2 Kings 14:9

9. The thistle… the cedar This answer of Jehoash reminds us of the fable of Jotham. Judges 9:8. The thistle here, like the bramble there, represents a low, worthless, and offensive thing, and is a stinging reflection on Amaziah and his kingdom. By the cedar the king of Israel pompously suggests to his foe his own magnificence and power, and afterwards plainly says that a war between them must needs result in Judah’s downfall. Both the thistle and the cedar are represented as in Lebanon, which may have been designed to suggest that a worthless king may sometimes be found in a lofty position, and thence through pride aspire to things beyond his sphere.

Give thy daughter to my son We need not suppose that Amaziah had asked Jehoash to give a daughter in marriage to his son, but it is possible that he had demanded satisfaction for the cities and spoil which the Israelitish soldiers had taken from Judah, or that he had pompously threatened to subdue the kingdom of Israel and unite it again with Judah.

There passed by a wild beast Image of an unexpected dispensation of judgment moving forth to the sudden destruction of the haughty schemer. The destroyer is represented as passing by, not as sent out by the cedar. So Jehoash might wish to suggest to Amaziah that in case he meddled with things beyond his province he would be suddenly smitten by some judgment of the Almighty. He does not proudly boast and presume to tread down Amaziah and Judah by his own warriors and martial prowess.