Have you ever had a strong start at doing something, only to give out a little bit later? Maybe you started a project and you were excited to accomplish the task. But then the project, for whatever reason, remains unfinished. Maybe you started something but then found yourself in over your head. So you stopped and it remains incomplete. There are many things in life where we might have a strong start but then be tempted not to finish strong. The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles are not merely another account of the history of Judah’s kings. The Chronicler writes after the fall of Jerusalem to teach the people why they were exiled and how to be restored to the Lord. In our lesson today we are going to look at restoration through the life of King Jehoshaphat. But we are going to see a strong start in the reign of Jehoshaphat but also see a subtle drift away from that strong start.
Strong In The Strength God Supplies (2 Chronicles 17:1-19)
The life of Jehoshaphat begins with a summary of his reign. In 2 Chronicles 17:3-4 we learn that the Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed in the footsteps of David. Remember that King David, who had ruled about 100 years earlier, was a man after God’s own heart. Jehoshaphat determined to follow in the example of David. He did not consult the false idols (Baals) but was seeking God and following his commandments. You will notice that the Lord responded to his faithfulness. In verse 5 we are told that the Lord established the kingdom under Jehoshaphat’s control. His heart was courageous and devoted to the ways of the Lord. He even went about removing the high places and Asherim worship out of the land. I want us to see that the life account of Jehoshaphat begins by showing that he devoted himself to the Lord and worked to root out the things that were false in the land.
But Jehoshaphat was not done. It was not good enough that he devoted himself to the Lord. He also would work to cause the people to be devoted to the Lord. How could he attempt to the change the hearts of the people? In verse 7 we see in the third year of Jehoshaphat’s reign that he sent out his officials to teach in the cities of Judah. Look at verse 9. They taught throughout Judah, having the book of the Law with them. They went through all the cities, teaching the people. The way to bring about restoration is to teach the people. The way to change the world is to change the hearts of people by teaching them the ways of the Lord. Jehoshaphat understands this. He sends people into all the cities, teaching the people the Book of the Law of the Lord.
Temptations To Drift (2 Chronicles 18:1-34)
But now Jehoshaphat is brought into a conflicting situation. In chapter 18 we find out that Jehoshaphat is in an alliance with King Ahab of Israel through marriage. This was a common way to forge an alliance. The kings of two nations would have their children marry each other so that the kings would remain at peace with each other. Now we might think that the nations of Israel and Judah being in an alliance with each other would be a good thing. They formerly were one nation under Saul, David, and Solomon. But after Solomon’s sin, the nation divided. The problem is the name you are reading in the first verse of chapter 18. The marriage alliance is with King Ahab. Ahab is declared to be the most wicked king that the nation of Israel ever had. This is not a man you want to be tied to or in an alliance with.
Ahab wants Jehoshaphat to help him go to war against Syria to take Ramoth-Gilead. Immediately Jehoshaphat says that they will work together and be a united army (2 Chronicles 18:3). But Jehoshaphat wisely says something to Ahab in verse 4. We need to first inquire of the Lord. Before we do anything, we need to see what God’s will is in this matter. So Ahab gathers 400 prophets before them and asks them if they should go battle at Ramoth-Gilead or not. They all respond that they should go up and God will give them the victory (2 Chronicles 18:5). But there is something about this response that does not sit right with Jehoshaphat. He asks in verse 6 if there was a true prophet of the Lord that they can ask. Jehoshaphat had the wisdom to see through what these false prophets were doing. He recognizes that Ahab has just surrounded himself with a bunch of people who claim to be prophets of God but are actually there to tell Ahab what he wants to hear. Jehoshaphat knows the Lord well enough to know that that this is a false answer. So Jehoshaphat wants a real answer from the Lord. Listen to Ahab’s response to this request in verse 7. There is still one true prophet of God named Micaiah. But Ahab hates him because he never prophesies anything good for him but only disaster.
I want us to think about that statement for a minute. Ahab does not like Micaiah because he will not tell Ahab what he wants to hear. He never gives me good news. Now I want us to think about this for a moment. Why do you think the prophet never had anything good to say to Ahab? The reason is that Ahab was evil and to tell Ahab otherwise would be lying to him. But Ahab is not interested in the truth. He is interested in having people telling him what he wants to hear. Jehoshaphat notes this. Notice at the end of verse 7 that he tells Ahab that you should not say such things.
So Micaiah is summoned and a messenger tells him that all the prophets have given a favorable word to the king. He should do the same. Look at verse 13. Micaiah responds, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.” One man against 400 false prophets and 2 kings. So Micaiah enters into the throne room and they asked him the same question. Should they go up in battle to Ramoth-Gilead or not? Look at how the prophet responds in verse 14. He says the same thing as the 400 prophets. Go up and succeed for they will be given into your hand. Look at what Ahab says in verse 15. “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” I don’t know if Micaiah said it sarcastically or if Ahab just knew that Micaiah would not tell him a favorable word because he never does. Either way, he tells Micaiah to tell him the truth and that he has had to constantly do this to Micaiah. So Micaiah then tells the message of the Lord. Israel will be scattered on the mountain and the sheep will have no shepherd. In short, you are going to lose in battle and you will die in battle. Ahab does not take these words to heart. Rather, he tells Jehoshaphat that Micaiah never tells him anything good.
But Micaiah continues his prophecy. The Lord is ready to judge Ahab for his evil by having him go to Ramoth-gilead and die in battle. So a lying spirit will be given to his prophets who will all entice Ahab to go into battle. Look at the end of verse 22. “The Lord has declared disaster concerning you.” One of the other prophets hits Micaiah in the face and Ahab orders Micaiah to be put in prison with meager rations until he returns in peace. Look at verse 27. Micaiah tells Ahab that if you come back in peace, then the Lord has not spoken through him. Now Ahab knows that Micaiah does speak God’s word.
Now here is the stunning thing. Yes, you might be stunned to see that Ahab goes up to Ramoth-Gilead for battle. But here is what is really surprising. Jehoshaphat goes with him. Not only does Jehoshaphat go with him, but he listens to Ahab who tells him to dress up like him so that Ahab won’t get killed like Micaiah said. The king of Syria and his armies go chasing Jehoshaphat because he looks like Ahab in battle (2 Chronicles 18:31). So Jehoshaphat cries out and the Lord helped him. But Ahab’s plan fails. A man shoots an arrow at random into the air and it struck Ahab in the gap of his armor and kills him. This is exactly what God said through the prophet Micaiah. The truth of God’s word cannot never be overthrown, thwarted, or avoided.
Drift Condemned (2 Chronicles 19:1-3)
But the message is for the Chroniclers is not about Ahab. The message is about Jehoshaphat. Look at the first three verses of chapter 19. God sends a man named Jehu to Jehoshaphat with a clear and simple message.
“Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the LORD.” (2 Chronicles 19:2 ESV)
This is a really important question. Should we be helping the wicked? Should we love those who hate the Lord? The clear answer to the rhetorical question is no. What are you doing helping the wicked? Why are aligning yourself with those who hate the Lord? Now I want us to think about how we could defend Jehoshaphat. Think about how easy it would be to defend him by saying that it is family. How easy is it to use family as the reason why we help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord! But we need to see that Jehoshaphat was condemned for supporting Ahab. It did not matter that they shared grandchildren. It did not matter that they were now family. It did not matter that they had an alliance. Being family is not a defense for supporting those who are rebelling against the Lord. Family does not get a pass. We have to do what is right and not be sucked into situations just because they are family. What are we teaching our family when we do not make godly decisions because of our family? The Lord expects that he will always be our first love and not take a backseat when it comes to our families.
But there is another excuse that we could make for Jehoshaphat. We could also say that they had a common belief in God. Remember that the nations of Judah and Israel were supposed to be God’s people. It has been less than 100 years since these two nations split from each other. It would be easy to say that we are kindred and we are all followers of God. But just because they have a common belief in God did not mean that Jehoshaphat was to support Ahab and the people of Israel. Friends, unification cannot be based merely on if we have a common belief in God. Fellowship cannot be based on that we both acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ. Unification can only be based on obedience to God’s word. Obeying the word of God is the only basis for our fellowship. It is not enough to say that we have a few common beliefs. God did not give us the scriptures so that we would agree on a few details and let us decide how we want to do the rest. We need to remember that claiming to be a follower of Jesus is not enough for fellowship. Having a particular name on your sign does not mean we have fellowship. Churches are not flavors of ice cream in which you and I get to pick which one we like. Obedience to the word of God is the only basis for unification and working together.
You will notice in 2 Chronicles 19:3 that God does not immediately judge Jehoshaphat for his error like he did Ahab was because he did rip the Asheroth idols out of the land and did set his heart to seek God. Jehu appears to be telling Jehoshaphat that God’s wrath has come against you for what you did but it will not be the end of your reign because you have set your heart to seek the Lord. God’s wrath comes against our disobedience. But God is allowing Jehoshaphat time to return to the Lord because he has a heart that seeks him.
Friends, it is easy to start strong but then allow a subtle drift to occur. It is easy to get caught up in the concerns of our families. Jesus said that we cannot follow him if we love our families more than him (cf. Luke 14:26). It is easy to want to overlook disobedience because we acknowledge Jesus and say that we love God. But Jesus said that there will be many who say the right words but do not belong to the kingdom because they do not do the will of the Father (cf. Matthew 7:21-23). Listen to the warning that the writer of Hebrews gives to his audience:
Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? (Hebrews 2:1-3 ESV)
Jehoshaphat knew what was right. He knew Ahab was surrounding himself with people who would tell him what he wanted to hear. He heard the word of the prophet. But he still put himself in danger, supporting a wicked king, rather than saying no to this situation. Jehoshaphat nearly lost his life supporting Ahab. He did stand in the face of God’s wrath for supporting Ahab. Please look at your life and consider if you see some drifting in your life. Have we been like Jehoshaphat, devoting ourselves to the Lord, seeking the Lord, and learning God’s word only to allow other influences to quench our zeal? Are we doing things that we know are not approved by God, but we continue to do it anyway because it is the path of least resistance? Do not allow yourself to drift from your strong start with the Lord.