Amaziah, the son of Joash, became king at age 25. His reign is recorded in chapter 25:1-28. He reigned from 796 to 767 b.c. (see II Kings 4:1,2). His mother's name was Johoaddan. The word Jehoaddan means "Jehovah is pleased." Perhaps it was through her influence, as her name indicates godliness, that her son began to reign well. But God knows the heart. Though Amaziah pretended to be a man of God, he did not have a perfect heart. His campaign against Edom and his idolatry resulted in divine wrath against him. His mistake in hiring soldiers of Israel led to a disastrous war with Joash and the Northern Kingdom, and his violent death (see also II Kings 14:8-20).
The accession of Uzziah (also called Azariah) to the throne is recorded in chapter 26. He became king of Judah when he was 16 years of age. His reign was long and prosperous, but he made a tragic mistake when he intruded into the Priest's office and, as a result, was struck with leprosy.
With the death of Uzziah, Jotham began to reign over Judah. He was 25 years of age when he became king, and he reigned 16 years. He was a very prosperous king, reigning between the years 750 and 736 b.c.
Ahaz reigned from 736 to 716 b.c. We covered his reign quite thoroughly in our study of II Kings 16. In today's reading we see that his idolatries brought chastisement at the hand of Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, king of Israel. The acts of his wickedness are recorded in verses 22-27 of chapter 28.
Each of the kings mentioned today had a form of wisdom but all of them turned away from that wisdom. God's Word tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And wisdom, for man, is seeing things from God's point of view. When we, as Christians, subject our lives to the leading of the Holy Spirit and look at things as God sees them, then our decisions will always be wise.
