What derailed the king?
The king was Amaziah. He became king at age 25. He watched his father (who had been king for 40 years) obey the excellent advice of a very old priest. The old priest dies and Amaziah’s father listens to some government officials and endorses idolatry. His father ignors warnings from prophets and finally kills the messenger who is the old prophet’s son. Amaziah’s father is then murdered in retaliation and Amaziah becomes king. He is good for awhile, then finally makes bad decisions and threatens to kill a prophet sent to warn him to end idolatry. Amaziah is then murdered also and the cycle seems complete. What was Amaziah’s mindset or attitude toward prophets and priests who had lots of power but had no interest in rubber stamping bad behavior? Would he have hidden resentment after seeing his father murdered by staff who were loyal to the priests? This story is in II Kings 12-14 and II Chronicles 23-25.
