A hardened heart hardened
Glance again at the back half of verse 16. That portion of the verse was the prophet not stopping, not obeying the king, but shifting and adapting, moving from grace to judgment, from the offer of a way out to the proclamation of the king’s end.
“…So the prophet stopped, but said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.” (2 Chronicles 25:16b–ESV)
Look at how the prophet’s words clarify God’s grace. His counsel was not even an offer of grace; it was grace already applied. Where judgment was in order (worshipping idols), judgment was put on hold, deferred, delayed. After the prophet began his rebuke Amaziah’s end remained in the balance; his fate was not sealed. Everything depended upon the king’s response; that was the pivot point: would he listen to self-appointed or the God-appointed royal counselors? It is clear from this that had Amaziah acknowledged his error, his idolatry, had he repented and walked away the outcome would have been different. “God has determined to destroy you because you have done this [the idol worship-the grace needed] and not listened [the grace applied] to my counsel.”
The king said stop and grace did. That is the saddest part of this story. The Edomite idolatry is discouraging, but Jehovah’s grace spurned, slapped down, pushed away as unworthy, those things are heavy; those things are sad. Those resulted in the “not wholeheartedly” stamp of God.
By rejecting the prophet’s counsel he pressed the judgment button. One can imagine hearing an electronic click, followed by the turning of engines, gears engaging to the drive train. The machinery of his destruction began to chug, chug, chug the Judean train toward a derailment. God brought his solvent to Amaziah’s hardened heart, but Amaziah would not allow it to soften him. His hardened heart achieved a more permanent hardening.
A story from my life
I often pray, and the focus of those prayers will frequently land upon those who have not accepted God’s grace. Now and again, a strange event happens while praying for certain individuals. The strangeness is that I find my spirit blocked; it becomes clear to me that I am no longer to pray for them. To do so is rebellious, sinful; it is off-limits.
Such a thing happened the week before I wrote this. While trying to pray, again, for an individual long on my list the roadblocks went up. I briefly toyed with the roadblock trying to see if it was static, noise, or an error, but there was no honorable way for me to pray for them.
I am not sure what it means for that individual, but I cannot imagine that it will have pleasant tones. I hope that it represents short term pain that a long term good might result. I wonder, though, did this individual already face their pivot point? Did they already spurn grace too much? I think I will learn this answer, but these things often play out over a period of years, of lifetimes; answers may not come until we (me and the one I prayed for) meet God.
Conclusion
Amaziah started well; Amaziah finished poorly. At first, he listened to God’s prophet. At last, he listened to others. After heeding God’s direction, things went well but still required faith. After tossing out God’s direction, he proceeded after the counsel of those who had no regard for God. Things turned out badly for him. Despite the bad finish, the stamp of God on his life still had good marks. “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart.” (2 Chronicles 25:2–ESV)
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