CROWNED | 2 Kings Chapter 14
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- 11 min read
Week 8 / Day 35
Written by Matt Maldonado
READ
If you haven’t done so already, go ahead and read 2 Kings 14 before we dive deeper into the passage today.
REFLECTION
I feel blessed as an elder member of Generation Z because we are a unique generation called the "Cuspers," those born between 1997–2003. Our experiences were different from our younger counterparts; we got to step into two worlds—one with screens and one with hardly any. We remember life before social media, before streaming services like Netflix or Disney+, and before smartphones, back when we hung out with friends at the mall, played outside, and watched cable television complete with commercials.
I remember when we had to channel surf just to find something good on TV. For me, I can't deny I was a Disney Channel kid, but my second favorite was Nickelodeon. It had classics like SpongeBob, iCarly, and Drake & Josh, but it also produced movies like Charlotte's Web, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and one of my personal favorites—Nacho Libre.
Now, if you've never seen Nacho Libre, here's the quick recap.
The story follows a man named Ignacio, an orphan who grows up to become the cook at the very orphanage where he was raised. He genuinely loves the children, but he secretly dreams of becoming a famous professional wrestler—a luchador—even though the monastery forbids it. Hoping to earn money to buy better food for the orphans, he begins living a double life, putting on a mask and wrestling in secret as "Nacho."
Even though he loses almost every match, the small taste of money and fame quickly goes to his head. He starts buying flashy clothes, acting like a superstar, and slowly forgets why he started wrestling in the first place. Eventually, he becomes so desperate to hold onto his success that he turns to ridiculous shortcuts—even climbing a cliff to eat raw eagle eggs because he believes they'll give him magical powers.
Eventually, his pride catches up with him. His secret is exposed, he loses everything, and he finds himself cast out into the wilderness. It isn't until he reaches rock bottom, throws away the shortcuts, and genuinely cries out to God—not for himself, but for the children—that everything changes. Only then does he experience victory and fulfill the mission God had placed on his heart all along.
Now you may be wondering...What in the world does Nacho Libre have to do with 2 Kings 14?
At first glance, these stories couldn't seem more different. One is about a masked wrestler trying to feed orphans. The other is about kings ruling over Israel and Judah centuries before Christ. But underneath both stories lies the exact same progression: Obedience. Victory. Pride. Complacency. Destruction. And if we're honest, that progression still plays itself out in our own lives today.
As we come to 2 Kings 14, it probably isn't a surprise anymore that we meet yet another king from the divided kingdom. This time, ruling over the southern kingdom of Judah—the Davidic line through which Jesus would one day come—is King Amaziah.
The opening verses tell us something encouraging: "He did what was right in the sight of the Lord..." But then comes the contrast that changes everything:"...yet not like his father David."
Or, as 2 Chronicles 25 puts it even more pointedly:
"He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly."
That phrase becomes the key to understanding Amaziah's entire story. As the chapter unfolds, Amaziah prepares to recapture the Valley of Salt from the Edomites—a territory originally conquered by David but now reclaimed by Israel's enemies. According to 2 Chronicles 25, Amaziah even hires soldiers from the northern kingdom of Israel to strengthen his army. The problem? A man of God tells him not to use them because the Lord is not with Israel. Even though Amaziah has already paid them, the prophet tells him that obedience is worth far more than the money he's about to lose because God is able to give much more than this.
Amaziah has a choice to make. Would he trust what made sense financially, or would he trust God's Word? Thankfully, he obeys, sends the hired soldiers home, and marches into battle with only the men God approved, ultimately experiencing an incredible victory over Edom. But that's where everything begins to change.
You see, victory has a way of revealing what's already hiding in our hearts. And instead of allowing his victory to deepen his dependence on God, Amaziah lets it inflate his confidence in himself. The man who had just trusted God for victory now believes he can conquer anything.
So he challenges Jehoash, king of Israel, to battle. Jehoash even warns him with a parable, essentially telling him, "Take your victory over Edom and go home. Don't let your success convince you that you're invincible." Sadly, Amaziah refuses to listen, and he marches into battle anyway, suffering a devastating defeat. Jerusalem's walls are broken down, the treasures of the Temple are carried away, and the very people God called him to lead suffer because of one man's pride.
Pride is a dangerous trap, as we just saw it devastate an entire people because of one man's actions. We know the old phrase, "Pride comes before a fall," and that comes straight from Proverbs. I especially love the way the KJV phrases it:
"Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."
Pride has a way of sneaking into every area of our lives. We can become prideful in our careers, our education, our families, our accomplishments, and yes—even in our service to God.
Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying we shouldn't serve. We absolutely should. But if we're not careful, we can become so focused on what we're doing for God that we subtly begin believing we're earning His approval. Before long, we've taken our eyes off the mission and placed them on ourselves, forgetting that we never had to earn God's love in the first place.
That was Amaziah's downfall. He went from saying, "God will fight this battle," to "I can do this on my own." And isn't that the root issue of mankind? All the way back in the Garden of Eden, humanity essentially said, "I want to be like God. I'll decide what's best for me." Pride has always convinced us that independence from God is freedom, when in reality it only leads to destruction.
And that's exactly what happened to our friend, Ignacio. A man who originally stepped into the wrestling ring with one mission in mind - feed the orphans - got of course and somewhere along the way, he started feeding his own ego. The money that was meant to bless others became a way to improve his own image through flashy clothes, recognition, and the pursuit of fame.
Sound familiar? The exact same haughty spirit that grew inside Amaziah also began growing inside Ignacio. Both men forgot why they had been given victory in the first place, and in doing so, they began hurting the very people they were called to serve.
Church, that's one of the scariest things about pride. It rarely starts with bad intentions. It often begins with God-given success. Then, slowly, almost unnoticed, our focus shifts from God's glory to our own reputation. But Pride Wasn't the Root Problem...
As I studied this chapter, I became convinced that pride wasn't Amaziah's first issue, it was simply the fruit. The deeper problem - complacency - had been growing long before his victory over Edom.
Remember earlier when I pointed out the description of Amaziah's heart?
"He did what was right in the sight of the Lord... but not wholeheartedly."
If you continue reading, you'll notice that he never removed the pagan shrines from Judah. The people continued offering sacrifices there, and according to 2 Chronicles 25, after defeating Edom he actually brought home the gods of the very nation the Lord had just given him victory over and began worshipping them himself. What an incredible contradiction.
Think about that. God gave him victory over Edom......and Amaziah returned home carrying Edom's idols. He became a servant to the very thing God had called him to destroy. What a sneaky scheme of the enemy. And church, that still happens today.
How often do we allow ourselves to become enslaved by the very things Christ died to set us free from? This is what makes complacency so dangerous. We become content with partial obedience. We settle for "good enough." We convince ourselves that because we're doing most of what God has asked, we don't have to surrender everything. But partial obedience has always been one of Satan's favorite strategies because it looks so much like faithfulness on the outside while slowly hollowing us out on the inside.
This wasn't a new issue in Amaziah's family, and sadly, it wouldn't be the last. As we'll continue seeing throughout our study in Kings, complacency has a way of passing from one generation to the next when it goes unaddressed. And that's exactly what the enemy wants. Because if he can keep us complacent, he doesn't have to make us quit. He simply has to keep us from growing.
We see this exact progression in Ignacio's life. Instead of continuing to trust God and staying focused on the children, he begins searching for shortcuts. Rather than putting in the hard work of dependence upon God, he climbs a cliff to eat raw eagle eggs because he believes they'll somehow give him magical powers.
Ridiculous? Absolutely. But before we laugh too hard, how often do we do the exact same thing?
We may not climb mountains looking for eagle eggs, but we often look for our own spiritual shortcuts. We think: "If I just go to church every Sunday..." "If I read the Verse of the Day..." "If I check off my devotional..." Those things are all wonderful, but if they become substitutes for genuine relationship with God, we've settled for shortcuts instead of surrender.
There comes a point where we have to grow beyond spiritual milk and begin pursuing maturity. That means spending intentional time in worship and meditation. In studying Scripture and in prayer and fasting. Those aren't ways to force God to move. They're ways for our hearts to come back into alignment with Him.
And if we're honest, so many things compete for that place of intimacy. Our phones. Social media. Television. Success. Money. Careers. Relationships. None of those things are necessarily evil. But whenever something consistently receives the time, affection, and attention that belong to God, it has quietly become an idol.
How many of us have prayed: "God, why aren't things changing?" "Why don't I have victory in my marriage?" "Why am I struggling financially?" "Why do I feel stuck?" "Why does my relationship with You feel so dry?"
Sometimes the answer isn't that God has stopped working. Sometimes it's because we've allowed something else to occupy the throne of our hearts. God isn't trying to take good things away from us. He's simply asking us to tear down whatever has taken His place.
I know that's not comfortable. In fact, following Jesus has rarely been convenient. But if we're willing to break free from complacency—to lay down our idols, humble ourselves, and surrender completely—we'll discover that God can do far more through a surrendered heart than He ever could through a self-sufficient one.
Now, before we leave 2 Kings 14, we're introduced to another king—Jeroboam II. At first, it almost feels like Amaziah's story is over and the writer abruptly changes subjects. But don't miss what's happening. The Holy Spirit isn't just recording history; He's revealing a pattern.
While Amaziah ruled Judah in the south, Jeroboam II ruled Israel in the north. Sadly, his spiritual legacy is summarized with words we've become all too familiar with throughout our study in Kings:
"He did evil in the sight of the Lord."
Like the kings before him, Jeroboam II refused to turn the people's hearts back to God. Instead, he allowed Israel to continue in idolatry while expanding the kingdom for his own benefit. If you've been following along in these devotions, can you honestly say you're surprised?
He hadn't exactly been surrounded by godly examples. Yes, prophets faithfully proclaimed the Word of the Lord, but generation after generation, pride and complacency drowned out God's voice. Jeroboam simply continued the pattern that had been established before him.
Yet, tucked away in verse 25 is one of my favorite little details in this entire chapter. Now this is why I love being a history teacher. It's finding those little details that are easy to skip over. Verse 25 tells us that Jeroboam II expanded Israel back to the borders it enjoyed during the days of Solomon. But if you keep reading carefully, you'll discover something fascinating.
That expansion happened according to a prophecy spoken by a prophet named...Jonah. Yes—that Jonah. The same Jonah you learned about in Sunday School. The same Jonah who was swallowed by the great fish. As I was studying this passage, I remember thinking, "That's such a cool connection!" But then another question came to mind: Why is Jonah mentioned here at all? After all, outside of the Book of Jonah itself, this is the only place in the Old Testament where his name appears. That means God wanted us to notice something.
Now, I'm not going to unpack the entire Book of Jonah because many of us already know it well. If you haven't read it recently, I'd encourage you to do so—it only takes a few minutes. But here's the short version.
Jonah lived in the northern kingdom of Israel and served as one of God's prophets. Then God called him to preach repentance in Nineveh, one of the great cities of Assyria. That wasn't just any assignment. Assyria was Israel's enemy. These were the people who terrorized Israel's borders. The people Jonah hated. And instead of obeying, Jonah ran. But God pursued him through a violent storm, a great fish, and eventually brought him exactly where He wanted him all along.
In the end Jonah finally obeyed. He preached, Nineveh repented, and God showed mercy. And Jonah was furious. Why? Because though Jonah obeyed externally, inwardly his heart never changed. He wanted God's justice for himself and God's judgment for everyone else. He wanted Nineveh destroyed, but God wanted Nineveh redeemed.
You see, Jonah's struggle wasn't ultimately with Nineveh. It was with God's mercy. Pride and complacency had distorted his perspective until he saw people the way man sees them instead of the way God sees them. What's even more incredible is that God still accomplished His purposes.
As we'll continue seeing throughout this study, Assyria would eventually become the nation God used to bring judgment upon Israel. At first that sounds harsh, but think about a controlled burn in a field - Everything appears destroyed, yet the purpose isn't destruction; it's restoration.
In the same way, if Israel and Judah had never reached their lowest point, they may never have recognized their desperate need for God. Even in judgment, God was preparing the way for redemption and ultimately for the coming of Jesus Christ.
Isn't it amazing? Amaziah. Jeroboam II. Jonah. And Ignacio. Four completely different people with four completely different stories. Yet they all reveal the same danger. Amaziah experienced victory, but pride convinced him he no longer needed God. Jeroboam experienced success but refused to lead people back to the Lord. Jonah obeyed God's command but resisted God's heart. Ignacio forgot the mission God had placed before him and became consumed with building his own image. In every case, pride and complacency shifted the focus away from God and onto self.
And that's exactly what they still do today. How often do we become the biggest obstacle to what God wants to accomplish in and through us? Because here's the reality: Our pride doesn't just affect us. Our complacency doesn't just affect us. It affects every person God intends to reach through us.
Every act of selfishness, every compromise, every moment of self-reliance has ripple effects far beyond what we can see. When we insist on our own way, we aren't just resisting God's work in our own lives—we may also be standing in the way of someone else's encounter with Him.
RESPOND
As we wind down our time today, here are a few questions for reflection.
Amaziah obeyed God - but only to a point. Where in your life have you settled for “not wholeheartedly”? Is there an area of your life where you’ve become comfortable with partial obedience or hidden compromise? What would wholehearted surrender to Christ look like?
Success has a way of revealing what’s in our hearts. Whether it’s in your career, ministry, relationships, or personal growth, has a recent blessing or victory shifted your dependence from “God’s got this” to “I’ve got this”? How can you intentionally return the glory and dependence back to the Lord?
Pride and complacency never affect only us - they influence the people of God has called us to love and serve. Is there someone God is asking you to reach, forgive, encourage, or lead, but your own comfort, prejudice, or self-focus is standing in the way? What step of obedience can you take this week to become part of God’s story rather than an obstacle to it?
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