What I Noticed Today (2 Chronicles 18-20)
2 Chronicles 18
Jehoshaphat made some huge mistakes! God had been with him, prospering him, and protecting him and the people of Judah for years.
In verses 1-11, Jehoshaphat entered into a marriage alliance with Ahab, the king of Israel between his son Jehoram and Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel!
Note: Ahab had made Samaria the capital of Israel and made Baal worship the official state religion.
In verses 3-11, Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to join with him in the battle against the Arameans at Ramoth-gilead:
- Jehoshaphat agreed to go to war if they inquired of the Lord first. So Ahab brought 400 priests together and asked them, and they said God would hand the Arameans over to them.
Note: These priests of Ahab’s were not Levitical priests; they were the priests he had appointed.
- Jehoshaphat wanted to inquire through a priest of God. The only one left in the region was Micaiah, who was brought to them.
In verses 12-27, Micaiah came before Jehoshaphat and Ahab.
- Micaiah was warned to tell king Ahab what he wanted to hear because all the other prophets he prophesied success in the battle.
- Micaiah at first told them to go to battle and win. But when pressured to prophesy in the name of the Lord Micaiah said they would be defeated and scattered.
- Micaiah even spoke of a vision he had that God had put a lying spirit in the mouths of the other prophets to entice Ahab into a war with the Arameans.
- Ahab was angry with Micaiah and ordered him to be put in prison until he returned.
In verses 28-34, Ahab and Jehoshaphat marched with their armies to Ramoth-gilead.
- But Ahab put Jehoshaphat at risk by telling him to enter into battle wearing his royal robes while Ahab went into battle in ordinary clothes.
- The idea was that the Arameans would see the royal robes, assume it was Ahab and end up killing Jehoshaphat.
- The plan backfired on Ahab when he was killed, and Jehoshaphat called on the Lord who gave them the victory.
2 Chronicles 19
In verses 1-3, Jehoshaphat returned home to Jerusalem.
- Jehu, son of Hanani, the prophet, confronted Jehoshaphat telling him that God was not pleased that he had entered into this alliance with Ahab, and now the wrath of the Lord would be upon him.
- However, said Jehu, there was some good in Jehoshaphat; he had removed the Asherah poles and decided to seek God.
In verses 4-11, Jehoshaphat instituted several important reforms.
- He toured the country to bring the people back to God.
- He appointed judges and gave them detailed instructions for carrying out God’s law.
- He also appointed Amariah as the chief priest to judge the people regarding aspects of the Law and Zebadiah to be the judge over civil matters.
2 Chronicles 20
Jehoshaphat defeats the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites.
In verses 1-4, the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites came up against Jehoshaphat.
- When he heard about the approaching army, Jehoshaphat proclaimed and fast and sought the Lord (v. 3).
In verses 5-12, Jehoshaphat stood in front of the assembly at the Lord’s temple and prayed.
- He recognized God’s power (v. 6),
- He reflected on what God had done for them in the past (v. 7), and
- He remembered God’s promises for the future (v. 8-9).
- Finally, he summarized the current situation and asked God what to do.
In verses 13-19, all of Judah came out before the Lord, and the Spirit of God told the people not to be afraid as they would prevail in the battle.
- Jehoshaphat and the people fell down before the Lord and worshiped Him.
- The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahazeil, a Levite who gave the assembly an encouraging message from the Lord. He told them the next day they would go to battle, but the Lord would fight the battle for them.
- The assembly worshiped and gave praise to the Lord.
In verses 20-30, the next day Jehoshaphat and the singers led the way to the battle in the wilderness of Tekoa.
Note: Tekoa was 12 miles southwest of Jerusalem.
- The Lord set an ambush for their enemies, and they were defeated
- When Jehoshaphat arrived at the battlefield, all they saw were the corpses of the enemy.
- They took plunder for three days.
- The people returned home full of joy worshipping the Lord and giving God thanks.
- The terror of God was on all the surrounding nations, and Jehoshaphat had peace because God had given him rest.
In verses 31-34, Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king of Judah, and he reigned from Jerusalem for 25 years.
- Although he walked in the way of his father Asa, the high places were not all removed, and the people had not fully turned their hearts to the Lord.
In verses 35-37, Jehoshaphat made an alliance with Ahaziah, the wicked king of Israel, to build ships and go to Tarshish. This upset the Lord, the ships were wrecked, and Jehoshaphat was unable to go to Tarshish.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- What an up and down life! Jehoshaphat did so much that was right in that he restored the people’s worship of God, and took action with judges and Levites to teach the people about worshipping God. Yet in his own decisions about the marriage alliance with Ahab, and the later alliance with Ahaziah he acted against God. The marriage alliance with Ahab became especially hurtful to the people of Israel as we shall see in 2 Chronicles 21. Often what seems like a good alliance turns out to be a disastrous decision when it is outside of God’s will.
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
