Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 22:41
And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.
41 50. Brief notice of the reign of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah (2Ch 20:31-37; 2Ch 21:1)
41. Jehoshaphat the son of Asa ] For the events of the twenty-five years of Jehoshaphat’s reign the books of Kings give but a scanty record. His alliance with Jehoram, Ahab’s son, against the king of Moab, is mentioned (2Ki 2:7, seqq.) and that Jehoram, his son, was made king during his father’s lifetime (2Ki 8:16). But this is all. Yet clearly Jehoshaphat was a king of much influence. The Chronicler also tells much good concerning him. The Lord was with him (2 Chronicles 17) and he prospered. He sent out Levites with the princes to teach the people in the cities of Judah. His enemies were dismayed by his greatness, for he had famous commanders and mighty armies. He made the improper alliance with Ahab (2 Chronicles 18) but after Ahab’s death, he returned to Jerusalem and appointed and instructed judges and priests and Levites (2 Chronicles 19) to act in the fear of the Lord and with a perfect heart. He was attacked by Moab (2 Chronicles 20) but seeking unto the Lord he gained a great victory, which he celebrated in such way that the place of the celebration was known afterwards as ‘The valley of blessing.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The writer returns to the history of the kingdom of Judah (connect this verse with 1Ki 15:24), sketching briefly a reign much more fully given by the writer of Chronicles 2 Chr. 1720. Compare also the marginal references.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Who reigned twenty-two years; therefore he reigned about eighteen years with Ahab.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. And as Ahab reigned twenty two years, 1Ki 16:29, Jehoshaphat must reign about eighteen years with him, and seven years after him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Reign of Jehoshaphat of Judah. – The account of this in the books before us is a very condensed one. Beside the two campaigns in which he joined with Ahab and Joram of Israel against the Syrians and Moabites, and which are described in the history of the kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 22:1-35 and 2 Kings 3), we have simply a short notice of his attempt to restore the trade with Ophir, and a general statement of the spirit of his reign; whereas we learn from the extract preserved in the Chronicles from the annals of the kings, that he also carried on a victorious war against the Edomites and Ammonites (2 Chron 20), and did a great deal to promote the spread of the knowledge of the law among his people, and to carry out the restoration of a better administration of justice, and to improve the condition of the army (2Ch 16:1-14 and 2Ch 19:1-11).
1Ki 22:41-42 1Ki 22:41-44, which give the age of Jehoshaphat when he ascended the throne, and the duration and character of his reign, are also found with slight deviations in 2Ch 20:31-33, in the closing summary of the history of his reign.
1Ki 22:43 “He walked entirely in the way of his father Asa and departed not from it, to do what was well-pleasing to the Lord,” whereas Asa’s heart had become more estranged from the Lord in the last years of his reign (see 1Ki 15:18.). – On the worship of the high places (1Ki 22:43), see at 1Ki 15:14.
1Ki 22:44 He maintained peace with the king of Israel, i.e., with every one of the Israelitish kings who were contemporaneous with him, viz., Ahab, Ahaziah, and Joram, whereas hitherto the two kingdoms had assumed an attitude of hostility towards each other. Even if this friendly bearing towards Israel was laudable in itself, Jehoshaphat went beyond the bounds of what was allowable, since he formed a marriage alliance with the house of Ahab, by letting his son Joram marry a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel (2Ch 18:1).
1Ki 22:45-46 The brave deeds ( ) which he performed include both his efforts to strengthen his kingdom, partly by raising fortifications and organizing the military force, and partly by instructing the people in the law and improving the administration of justice (2Ch 17:7-19 and 2Ch 19:4-11), and also the wars which he waged, viz., the expeditions already mentioned. – For 1Ki 22:46 see 1Ki 15:12.
1Ki 22:47 “There was (then) no (real) king in Edom; a vicegerent was king,” i.e., governed the country. This remark is introduced here merely on account of what follows, namely, to show how it was that Jehoshaphat was able to attempt to restore the maritime trade with Ophir. If we observe this connection between the verse before us and what follows, we cannot infer from it, as Ewald does ( Gesch. iii. pp. 464 and 474ff.), that the Edomites with Egyptian help had forced from Rehoboam both their liberty and also their right to have a king of their own blood, and had remained in this situation till Jehoshaphat completely subjugated them again. (See the remarks on 1Ki 11:21-22.) All that can be gathered from 2 Chron 20 is, that the Edomites, in league with the Ammonites and other desert tribes, made an incursion into Judah, and therefore tried to throw off the supremacy of Judah, but did not succeed in their attempt.
1Ki 22:48-50 The brief notice concerning Jehoshaphat’s attempt to build Tarshish ships (for the word, see pp. 105f) for the voyage to Ophir is expanded in 2Ch 20:36-37, where we learn that Jehoshaphat had allied himself with Ahaziah of Israel for this purpose, and that the prophet Eliezer predicted the destruction of his ships on account of this alliance. When the ships had been broken in pieces in Eziongeber, no doubt by a storm, Ahaziah made this fresh proposal to him: “Let my people sail with thy people;” but Jehoshaphat would not. Ahaziah evidently wanted to persuade Jehoshaphat to make another attempt, after the destruction of the ships which were first built; but Jehoshaphat did not agree to it any more, because it was impossible for him, after the fulfilment of Eliezer’s prediction, to expect a more favourable result. Thus the two accounts can be harmonized in a very simple manner, with the exception of the words “to go to Tarshish,” which we find in the Chronicles in the place of “to go to Ophir,” the reading in our text, and which sprang from an erroneous interpretation of the expression “ships of Tarshish” (see above, pp. 105f). The Chethb is an error of the pen for ( Keri); but ( Chethb) is not to be altered into , since the construction of a singular verb with the subject following in the plural is by no means rare (vid., Ewald, 317, a.). On Eziongeber and Ophir, see at 1Ki 9:26 and 1Ki 9:28.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Jehoshaphat’s Death. | B. C. 897. |
41 And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 43 And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places. 44 And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. 45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 46 And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land. 47 There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king. 48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. 49 Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not. 50 And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. 51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. 52 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin: 53 For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.
Here is, I. A short account of the reign of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, of which we shall have a much fuller narrative in the book of Chronicles, and of the greatness and goodness of that prince, neither of which was lessened or sullied by any thing but his intimacy with the house of Ahab, which, upon several accounts, was a diminution to him. His confederacy with Ahab in war we have already found dangerous to him, and his confederacy with Ahaziah his son in trade sped no better. He offered to go partner with him in a fleet of merchant-ships, that should fetch gold from Ophir, as Solomon’s navy did, v. 49. See 2Ch 20:35; 2Ch 20:36. But, while they were preparing to set sail, they were exceedingly damaged and disabled by a storm (broken at Ezion-geber), which a prophet gave Jehoshaphat to understand was a rebuke to him for his league with wicked Ahaziah (2 Chron. xx. 37); and therefore, as we are told here (v. 49), when Ahaziah desired a second time to be a partner with him, or, if that could not be obtained, that he might but send his servants with some effects of board Jehoshaphat’s ships, he refused: Jehoshaphat would not. The rod of God, expounded by the word of God, had effectually broken him off from his confederacy with that ungodly unhappy prince. Better buy wisdom dear than be without it; but experience is therefore said to be the mistress of fools because those are fools that will not learn till they are taught by experience, and particularly till they are taught the danger of associating with wicked people. Now Jehoshaphat’s reign appears here to have been none of the longest, but one of the best. 1. It was none of the longest, for he reigned but twenty-five years (v. 42), but then it was in the prime of his time, between thirty-five and sixty, and these twenty-five, added to his father’s happy forty-one, give us a grateful idea of the flourishing condition of the kingdom of Judah, and of religion in it, for a great while, even when things were very bad, upon all accounts, in the kingdom of Israel. If Jehoshaphat reigned not so long as his father, to balance this he had not those blemishes on the latter end of his reign that his father had (2Ch 16:9; 2Ch 16:10; 2Ch 16:12), and it is better for a man that has been in reputation for wisdom and honour to die in the midst of it than to outlive it. 2. Yet is was one of the best, both in respect of piety and prosperity. (1.) He did well: He did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord (v. 43), observed the commands of his God, and trod in the steps of his good father; and he persevered therein: He turned not aside from it. Yet every man’s character has some but or other, so had his; the high places were not taken away, no not out of Judah and Benjamin, though those tribes lay so near Jerusalem that they might easily bring their offerings and incense to the altar there, and could not pretend, as some other of the tribes, the inconveniency of lying remote. But old corruptions are with difficulty rooted out, especially when they have formerly had the patronage of those that were good, as the high places had of Samuel, Solomon, and some others. (2.) His affairs did well. He prevented the mischiefs which had attended their wars with the kingdom of Israel, establishing a lasting peace (v. 44), which would have been a greater blessing if he had contented himself with a peace, and not carried it on to an affinity with Israel; he put a deputy, or viceroy, in Edom, so that the kingdom was tributary to him (v. 47), and therein the prophecy concerning Esau and Jacob was fulfilled, that the elder should serve the younger. And, in general, mention is made of his might and his wars, v. 45. He pleased God, and God blessed him with strength and success. His death is spoken of (v. 50), to shut up his story, yet, in the history of the kings of Israel, we find mention of him afterwards, 2 Kings iii. 7.
II. The beginning of the story of Ahaziah the son of Ahab, v. 51-53. His reign was very short, not two years. Some sinners God makes quick work with. It is a very bad character that is here given him. He not only kept up Jeroboam’s idolatry, but the worship of Baal likewise; though he had heard of the ruin of Jeroboam’s family, and had seen his own father drawn into destruction by the prophets of Baal, who had often been proved false prophets, yet he received no instruction, took no warning, but followed the example of his wicked father and the counsel of his more wicked mother Jezebel, who was still living. Miserable are the children that not only derive a stock of corruption from their parents, but are thus taught by them to trade with it; and unhappy, most unhappy parents, are those that help to damn their children’s souls.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Jehoshaphat’s Ventures, 1Ki 22:41-53
Following the incident of Ahab’s death in battle at Ramoth-gilead the Kings account of Jehoshaphat’s reign comes to a hurried conclusion. However, the Chronicles account will give events of major importance concerning this good king not recorded in Kings. A statistical account of Jehoshaphat’s reign is given first. He was the son of Asa and began his reign in the fourth year of Ahab’s reign over Israel. This means that he was contemporary with Ahab for about eighteen years, or about two-thirds of his own reign. His mother, Azubah, and maternal grandfather, Shilhi, are not further known in the Scriptures.
Jehoshaphat followed the godly ways of his father, Asa, all his life and sought to please the Lord in the things he did. It is stated here that he did not remove the high places in the land and that the people continued to burn incense there (cf. also 2Ch 20:33). However, it is said in 2Ch 17:6 that the high places were removed, It is difficult at this late date to reconcile the two passages. It seems that the references may apply to two different times of Jehoshaphat’s reign. Though he failed to eradicate the idolatrous shrines in his early reign, it seems probable that they were removed in his later reformatory years. Note that 2Ch 20:33, which is the parallel to this passage states that they were not removed because ” as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers.” The sodomites he did remove from the land.
The strength of Jehoshaphat’s kingdom, with regard to Judah’s neighbors, is indicated by the statement that the tributary kingdom of Edom had no king, but was governed by a deputy, evidently appointed by Jehoshaphat
Jehoshaphat also undertook another venture, which may have been aimed at Solomonic greatness. He intended to build and equip a navy at Ezion-geber, on the Elanitic Gulf of the Red Sea, where Solomon had launched a navy with the aid of Hiram, king of Tyre. Ahaziah, king of Israel and son of Ahab, proposed to make it a joint venture, but Jehoshaphat refused. The disastrous outcome is recorded more fully at 2Ch 20:35-37, and will be further considered in the study of the reign of Ahaziah. The ships were destroyed by an act of God.
At the death of Jehoshaphat, Jehoram his unworthy son, came to the throne of Judah. Meanwhile Ahaziah, the son of Ahab and Jezebel, reigned on Israel’s throne at Samaria. His reign extended for only two years, and at his death Jehoshaphat still lived having about six years remaining of his reign. He was an evil man like his parents. He copied their ways in his reign, besides also continuing the calf worship of Jeroboam, by which he started Israel on the downward road of absolute
apostasy from the Lord. He continued to worship Baal and provoked the Lord just as did his father before him.
This chapter, or lesson, contains many very good exemplary things. 1) Fleshly anxiety on the part of God’s children should not make them compromise with the world, out of a feeling of expediency; 2) it is always right to seek the Lord in matters, but then His will should be followed when known; 3) God’s ministers are to speak the truth of His word, though it may be unpopular with men; 4) there is no way a man, or group of men, can frustrate the stated will and purpose of Almighty God; 5) men make a fatal error in thinking that God is like themselves, in His knowledge and behavior; 6) God will hear His children who call on Him, even when they have gone aside from His will; 7) those who repeatedly reject the Lord in welfare are not likely to turn to Him in affliction.
2Ch 19:1
Second Chronicles – Chapter 19
Author’s Note: The events recorded by Jehoshaphat’s reign ,in Judah as related here in Second Chronicles, chapter 10 and 20, are not found in the Kings account. They are discussed here [in the 1st edition Hardbound Commentary] in their chronologically consecutive position.
Jehoshaphat Rebuked – Verses 1-3
As Jehoshaphat was returning from his defeat in battle, along with Ahab, king of Israel, at Ramoth-gilead, God was sending His rebuke by His prophet. Several things may be concluded from the account: 1) Jehoshaphat was returning in peace, the Syrian king did not follow up his victory by an attack on Judah; 2) the Lord was displeased with Jehoshaphat’s participation in the affair; 3) Jehoshaphat seems to have demonstrated that David-like quality of repentance when he was shown to be in the wrong.
The prophet had evidently been around for a long time, bearing the Lord’s message. !t was Jehu who some twenty years earlier had denounced Baasha, the wicked successor of Jeroboam (1Ki 16:1; 1Ki 16:7). His message to Jehoshaphat began with a question calculated to make the king do some serious soul-searching. The moral question of Jehoshaphat’s involvement with Ahab has already been examined in this commentary. The Lord emphasized the impropriety of helping the ungodly and loving those who hate the Lord. For this the Lord was angry with Jehoshaphat. However, He would continue His blessing on the king of Judah because of his moral reformation in his kingdom, and because it was the intent of his heart to serve God.
2Ch 19:4
Judges Instructed – Verses 4-11
Putting his mistake behind him Jehoshaphat now resumed his moral regeneration of the land. His program reached every part of the kingdom, from Beer-sheba in the far south to Mount Ephraim, north of Benjamin, the areas taken from the northern kingdom in the successful wars of Abijah and Asa. In every city of consequence he set judges, with the reminder that the judgment they passed was to be God’s judgment, not their own. They were to judge with the fear of God in their hearts, in which case He would be with them in their sentence. They were to show no respect of person in their judgment nor take any gift, or bribe, from those arraigned.
In the city of Jerusalem Jehoshaphat established what seems to have been a system of appellate courts. It was composed of judges from among the Levites, priests, and chief men of Israel. Theirs was a court of final appeal, the ultimate judgment of the Lord, in which they were to reach their decisions with a perfect heart. The cases they hear were to be of both criminal (blood) and civil (law and commandment, etc.) nature.
The judges were also to act as a forceful deterrent to crime and violation. Included in their duties was the sounding of warning to the people concerning the penalties which would fall upon them for disobedience to the law of the Lord. It was a grave responsibility, for the Lord would judge the guilty in any event and the judge also who failed in his duties. The chief judges, next to the king himself, were the chief priest Amariah and the prince of Judah, Zebadiah. In keeping with their official obligations from the time of Moses, all the Levites were to be teachers, and from among them the judges would select their officers to serve on their staff. They were promised, “Deal courageously, and the Lord shall be with the good.”
Some lessons: 1) God’s rebuke awaits those who promiscuously act contrary to His known will; 2) the goodness of the Lord is evident toward all who repent of their wrong and seek Him again; 3) though one may fail the Lord once he should renew his efforts to please Him thereafter; 4) judges are for the good and welfare of a land, which is godly and right; therefore they are instruments for the Lord, performing a very serious obligation.
2Ch 20:1
Second Chronicles – Chapter 20
Enemies Threaten – Verses 1-12
Though Jehoshaphat was blessed of the Lord in escaping an invasion of the Syrians, there were other enemies who seized the advantage to attack him. They raised a huge army and invaded from the southern, wilderness lands, and were well within the kingdom’s bounds before they were discovered. They represented peoples beyond the eastern and southeastern boundaries of Israel, extending northward to the land of Syria. Foremost among them were the people of Moab and Ammon, descendants of Lot. Verse 10 also notes that many came from Mount Seir, the land of Edom, or Esau’s descendants. When news of the invading forces reached Jehoshaphat they had already advanced to Hazazon-taMr This is the ancient name of En-gedi, used in the days of Abraham (see Gen 14:7). En-gedi was about half the distance up the western coast of the Dead Sea.
Jehoshaphat was dismayed and fearful at the news. This massive force was already upon him, and he had no physical might to withstand them. The great armies he had raised and equipped (2Ch 17:12-19) had evidently disintegrated through the unwise campaign of defeat with Ahab at Ramoth-gilead. The king knew that Judah’s only hope was in the Lord, whom he now sought diligently. He proclaimed a fast throughout Judah and called for a gathering of the people of the cities to come together and seek the Lord. They met in Jerusalem at the temple, and Jehoshaphat addressed them with an appeal by public prayer to the Lord.
King Jehoshaphat first glorified God as the God of their fathers,
God in heaven, Ruler in the kingdoms of the heathen (such as those’ threatening him). God was lauded as of such power and might that none was able to withstand Him. From this praise the king continued to accredit the Lord as He who delivered the land into the hands of Israel, the seed of Abraham, God’s friend (cf. Isa 41:8; Jas 2:23). As proof of god’s gift of the land to Israel Jehoshaphat cited the situation of the temple, God’s dwelling place, among them.
Jehoshaphat recalled the dedicatory prayer of Solomon wherein he had asked the Lord to hear the prayers, from this sanctuary, of His people in distress (2Ch 6:12 ff) and God had confirmed it (2Ch 7:1-3). They were now faced with just the circumstances for which Solomon had asked the Lord to intervene on behalf of His repentant people. These kindred nations of Moab, Ammon, and Edom bore a longtime enmity for Israel, but the Lord had given them lands and refused to allow Israel to molest them when they were coming out of Egypt (Num 20:14-21; De 2:4-5,9). So while the Lord was destroying all other nations before Israel, these were spared. Now they came to repay that goodness by driving Israel from the land the Lord had given them.
The king prayed humbly that the Lord would judge these enemies for Israel. He confessed that he had no physical power to resist them, and that all his hope was in God. He knew nothing more to do than turn to the Lord, but he relied wholly on the Lord, for, said he, “Our eyes are upon thee.” This is a wonderful lesson to God’s people at all times. When men’s abilities fail, they may look to the Lord and wait on Him with confidence.
2Ch 20:13
Prophetic Answer – Verses 13-19
There was an assemblage in Jerusalem in response to Jehoshaphat’s command, representative of all the people of the kingdom. People had come with their wives and their children to join in the fast to seek the mercy of God, to deliver them from the advancing hordes of the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites. It bespoke the sincerity of the people in repentance and desire to be in the Lord’s will. In such a case, God, by His merciful character, must respond favorably to them which He very promptly did.
The answer came through the mouth of Jahaziel, a member of the Asaphite musicians and singers of the temple. He had a notable lineage in the tribe of Levi, which is traced here. The Lord put His Spirit on Jahaziel, who revealed to the king and assembled people what God would do on their behalf with regard to the invaders. Jahaziel’s message was stated in words from their history. It opens reminiscent of God’s charge to Joshua when he assumed command of Israel following the death of Moses (Jos 1:9). They are not to fear nor be dismayed. To be dismayed is to be agitated and distressed because there seems to be no solution to a problem.
This prompt answer of the Lord greatly humbled Jehoshaphat and the people. The king did not merely bow his head, but got right down on the ground with his face in the dust. The people followed him in thus worshipping and thanking the Lord for His promise of deliverance. This was a great feat to be accomplished, and required a great faith to accept it. The godliness of Jehoshaphat and his good influence on his people is manifested in this response of theirs. The Levite singers, represented by the families of the Kohathites and Korhites (descendants of Korah), broke into spontaneous praise of the Lord. The people believed the Lord’s word.
2Ch 20:20
Enemies Vanquished – Verses 20-30
The town of Tekoa has been located earlier in this commentary as being about twelve miles south of Jerusalem, on the invasion route of the enemies as they came up by Ziz, through the wilderness of Jeruel. The wilderness around Tekoa was called by the name of that town. Jehoshaphat and people accompanying him passed through that wilderness. As they set forth the king encouraged them, calling on them to, “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” They were to have ultimate confidence in the Lord and believe what they were told by His prophets.
Jehoshaphat organized the procession out of Jerusalem to praise the beauty and holiness of the Lord by the singers he appointed. The refrain of their song as they went through the wilderness was, “Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever.” Many of the Psalms incorporate these words in their message (e.g., Psalms 106; Psalms 107; Psalms 118; Psalms 136). When this praise of the Lord began to sound the Lord began to move to deliver the enemy army into the hands of His people.
The Scriptures say the Lord set ambushments against the Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites. This implies the use of His invisible heavenly host in some way which caused the brother nations of Moab and Ammon to turn against their allies from Mount Seir (the Edomites) and begin to slay them. When these had decimated the Edomites the animosity extended to one another, and they proceeded to slay themselves. All this was happening as the people from Jerusalem were approaching, so that when they reached the watchtower, or outpost on the wilderness frontier, they looked upon a battle scene literally filled with the dead bodies of their enemies. Those who defy God and go against Him will always be smitten (see Act 12:23). There was not a survivor to be found.
The spoil of the armies which they had brought with them fell into the hands of Judah. There were great riches and precious jewels on the fallen bodies. The Judahites began to strip the bodies, and there was so much it took three days to gather it and carry it away. Finally on the fourth day they assembled in the nearby valley and blessed the Lord for the great victory He had given them. The valley lies between Bethlehem and Hebron and got its name, Berachah, meaning “blessing”, form this event.
The people then returned to Jerusalem, with the king, Jehoshaphat, in the forefront of the procession. They were filled with joy and rejoicing as they moved along. The musicians played on the psalteries, harps, and trumpets in celebration of the Lord’s victory in their behalf. The people back in the countries, hearing what had happened to their armies, were filled with such fear of the Lord they no longer molested Jehoshaphat. God gave him rest from war on every side.
2Ch 20:31
Naval Plans Frustrated – Verses 31-37
With the incident just studied the Books of Chronicles come to the conclusion of the record of Jehoshaphat’s reign. One other incident is recorded in the Kings, which will be studied below. The inspired writer now sums up the reign of this good king of Judah. He was older than some when he began his reign, which lasted twenty-five years, coming out to an entire age for him of just sixty years. Nothing more is known of his mother than her name and that of her father. Jehoshaphat is commended as faithfully following the good example of his father, Asa, and not departing from it in all his life.
In earlier comments (on 2Ch 17:6; 1Ki 22:43) it was suggested that the high places appear to have been removed in the later years of Jehoshaphat’s reign, following the great moral reformation he sponsored. An account of Jehoshaphat’s reign was kept by Jehu the prophet, but it does not appear to have been the inspired account of the Scriptures. The Lord may have inspired the actual author to choose from such writings, however, and record them in an infallible account.
Brief notice of Jehoshaphat’s attempted naval venture concludes the Chronicles record. It was noticed earlier in comments on 1Ki 22:48-49, but there is a little more detail here in Chronicles. Putting the two accounts together it may be surmised that 1) Jehoshaphat willingly joined in the naval venture with wicked Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, though it was his navy he sought to build; 2) God sent an otherwise unknown prophet, Eliezer, to warn Jehoshaphat about renewing affinity with the family of Ahab; 3) the ships were destroyed by an act of God; 4) Jehoshaphat refused to enter into any more agreements with Ahaziah. God warns against seeking strength without Him (see Isa 30:1-2).
Lessons from chapter 20: 1) the Lord may allow distressing things in the lives of His children to strengthen their faith in Him; 2) many good examples of God’s blessings on earlier generations may be a means of reassurance and comfort when trials come; 3) God has His spokesmen to show His repentant people what they ought to do; 4) blessing is always the result of reliant faith in the Lord’s word; 5) following the godly example of parents brings blessing on the children.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.
1Ki. 22:41. History of the reign of Jehoshaphat of JudahScant records of Judah occur in the Scriptures, but Chronicles give them more fully.
1Ki. 22:46. The sodomites he took out of the landLit., extinguished from the land.
1Ki. 22:49. Then said AhaziahAt that time king of Israel. He wished to unite with Jehoshaphat in maritime expeditions; the explanation of his refusal is found in 2Ch. 20:35-37. Ezion-geber (1Ki. 22:48) abounds in perilous and destructive rocks.W. H. J.
HOMILETICS OF 1Ki. 22:41-50
THE PRAISEWORTHY EFFORTS OF A GOOD KING
AN agreeable change comes across the character of the historylike a wavering stream of light which silvers and beautifies the dark and restless sea. The last seven chapters have been wholly occupied with the history of the kingdom of Israel; a dismal record of defection, idolatry, bloodshed, ever intensifying wickedness, and of terrible judgments. Here we have interposed, as if to relieve the blackness of the picture, a brief epitome of the career of the good Jehoshaphat. For a fuller account of his reign consult 2 Chronicles 17 –
20. In the paragraph before us we have a representation of the praiseworthy efforts of a good king.
I. He is solicitous to maintain the religious prestige of the nation (1Ki. 22:43).
1. He follows the example of the good. He walked in all the ways of Asa, his father, he turned not aside from it. On the general piety of Asa see 1Ki. 15:11-15, and compare 2Ch. 14:2-5; 2Ch. 15:8-17. Jehosphaphat seems to have been a still better king, for he did not, like Asa, fall away in his old age (2Ch. 16:2-12). It is an unspeakable advantage to have an early pious training; and to have constantly in view the best patterns of religious excellence to imitate.
2. He strives after personal righteousness. Doing that which was right in the eyes of the Lord. Goodness should be sought and practised for its own sake, and with a sincere desire to please God. Nothing is good which will not bear the test of the Divine scrutinywhich is not right in the eyes of the Lord.
3. He may not accomplish all the religious reforms he desires. Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away. The only faults with which Jehoshaphat is charged are his allowance of the high places, and his tenderness towards the house of Ahab, which led him, first, to take a wife for his eldest son from among Ahabs daughters, and then to join both him and his successor in their military and other enterprises (1Ki. 22:29; 2Ki. 3:7; 2Ch. 20:35-37). There are few reformers who do not make some mistakes; and few who accomplish all at which they aim. Even to attempt a great and noble enterprise has an elevating moral influence on the zealous reformer. It is one of the first and highest duties of a king to look well after the religious condition of his people.
II. He labours to promote peace (1Ki. 22:44). For sixty years, from the first separation of the two kingdoms down to the accession of Jehoshaphat, there was an uninterrupted series of wars between Israel and Judah. This fratricidal policy was ended by the declaration of a formal peace, which was perhaps at once cemented by a marriage between the two children of the contracting parties, Jehoram and Athaliah. A wise and judicious king will use all legitimate means to promote and maintain an honourable peace, without the surrender of any one essential right, or the least sacrifice of dignity.
III. He is alive to the importance of a judicious manifestation of kingly power (1Ki. 22:45). His might that he showed and how he warred. He tries to promote peaceful relations with other nations, not because he is weak, but because he is strong! He discourages war in others by being always prepared for it himself. He will not suffer his authority to be despised, nor will he allow a wrong to his nation to go unpunished. Government that is not backed with power will soon drift into rebellion and anarchy.
IV. He is anxious about the morality of his people (1Ki. 22:46). Sensual indulgence grows into still more abominable enormities, the more it is practised and tolerated. It saps the foundations of national life and morality. Much had been done to root out the wretched class referred to in this verse (1Ki. 15:12); but the evil was so inveterate and deep-seated that it could not be all at once extinguished. An examination of the social life of the Greeks and Romans when at the acme of their national greatness shows how possible it is for the most brilliant attainments in literature, science, and art, to co-exist alongside the most debasing and shameless immorality. Christianity is the apostle and donor of the highest and purest morality.
V. He encourages the exercise of good government. There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king (1Ki. 22:47). The last reference to Edom was in the time of Solomon, when Hadad, having returned thither from Egypt, was an adversary unto Solomon (1Ki. 11:14), and reigned over Egypt. It seems to have been again reduced, and to be dependent on the kingdom of Judah, being governed by a deputy, or viceroy, who, however, was allowed the royal title. This government of dependencies by means of subject kings was the all but universal practice in the East down to the time of Cyrus. A good king is careful to provide effective government in every part of his dominions. When the government is feeble, every other interest suffers.
VI. He seeks to advance commercial enterprise (1Ki. 22:48-49). Jehoshaphat sought to re-establish the maritime trade to Ophir, which had proved such a source of wealth in Solomons reign; and, though the shipbuilding in this instance proved a failure, it illustrates the active desire of the king to promote the commercial welfare of the nation. The ships were wrecked while in the harbour, because they were badly built, the Jewish sailors having but an imperfect knowledge of the sea and of the rig and management of ships; or, according to the prophet Eliezer, as a Divine judgment against Jehoshaphat for joining himself with the idolatrous Ahaziah in this business (2Ch. 20:36-37). The commercial genius of Jehoshaphat would find scope in other directions, which would all tend to increase the national prosperity. If commerce is stifled, the nation is starved. Every profession implies system. The meanest trade demands it, and would run to waste without something of it. The marvellous achievements of modern commerce, stretching its relations over distant seas and many lands, and gathering the materials of every civilization within its ample bosom, are, more than anything, the result of an expanding and victorious system, which shrinks at no obstacles and adapts itself to every emergency. A good king readily appreciates the application of system to commercial success, and is not too proud or too indifferent to act accordingly.
VII. He transmits a heritage of good to his successor (1Ki. 22:50). Jehoram enters upon the government with all the advantages of his fathers achievements and prestige. Fortunate indeed is the youthful king who succeeds a provident and far-seeing father; and who has before him, as a constant inspiration, the example of a holy and useful life. To leave a good name to posterity is better than riches. It is a solemn and sacred trust to receive all that Jehoram received. It may be shamefully abused, as, alas! it was in his case (2Ch. 21:6).
LESSONS:
1. A crown brings great opportunities and great responsibilities.
2. The best king cannot accomplish all the good he would.
3. A good man is honoured for the good he attempted, as well as for what he actually accomplished.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1Ki. 22:41-50. The reign of Jehoshaphat was a very successful and prosperous one for Judah, both internally and externally. The author does not enter more particularly into the details of its history, evidently because, from the time of the division of the kingdom, his main object was rather to give a representation of the monarchy in Israel until its downfall. Jehoshaphats aim, after he had established legal order in his dominions as far as possible, reduced the neighbouring people to subjection again, and concluded peace with the brother kingdom, was to restore the times of prosperity that existed in the days of Solomon, and to bring his kingdom up to the height of that of Solomon once more. The glory of the kingdom, however, as it had existed under Solomon, was, according to the purpose of God, for ever gone by. Its return was not a part of the divine plan of salvation, and every human attempt to restore it must necessarily fail. The fleet of Jehoshaphat went down in the harbour of Ezion-geber, even before it had sailed out, and that, too, not by human fault, but by a stormthat is to say, by a dispensation of God.Lange.
All Christian rulers and governors ought to follow the example of the pious king Jehoshaphatto do what is pleasing to God, to walk in His ways without departing from them, to maintain and extend pure religon, to remove and destroy what is evil, and especially not to permit whoredom, but with earnestness to do away with it and punish it, and to guard themselves from having too much intercourse with godless persons, or from entering into any covenant with them, because this leads to no good, as indeed Jehoshaphat got only danger and loss by it. Every one should profit by the life experience of Jehoshaphat. All that he undertook according to Gods word and will went on fortunately, and attained good success, and was attended with blessing; but all that he undertook in conjunction with Ahab and Ahaziah turned out unfortunately: there was no blessing upon that.Wurt. Summ.
1Ki. 22:43. An upright life.
1. Is modelled after a worthy pattern.
2. Is marked by fidelity and perseverance.
3. Is approved and owned of God.
4. May not be free from some imperfections.
1Ki. 22:48-49. The risks of commerce.
1. Demand great toil and enterprise.
2. Liable to great losses.
3. May be involved in unfortunate partnerships.
4. Cultivate decision of character: Jehoshaphat would not (1Ki. 22:49).
1Ki. 22:48. For his ships were broken. This cross was in great mercy to Jehoshaphat. Thou in very faithfulness hast afflicted me, said David. This should be a patienting consideration; as it is said to have been to Philip of Spain, upon the defeating and scattering of his navy in 1588. He gave, and commanded to be given all over Spain, thanks to God that the loss was no more grievous; and used singular mercy in relieving the distressed soldiers and sailorsTrapp.
1Ki. 22:49-50. The heart of man proposes its own way, but the Lord alone allows it to proceed therein (Pro. 16:9). He often confounds our purposes and destroys our plans which reach so far and so high, that we may not become puffed up, but learn to yield to His holy will, and to say: It is the Lord; let Him do what seemeth Him good.What God has clearly destroyed as a punishment, that let us not build up again at the counsel or demand of any man, for when He breaks in pieces, it cannot avail to build again (Job. 12:14).So Jehoshaphat would not build again. The offers of a man who had departed from God, even if he offer thee ever so much profit and pleasantness, do thou reject with determined will.Lange.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
II. SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF JEHOSHAPHAT 22:4150
TRANSLATION
(41) Now Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to rule over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. (42) Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and twenty-five years he ruled in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. (43) And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father not deviating from it, to do that which was right in the eyes of the LORD. But the high places he did not remove; the people were yet sacrificing and offering incense in the high places. (44) And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. (45) Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might which he demonstrated, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. (46) And the rest of the male prostitutes which remained from the days of Asa his father he removed from the land. (47) There was no king in Edom; a vassal was king. (48) Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were smashed in Ezion-geber. (49) Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with your servants in the ships; but Jehoshaphat was not willing. (50) And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and Jehoram his son ruled in his place.
COMMENTS
In 1Ki. 22:41-51 the historian takes up again briefly the history of Judah where he left off in 2Ki. 15:24 with the mention of the accession of Jehoshaphat. To the reign of this fine king the Chronicler devotes four chapters; the author of Kings treats his reign in the briefest possible fashion. The additional information contained in Chronicles about Jehoshaphats reign may be summarized as follows:
1. Apparently prior to his alliance with Ahab, Jehoshaphat strengthened himself against Israel by garrisoning all his fortified cities (2Ch. 17:1-2).
2. Philistines and Arab tribes brought costly presents to Jehoshaphat (2Ch. 17:5; 2Ch. 17:10 ff.).
3. Judah was invaded by a coalition of Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites. The invaders, however, turned upon and de stroyed one another (2Ch. 17:7-9).
4. Jehoshaphat launched certain educational reforms by sending forth qualified leaders to teach the law throughout the land (2Ch. 17:7-9).
5. The king also reformed the system of administering justice (2Ch. 19:4-11).
Fourth King of Judah
JEHOSHAPHAT BEN ASA
870848 B.C.*
(He whom Yahweb judges)
1Ki. 15:24; 1Ki. 22:41-50; 2Ki. 8:16; 2Ch. 17:1 to 2Ch. 21:3
Synchronism
Jehoshaphat 1 = Ahab 4
Contemporary Prophets
Jehu son of Hanani; Jahaziel the levite;
Eliezer
Mother: Azubah
Appraisal: Good
Mercy and truth preserve the king; and his throne is upheld by mercy.
Pro. 20:28
*coregent from 873 B.C.
Jehoshaphat followed in the footsteps of his father Asa, and did not in his old age attempt to turn aside from the way of righteousness as his father had done. Two flaws in his reign are pointed out by the historian: (1) he did not remove the high places outside Jerusalem where the people worshiped Yahweh contrary to the Law of Moses (1Ki. 22:43); and (2) he made peace with Ahab of Israel (1Ki. 22:44) thus ending the state of hostilities between the two kingdoms which had existed for over seventy years. To seal this alliance, Jehoshaphat arranged a marriage between his son Jehoram, and Athaliah the daughter of Ahab (2Ch. 18:1). It was probably the mutual fear of the rising power of Damascus that forced the rival sister kingdoms to seek this reconciliation.
Other outstanding accomplishments of Jehoshaphat were recorded in the primary source utilized by the author of Kings, the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah (1Ki. 22:45). The account of Jehoshaphat closes out with the mention of three significant facts: (1) Jehoshaphat completed the task that his father had begun in removing the male cult prostitutes from the land (1Ki. 22:46); (2) he was able to re-subjugate the territory of Edom[510] and install a vassal king over that territory (1Ki. 22:47); and (3) he attempted to revive the naval enterprise of Solomon. Tarshish ships, i.e., large sea-going vessels bound for Ophir and Tarshish (cf. 2Ch. 20:36), were launched from the Edomite seaport of Ezion-geber. Unfortunately these ships were dashed to pieces by a storm before they got out of the harbor (1Ki. 22:48). A prophet of God explained the disaster as being the result of an ungodly alliance between Jehoshaphat and Ahabs son Ahaziah (2Ch. 20:37). When the Northern king proposed a second venture in which his subjects would join those of Jehoshaphat,[511] this godly king rightly rejected it (1Ki. 22:49). He had learned his lesson. At his death, Jehoshaphat was buried in the city of David with his royal ancestors. His son Jehoram[512] succeeded him on the throne (1Ki. 22:50).
[510] Edom seems to have regained its independence soon after the death of Solomon (cf. 2Ki. 11:14);but from this text and 2Ki. 8:20; 2Ki. 8:22 it would appear that Edom had again been made subject to Judah probably by Jehoshaphat himself (cf. 2Ch. 17:10-11).
[511] It would appear that whereas both kings had shared in the building of the first fleet, only the sailors of Judah had manned the ships. Because of their close association with the Phoenicians, some subjects of the Northern Kingdom may have been highly skilled sailors.
[512] Both Jehoshaphat and Ahab had sons named Jehoram (cf. 2Ki. 1:17). The two kings may have agreed to use the same name in advance of the birth of the two princes as a symbol of their friendship for one another. See Honor, JCBR, p. 331.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(41) Jehoshaphat.The narrative here, so far as it is full and continuous, centres round the prophetic work of Elijah and Elisha, the scene of which was in Israel; and the compiler contents himself with the insertion of a few brief annalistic notices of the kingdom of Judah, taking up the thread of the narrative of chapter 15:24, except where (as in 2 Kings 3) it becomes again connected with the history of Israel. In the Chronicles, on the contrary, there is a full and interesting account of the reign of Jehoshaphat, and especially of his great religious revival (2 Chronicles 17-20), coinciding with this chapter, almost verbally, in the account of the battle at Ramoth-gilead. The brief notices here of the religious work of Jehoshaphat, his might, and his wars, agree entirely with this fuller record.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
JEHOSHAPHAT’S REIGN, 1Ki 22:41-50.
The reign of this king of Judah is rapidly passed over in this book, but is more fully detailed in 2 Chronicles chaps. 17-20.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Reign Of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah c. 870-848 BC ( 1Ki 22:41-50 ).
We have already come across Jehoshaphat with regard to his alliance with Ahab against the Aramaeans (1Ki 22:1-38), although that incident was mainly connected with the conflict between Ahab and Micaiah the prophet. (We will also learn more about him as a result of his alliance with Jehoram of Israel against Moab – 1Ki 3:1-27). What follows now briefly summarises Jehoshaphat’s whole reign. As far as the prophetic author was concerned his life was satisfactory to YHWH, and that was what mattered. The placement of this summary of the reign of Jehoshaphat in this position follows the pattern of the whole book in that his reign began during the reign of Ahab, king of Israel, who has already previously been dealt with (and thus it also began before the reign of Ahab’s successor)
Like Asa his father, Jehoshaphat ‘did what was right in the eyes of YHWH’, although similarly failing to do away with all the unofficial high places, and he did also remove the cult prostitutes out of the land, as his father had done. It is further stressed that he made peace with the king of Israel, the first king of Judah officially to do so since the division of the kingdoms, although we should note that there is no indication of war between Omri and Asa. This was approved of because God’s purpose was always that His people should be one in heart and spirit (hence the Central Sanctuary). One enterprise in which he did, however, fail, was in an attempt to re-establish trading connections with Ophir in partnership with Ahaziah, king of Israel. In the author’s view this venture was clearly disapproved of by God. As we have seen continually throughout the book he frowned on attempts to build up great wealth, and always notes with quiet satisfaction the emptying of the treasury, seeing it as YHWH’s chastening of His people. He had recognised what the process of amassing wealth had done to Solomon’s kingdom, and he disapproved of it. Because of the methods used, and the attitude resulting from it, it had been the main cause for the division of the kingdom.
Analysis.
a
b And he walked in all the way of Asa his father. He turned not aside from it, doing what was right in the eyes of YHWH. However, the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places (1Ki 22:43).
c And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel (1Ki 22:44).
d Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And the remnant of the sodomites, who remained in the days of his father Asa, he put away out of the land (1Ki 22:45-46).
c And there was no king in Edom, a deputy was king (1Ki 22:47).
b Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat would not (1Ki 22:48-49).
a And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father. And Jehoram his son reigned instead of him (1Ki 22:50).
Note that in ‘a’ we have details of the commencement of the reign, and in the parallel details of its cessation. In ‘b’ we are told what he did which was on the whole right in the eyes of YHWH of which the prophetic writer approved, and in the parallel we are told of an enterprise of which the prophetic author appears to have disapproved. In ‘c’ we are told of his relations with Israel, and in the parallel of his relations with Edom. Centrally in ‘d’ we are referred for details of his history to the official annals of the kings of Judah, and also learn of his removal of cult prostitutes from the land.
1Ki 22:41
‘ And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.’
In accordance with the usual pattern, Jehoshaphat’s reign follows that of the king of Israel who was still alive when he became king, which was Ahab. Asa had reigned for thirty eight years when Ahab came to the throne (1Ki 16:29), and reigned in full for forty one years (1Ki 15:10), which might have made us expect here to read of ‘the third year of Ahab’. The difference between three and four years can, however, be explained in terms of part years counted (or not counted) as whole years. The prophetic author took the figures that he found in his sources and did not attempt to reconcile them. Those figures sometimes differed because of different methods of reckoning years in Israel and Judah (e.g. at this time Israel included the part year of accession as a full year when reckoning the length of a reign, Judah excluded it. Both methods were in use among other nations).
1Ki 22:42
‘ Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.’
Jehoshaphat began to reign when he was thirty five years old, and reigned ‘in Jerusalem’, the city which YHWH chose out of all the tribes of Israel to put His Name there (1Ki 14:21), because it was the wish of David His servant, who introduced the Ark which bore the Name of YHWH (2Sa 6:2 onwards) into Jerusalem his own city. Jehoshaphat was thus the next ‘lamp’ of the house of David (1Ki 15:4). He reigned there for twenty five years, which probably included four years of co-regency with Asa. As was usual with the kings of Judah his mother’s name is given, demonstrating that he was a true ‘son of David’. The queen mother appears to have held a high position in Judah.
1Ki 22:43
‘ And he walked in all the way of Asa his father. He turned not aside from it, doing what was right in the eyes of YHWH. However, the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.’
Like his father, but like few kings after him, Jehoshaphat did what was right in the eyes of YHWH. In all his ways he did not turn aside from doing what was right in the eyes of YHWH. He was continually pleasing to YHWH. The only blot on his reign in this regard was that the illegitimate high places at which the people had become used to sacrificing and offering incense were not all taken away, with the result that in some parts they continued to be used for syncretistic worship, mixing up YHWH with Baal and Asherah, to YHWH’s disadvantage.
There was now the Temple and there were legitimate high places (such as formerly on Mount Carmel – 1Ki 18:32) where the worship was kept pure by the priests and prophets, but along with these there were many syncretised high places, which were ancient local sanctuaries, often also containing a Baal pillar and an Asherah pole/image, where the worship became a mixture of Yahwism and Baalism. These did not retain the purity of worship of the Temple and the legitimate high places, and would in fact later lead the people of Judah into grosser sin. But Jehoshaphat’s position was complicated, as we might have expected when considering such a complicated situation. And it would appear from 2Ch 17:6; 2Ch 19:3-4 that he did make an effort to remove those which had become too obviously syncretistic, and came to his attention. What was lacking was a full-scale purge. (Note in contrast 2Ch 20:33 which repeats what is said here).
1Ki 22:44
‘ And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.’
Jehoshaphat was also the first king to officially establish peace with Israel. This was mentioned because it was always YHWH’s desire that His people be one in spirit. That had been the reason for the Central Sanctuary among diverse tribes from the beginning. But the author makes no mention here of his marrying of his son Jehoram to the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel as a ‘treaty wife’ (see 1Ki 8:18; 2Ch 18:1; 2Ch 21:6). The prophetic author appears to have approved of the idea of peace, but like the Chronicler he did not approve of the marriage, especially in view of its results (1Ki 8:18).
1Ki 22:45
‘ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?’
As usual the author glides over secular affairs in dealing with the king’s reign, and we are referred for them to the official annals of the Kings of Judah for details of his wars and of his might (some of which, however, we can find in 2 Chronicles 17-10. Also in 1Ki 22:1-38; 2Ki 3:1-27). They were of no concern to the prophetic author whose concern was with what pleased or displeased YHWH. We do in fact learn more about them in the narratives in respect of the kings of Israel, which are dealt with in more detail simply because of their interplay with the prophets of YHWH, something which the writer did consider to be of importance, for it demonstrated that YHWH had given Israel every chance, and why they therefore doubly merited what finally came to them.
There is a reminder to us here that much of what we spend our lives in building up is an irrelevance to God. His concern is whether we have walked in His ways and done what is pleasing in His sight. Some labour for earthly honours, but we are to ensure that we seek the honour that comes from God alone.
Note on The Other Activities Of Jehoshaphat.
The Chronicler gives us a great deal of further information about Jehoshaphat, which the prophetic author of Kings was not interested in, for Jehoshaphat was a capable and vigorous ruler as well as being a godly one.
1). He established garrisons, both throughout Judah (2Ch 17:2; 2Ch 17:14-19), and in the parts of Israel that his father had retaken (2Ch 17:2).
2). He totally reorganised the judicial system in the land seeking to make it fair for all (2Ch 19:5-7).
3). He despatched teachers throughout Judah to teach the Law of YHWH to the people (2Ch 17:7-9).
4). He built up the wealth of Judah (2Ch 17:12-13).
5). He was successful beyond the borders of Judah, and received tribute from some of the Philistines and from some Arabians (2Ch 17:11).
6). And all this as well as assisting Ahab in his venture at Ramoth-gilead (1Ki 22:1-38; 2 Chronicles 18), and Jehoram of Israel against Moab (2Ki 3:1-27).
End of note.
1Ki 22:46
‘ And the remnant of the sodomites, who remained in the days of his father Asa, he put away out of the land.’
One thing that did please YHWH was that he removed the remnants of the cult prostitutes out of the land, something which his father had attempted to do, without fully succeeding. (It was not always easy as they would go into hiding and the people would often be supporting them).
1Ki 22:47
‘ And there was no king in Edom, a deputy was king.’
It would also appear that Edom was now back under the control of Judah, with Jehoshaphat’s deputy ruling there (compare 2Ki 3:7-9). We have not been told anything about Edom since the days of Hadad (1Ki 11:14-22). But as we saw previously Hadad had probably only established himself in the mountainous part of Edom, and we do not know what happened after Solomon died. It is quite possible that the trade routes had remained under the control of the kings of Judah, although subject to attack, and it may have been the nuisance of these attacks which made Jehoshaphat retake control of Edom as a whole.
1Ki 22:48-49
‘ Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat would not.’
Another feature of Jehoshaphat’s reign, only possible because of his control of Edom, was an abortive attempt to re-commence trading with Ophir (compare 1Ki 9:26-28). But it proved ill-fated and the ‘ships of Tarshish’ (large merchantmen) which he built were destroyed in a storm while still at Ezion-geber. He appears to have seen that as YHWH’s will and therefore to have resisted any further attempts to persuade him. The fact that the author tells us about this would suggest that he also saw in their destruction the hand of YHWH, and approved of Jehoshaphat’s subsequent decision. He knew that such building up of wealth was partly what had led Solomon astray, and the author always indicates with cynical approval the times when Judah was despoiled of its wealth (e.g. 1Ki 14:26; 1Ki 15:18).
1Ki 22:50
‘ And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father. And Jehoram his son reigned instead of him.’
Jehoshaphat died peacefully and was not assassinated (he ‘slept with his fathers’) and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his ‘father’. Jehoram his son then reigned instead of him. The house of David continued.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jehoshaphat in Judah, Ahaziah in Isreal
v. 41. And Jehoshaphat, the son of Asa, began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab, king of Israel. v. 42. Jehoshaphat, v. 43. And he walked in all the ways of Asa, v. 44. And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel, v. 45. Now, the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, v. 46. And the remnant of the sodomites, v. 47. There was then no king in Edom, v. 48. Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish, v. 49. Then said Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not, v. 50. And Jehoshaphat slept with his. fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, his father; and Jehoram, his son, reigned in his stead.
v. 51. Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, v. 40. began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel.
v. 52. And. he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother, v. 53. for he served Baal, and worshiped him, and provoked to anger the Lord God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
(41) And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. (42) Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. (43) And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places. (44) And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. (45) Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he shewed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? (46) And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land. (47) There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king. (48) Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber. (49) Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not. (50) And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.
The subject in those verses turns to the history of the other kingdom of Judah, and honourable mention is made of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah. The account of this prince is but short in the book of the Kings; but it is more largely dwelt upon in the book of the Chronicles. He seems to have fallen under the divine displeasure in consequence of his forming an alliance with Ahab and his son Ahaziah. And his want of success upon those occasions at length taught him to withdraw his connections. But it appears; upon the whole, that he was a good king, and Judah flourished under his government. See 2Ch 17:19 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ki 22:41 And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.
Ver. 41. Jehoshaphat the son of Asa. ] The father was good, but the son better; he repented when he was reproved; but his father stormed, and put the prophet in prison.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jehoshaphat. Compare 2Ch 17:1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Broken Ships
1Ki 22:41-53
Further details of Jehoshaphats good reign are given in 2Ch 17:1-19; 2Ch 18:1-34; 2Ch 19:1-11; 2Ch 20:1-37. He made strenuous efforts to rid the land of the more obvious evils that disgraced it, though some of the abuses seemed too deeply rooted even for his strong hand, 1Ki 22:43. The great defect of Jehoshaphats character was the ease with which he associated himself with Ahab and his family; for this subsequent generations paid a heavy penalty, 2Ki 11:1-21.
Jehoshaphat attempted to re-open the sea-commerce with Ophir, and entered into partnership with Ahaziah to build ships in Solomons old port of Ezion-geber, to make the circuit of Africa en route for Spain. But, as we learn from 2Ch 20:37, a prophet of Jehovah remonstrated with him for renewing the alliance with the king of Israel; and the storm that shattered the ships on the rocks, before they set sail, gave evidence of the displeasure of the Almighty. Let us beware of these alliances and partnerships with the ungodly. Sooner or later they meet with disaster. God blocks our path and defeats our plans; and if only we are led to repentance, our broken ships may give us cause for thanksgiving in eternity.
For Review Questions, see the e-Sword Book Comments.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Jehoshaphat
(He whom Jehovah judges)
(1Ki 15:24; 22:41-50; 2Ki 8:16; 2 Chron. 17:1-21:3)
Contemporary Prophets: Jehu Son Of Hanani; Jahazeel The Levite; Eliezer Soa Of Dodavah.
Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.-Pro 20:28
The first thing recorded of Jehoshaphat is that he strengthened himself against Israel. And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken (2Ch 17:1, 2). He began his reign with a determined opposition to the idolatrous northern kingdom. This was in the fourth year of Ahab. A few years later all this opposition ceases, and, we read, Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel (1Ki 22:44). This peace was brought about, evidently, by the marriage of Jehoshaphats son Jehoram to Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and of the notorious Jezebel. Alas for Jehoshaphat, and his posterity, that he ever gave his consent to this unholy alliance, and made peace with him who did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him (1Ki 16:30)! But such is man, even at his best: wherein is he to be accounted of?
But like Asa his father, he made a bright beginning: And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David (i.e., before his sin in the matter of Uriah the Hittite), and sought not unto Baalim; but sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honor in abundance. And his heart was lifted up (encouraged) in the ways of the Lord: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah (2Ch 17:3-6). This last statement does not contradict what is said in 1Ki 22:43. The high places and groves used for the worship of Baalim were removed; nevertheless the high places (dedicated to Jehovah) were not taken away; for the people offered and burned incense (to the true God) yet in the high places. Compare 2Ch 20:33. He abolished idolatry, but the people could not be brought to see the unlawfulness and danger of offering sacrifices elsewhere than at Jerusalem. Deuteronomy 12 condemned the practice; and it was probably to instruct the people as to this and kindred matters that he inaugurated the model itineracy described in 2Ch 17:7-9. Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Ben-hail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethanael, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. And with them he sent Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests. And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the Lord with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people. By this little band of princes, Levites and priests, sixteen in all, Jehoshaphat did more toward impressing the surrounding nations with a sense of his power than the largest and best-equipped standing army could have secured to him. And the terror of Jehovah was upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat. And some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat gifts and tribute-silver. The Arabians also brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams, and seven thousand seven hundred he-goats. This was the promise of God, through Moses, fulfilled to them. If they diligently obeyed and clave to Jehovah, He would, He said, lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land, etc. (Deu 11:22-25). When the patriarch Jacob ordered his family to put away the strange gods that were among them, the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them (Gen 35:5). And it was when the infant church at Jerusalem continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers, that fear came upon every soul (Act 2:42, 43). In obedience is power, and only right makes might in the nation or church that has God for its help.
And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store. And he had much business in the cities of Judah. It was an era of great commercial prosperity, and the kingdom was in the zenith of its power and glory. He had an organized army of over a million men ready prepared for the war (2Ch 17:12-19).
Then comes the cloud over this noonday splendor of the king and kingdom. And Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and he allied himself with Ahab by marriage. And after [certain] years he went down-yes, it was down morally, as well as topographically, to Ahab, to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that were with him, and urged him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. And Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramoth-Gilead? And he said to him, I am as thou, and my people as thy people; and I will be with thee in the war (2Ch 18:2, 3 N. Tr.) It was a sad come-down for the godly king of Judah. Think of him saying to a wicked idolater like Ahab, I am as thou. And he not only puts himself down to Ahabs base level, he must needs compromise his people also, and say they were as Ahabs, all of whom, excepting seven thousand men, were bowing the knee to Baal. Such conduct and language from a man like Jehoshaphat seems almost incredible. But who can understand his errors?-his own; much more difficult to see, often, than those of others.
Ahab evidently had fears for Jehoshaphats scruples of conscience, and was prepared to meet them; so the feast prepared for him and his retinue was given a religious character (the word for killed is sacri- ficed). An apostate people or church will go to almost any length of seeming compromise to entice and draw the faithful into fellowship or alliance with them. What must have men like Elijah thought of all this? It is little wonder that when fleeing from the murderous wrath of Jezebel he feared to trust himself anywhere within the realm of Judah. See 1Ki 19:3, 4. (Beersheba was on Judahs southern border.) Many would, no doubt, loudly praise the king of Judah for what they would term his large-heartedness and freedom from bigotry. The four hundred false prophets (Israels clergy), could also quote from the Psalms, Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! and say how the world was growing better, and the millennium soon to come. Yes, and the cry to-day is for union ( unity they know little of, and care less for), amalgamation, good fellowship; away with dogma (Scripture they mean, really), let doctrine die the death, and let twentieth century enlightenment make us ashamed of the conduct of our forefathers who fought, suffered, and died for the truth. What is truth? was Pilates idle question-the answer to which he had neither heart nor conscience to care for-while before him was witnessed that good confession, declaring what men of to-day would condemn as bigotry of the most pronounced kind: To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth My voice (Joh 18:37). But it is come to pass to-day that truth is perished in the streets.
But to return to Jehoshaphat. He is not altogether at ease in his mind about this contemplated attack on Ramoth-gilead (A fortress commanding Argob and the Jair towns, seized by Ben-hadad I from Omri. Josephus, Ant. IX. 6, I). His consent to accompany Ahab was, no doubt, hastily given, and probably during the warmth and excitement of the good fellowship at the banquet tendered in his honor. It is impossible not to violate a godly conscience, once we accept the fellowship of the wicked.
Now, when too late, he would inquire of Jehovah. A prophet, Micaiah, fearlessly foretells the failure of the enterprise. But he was only one against four hundred; so the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. But for Gods mercy Jehoshaphat would have lost his life. Jehovah heard his cry for help, and delivered him; and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem, a humbler, a wiser, and, we trust, a grateful man.
But God has a message of rebuke for him. And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer, went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord. Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thy heart to seek God (2Ch 19:2, 3). This mans father had gone to prison for his faithfulness to Asa on a similar occasion, not fearing the wrath of the king, like him whose laws he would see kept by king and people. The son of Asa, unlike his father, did not persecute his reprover; but much humiliated by his late experience, it would seem, from what immediately follows we gather that he profited by the rebuke. And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again through the people from Beer-sheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back unto the Lord God of their fathers. He went out again. This implies that he had lapsed spiritually, and was now restored, repentant, and doing the first works. The work of reformation is resumed on his recovery. Like his great progenitor David, he will, when the joy of Gods salvation is restored to him, teach transgressors His way, and sinners shall be converted unto Him.
Jehoshaphat also set judges in all the fortified cities of the land. He charged them solemnly, saying, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts. He established in Jerusalem what was probably a court of appeals (when they returned to Jerusalem, implies this, 2Ch 19:8), composed of Levites, priests, and chiefs of the fathers of Israel. To these he also gave a wholesome charge: Thus shall ye do in the fear of the Lord, faithfully, and with a perfect heart. And what cause soever shall come to you of your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, ye shall even warn them (i.e., enlighten, teach, see Exo 18:20), that they trespass not against the Lord, and so wrath come upon you, and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not trespass. And, behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the Lord; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler (prince) of the house of Judah, for all the kings matters: also the Levites shall be officers before you. Deal courageously, and the Lord shall be with the good. Matters of Jehovah related to His word or precepts, doubtless; the kings matters to the civil things; and controversies which came under the jurisdiction of the crown. The Levites were to be shorterim, officers, lit. scribes, keeping written accounts; assistants to the judges, etc. (Fausset). All this would make for righteousness, and truly, righteousness exalteth a nation, or any other body of people.
Satan could not stand idly by and witness this without making some attempt to disturb or destroy. It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jeho-shaphat to battle (2Ch 20:1). It was he, no doubt, who moved these neighboring nations to invade the land of Judah-whatever their motive may have been, whether jealousy, envy, greed, fear, or any other of the inciting causes of war among the nations of the earth. Scouts detected the movement and reported it to Jehoshaphat. Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea, on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazezon-tamar, which is En-gedi. They might well exclaim, Behold, for En-gedi was only twenty-five miles south of Jerusalem. The allies were almost upon them; and Jehoshaphat feared. But though so nearly taken by surprise, the startling news did not create panic among the people. They were in communion with Jehovah. The king set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.
A great prayer-meeting was held in the temple enclosure. The king himself prayed; and a most wonderful prayer it was. And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said, Jehovah, God of our fathers, art not Thou God in the heavens, and rulest Thou not over all the kingdoms of the nations? And in Thy hand there is power and might, and none can withstand Thee. Hast Thou not, our God, dispossessed the inhabitants of this land before Thy people Israel, and given it forever to the seed of Abraham, Thy friend? And they have dwelt therein, and have built Thee a sanctuary therein for Thy name, saying, If evil come upon us, sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, and we stand before this house and before Thee-for Thy name is in this house-and cry unto Thee in our distress, then Thou wilt hear and save. And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab, and those of mount Seir, against whom Thou wouldst not let Israel go when they came out of the land of Egypt, (for they turned from them, and destroyed them not), behold, they re- ward us, in coming to cast us out of Thy possession, which Thou hast given us to possess. Our God, wilt Thou not judge them? for we have no might in the presence of this great company which cometh against us, neither know we what to do; but our eyes are upon Thee!
If they did not know what to do, they were then certainly doing the right thing when they cast themselves on God, and their expectation was from Him. And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. Nor did He disappoint them. Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mataniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation: and he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou, king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but Gods. Tomorrow go ye down against them; behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to-morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.
How these words must have cheered the distressed king and his trembling people. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. What a sight, to see the king and all his subjects bowed in worship before God for His promised mercy! And the prayer-meeting becomes a praise-meeting. And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
They rose early on the morrow, and as they went forth to meet the foe, Jehoshaphat said to them, Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper. He was not a haughty sovereign; for he consulted with his subjects. Then singers were appointed, and those that should praise in holy splendor, as they marched along at the head of the army, saying, Give thanks to Jehovah; for His lovingkindness endureth forever. It is no longer prayer for deliverance, but thanksgiving for assured victory over the enemy. And when they began the song of triumph and praise, Jehovah set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, who had come against Judah, and they were smitten. And the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, to exterminate and destroy them; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of mount Seir, they helped to destroy one another (2Ch 20:22, 23, N. Tr.). Never was a foreign invasion so easily repelled. An ambush set in some mysterious way by the Lord caused a panic amongst the allies, and they turned upon one another to their mutual destruction. The deliverance came in a way altogether unexpected by Jehoshaphat, no doubt; but faith never asks how can, or how will, God fulfil His promise. It is enough to know that He has promised; the method must be left to Him.
And Judah came to the mountain-watch in the wilderness, and they looked toward the multitude, and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none had escaped. And Jehoshaphat and his people came to plunder the spoil of them, and they found among them in abundance, both riches with the dead bodies, and precious things, and they stripped off for themselves more than they could carry away; and they were three days in plundering the spoil, it was so much. And then, on the battlefield, they hold a thanksgiving meeting. And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah, for there they blessed Jehovah; therefore the name of that place was called the valley of Berachah (blessing) unto this day. It is a broad, rich vale, watered with copious springs, affording space for a large multitude (Fausset).
The 48th psalm is supposed to have been sung in the temple on their return to Jerusalem. And they returned, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for Jehovah had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with lutes and harps and trumpets, to the house of Jehovah.
This miraculous deliverance of Judah had a salutary effect on the nations about them. And the terror of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands, when they had heard that Jehovah had fought against the enemies of Israel. And the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; and his God gave him rest round about (2Ch 20:29, 30, N. Tr.).
Jehoshaphats alliance with the king of Israel and the king of Edom for the invasion of Moab was probably after this. It would be unaccountable that a man of such piety and faith as he should be repeatedly betrayed into unholy confederacies did we not know what the flesh is-that it is no better in the saint than in the sinner, and is ever ready to betray the saint into wrongdoing unless he watches against it in the spirit of humility and self-distrust.4 He almost repeats his former alliance with Ahab. It will come before us again, as we come to speak of king Jehoram, so we do not stop to dwell upon it here. These compromising entanglements appear to have been a special weakness with Jehoshaphat. He allied himself to Ahaziah, Ahabs son (who did very wickedly), to build ships to go to Tarshish. They were made at Ezion-Geber where Solomon had his navy built (i Ki. g:26). And Eliezer the son of Dodavah, of Mare-shah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself to Ahaziah, Jehovah hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, and could not go to Tarshish (2Ch 20:37, N. Tr.). Psa 48:7 seems to allude to this. Thus he linked himself during his reign with three kings of the wicked house of Ahab, to his humiliation and sorrow; first with Ahab himself, and then with his sons Ahaziah and Joram, or Jehoram. No good came of any of these associations. The ships built in partnership were hardly launched before they were broken at Ezion-Geber- the devils backbone5 (1Ki 22:48). There is always something of the wiles or power of Satan in these unequal yokes. Child of God, beware of them!
Jehoshaphat reigned twenty-five years, and died at the age of sixty. His mother, Azubah, was the single Scripture namesake of Calebs first wife (1Ch 2:18).
4 In both the Old and New Testaments, Gods people are warned against these alliances of believers with unbelievers, of which Jehoshaphats history is a sad and solemn example. God had particularly forbidden and warned Israel against idolatry and intermarriages with the nations around, knowing full well how easily their weak heart would follow in the evil ways of the nations. Se Deu 7:3-11; Exo 20:4, 5, etc.
In like manner, but in a more spiritual way, are we Christians exhorted and warned against all unequal yokes with unbelievers. See 2Co 6:11-18; 2Ti 2:20, 21; 1Pe 2:11-12; 1Jn 2:15-17, etc., etc.
We commend to the reader a pamphlet on this subject, The Unequal Yoke by C.H.M. At same publishers, price 6c. [Ed.]
5 So Fausset.
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
am 3090, bc 914
Jehoshaphat: 1Ki 22:2, 1Ch 3:10, 2Ch 17:1, 2Ch 20:31
began to reign: “Began to reign alone. 1Ki 22:51.
Reciprocal: 1Ki 15:24 – Jehoshaphat
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ki 22:41-50. Reigns of Jehoshaphat of Judah and Ahaziah of Israel,These reigns are related in the usual annalistic style.
1Ki 22:47, which says there was no king in Edom, is very obscure. It seems to imply that Jehoshaphat owned Edom, and ruled by his own nominee, but in 2 Kings 3 we read of a king of Edom.
1Ki 22:48. On Ophir and Ezion-geber, see 1Ki 9:26; 1Ki 9:28. The Chronicler (2Ch 20:37) says that the ships were wrecked as a punishment for Jehoshaphats alliance with the king of Israel. The book concludes abruptly, and there is no real gap between 1 and 2 K.; indeed 1Ki 22:51-53 should really be joined to 2Ki 1:1.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
2. Jehoshaphat’s good reign in Judah 22:41-50
Jehoshaphat began ruling over Judah as coregent with his father Asa (873-870 B.C.). When Asa died, he reigned alone for 17 more years (870-853 B.C.). He concluded his 25-year reign with another period of coregency with his son Jehoram that lasted eight years (853-848 B.C.). For all but Jehoshaphat’s first year on Judah’s throne, Ahab ruled over Israel. Jehoshaphat became Judah’s sole ruler in Ahab’s fourth year (1Ki 22:41).
Jehoshaphat was one of the eight good kings of Judah and one of the four reforming kings. He was better than his father Asa but not as highly acclaimed by the writers of Scripture as Hezekiah and Josiah, the other reforming kings who followed him years later. Especially in his earlier years Jehoshaphat walked with Yahweh. He removed idolatry from Judah (1Ki 22:46) except for the high places (1Ki 22:43). Evidently earlier in his reign he removed these (2Ch 17:6), but when the people rebuilt them he let them stand (2Ch 20:33).
The peace that existed between Israel and Judah (1Ki 22:44) gained strength through the marriage of Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram, and Ahab’s daughter, Athaliah (2 Kings 11). A prophet rebuked Jehoshaphat for his alliance with Israel (2Ch 19:2).
Edom (1Ki 22:47) had been under Judah’s control but revolted during Jehoshaphat’s reign. It may well have been the Edomites who destroyed his ships at Edom’s port of Ezion-geber (1Ki 22:48). [Note: John Bartlett, "The Moabites and Edomites," in Peoples of Old Testament Times, p. 236.] For Jehoshaphat’s other achievements, see 2 Chronicles 17-20.
Jehoshaphat submitted to Yahweh’s sovereignty, but he relied on human wisdom and resources at crucial moments in his life. This resulted in mixed blessing and discipline for both himself and Israel.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
JEHOSHAPHAT
1Ki 22:41-50
BEFORE we leave the House of David we must speak of Jehoshaphat, the last king of Judah whose reign is narrated in the First Book of Kings. He was abler, more powerful, and more faithful to Jehovah than any of his predecessors, and was alone counted worthy in later ages to rank with Hezekiah and Josiah among the most pious rulers of the Davidic line. The annals of his reign are found chiefly in the Second Book of Chronicles, where his story occupies four long chapters. The First Book of Kings compresses all record of him into nine verses, except so far as his fortunes are commingled with the history of Ahab. But both accounts show us a reign which contributed as greatly to the prosperity of Judah as that of Jeroboam II contributed to the prosperity of Israel.
He ascended the throne at the age of thirty-five. He was apparently the only son of Asa, by Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi; for Asa, greatly to his credit, seems to have been the first king of Judah who set his face against the monstrous polygamy of his predecessors, and, so far as we know, contented himself with a single wife. He received the high eulogy that “he turned not aside from doing that which was right in the eyes of the Lord,” with the customary qualification that, nevertheless, the people still burnt incense and offerings at the Bamoth, which were not taken away. The chronicler says that he did take them away. This stock contradiction between the two authorities must be accounted for either by a contrast between the effort and its failure, or by a distinction between idolatrous Bamoth and those dedicated to the worship of Jehovah to which the people clung with the deep affection which local sanctuaries inspire.
To the historians of the Book of Kings the central fact of Jehoshaphats history is that “he made peace with the King of Israel.” As a piece of ordinary statesmanship no step could have been more praiseworthy. The sixty-eight years or more which had elapsed since the divinely-suggested choice of Jeroboam by the Northern Kingdom had tended to soften old exasperations. The kingdom of Israel was now an established fact, and nothing had become more obvious than that the past could not be undone. Meanwhile the threatening specter of Syria. under the dynasty of Benhadad, was beginning to throw a dark shadow over both kingdoms. It had become certain that, if they continued to destroy each other by internecine warfare, both would succumb to the foreign invader. Wisely, therefore, and kindly Jehoshaphat determined to make peace with Ahab, in about the eighth year after his accession; and this policy he consistently maintained to the close of his twenty-five years reign.
No one surely could blame him for putting an end to an exhaustive civil war between brethren. Indeed, in so doing he was but carrying out the policy which had been dictated to Rehoboam by the prophet Shemaiah, when he forbade him to attempt the immense expedition which he had prepared to annihilate Jeroboam. Peace was necessary to the development and happiness of both kingdoms, but even more so to the smaller and weaker, threatened as it was not only by the more distant menace of Syria, but by the might of Egypt on the south and the dangerous predatory warfare of Edom and Moab on the east.
But Jehoshaphat went further than this. He cemented the new peace by an alliance between his young son Jehoram and Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, who was then perhaps under fifteen years of age.
Later chroniclers formed their moral estimates by a standard which did not exist so many centuries before the date at which they wrote. If we are to judge the conduct of these kings truthfully we must take an unbiased view of their conduct. We adopt this principle when we try to understand the characters of saints and patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or judges and prophets like Gideon, Deborah, and Samuel; and in general we must not sweepingly condemn the holy men of old because they lacked the full illumination of the gospel. We must be guided by a spirit of fairness if we desire to form a true conception of the kings who lived in the ninth century before Christ. It is probable that the religious gulf between the kings of Judah and Israel was not so immense as on a superficial view it might appear to be; indeed, the balance seems to be in favor of Jeroboam as against Abijam, Rehoboam, or even Solomon. The worship of the golden symbols at Dan and Bethel did not appear half so heinous to the people of Judah as it does to us. Even in the Temple they had cherubim and oxen. The Bamoth to Chemosh, Milcom, and Astarte glittered before them undisturbed on the summit of Olivet, and abominations which they either tolerated or could not remove sheltered themselves in the very precincts of the Temple, under the shadows of its desecrated trees. To the pious Jehoshaphat the tolerance of Baal-worship by Ahab could hardly appear more deadly than the tolerance of Chemosh-worship by his great-great-grandfather, and the permission of Asherim and Chammanim by his grandfather, to say nothing of the phallic horror openly patronised by the queen-mother who was a granddaughter of David. That Ahab himself was a worshipper of Jehovah is sufficiently proved by the fact that he had given the name of Athaliah to the young princess whose hand Jehoshaphat sought for his son, and the name of Ahaziah (“Jehovah taketh hold”) to the prince who was to be his heir. Jehoshaphat acted from policy; but so has every king done who has ever reigned. He could neither be expected to see these things with the illumination of a prophet, nor to read-as later writers could do in the light of history-the awful issues involved in an alliance which looked to him so necessary and so advantageous.
At the time of the proposed alliance there seems to have been no protest-at any rate, none of which we read. Micaiah alone among the prophets uttered his stern warning when the expedition to Ramoth Gilead was actually on foot, and Jehu, son of Hanani, went out to rebuke Jehoshaphat at the close of that disastrous enterprise. It is to the history attributed to this seer and embodied in the annals of Israel that the chronicler refers: “Shouldst thou help the wicked,” asked the bold prophet, “and love them that hate the Lord? For this thing wrath is upon thee from the Lord. Nevertheless, there are good things found, in thee, in that thou hast put away the Asheroth out of the land, and hast set thy heart to seek God.”
The moral principle which Jehu, son of Hanani, here enunciated is profoundly true. It was terribly emphasized by the subsequent events. A just and wise forecast may have sanctioned the restoration of peace, but Jehoshaphat might at least have learnt enough to avoid affinity with a queen who, like Jezebel, had introduced frightful and tyrannous iniquities into the House of Ahab. Faithful as the King of Judah evidently intended to be to the law of Jehovah, he should have hesitated before forming such close bonds of connection with the cruel daughter of the usurping Tyrian priest. His error hardly diminished the warmth of that glowing eulogy which even the chronicler pronounces upon him; but it brought upon his kingdom, and upon the whole family of his grandchildren, overwhelming misery and all but total extermination. The rules of Gods moral government are written large on the story of nations, and the consequences of our actions come upon us not arbitrarily, but in accordance with universal laws. When we err, even though our error be leniently judged and fully pardoned, the human consequences of the deeds which we have done may still come flowing over us with the resistless march of the ocean tides.
“You little fancy what rude shocks apprise us. We sin: Gods intimations rather fall In clearness than in energy.”
Jehoshaphat did not live to see the ultimate issues of massacre and despotism which came in the train of his son Jehorams marriage. Perhaps to him it wore the golden aspect which it wears on the forty-fifth Psalm, which, as some have imagined, was composed on this occasion. But he had abundant proof that close relationship for mutual offence and defense with the kings of Israel brought no blessing in its train. In the expedition against Ramoth Gilead when Ahab was slain, he too very nearly lost his life. Even this did not disturb his alliance with Ahabs son Ahaziah, with whom he joined in a maritime enterprise which like its predecessors, turned out to be a total failure.
Jehoshaphat in his successful wars had established the supremacy over Edom which had been all but lost in the days of Solomon. The Edomite Hadad and his successors had not been able to hold their own, and the present kings of Edom were deputies or vassals under the suzerainty of Judaea. This once more opened the path to Elath and Ezion-Geber on the gulf of Akaba. Jehoshaphat, in his prosperity, felt a desire to revive the old costly commerce of Solomon with Ophir for gold, sandal wood, and curious animals. For this purpose he built “ships of Tarshish,” i.e., merchant ships, like those used for the Phoenician trade between Tyre and Tartessus, to go this long voyage. The ships, however, were wrecked on the reefs of Ezion-Geber, for the Jews were timid and inexperienced mariners. Hearing of this disaster, according to the Book of Kings, Ahaziah made an offer to Jehoshaphat to make the enterprise a joint one, -thinking, apparently, that the Israelites, who, perhaps, held Joppa and some of the ports on the coast, would bring more skill and knowledge to bear on the result. But Jehoshaphat had had enough of an attempt which was so dangerous and which offered no solid advantages. He declined Ahaziahs offer. The story of these circumstances in the chronicler is different. He speaks as if from the first it was a joint experiment of the two kings, and says that, after the wreck of the fleet, a prophet of whom we know nothing, “Eliezer, the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah,” prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, Jehovah hath made a breach in thy works.” The passage shows that the word “prophesied” was constantly used in the sense of “preached,” and did not necessarily imply any prediction of events yet future. The chronicler, however, apparently makes the mistake of supposing that ships were built at Ezion-Geber on the Red Sea to sail to Tartessus in Spain! The earlier and better authority says correctly that these merchantmen were built to trade with Ophir, in India, or Arabia. The chronicler seems to have been unaware that “ships of Tarshish,” like our “Indiamen,” was a general title for vessels of a special build.
We see enough in the Book of Kings to show the greatness and goodness of Jehoshaphat, and later on we shall hear details of his military expeditions. The chronicler, glorifying him still more, says that he sent princes and Levites and priests to teach the Book of the Law throughout all the cities of Judah; that he received large presents and tribute from neighboring peoples; that he built castles and stone cities; and that he had a stupendous army of 160, 000 troops under four great generals. He also narrates that when an immense host of Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunim came against him to Hazezon-Tamar or Engedi he took his stand before the people in the Temple in front of the new court and prayed. Thereupon the spirit of the Lord came upon “Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah the Levite, of the sons of Asaph,” who told them that the next day they should go against the invader, but that they need not strike a blow. The battle was Gods, not theirs. All they had to do was to stand still and see the salvation of Jehovah. On hearing this the king and all his people prostrated themselves, and the Levites stood up to praise God. Next morning Jehoshaphat told his people to believe God and His prophets and they should prosper, and bade them chant the verse, “Give thanks unto the Lord, for His mercy endureth for ever,” which now forms the refrain of Psa 136:1-26. On this Jehovah “set liers in wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir.” Intestine struggles arose among the invaders. The inhabitants of Mount Seir were first destroyed, and the rest then turned their swords against each other until they were all “dead bodies fallen to the earth.” The soldiers of Jehoshaphat despoiled these corpses for three days, and on the fourth assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah (“Blessing”), which received its name from their tumultuous rejoicings. After this they returned to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets, and God gave Jehoshaphat rest from all his enemies round about. Of all this the historian of the Kings tells us nothing. Jehoshaphat died full of years and honors, leaving seven sons, of whom the eldest was Jehoram. {2Ch 21:2-3} His reign marks a decisive triumph of the prophetic party. The prophets not only felt a fiercely just abhorrence of the abominations of Canaanite idolatry, but wished to establish a theocracy to the exclusion on the one hand of all local and symbolic worship, and on the other of all reliance on worldly policy. Up to this time, as Dean Stanley says m his usual strikingly picturesque manner,
“if there was a holy city, there was also an unholy city within the walls of Sion. It was like a seething caldron of blood and froth whose scum is therein and whose scum has not gone out of it. The Temple was hemmed in by dark idolatries on every side. Mount Olivet was covered with heathen sanctuaries, monumental stones, and pillars of Baal. Wooden images of Astarte under the sacred trees, huge images of Molech appeared at every turn in the walks around Jerusalem.” Jehoshaphat introduced a decisive improvement into the conditions which prevailed under Rehoboam and Abijah, but practically the conflict between light and darkness goes on for ever. It was in days when Jerusalem had come to be regarded by herself and by all nations as exceptionally holy, that she, who had been for centuries the murderess of the prophets, became under her priestly religionists the murderess of the Christ, and-far different in Gods eyes from what she was in her own-deserved the dreadful stigma of being “the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt.”