11 But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another in battle at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 12 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his home. 13 And Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for four hundred cubits, from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate.14 And he seized all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king's house, also hostages, and he returned to Samaria. 15 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash that he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 16 And Jehoash slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place. (II Kings 14)
Insanity has been defined as doing the same thing over and over again, yet expecting different results. To be sure, in the memoirs of the kings of Israel and Judah we find such insanity. For several generations they fought back and forth, each taking turns multiplying evil, and sometimes both of them doing so. Things were at their worse when God allowed Israel to spank Judah. Two key phrases occur often in these accounts. First, the kings and other leaders often "would not listen". From the time the kingdom split under Rehoboam, throughout the times of the prophets, leaders would arrogantly refuse to listen to wisdom or reason. The second phrase, even more pominent, is about all the "evil done in the sight of the LORD." Of course, God sees it all. So did all those in and around these two kingdoms. But they seemed oblivious to it themselves, repeating the same old cycle of evil over and over again. Are we any different?
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