Amaziah, like his predecessors, did what was right in the sight of the LORD, yet he failed to remove the high places during his reign. He began with righteous mercy, but after achieving military victory, he grew proud and turned to worship the gods of the people he had conquered. This spiritual regression led to his downfall, and like his father, he was assassinated.

Amaziah is one of four successive kings of Judah, along with Joash, Uzziah, and Jotham, whom God singles out for not removing the high places. Many kings neither built high places nor destroyed them, yet God highlights this negligence only in the reigns of these four. Their lives are fascinating studies in carnality, the nature of sin and temptation, and the tendencies of leaders who are not wholly dedicated to God. Amaziah did not build idolatrous high places like Ahaz or Manasseh, but he also failed to take the step of destroying them, as Hezekiah and Josiah did. The high places had been a thorn in the spiritual side of Israel and Judah since Solomon, who turned from God and embraced heathen high-place worship, and they remained until Assyria and Babylon conquered the two kingdoms. Amaziah's failure therefore left in place a practice that God commanded His people to remove (Deuteronomy 12:2-4). The lesson reaches beyond ancient Judah: anything that leads one away from the true God, weakens one spiritually, or distracts from the high calling can be a high place. Even things that are not morally objectionable become dangerous if they draw a person to embrace the world and squeeze out the jealous God.

Jehoash, Amaziah, Uzziah, and Jotham did what was right in the sight of God, at least for part of their lives. Overall, they were not bad kings, especially when compared to the likes of Ahaz, Ahab, and Manasseh. However, God points out that each failed to remove the high places as He had commanded, contributing to Judah's eventual captivity.

Amaziah appears in Amos 7:10-17 as the high religious official of the shrine in Bethel, who reacts publicly when Amos accuses Israel's religious leaders of failing to teach God's way of life. His confrontation with Amos demonstrates that a person can faithfully obey God and still suffer public persecution, since God does not shield His servants from all opposition but sometimes allows it as an opportunity for witness. Amos' response to Amaziah both provides such a witness and instructs on the true nature and function of a prophet. The exchange between Amos and Amaziah illustrates the biblical use of a plumb line, a tool for determining uprightness. God judges both men through this passage: Amaziah represents false religion, while Amos represents true religion, and their conversation reveals how God evaluates each. Ultimately, though, the greater focus is on testing Amos as God's faithful prophet, and this account calls readers to apply the same plumb line to themselves, questioning whether they take God's grace for granted. Amaziah tests Amos in three ways, each designed to provoke a reaction exposing his true character. First, he accuses Amos of disloyalty, falsely claiming the prophet predicted that Jeroboam would die by the sword, a distortion of Amos' actual words concerning Israel's captivity. This tactic of twisting truth mirrors how the Jews later misused Christ's own words to falsely accuse Him. Second, Amaziah questions Amos' motives, suggesting he prophesied against Israel for personal profit and urging him to return to Judah, where such messages would be rewarded financially. Third, Amaziah threatens Amos' personal safety, warning him never again to prophesy at Bethel since it is the king's sanctuary and royal residence, implying that his words challenge royal authority. This threat tests Amos' willingness to confront authority, but the ploy fails, as Jeroboam II apparently takes no action against him. Amos answers by declaring that he was no professional prophet but a herdsman and tender of sycamore fruit, commissioned directly by God to prophesy to Israel. He then pronounces a prophetic curse upon Amaziah: his wife will become a harlot, his children will fall by the sword, his land will be divided, and he himself will die in a defiled land, while Israel goes into captivity. This curse extends to Amaziah's family both because a leader's fate shapes those under him and because family ties often unify belief, so that one member's downfall affects the others. This narrative, the only such account in the book, vividly illustrates the consequences of complacency and pride. Amaziah's confrontation with Amos exposes the broader theme of false security in religious ritual without true righteousness, paralleling the spiritual complacency later condemned in the Laodicean church.