2nd Chronicles 25 GRUDGING COMPLIANCE I wonder what would be the assessment of me, my life and my work by people who know me? Would my reputation be of one who knows and does what is right but his heart is not in it? Would it be I do what I do and say what I say because I know it would please the people who hear me whether saved or unsaved? My hope is that what I am, do, and commit myself to, would obviously be the word and will of God. If my heart is not in the work of the Lord to which I am called, but I grudgingly comply with what is right, it won't be long until I am being attracted to those around who act independently rather than being accountable to those the Lord has designated to oversee and guide His work.
Half-hearted obedience is not obedience at all. To do what is right, "but not with a perfect heart," is not a good recommendation of a person's labors. Nothing is hidden from God including our attitude toward Him and His work. Even if people are thinking we are doing good, that does not overcome the grudging compliance of a person's life and labors. We normally would not accept that kind of attitude even in our own children, how much more in ourselves as children of God. Amaziah began fairly well in his reign of king of Judah. He didn't kill the children of those who killed his father, because the word of the Lord forbade making children die for the sins of their fathers.
But then things seemed to change in Amaziah. He acted on his own volition by hiring professional soldiers from Israel. A prophet came with a warning message regarding those soldiers who had come to mix with his soldiers. He hired men who "the Lord was not with." They were likely hoping to get rich from the spoils of war beside the salary they were getting, but the men were not worshippers of the Lord God of Israel. They had become idolaters and God did not want them among His own people. When the prophet told Amaziah of his mistake, he acted wisely, realizing the loss of money was not worth the ruin it would cause. With grudging compliance, Amaziah sent them home having lost a lot of money because of acting independently without God's guidance. But he had to later reap the consequences of what he had sown.
Then he acted on his own by going to battle with the Edomites. He was able to defeat the Edomites and those in the valley of salt, but that wasn't the end of the story. The mass killings of captured enemies seem to us very excessive, but to those in the Middle East who live a day or two's walk away from each other's country, that action was taken to preserve a nation from revenge and retaliation for at least a generation. The most awful result of the war with the Edomites was that Amaziah brought back with him idols of the false gods of the Edomites. And even worse, he "bowed down himself before them," and offered incense. How foolish it was to worship the false gods of a defeated nation. No wonder the Lord was angry with him. Amaziah went even further when he rejected the Lord God by rejecting the warnings of God's prophet.
Even though we may wonder at the bad decisions and practices of those of old times, we have similar situations today. The emptiness of the world and the sinful pleasures of the world still attracts people today - even the people of God. The way worldly attractions are presented and advertised makes even those who are committed to following the Lord, wonder if we are missing out on something good, even though in our hearts we know better. Convictions become our own when we realize God is in control and His word is "The man of our counsel and our guide." We can learn by faith, or by fatal mistakes and bad choices. Grudging compliance does not preserve us from the desire to do wrong.
If we are not careful and committed to our walk with God, arrogance and pride can make our ambition our downfall. Ability is not mine just because I think I have it. Amaziah thought he had all he needed in himself to defeat Joash, king of Israel, and his idolatrous people. Without God with us, we are powerless even if we have all kind of assets in which we are trusting. "Meddling" happens when one has deceived himself into thinking, "I can do anything if I just put my mind to it." To not listen (hear) to the counsel of those who speak for God, brings predictable results and consequences over which we have no control. God is not going to step back from righteous retribution when it is deserved.
After the defeat of Judah under Amaziah's leadership, he was not a well liked, nor accepted leader among the people of his nation. It appears that he must have shared leadership with his son Uzziah for a number of years. Even then the people of Jerusalem resented him that much that they plotted against him and he fled to Lachish. The people of Jerusalem had had enough of Amaziah, so they pursued him to Lachish and killed him there, and brought him back to Jerusalem for burial. What an ignominious death for one who began well. The final end of many people is so far removed from their potential, and their beginning. It is not over until it is over. How important it is to have the attitude of our Lord toward His Father and His people. "I have finished the work which thou gavest Me to do." "Having loved His own, He loved them unto the end."