Pride would be the downfall of Judah’s next two kings, Amaziah and Uzziah.
In the case of Amaziah, his problem can be summed up in 2 Chronicles 25:2 where it says,
He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly.
This particularly showed when a prophet confronted him for hiring some Israelite (that is, northern kingdom) mercenaries for his battle against Edom.
The prophet said, “If you march out with these men, God will not be with you because he is not with any of these people from the northern kingdom.” (2 Chronicles 25:7-8)
When Amaziah heard this, he got very upset, mostly because he had spent a lot of money hiring these people. But in the end, he reluctantly let them go.
The second time he was confronted by a prophet went much worse. After defeating the Edomites, he took their gods and started worshiping them.
When a prophet of God came to rebuke him for this, Amaziah told him,
Have we appointed you an adviser to the king? Stop! Why be struck down? (2 Chronicles 25:16)
So the prophet stopped speaking, but only after warning the king once more of God’s impending judgment.
That would come when Amaziah foolishly decided to attack the northern kingdom of Israel.
King Jehoash called him on his pride, saying, “Be content with your victory over Edom. Don’t come marching here thinking you will gain victory over us as well.”
Amaziah refused to listen, however, and paid for it with his life.
How about you? How do you respond to the words of God?
Do you obey them reluctantly? Do you simply ignore them?
Or do you obey wholeheartedly?
So many times, we think we know what is best, while rejecting what God has told us.
In our pride, we think we can succeed by living by our own wisdom.
But it’s a pride that will lead to our downfall.
Solomon wrote,
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. (Proverbs 16:25)
Let us not walk in our own wisdom, but in the path that leads to life.
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 