly Kings of JudahSample

Receiving Wisdom

Faithful living requires us to learn to be good listeners and follow up in obedience when God speaks. Listening precedes receiving wisdom from God. We may not have a specific “man of God” to visit us, as King Amaziah did, but we do have God’s Word and wise counselors, which can give us the courage to do the right thing at the right time.

As the man of God told Amaziah, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this” (2 Chron. 25:9), meaning, His ways are higher than our ways (Isa. 55:8–9), and He sees the bigger picture when we only see what is right in front of us.

If only Amaziah had rallied after his last encounter with the prophet God sent to warn him. But sadly, the prophet’s words came true: “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel” (2 Chron. 25:16). Amaziah didn’t waver in closing off his lifeline to Jehovah God. He not only turned his face from God but stopped listening altogether. Had Amaziah been truly present, paused, and reflected on the words of the prophets, he could have avoided the destruction for himself and Jerusalem. Instead, he was carried off by his rival Israel, Jerusalem was partially destroyed, and the treasures were stolen. All because he didn’t listen, but more so because of idolatry.

Before judging Amaziah too quickly, remember that God decided to list him as one of the kings who “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Kings 14:3). However, even in this story of Amaziah and his downfall lies a crucial lesson for us to embrace. People can change in the twinkling of an eye. We can go from a victory to a downward spiral if we don’t protect the core of our spirituality.

Our ability to leave a godly legacy of faithful living depends on whether we are willing to listen and obey God, whether we feel like it. We live in a culture where truth is watered down and often based on our feelings. Today’s truth is tomorrow’s lies, and today’s lies are tomorrow’s truth. Everything is so chaotic. Now more than ever before, we must stand on the truth of God’s Word!

Reflection: What steps can we take to ensure we don’t fall into the same trap as Amaziah in our response to the truth?