The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 308

feuds by setting these to cut each other's throats or blow each other into eternity by means of guns and cannons! 4. How far 1 To the takin" of three thousand me11 and much spoil. Whether this devastation of the northern ~ities of Judah occurred while the lsrnelitish soldiers were returning home to Samaria, or, as seems more likely, when Amaziah was in Edom (Bertheau, Keil), is uncertain; that it subsequently led to a war between the two kingdoms is undoubted. Learn: 1. The folly of entering on any enterprise in which Gorl cannot aid. 2. The sin of resorting to means of which Heaven cannot approve. 3. The sufficiency of God's help without creature-aids. 4. The duty of withdrawing from wicked schemes, even though doing so should entail financial loss. 5. The impossibility of settling questions of right and wrong by calculations of profit and loss. 6. The insignificance of money loss as compared with loss of Divine help and favour. 7. The i=ense indebtedness of the world to Christianity, even while rejecting it.-W. Vers. 14-16.-The declension of Amaziah. I. THE NATURE OF IT. A snbsidence into idolatry. On returning from the slaughter of the Edomites he brought with him the gods of the children of Seir, and, setting them up to be his gods, bowed down him- self before them and burned incense unto them (ver. 14). That the Seirites were idolaters is confirmed by Moses, who gives Baal-hanan, "Baal is gracious," as one of their kings (Gen. xxxvi. 38); by Josephus, who mentions that the Idumreans had a god named Kotze (' Ant.,' xv. 7. 9); and by the Assyrian inscriptions, which show that one of their sovereigns bore the designation Kaus-malaka, i.e. "Kaus or Kotze is king" (Schrader, 'Keilinschriften,' p. 150). II. THE MOTIVE OF IT. Probably political, to enable him to complete the subjuga- tion of the Seirites, which, as he imagined, could be best done by winning over their 11:ods to his side (Keil). Compare the conduct of Ahaz in sacrificing to the gods of Damascus in order to obta.in their assistance (eh. xxviii. 23), and of Cyrus in asking the Babylonian divinities to intercede with Bel and Nebo on his behalf (Sayce, 'Fresh Light,' etc., p. 175). At the same time, Amaziah's idolatry just as likely had its roots in inherent depravity. If Joash fell away to Baal (eh. xxiv. 18), it is hardly surprising that Amaziah his son should have followed his example. The fallen heart gravitates towards polytheism, as the history of mankind---of Jews, Egyptians, Assyrians, Phreni- cians-shows. Almost all nations in their infancy were monotheists. III. 'J.'HE CRIMINALITY OF IT. Arising from the time when this declension took place. To have lapsed into idolatry at any time would have been wicked--contrary to the express commandment of Jehovah (Exod. xx. 3, 4); to do so immediately after having enjoyed such a signal display of Jehovah's kindness in granting him a splendid victory over his enemies-to select that moment for his apostasy was surely adding insult to injury; to say the least, was to be guilty of monstrous ingratitude as well u open sin. IV. THE FOLLY OF IT. Seen in the impotence of the idols to whom he bowed. The Edomite gods had not been able to save their devotees, the Seirites: where was the guarantee they could assist Amaziah? One wonders that idolaters do not see the absurdity of praying to divinities that cannot save (Isa. xiv. 20). The utter helpless- ness of idols and the senselessness of such as trust in them are themes of frequent illustration in Scripture (Ps. cxv. 4-8; Isa. xlvi. 1-6; Jer. ii. 28; x. 5; l Cor. viii. 4). V. THE DANGER OF IT. 1. It aroused against the Icing Jehovah's anger. The one living and true God can tolerate no rival claimant of man's homage. The worship of two gods, besides being impossible (Matt. vi. 24; 1 Cor. vi. 16), is provocative of wrath (Lev. xxvi. 30; Deut. xxvii. 15; Ps. xvi. 4; lxxix. G; Isa. xiii. 17). 2. It drew down upon him a prophet's rebuke. The man of God said unto him, " Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people," etc.? The censures of the good may be profi!able, but are rarely pleasan~. Their judgments, besides, _when ca)ml1y given, _are_ an J?~ex to God's mind concermng man's conduct. 3. It excited the kings own evil disposition. Had Amaziah not been a backslider, he would not have answered the prophet so churlishly as he did, practically telling him that nobody asked his opinion, and _that if he valued his own skin he had better hold his peace. It was easy, but neither valia.nt nor right, for a king thus to insult or silence Jehovah's messenger; he _would.  310 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHHONICLES. [en. xxv. 1-28·