Study Desk

Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king. And he ruled for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.

But he did not kill their children. He did what is written in the Law in the book of Moses. The Lord had said in this Law, "Fathers must not be put to death for the children. And children must not be put to death for the fathers. Each must be put to death for his own sin."

Then Amaziah gathered the men of Judah together. He put them, by their fathers' houses, under the rule of captains of thousands and of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He numbered those who were twenty years old and older. And he found that they were 300,000 chosen men, able to go to war and fight with spear and battle-covering.

He also asked for the help of 100,000 powerful soldiers from Israel and paid them with silver weighing as much as 100 men.

But a man of God came to him and said, "O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you. For the Lord is not with Israel. He is not with all these sons of Ephraim.

But if you think that in this way you will be strong in war, God will destroy you in front of those who fight you. For God has power to help and to destroy."

Then the Lord was angry with Amaziah and sent a man who speaks for God to him, saying, "Why have you worshiped the gods of the people? These gods have not saved their own people from your hand."

But as he was speaking the king said to him, "Have we chosen you to give words of wisdom to the king? Stop! Or I will have you put to death." So the man who spoke for God stopped, but said, "I know that God has planned to destroy you because you have done this. And you have not listened to what I have said."

King Joash of Israel sent an answer to King Amaziah of Judah, saying, "The thorn bush in Lebanon sent word to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife.' But a wild animal of Lebanon passed by and crushed the thorn bush under its feet.

He kept on looking to God in the days of Zechariah, who had special wisdom from God and taught him in the things of God. And as long as he looked to the Lord, God made things go well for him.

The Ammonites paid taxes to Uzziah. And his name was known as far as the land of Egypt, for he became very strong.

He built towers in the desert and dug many wells. For he had many animals, both in the valley and in the plain. He also had farmers and vine-keepers in the hill country and in the good growing fields, for he loved farming.

And Uzziah had an army ready for battle. It was divided by the number of names written down by Jeiel the writer and Maaseiah the captain, led by Hananiah, one of the king's leaders.

Uzziah had battle-coverings, spears, head-coverings, strong battle-clothes, bows, and slings using arrows and large stones made for all the army.

In Jerusalem he made large objects of war, planned by able men, to be on the towers and the corners. They were for shooting arrows and big stones. So Uzziah's name became known in far away places. For he was helped by God in a very special way until he was strong.

But when he became strong, Uzziah's heart was so proud that his actions were sinful. He was not faithful to the Lord his God, for he went into the Lord's house to burn special perfume on the altar of special perfume.

They went against King Uzziah and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn special perfume to the Lord. It should be done by the religious leaders, the sons of Aaron, who are set apart to burn special perfume. Get out of the holy place, for you have not been faithful. You will have no honor from the Lord God."

Then Uzziah was angry, and he had a dish in his hand for burning special perfume. While he was angry with the religious leaders, a bad skin disease broke out on his forehead in front of the religious leaders in the Lord's house, beside the altar of special perfume.

King Uzziah had the bad skin disease to the day of his death. He lived in a separate house, suffering with the skin disease, for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. And his son Jotham was over the king's house, ruling the people of the land.

Uzziah died, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the grave which belonged to the kings. For they said, "He has a bad skin disease." And Jotham his son became king in his place.