Take your Bibles with me and turn to 2 Chronicles 25. We are on to another story about a king today. This time it is a king of Judah, not a king of Israel. This king's name is Amaziah, and Amaziah is going to teach us some very important lessons about the dangers of success.
Proverbs 16:18 says:
[18] Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. — Proverbs 16:18 (KJV)
James 4:6 says this:
[6] But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. — James 4:6 (KJV)
There is a sense that a man's success is more dangerous than his failures. Because successes — little successes — can make us think that we are something that we are not. They can fill us with pride and set us up for a big fall.
If you have ever coached little kids before, you see this. I can remember a couple of kids that I coached who won some ribbon or some minor trophy and immediately became uncoachable. They did not want to listen to anybody because they had won a trophy. They were successful. That trophy might have been a participation ribbon. They might have been racing against somebody who was the worst swimmer in the state, but they were successful and they did not need any more help.
I cannot think of a better example of this in the Bible than Amaziah. His story is an interesting warning for us about the dangers of success.
Amaziah: A Strong Start
2 Chronicles 25:1–4
Are you in Second Chronicles 25 yet? Let us start reading.
[1] Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. [2] And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart. [3] Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was established to him, that he slew his servants that had killed the king his father. [4] But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the Lord commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin. — 2 Chronicles 25:1–4 (KJV)
Amaziah is the son of Joash, king of Judah. He comes to power when his father is killed in a coup by his own servants.
Like his father, he is mostly a good king. It says he does that which is right in the sight of the Lord, but he is not a perfect king. He was faithful up until a point.
He started off really strong. One of his first acts was to round up the people that killed his father and have them executed, which was the right thing to do. What was probably his temptation — and what others would have done — would have been to execute their whole families for this crime, to make a terrible example of them. But Amaziah had read in the law that we do not punish children for the sins of their father, and he decided that he was going to follow God's Word. A very strong start to the kingdom and rule of Amaziah.
God Wants the Glory
2 Chronicles 25:5–13
Let us keep reading.
[5] Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and made them captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found them three hundred thousand choice men, able to go forth to war, that could handle spear and shield. [6] He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver. [7] But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the Lord is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim. [8] But if thou wilt go, do it; be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down. [9] And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The Lord is able to give thee much more than this. [10] Then Amaziah separated them, to wit, the army that was come to him out of Ephraim, to go home again: wherefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in great anger. [11] And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand. [12] And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces. [13] But the soldiers of the army which Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Bethhoron, and smote three thousand of them, and took much spoil. — 2 Chronicles 25:5–13 (KJV)
So one of Amaziah's first challenges as king is dealing with Edom. He is going to fight this battle against one of the neighbors of Judah that has been troubling them for a while. He gets started by putting together an army of Judah. But he does not think that army is enough, so he goes and hires 100,000 mercenaries from Israel.
A prophet comes to him and says, "You do not need these people from Israel. All you need is the Lord. God can help you." And Amaziah listens.
He has already paid these soldiers a great deal of money to come and fight for him, but he still listens to the prophet and sends them home. And they are angry about it. They want to go into the battle. They want to fight. These mercenaries were probably upset because they were looking forward to the spoils of the war that they were not going to get. They still got paid, though, and they got to go home.
So Amaziah goes into battle with this much smaller force — a force of just the Judean soldiers — and God gives them the victory. They win and they round up 10,000 of these enemies and have them executed, throwing them off the top of a hill.
There are a few lessons here, before we get into the main lesson tonight, that we can draw from this account of Amaziah's success.
The first thing that we see is that God wants our success to be about His glory, not our own.
You see this in many Bible stories where God reduces the armies — He minimizes our strength — so that when great things happen they are not because of man's greatness, but because of God's greatness.
A good example of that is Gideon. God reduced his army again and again until there were just 300 men. They then went into battle with trumpets and pitchers instead of swords. Madness to the world, but it clearly showed the strength of God.
Or you could go back to the story of Joshua going around the city of Jericho. Anyone else would have tried to lay siege to that city to demonstrate their military strength, but God commanded them to simply walk around it — and the city fell.
One of the things I think we need to learn and learn well is that God wants the glory in our lives, and God cannot have the glory in our lives if it is all about us and how strong we are.
You see this in Amaziah's story, right? He was trying to use what we could call worldly means to win this battle. His first inclination was, "I need soldiers, so I am going to go hire soldiers." A perfectly logical, perfectly sensible thing to do — but God said, "No. You can win with Me. You do not need extra help."
If Amaziah had gone into battle with those soldiers and won, it would have been Amaziah's victory. But God wanted it to be God's victory.
So they went into battle with this smaller force. God delivered the Edomites into the hands of Amaziah, and Amaziah experienced his first small taste of success. It was obviously God's work. It was not Amaziah's military skill that won the battle against the Edomites — it was his listening to God, his following the Lord. But Amaziah did not understand that.
And that brings us to the main theme of the message tonight: the dangers of success.
Unfortunately, the rest of the story of Amaziah shows us just how dangerous it can be when we get a little win under our belts.
I think we can look at this story and see three dangers of success. As we read, I am going to give you those three dangers tonight.
Three Dangers of Success
1. A Little Success Can Turn Your Heart Away from God
2 Chronicles 25:14–16
Let us keep reading.
[14] Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them. [15] Wherefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand? [16] And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Art thou made of the king's counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel. — 2 Chronicles 25:14–16 (KJV)
This is absolutely remarkable. Amaziah goes to the battle. God delivers the Edomites into his hand — and his first action is to take the Edomites' gods and start worshiping them?
That makes no sense. And God sends a prophet to tell him exactly that. The prophet says, "Look, these gods could not even deliver the Edomites. Why are you worshiping them? Why are you worshipping these powerless gods?"
But Amaziah will not listen. He cuts the prophet off and says, "Who made you my advisor? Stop talking or you will be punished." He essentially says, "If you do not be quiet, I am going to have you killed." And the prophet does stop — but not before saying this: "I know God is determined to destroy you because of what you have done and because you have not listened to my counsel."
So what happened to Amaziah here? Amaziah became proud. He went into this battle against Edom, he had a little bit of success, and his heart was filled with pride. That pride turned him away from the Lord. That pride turned him from someone God was helping into someone God was opposing. That pride led him to idolatry. That pride stopped his ears from hearing any word of instruction from the men of God.
Church, a little bit of success is a very dangerous thing, because it can turn us into proud people who think they do not need God. Proud people who believe they can take care of themselves, who can satisfy themselves with their own idols. Proud people who think they know better than everyone else. When you get into that situation, you are setting yourself up for God to bring you down.
As 1 Corinthians 10:12 says:
[12] Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. — 1 Corinthians 10:12 (KJV)
David and Amaziah: A Contrast
What a contrast between Amaziah and the first great king of Judah, King David. Both of them had sins of the heart. Both of them became proud. Both of them did things they should not have done. But the difference is this: when Nathan said to David, "Thou art the man," David repented. David never became so proud that he could not listen to the man of God, that he could not be corrected.
But Amaziah? Amaziah became too proud for his own good. He reached the point very quickly — because of a little success — where he felt he did not need God.
A little success can turn your heart away from God. Let me show you a second thing.
2. A Little Success Can Make You Think You Are Stronger Than You Are
2 Chronicles 25:17–20
Let us keep reading in verse 17:
[17] Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us see one another in the face. [18] And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. [19] Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten the Edomites; and thine heart lifteth thee up to boast: abide now at home; why shouldest thou meddle to thine hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? [20] But Amaziah would not hear; for it came of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought after the gods of Edom. — 2 Chronicles 25:17–20 (KJV)
Amaziah thought that because he had defeated Edom he was something great. Because he now had some military success under his belt, he decided to take on Israel, his neighbor to the north. He set out to pick a fight with Joash, the king of Israel.
I love what Joash says to Amaziah. He uses a parable about a thistle in Lebanon and a cedar in Lebanon. The thistle — a small weed — says to the cedar, the strongest tree known in the ancient world, "Give me your daughter to my son to wife." And while this arrogant request is being made, a wild beast passes by and accidentally tramples the thistle.
What is Joash saying to Amaziah? Do not miss this. He is saying, "You think you are something great, but you are not even close to being in my league. You are making demands of someone who is a hundred times stronger than you." It would be like someone who played in a recreational youth basketball league deciding to challenge someone in the NBA. The outcome would not be close — and it would not even require much effort on the stronger side.
Joash has Amaziah's number. He says, "You think that because you beat little Edom you are something — but you are not. You should stay home and mind your own business." But Amaziah would not listen.
Verse 20 tells us that God's purpose was to deliver Amaziah into Joash's hand because of his sin with Edom.
The Danger of an Outsized View of Yourself
One of the dangers of a little success is that it gives us an outsized view of ourselves. We think we are something that we are not.
I have been watching some boxing videos recently — footage of Mike Tyson from the 1990s. After he got out of prison, a few fighters who had seen some success during those four years talked boldly about being able to defeat him. It did not go well for those men. They stepped into the ring full of confidence, but they did not last more than a round or two before it was over.
May it be our prayer that whenever things are going well, whenever we have a little wind in our sails, we stay humble. That we do not get a swelled head. That we are not so blinded by the little bit of success the Lord has given us that we think we are standing firm when we are actually about to fall.
This leads me to my third point tonight.
3. A Little Success Can Lead to a Big Downfall
2 Chronicles 25:21–24
Let us keep reading:
[21] So Joash the king of Israel went up; and they saw one another in the face, both he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Bethshemesh, which belongeth to Judah. [22] And Judah was put to the worse before Israel, and they fled every man to his tent. [23] And Joash the king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Bethshemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits. [24] And he took all the gold and the silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obededom, and the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria. — 2 Chronicles 25:21–24 (KJV)
Amaziah would not listen. He did not take the warning. With great bluster he went against Joash in battle at a place called Beth-Shemesh — and Amaziah and Judah were routed. They fled in defeat. Joash did not let him off the hook. They chased them all the way to Jerusalem. They broke down the walls of Jerusalem, demonstrating their complete superiority and domination. They took the gold, silver, and other treasures back to Israel. History suggests they probably took Amaziah with them as a captive, and his son Uzziah likely began ruling in his stead.
What happened here? Amaziah got a little success, and it went to his head. He started to believe he was greater than he actually was. And it led to a massive downfall.
Whenever you think you are invincible, whenever you feel like nothing can bring you down — that is when the downfall happens. That is when a person starts making compromises at work that destroy their reputation. That is when someone starts spending in ways they should not. That is when a person starts rebelling against the leadership God has placed over them, to their own destruction.
The Pattern Is Clear
- You get a little bit of success.
- You are filled with pride and arrogance.
- You stop depending on God.
- You start believing you are greater than you are.
- You walk yourself right into a disaster.
Again, as Proverbs puts it:
[18] Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. — Proverbs 16:18 (KJV)
Conclusion: The Better King
As I close tonight, I want to point your eyes toward another man.
This man had amazing success. He was so celebrated that huge crowds wanted to make him their king. They threw their coats on the ground so he could walk over them. They waved palm branches and cried out, "Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lord."
And do you know what that man did? He went straight to an upper room and began washing his disciples' feet — the lowest of all tasks — while those very disciples were arguing among themselves about who would be the greatest.
Then that man went to the cross — the ultimate act of humility and selfless service — and died on our behalf.
There are two paths before us:
- The path of ego, the path of worldly greatness, the path of success built on pride.
- The path of Christ.
We are called to take up our cross daily and follow Him. We are called to take up our towel and wash one another's feet. That is the true path to true and lasting success.
Do not be an Amaziah. Do not let a little bit of success be your undoing.
Let us stand together for prayer.
