2 Kings 14 - Humiliation

There is an interesting episode in 2 Kings 14 - a good king of Judah, Amaziah, confronts an evil king of Israel, Jehoash (well they're all bad in Israel). Jehoash warns Amaziah that Judah shouldn't pick a fight with Israel because Judah would lose. Amaziah does not listen and gets badly defeated by Israel. Shouldn't the good defeat the evil? The Lord is interested in building His kingdom, not merely winning military victories. There are times that, yes, God does command the destruction of His enemies, but here it seems that Amaziah was trusting in his own ability as a military force (note the small victory over Edom) rather than listening to the voice of the Lord his God. A victory in one area does not mean that we can rush headlong into other areas that the Lord has not lead us to go in. Our duty is to be faithful to our Lord Jesus, not to be carried away by the emotion of a successful endeavor.