And Jehovah was with Jehoshaphat, for he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto the Baals;
Jehoshaphat became king of Judah after his father Asa. Scripture ties God's presence with him to the way he walked, which raises two questions: why David's earlier ways and not his whole life, and whether a start this good can last.
Jehoshaphat's first act was to strengthen himself against Israel, the northern kingdom next door. One writer sees more than military caution here. The danger lay more in Israel's example than in its strength.
Jehoshaphat, his son, succeeds him and begins his reign by walking faithfully with God. He strengthened his kingdom against Israel, an enemy more dangerous by their example than by their strength. When something claims to be connected with God and to acknowledge Him, there is only one safe course: to judge it with a spiritual judgment. Such judgment can only come from a true sense of God's honour. It makes no terms with what only claims to be connected with Him, and treats it as an enemy. This is what Jehoshaphat did at first. Because he did not walk in the ways of Israel, Jehovah established the kingdom in his hand.
David's life was not uniformly bright, and the verse does not pretend it was. One writer reads "earlier" as pointing to the part of David's walk that came before his great sin.
Jehoshaphat, the son of Asa, began his reign by strengthening himself against Israel. The Lord was with him, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, which means David's faithful walk before his great sin. The Lord greatly blessed him by establishing his kingdom and in giving him riches and honour in abundance. The Lord kept all His promises.
Why point back to what came first? One writer answers from David's own place at the head of Israel's kings.
David was the first king really chosen by God. Despite serious defects, he held to the worship of God. He was not turned aside after the other gods, which later crept in among both the kings and the people. What was first in the history of God's dealings with Israel's kings was the purer thing.
The same writer follows the pattern into the New Testament. There the Lord tells a church to go back to what it did at first.
The same feature meets us in Revelation 2:4. Here the question is love, not faith. And the Lord is examining a church, not separate people. By the end of the first century the church at Ephesus had left its "first love." The next verse shows that this had affected its works. So they are told to recognise how they had fallen, to repent, and to do "the first works."
Jehoshaphat refused the Baals, the other gods that drew kings and people away. One writer looks past the record to the man himself.
Jehoshaphat his son reigns. And here we find very beautiful grace and piety. I would say that piety in particular is what marks this good son. He was a man, too, whose heart was toward the Lord.
The very thing Jehoshaphat guarded against at the start later became his snare.
Jehoshaphat's first act was to "strengthen himself against Israel." This is worth noticing. Israel and Israel's king were always a snare to the heart of Jehoshaphat. But at the start of his course, while he was still fresh, he was able to fortify his kingdom against the power of Israel. We often see this in the lives of Christians. The evils that become their greatest snares later in life are the very ones they watched against most closely at first.
It was success, not hardship, that loosened his guard.
Jehoshaphat walked in the first ways of his father and of David, and Jehovah was with him; so he grew very great. When he had riches and honour in abundance, he joined himself by marriage to Ahab. How often outward prosperity leaves the heart worldly and forgetful of God! What a blessing it often is to be kept poor and low.
- First — the cause. God was with Jehoshaphat for a stated reason: he walked in the earlier ways of David and refused the Baals.
- First — the standard. "Earlier ways" means David's walk before his great sin. Even a godly example is only worth copying in part.
- First — the principle. Across Scripture, what God gives at the beginning is the purer thing; later additions adulterate, and the call is back to "the first works."
- First — the heart. Behind the record stands a man whose heart was toward the Lord, not just a king with sound policy.
- First — the fragility. The enemy he resisted hardest at the start became his later snare. Prosperity, not trouble, loosened his guard.
but he sought the God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.
Verse 4 sums up how Jehoshaphat began: he sought his father's God, kept His commandments, and refused to copy the northern kingdom of Israel. Two questions follow: what made his seeking real, and how did he end up tied to Ahab, Israel's idol-worshipping king, one chapter later?
Jehoshaphat's obedience had a book behind it. One writer ties his blessing to the law he obeyed and sent out through Judah.
It is recorded that king Jehoshaphat sought the Lord God of his fathers. He walked in His commandments. He also sent teachers who taught in Judah, and they had the book of the law of Jehovah with them. His blessing then was so tied to obedience to the written word that on the battlefield he said, "Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe His prophets, and you will succeed." We know how remarkably God's blessing was with him.
The words "not according to the practices of Israel" point to a danger of example, not of strength. Israel still claimed God's name, and that is what made its example so dangerous.
He strengthened his kingdom against Israel, an enemy more dangerous by their example than by their strength. Sometimes a thing claims to be connected with God and to acknowledge Him. The only safety is to judge it with spiritual judgment. Such judgment comes only from a true sense of God's honour. It makes no terms with what claims to be connected with Him, and treats it as an enemy. This is what Jehoshaphat did at first; and, as he did not walk in the ways of Israel, Jehovah established the kingdom in his hand.
The verse describes a beginning, not a whole life. One writer notes that the evil Jehoshaphat guarded against here became his snare in later years.
Jehoshaphat's first act was to "strengthen himself against Israel." This is worth noticing. Israel and Israel's king were always a snare to Jehoshaphat's heart. But at the opening of his course, in the season of his early freshness, he was able to fortify his kingdom against the power of Israel. One often sees this in the history of Christians. The evils that prove their greatest snares in later life are the ones they watch against most closely at first.
Refusing Israel's practices is one thing. Refusing a partnership with Israel's king is another. Jehoshaphat did the first but not the second, and his own words to Ahab show the gap.
Yet this good king "made a marriage alliance with Ahab" (2 Chr. 18:1). He was so faithful, yet he had not learned the truth of separation, or that association with evil defiles… Ahab was king of Israel, but he was an idolater. In character he was no better than the king of Syria. Indeed his state was worse, for he had turned from the LORD and had made Israel to sin. This made Jehoshaphat's association with Ahab a very grievous sin in the sight of the LORD. How very solemn were Jehoshaphat's words, "I am as you are, and my people as your people." Was Jehoshaphat a wicked man like Ahab? Were his people not worshippers of the true God, and Ahab's worshippers of Baal? Yet this good man was led into that dreadful statement because he had not learned that association with evil defiles… It is not enough to be personally free from evil. We can be defiled by association with the evil of others.
Why does such a glowing account stand here at all? One writer answers from the purpose of the book of Chronicles.
But these verses 3 to 6 teach us yet another truth, in harmony with the character of Chronicles. This book emphasizes grace as the only means of keeping the royal line. At the time of the kingdom's complete decline, it always highlights the good which grace has produced, even if it lasted only a moment. It shows that grace covers a multitude of sins. It is different when it is a matter of responsibility, as in the book of Kings.
- Sought — Jehoshaphat turned to his father's God. That turning, not his throne, is what the record praises first.
- Walked — he kept God's commandments and sent the law out through Judah. Blessing followed the written word.
- Refused — Israel's practices were the greater threat because Israel still claimed God's name. Safety lay in making no terms with it.
- Established — he did not walk in Israel's ways, so the LORD settled the kingdom in his hand. Obedience and stability moved together.
- Guarded — the evil a believer watches hardest at the start can become the snare of later years. Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab proved it. Yet Chronicles still keeps the record of the good that grace produced in him.
And Jehovah established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah gave gifts to Jehoshaphat; and he had riches and honour in abundance.
One sentence sums up Jehoshaphat's early reign: God settles the kingdom, the nation brings gifts, and wealth and honour pile up. Two questions follow. Where did all this come from, and what did it do to the man who received it?
reason: clearer label, active
The verse opens with "Therefore." Writers tie the establishing of the kingdom back to Jehoshaphat's faithfulness.
Here God singles out Jehoshaphat's faithfulness and brings it into view. He does this not only to exalt His own grace, but also to show us what faithfulness and returning to God lead to. Strength and rest were the outcome at the beginning of Asa's reign. The establishment of the kingdom, peace, riches, and honour were the outcome of Jehoshaphat's faithfulness (v. 5).
What he refused mattered as much as what he sought. He would not walk in the ways of Israel, the northern kingdom, and Darby ties the secure throne to that refusal.
Something may claim to be connected with God and to acknowledge Him. Then there is no safety except in judging it with a spiritual judgment. Only a true sense of God's honour can form that judgment. It makes no terms with what claims to be connected with Him, and it treats that thing as an enemy. This is what Jehoshaphat did at first. Since he did not walk in the ways of Israel, the LORD established the kingdom in his hand.
The establishing and the gift-bringing are not the same act. One comes down from God; the other comes up from the nation.
2 Chronicles 17 brings Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to our notice. In this chapter we find God, in His grace, establishing His servant in the kingdom, and the people of God acknowledging him in it.
The ESV says "tribute" here; older translations say "presents." The gifts move in one direction only, and the custom points ahead to something larger.
Presents went from someone lower to someone higher (2 Chr. 9:24; 2 Chr. 17:5, 11). They also took the form of tribute, an acknowledgement of submission… This is a picture of Christ's kingdom set up on earth. Then all nations will send presents to the Lord Jesus as willing tribute (Ps. 45:12; Ps. 72:10, 15; Isa. 60:9).
The book of Kings tells about the same king in a different tone. Rossier explains the difference by the purpose of each book.
This book presents grace as the only means of keeping the royal line going. At a time when the kingdom was in complete decline, it always highlights the good that grace has produced, even if that good lasted only a moment. It shows that grace covers a multitude of sins. It is different when responsibility is the subject, as in the book of Kings. There God reveals the evil in its full extent and shows us why judgment had to be carried out.
This abundance returns at the start of chapter 18. There it leads into Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab, the wicked king of Israel.
How often outward prosperity goes with a heart full of worldliness and forgetfulness of God! What a blessing it often is to be kept poor and low. The Lord knew the seductive power of worldly prosperity, and He said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" God sends a prophet, who rebukes Jehoshaphat: "Should you help the wicked?" In helping Ahab he almost lost his life. Yet neither the danger nor the prophet's rebuke kept him from repeating the same error.
Darby rates this reign highly, and then marks the turn.
In many respects this is a more beautiful picture than anything we have yet read in the history of the kings. But this prosperity becomes a snare to him. It bore very bitter fruit at a time when his real piety was not there to balance it.
Later Jehoshaphat looked for wealth in a partnership with Ahab. God had already given him plenty.
What need did he have of riches bought at the price of an alliance with the leader of a people whose judgment was already settled… Had the Lord not given him plenty of riches at the faithful beginning of his career (2 Chron. 17:5; 2 Chron. 18:1)? Why did he want to draw from another source? Poor Jehoshaphat! He was poor in God's sight, because he neither appreciated nor valued the riches that God gives. He was poor enough to covet the riches that God did not give!
- Cause. Jehoshaphat sought God and refused Israel's ways. A settled kingdom, peace, riches and honour followed that faithfulness.
- Gift. His own strength did not secure the throne. God in His grace established His servant, and the people acknowledged him.
- Reach. The gifts were tribute from lesser to greater. They picture the day when all nations bring willing tribute to the Lord Jesus.
- Record. Chronicles lifts up the good that grace produced, even when it lasted only a moment. Kings shows the evil in full, and why judgment had to come.
- Result. The abundance of this verse became his snare. He valued God's riches so little that he chased riches God never gave.
And he took courage in the ways of Jehovah; moreover, he removed the high places and Asherahs out of Judah.
Jehoshaphat is newly settled on the throne, honoured by his people and rich. At that very moment the verse turns to his heart. The ESV says it "was courageous in the ways of the LORD"; older translations read "lifted up." Either way, something happened inside the king — and the high places came down.
The phrase sounds dangerous to us today. Here it means encouragement, not pride. One writer ties it to what Jehoshaphat could see God doing around him:
The Lord kept all His promises. When Jehoshaphat saw the evidences of divine blessing, his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord. This does not mean that he was puffed up, but that he became encouraged to go on in the good way he was following.
The chapter lists riches, gifts, honour and a settled kingdom. One writer traces all of it to one thing, and it is not the king's skill:
Here was the true secret of his prosperity: "His heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord." When the heart is lifted up like this, everything goes well.
The older wording, "lifted up," turns up again about King Uzziah, and there it ends in ruin. What matters is not the phrase but what the heart is lifted up in. Jehoshaphat's heart rose in the ways of the Lord. Uzziah's rose in his own strength:
When Uzziah was strong (his strength being in his own resources), his heart became "lifted up"... A heart that is "lifted up" is in a dangerous state, and almost always on the eve of a fall.
Hilltop shrines might look like a small issue next to idol worship. One writer explains why God objected even when people used them to worship Him:
But all the high places, whatever the motives of those who set them up, were offensive in His sight. They expressed a self-will that invents its own worship — hearts not subject to His commandments.
There is a puzzle here. This verse says Jehoshaphat took the high places away; 1 Kings 22:43 says they stayed. Commentators offer two answers. The first separates one kind of shrine from another:
This last statement does not contradict 1 Kings 22:43. He removed the high places and groves used in the worship of Baal; still, "the high places (dedicated to Jehovah) were not taken away."... He put an end to idolatry, but no one could bring the people to see that offering sacrifices anywhere except at Jerusalem was unlawful and dangerous.
The second answer looks at the gap between a king's order and a nation's obedience:
The work was not completely done. He himself wanted to see it accomplished and commanded that it be done, but the people failed to carry out his wishes fully.
One writer traces the failure to the gap between the king's heart and his people's:
It was said of Jehoshaphat that he had prepared his heart to seek God, but no one could say that of his people... Had he prepared his heart to teach "statutes and judgments" like Ezra, there might have been some preparation of heart in those who heard.
Jehoshaphat's next move met that very lack:
Another work he did was the sending out of teachers to instruct in the knowledge of the LORD... It was a revival in teaching and in the study of the Word. No true revival can take place unless it is connected with the Word.
- Encouraged, not proud. A heart courageous in the ways of the Lord is made bold by seeing God keep His promises. That is encouragement, not self-importance.
- Direction decides everything. The same words describe Uzziah's ruin. Lifted up in God's ways builds; lifted up in your own strength stands "on the eve of a fall."
- Courage clears ground. The lifted-up heart did something: the high places came down. Real encouragement shows itself in removing what God has not authorised.
- Self-will is the sin. High places offended God even when people used them to worship Him. They came from hearts choosing their own worship instead of obeying His.
- Hearts must follow. The king's zeal outran his people's. Commentators differ on which shrines survived, but both trace the failure to hearts that were not ready. So he sent out teachers with God's Word.