Amaziah followed God, but not wholeheartedly. The text likens him to his father Joash and not David.
He executes the people who assassinated his father, Joash. However, he did not kill their children out of respect for Mosiac law. This would indicate Mosiac law is being followed to some degree in the land.
He conducted a military census and then hires mercenaries form the northern kingdom. However, unlike David, God does not get mad at the military census, but rather it is the mercenaries from the northern kingdom that are the problem. A prophet advises him to dismiss them because God is not with the northern kingdom. Amaziah dismisses them, but is disappointed with the lost money since the mercenaries were paid. The same prophet advises Amaziah that God can give him more money.
The mercenaries go back to the northern kingdom are angered by their dismissal. They actually conduct raids in the border towns.
Amaziah had important victories over Edom. However, he brought back the idols of the Edomites and began worshipping them. It is amazing how often that happens in these stories. If the gods of the Edomites did not save or protect them from conquest, what is the incentive the people of Judah to worship them?
God is of course angered by this. God sends a prophet to warn Amaziah. Amaziah threatens to kill the prophet. The prophet then says that God will destroy Amaziah for turning his back on God and not heeding the prophet's advice.
The next thing that appears in the text is that Amaziah wants to start a war with the northern kingdom. He even sends Jehoash a letter stating as such. The army of Jehoash defeats the army of Amaziah.
So, why did this happen? There was no indication in the text of hostilities between the northern and southern kingdom, so it seems kind of out of the blue. Likewise, the king of Aram seems to be a bigger threat to either of them.
That said, there had been raids from the northern mercenaries and it seems that Jehoash did nothing to stop them. However, the hostile letter comes right after Amaziah's worship of Edomite idols and the warning by the prophet. So, I would think they are connected. We have seen God inspiring kings to make disastrous invasions before once they rejected God. The best example was Ahab and the warning by Micah when Jehosophat asked for a prophet of God. Although the text is not clear as to why Amaziah wants to fight with Jehoash, this may have been something similar.
Amaziah loses the battle and Jerusalem is plundered. Amaziah is not killed in the battle, but rather dies year later at the hands of other assassins.
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