One of my first reactions after reading 2 Kings 14 is that they should have invented last names a lot sooner, because it’s getting rather difficult to keep all these Joashes and Jeroboams straight! At least we are given the fathers’ names, so I guess we have no excuse for not being able to distinguish Joash the son of Jehoahaz (who was King of Israel) from Joash the son of Ahaziah (who was King of Judah). Either one of these Joashes can also be called “Jehoash,” so that doesn’t help matters! But in the present chapter, it’s the former Joash who is father of King Jeroboam, not to be confused with the King Jeroboam whose father was Nebat. So let’s call the new guy Jeroboam II. OK, so do we have all this straight now? (Don’t worry, there will be no test.) The two kings featured in today’s reading are Amaziah of Judah (v 1-22) and Jeroboam II of Israel (v 23-29). Amaziah had a reasonably good start. His dad’s name was Joash (surprised?), and he matched his dad’s example, but he fell short of the righteousness of David, who set the standard by which all kings were measured. Again we are reminded that God is looking for total devotion. He’s looking for another David, and He’s satisfied with nothing less (v 1-4). Amaziah wiped out his father’s assassins, but did so with the restraint God’s law required. He also pulled off a huge victory over Edom. But then he became confrontational with Joash, king of Israel. Joash tried to dissuade him with a fable in which a wild beast walks over a puny thistle. “Do you hear that squish, Amaziah? That will be you, if you want to do battle with me.” Arrogant Amaziah takes it as a challenge and then suffers a humiliating defeat. Judah is crushed, hostages are taken, and the temple is raided (v 5-14). Amaziah is eventually put to death in a conspiracy. So it may be surprising that Azariah, his son, would immediately be installed as his successor. But this political stability can be attributed to the promise God made to David: his dynasty will be unending, and his seed will continue until the Messiah comes. Conspiracy or not, the LORD rules, and His promises prevail (v 15-22). Jeroboam II did evil in God’s eyes, just like Jeroboam I. So why did he enjoy such a prosperous reign, with expanding borders and a booming economy? Why didn’t God bring him down in some kind of disaster? It was because of a word spoken by Jonah the prophet, in which God was moved by compassion for His afflicted people. This highlights an important lesson: prosperity may be a sign of God’s compassion, but not His commendation. It’s easy to misread circumstances. Don’t mistake God’s patience for His pleasure (v 23-29). For further meditation: