2 Kings 14 covers the reigns of two kings of Judah and Israel, Amaziah and Jeroboam II, and shows how pride, justice and God’s mercy work out in their stories. These questions are for a small group, a Sunday class or personal study. You can work through them in order, or pick the sets that fit your time.
2 Kings 14 at a Glance
The chapter moves between two kingdoms. Amaziah begins well by executing the officials who murdered his father, but he sparks a war with Israel by challenging King Jehoash. His pride leads to defeat, the plundering of Jerusalem and his own death. The narrative then turns to Jeroboam II, who restores Israel’s borders in a period of outward success, while the text notes that he continued in sin.
Throughout, the writer keeps returning to the Lord’s verdict on each king and to the rare note of mercy shown to Israel in its distress. Read the chapter with that pattern in mind: human ambition and failure on one side, God’s faithfulness to his word on the other.
Observation Questions
Use these questions at the start of the session to make sure everyone has the facts of the chapter straight before anyone interprets them. Ask people to point to the verse where they find each answer.
2 Kings 14:3
He did that which was right in the LORD’s eyes, yet not like David his father. He did according to all that Joash his father had done.
(WEB)
Read this verse first to frame the king’s character in a single sentence. It sets up the tension between doing what is right and failing to be like David, which the rest of the chapter explores.
2 Kings 14:6
But the children of the murderers he didn’t put to death; according to that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, as the LORD commanded, saying, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin.”
(WEB)
Read this aloud to ground the discussion of justice and personal responsibility. It shows the law of Moses shaping Amaziah’s decision, and it gives the group a principle to test against their own sense of fairness.
2 Kings 14:10
You have indeed struck Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Enjoy the glory of it, and stay at home; for why should you meddle to your harm, that you fall, even you, and Judah with you?’”
(WEB)
Read the fable’s warning slowly so the group can hear its sharpness. It names the pride that drives the conflict and offers a line worth remembering in the application questions.
2 Kings 14:25-26
25 He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the sea of the Arabah, according to the LORD, the God of Israel’s word, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath Hepher. 26 For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter; for all, slave and free, and there was no helper for Israel.
(WEB)
Read this range to show the Lord’s word being fulfilled and his attention to Israel’s suffering. The pairing of God’s promise and his compassion gives the group a hopeful counterpoint to the chapter’s judgments.
2 Kings 14:27
The LORD didn’t say that he would blot out the name of Israel from under the sky; but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.
(WEB)
Read this verse to highlight the Lord’s refusal to erase Israel completely. It underlines God’s mercy as the final word on the nation, even after many failures of its kings.
Memory Verse for 2 Kings 14
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as people who know how quickly pride can rise in our hearts, as it did in Amaziah’s. Give us honest eyes to see where success has made us careless, and soft hearts to receive correction from you and from one another. Thank you that you saw the affliction of your people and did not forget them, even when their leaders failed. Help us trust your faithfulness in our own waiting, and teach us to walk humbly in what you have given us. Amen.
