2 Chronicles 20: 1 – 37
The prayer warriors
20 It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. 2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. 5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, 6 and said: “O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? 7 Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? 8 And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, 9 ‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ 10 And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them— 11 here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” 13 Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD. 14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.” 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. 19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high. 20 So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever.” 22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. 24 So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much. 26 And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the LORD; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28 So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the LORD. 29 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around. 31 So Jehoshaphat was king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 32 And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD. 33 Nevertheless the high places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not directed their hearts to the God of their fathers. 34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel. 35 After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted very wickedly. 36 And he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion Geber. 37 But Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” Then the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish.
So many bad circumstances take place in this fallen world – such as illness, crime, accidents, and conflicts – that it’s easy to get so discouraged that you simply let it all happen without fighting it. But you have more control over bad situations than you may realize. Evil is behind much of the bad that happens in the world, and our Merciful God has given you the ability to fight evil and overcome it with good through the most powerful weapon possible: prayer.
God calls all believers to fight in the spiritual battles that are constantly taking place, where evil causes suffering but God works to redeem it for good purposes. Those who say “yes” to God’s call – prayer warriors – participate in the world’s most important work. Prayer warriors see the battle and consistently act by coming before God.
Understand that there is a war and you are in it. Like it or not, all of us are caught up in the spiritual war that’s taking place between good and evil. If you don’t engage in the war, you’ll still be affected by it – and you’ll be much more vulnerable to evil than you would if you decided to fight as God calls you to do. So be active; not passive. Engage in spiritual warfare with the confidence that God’s power working through you is greater than any evil working against you. Your prayers can help prevent bad things from happening to people and usher good things into people’s lives. Listen to the Holy Spirit’s promptings for guidance about how best to pray for what’s most needed – and then pray to advance God’s kingdom on Earth and stop the spread of evil.
Know your commander and stand on His side. Your commander in spiritual warfare is Jesus Christ, who leads two armies: the army of holy angels in heaven and the army of prayer warriors on Earth. Our Lord and Savior King Jesus chose you, saves you, gives you an eternal inheritance of blessings, and lives in your soul as the Holy Spirit. Our Master Lord Jesus wants you to choose His side in the spiritual war, and to remember that the power He gives you is more powerful than evil. Your commander Adoni Jesus Is the greatest example of a prayer warrior; by studying his life on Earth you can learn how to serve God without fear.
Recognize who your true enemy is. Your enemy is the world, the flesh, and the Devil, Satan, the highest ranked of the fallen angels who rebelled against God. Satan is your adversary, accuser, tempter, and deceiver. He works by trying to convince you to doubt God’s truth and believe his lies instead. Doors are open for your enemy to attack you whenever you deliberately disobey God and choose to sin. It’s vital to run away from temptations to sin and pray against Satan’s plans to hurt you and other people.
Be certain of your authority in prayer. Our Lord Jesus has given you authority to pray in His name and to know that He will answer your prayers according to God’s will and at the right time. Be confident that you can pray to usher God’s power into any situation.
Condition yourself to be all you can be. Do the best you can to stay in good condition spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Prayer warriors, like soldiers should be optimally effective when fighting.
Put on your protective armor each morning.
1. Put on the spiritual armor that the Bible mentions can help you engage in spiritual warfare
2. Gird your waist with the truth by reading your Bible often so that its truths sink deeply into your soul and keeping those truths in mind whenever you make decisions to help guard yourself from deception.
3. Put on the breastplate of righteousness by relying on the Holy Spirit’s guidance to choose what’s right; your right attitudes and actions will act like a bulletproof vest protecting you against Satan’s attacks.
4. Shoe your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace by accepting the peace that only our Savio Jesus Christ can give you and using that peace as an unshakeable foundation of confidence to defend yourself against evil.
5. Take the shield of faith by placing your faith in God and His Word, the Bible, to deliver you from evil and trusting that anything is indeed possible with God.
6. Put on the helmet of salvation by reminding yourself of what The Precious Lamb of God Jesus did on the Cross to save you from sin’s deception and destruction and choosing to believe what Jesus says about you rather than lies the enemy wants you to believe.
7. Take the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God by combatting lies with biblical truth, both defensively and offensively. Keep praying and relying on the Holy Spirit working through you until you see breakthroughs happen and God’s will is accomplished in the situations about which the Spirit led you to pray.
Become skilled with your spiritual weapons. Read the Bible and incorporate its truth into your life. Invite God’s presence into your life in greater power through praise and worship. Believe that anything is possible with God. If you are able, fast when you pray about especially challenging situations. Commit everything you pray about fully to God.
Engage in the war knowing time in short. Keep in mind that the time until The Lion of Judah our Lord Jesus returns at the end of the world is limited, and so is that time you must live and serve on Earth. So, make the most of the time you must fight evil.
Identify the immediate battlefield. When you’re attacked by evil, be as specific as possible in your prayers about where the enemy has taken the battle.
Follow his orders to resist the enemy. Resist Satan and the evil spirits who work with him by submitting your life completely to God, rejecting pride, refusing fear, praying for miracles, being content, remembering what’s true and what’s not, and never giving up when you’re praying.
See what’s happening from God’s perspective. Ask God to show you the full truth about what’s going on in the situations about which you’re praying, as well as how you can pray about each of those situations to be most effective against evil.
Put not any trust in any man or woman but give your full allegiance, love, hope, and trust in the Holy Son of God Jesus Christ.
Today, we are going to witness everything that has been said acted out by king Jehoshaphat. He is fresh off a life-threatening experience with his battle with the Syrian army. Our Great and Mighty Father God Yahweh saved his life and he fled back to his palace in Jerusalem.
Having taken a correction from our Holy God’s spokesperson, he went about to make as many things as he understood right in the eyes of our Holy Lord God.
We are going to see some great spiritual dependency as a bunch of strong nations now are about to attack the nation of Judah. It is to Jehoshaphat’s credit and for our understanding that this is the way to fight our battles. We need to be prayer warriors.
News of a large-scale invasion by the combined forces of Moab, Ammon and Mount Seir (south and east of Judah), probably instigated by Syria, was brought to Jehoshaphat and filled him with great concern, but he revealed his worthiness by immediately taking the matter to YHWH God. Whether this invasion was to be the consequences of the wrath of YHWH as described in 19.2 is not stated, but it seems very probable. It appears arbitrary to ignore this incident and look to occurrences further ahead. But if so it is an example of how YHWH’s wrath could be overcome through believing prayer and repentance (as indicated by fasting).
Jehoshaphat was then assured by a prophet of YHWH that his prayer had been heard, and that Judah would not even have to do battle. Instead they would see how YHWH would so act that their enemies would destroy themselves. Half wild, undisciplined, independent tribesmen who were often suspicious of each other with their intertribal rivalries were not the best material for bringing cohesion to a large fighting force, and we have in the past previous examples of where such forces have started to fight with each other and have destroyed themselves.
20 It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat.
The first question here is as to the composition of the invading forces. The children of Moab and the children of Ammon are clearly the nations of Moab and Ammon.:
They learned, either from scouts or from some who had fled before the approaching host, of this huge army, consisting of several nations, which was on the point of invading Judah from the wilderness to the west of the Dead Sea.
2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi).
The reports probably lost nothing in the telling. Men arrived in panic in Jerusalem reporting these huge forces which were massed against Judah at the instigation of Aram (Syria), and which were already at Hazazon-tamar (Engedi). The threat was clearly serious ‘From beyond the sea’ would appear to confirm what we know of Engedi, which was on a wilderness road leading from the Dead Sea ford, and we know from the battle for Ramoth-gilead that the Syrians were powerfully effective in the Transjordan area.
Engedi was an oasis connected with the western slopes of the Dead Sea. It would appear that the forces had forded the Dead Sea from Moab using the shallow ford opposite the Lisan and had begun to ascend towards Hebron. The territory around Engedi rose steeply towards the hill country of Judah and was overall inhospitable and riddled with gorges through which with some difficulty such an army could make its way. Anyone looking down would see what appeared to be vast numbers of warriors spread out over a wide area making their way like ants through the barren wilderness towards the hill country of Judah. The whole land would appear alive with warriors, on whom in fact the immense heat would be taking its toll, making them fractious.
3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
The news of what appeared to be a vast invading army bought fear to Jehoshaphat’s heart, and as a aftereffect he set himself to seek YHWH. Furthermore, he sent out messengers and proclaimed a fast throughout Judah. It was a time for repentance and prayer. We need not doubt that he also took steps to avert the invasion by sending scouts to the area, and possibly troops. These, in conjunction with the local folk, may well have been the ambushers whom YHWH set against the opposing forces (verse 22).
4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
In response to Jehoshaphat’s messenger the whole of Judah (which would presumably include Benjamin and the conquered territory) gathered themselves together, presumably at Jerusalem, in order to seek the help of YHWH.
The gathering would in fact have a dual purpose, for it also resulted in the warriors of Judah being mobilized ready to face the enemy. But the main aim was to concentrate attention on the seeking after YHWH. From beginning to end the whole affair was to be the victory of YHWH in response to His people’s pleas. It was to be YHWH’s triumph, not Judah’s.
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, 6 and said: “O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? 7 Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? 8 And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, 9 ‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ 10 And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them— 11 here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
The basis for Jehoshaphat’s prayer was:
• That YHWH was all powerful in both heaven and earth and could do whatever He would (20.6).
• That the land had been given to them by YHWH Who had driven out the opposing nations, giving it to the seed of Abraham His friend. It was therefore guaranteed to them (20.7) as well as possessed by them (20.8a).
• That they had built a Sanctuary in it for His Name. His thought may be that if Judah were subdued, the Sanctuary would no longer be preserved for His Name (20.8). Or he may have had in mind that God should recognise their faithfulness to Him in building the Sanctuary.
• That YHWH had confirmed that He would hear His people’s prayers prayed in that House when they faced the sword of judgment (20.9; compare 7.12-14).
• That the people who were coming against them were the people whom YHWH had spared because of their blood relationship with Israel and who were now reneging on that blood relationship (20.10-11). It was thus incumbent on YHWH to protect Judah against them.
• That they themselves had no power apart from that of YHWH.
It was a proclamation of what YHWH is, of what He had promised to Abraham, of what He had promised about the Sanctuary built to house His Name, and in the end of the fact that the situation had only arisen because He had chosen to spare Edom, Moab and Ammon.
13 Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD.
The passage closed as it had opened with the whole of Judah standing before YHWH, and it is stressed that their number included not only the men of Judah, but also their little ones, their wives and their teenage children. All were gathered to plead before YHWH. The whole nation was expressing its reliance on Him.
14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus, says the LORD to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.” 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. 19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high. 20 So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever.” 22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.
YHWH’s response was immediate. He sent the prophet Jahaziel to proclaim to Jehoshaphat and to Judah that He Himself would disperse the enemy without their assistance. All they would have to do was stand and watch. At this Jehoshaphat and all Judah bowed down and worshipped Him. They did not doubt that He would do what He had promised. Jehoshaphat then arranged for Temple musicians to go before the army as they made their way to where the invasion was taking place. Such a tactic was commonplace in ancient times. Like the drums of the British army, and the bagpipes of the Scots army, their rams’ horns, lyres and cymbals, with vocal accompaniment, were designed to disturb the enemy. Its relentless approach would throw fear into their hearts as it brought home to them the confidence of those who were approaching to oppose them. It may well have helped to bring about the panic that ensued, which ensured victory for Judah.
23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
The ambush set a whole train of reactions in process. Full of blood lust and stirred in the extreme heat the children of Ammon and Moab saw the contingent from Mount Seir as responsible for the ambush and retaliated against them, intending to destroy them for their ‘treachery’. And as will happen when in disciplined troops begin to slaughter their fellows they then began to look wider, and the opportunity to revenge previous slights and feuds may have resulted in them looking wider to avenge themselves against fellow Ammonite tribes, with the more sophisticated Moabites similarly caught up in the rivalry, possibly because they sought to interfere. Such a scenario could well explain what happened. We must remember that many of these troops were men to whom fighting was almost a way of life. Once aroused they would not worry whom they killed, and they would fight to the last man.
24 So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.
And the consequence of this inter-fighting was that when Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, a frontier observation post, they looked out and saw, not the troops whom they expected, but a mass of dead bodies in the place where the enemy hordes had been. ‘There were none who escaped.’ The invaders were so decimated that they were no longer in a position to continue the invasion. And so, YHWH’s promise was fulfilled. The battle was not Judah’s but God’s.
25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much.
The victory having been accomplished by YHWH Judah now enjoyed the benefits. They spread out and over a period of three days gathered a huge amount of spoil from the corpses, indeed so much that some had to be left behind.
26 And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the LORD; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day.
Then on the fourth day the men of Judah regathered in a local valley which from then on was known as ‘the Valley of Berachah (blessing/prosperity)’. It would be remembered into perpetuity as the place where YHWH had given Judah the blessing of victory and had rewarded them with great prosperity.
The effect of what had happened was that Jehoshaphat and his people returned to Jerusalem full of joy and worship, with the singers and instrumentalists leading the worship, whilst those round about became in awe of YHWH when they learned what God had done. And as a consequence, Jehoshaphat enjoyed a period of peace.
But it must be recognized that this nationwide worship and praise was a thing of the moment, offered at a time of great deliverance. Sadly, many of their hearts were not truly with YHWH, as is made clear in verse 33 where we read, ‘However, the high places were not taken away, nor as yet had the people set their hearts to the God of their fathers.’ Like so many national rejoicings it was temporary and superficial. It was only among the ‘remnant’ that the worship was real and from a heart which continued in covenant obedience.
27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies.
Because of their victory the whole of Judah returned with Jehoshaphat to Jerusalem filled with joy because YHWH had made them rejoice over their enemies. It must have been a great wonder to them that God had delivered them from a powerful invasion force without them having even to lift a hand. It was a total assembly of the nation at Jerusalem. It would almost inevitably have resulted in the offering of thank offerings and peace offerings, with a subsequent great feast. But the emphasis here is on the joy and rejoicing. A huge burden had been lifted from their shoulders.
It was, however, to quite a large extent superficial, for many of them continued to worship idols in the high places and their hearts were not permanently set towards YHWH, the God of their fathers (verse 33). There was still the underlying unbelief which would continue to drag Judah down.
28 So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the LORD.
Previously the harps and lyres and trumpets had been ready to lead them into battle (verse 21). Now they led them into the House of YHWH full of praise and worship. What a contrast between the two scenes. The first a mixture of faith, hope and trepidation. The second a scene of total joy, because YHWH had given them total victory over their enemies. And while no doubt the Levite ‘singers’ were the main instrumentalists, it can hardly be doubted that others also produced harps, lyres and trumpets in order to join in the celebrations.
29 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.
Meanwhile the noise and joyous celebrations of Judah were in contrast to the effect on surrounding nation. On them there was the hush of awe as they learned that YHWH had fought against the enemies of Israel. Like nations before them they had to face up to the truth concerning YHWH’s power and might.
30 Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.
The final consequence of what had happened was that from then on, under Jehoshaphat, Judah enjoyed a long period of peace and quiet. The nations roundabout were inoperative as far as Judah were concerned and left them severely alone. And that this was because of the activity of ‘GOD gave him rest’. It was God Who brought it about. Such rest was ever a symbol that God was pleased with His people as the book of Proverbs 16 says, “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
31 So Jehoshaphat was king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
Jehoshaphat started his reign over Judah when he was thirty five years old and reigned for twenty five years in Jerusalem as the representative of the house of David.
32 And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD.
What we could call Jehoshaphat’s obituary highly commends him. It tells us that ‘he walked in the way of Asa his father’, of whom it was said that he ‘did what was good in the eyes of YHWH his God’ and ‘the heart of Asa was perfect all his days’ 15.17). It is true that both Asa and Jehoshaphat did to some extent fail YHWH, but the point is that overall their hearts were set towards God, unlike other kings who came far short of such a commendation. Furthermore, the obituary adds that Jehoshaphat did no turn aside from that way, but continually (with lapses) did what was right in the eyes of YHWH. His heart was steadfast and true.
33 Nevertheless the high places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.
Despite all Jehoshaphat’s best efforts, the high places were not taken away. The worship at the high places would recur again and again. The removal of the high places was an impossible task in which no king would succeed, for the worship in the high places was something deeply imbedded in the hearts of those who were not true believers, and the sites of the high places in the mountains were common knowledge among them. Baal pillars could be removed, Asherah images burned, but there was no way in which the sites themselves could disappear. Until the people fixed their hearts firmly on YHWH the old worship would remain, carried out secretly at recognized sites in the mountains. And the truth was that despite all Jehoshaphat’s best efforts to teach them, and all that YHWH had done for them, the people had not yet set their hearts to the God of their fathers, preferring the ancient gods who were no gods. It will always be so. That is why only a remnant will be saved.
34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.
This Jehu was the one who rebuked Asa for collaborating with Ahab (19.2). He also prophesied against Baasha, the king of Israel (1 Kings 16.1). When he wrote the history of Jehoshaphat he must have been a very old man. Jehu’s father Hanani was a seer in the time of Asa, who was cast into prison for his courage in rebuking Asa because he relied on Syria (19.2). prophet as His mouthpiece). Jehu prophesied in both Israel and Judah.
This postscript informs us of an incident towards the end of Jehoshaphat’s life which was prejudicial to his record. Earlier he had arranged for his son Jehoram to marry Ahab’s daughter, probably to establish a treaty-relationship between them, and as a consequence he had taken part in the ill-fated venture against the Syrians at Ramoth-gilead for which he came under YHWH’s anger. Now this would lead on to an equally ill-fated venture with Ahab’s son Ahaziah, this time a trading venture. In addition the later consequences of the relationship would be even more dreadful as Ahab’s daughter led Jehoram seriously astray. The house of Jehoshaphat paid a heavy price for its flirtation with the house of Ahab. Its story is a stark warning against being ‘unequally yoked with unbelievers’ (2 Corinthians 6.14).
35 After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted very wickedly.
The phrase ‘after this’ indicates a time towards the end of his life. But the idea is that at that time he entered a trade association with a king who ‘behaved wickedly’, in other words one who was an idolater, and behaved like one. In this there is an implied criticism also of Solomon, who did a similar thing. The difference lay in the fact that Ahaziah was an apostate, his family having rejected YHWH, whilst Hiram was simply an unbeliever. That increased Ahaziah’s wickedness.
36 And he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion Geber.
The nature of the business relationship was simple. They would build ships together at Ezion-geber, in order to engage in a trading expedition to Tarshish. This paralleled Solomon’s earlier activity described in chapter 8.17-18, 21. He too had traded with Tarshish from Ezion-geber in a trade association with an idolatrous king. Ezion-geber was an Edomite port on the Red Sea, clearly at this stage under the control of Jehoshaphat. It thus enabled sea trade with Arabia and North Africa.
37 But Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” Then the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish.
But this time the trading venture was not to be allowed to go ahead. YHWH sent His prophet Eliezer, the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah to prophesy against Jehoshaphat, informing him that because he had united himself with Ahaziah of Israel in his trading venture, YHWH would destroy his efforts. As a consequence, the ships were broken up, presumably due to a storm, so that they were unable to go to Tarshish.
Thus, Jehoshaphat’s life ended on a dark note, reminding us that even the best of men can find themselves temporarily going astray. We need to take note of our own vulnerability as our Lord Jesus taught us to pray to Him and ask that we not be led into temptation but delivered from evil.
