And after this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly.
God had just rescued Jehoshaphat from a huge invading army. Then the king of Judah tied himself to Ahaziah of Israel, a wicked king — so the verse raises two questions: how could he do it again, and what does God think of it?
The timing is what makes this so painful. Look at what God had just done for him:
Even Jehoshaphat is no exception to the universal deceitfulness and ingratitude of the human heart... First came the gracious rebuke of his unholy alliance with Ahab. Then came his wonderful deliverance from the united armies of Moab, Ammon and others, a great multitude. Then God gave him rest. After all this he joined himself with Ahaziah, king of Israel, who did very wickedly.
This was not his first slip. God had already rebuked his alliance with Ahab, yet he went straight back to the same family.
Yet who can measure the depths of the human heart — its deep, evil depths?... After such solemn lessons, could anyone imagine that Jehoshaphat would join himself with the ungodly again? Would he really help forward their ambitious, or rather their greedy, schemes? No one could imagine it, except someone who had learned something of his own heart.
Another writer traces the pattern across the whole reign and names its cause.
How could a man of such godliness and faith fall into unholy alliances again and again? We could not explain it if we did not know what "the flesh" is. The flesh is no better in the saint than in the sinner. It is always ready to betray the saint into wrongdoing, unless he watches against it in a spirit of humility and self-distrust... So during his reign he linked himself with three kings of the wicked house of Ahab: first with Ahab himself, and then with his sons Ahaziah and Joram. It all brought him humiliation and sorrow.
The earlier alliance with Ahab was military. This one was business — a trading fleet — and the change of purpose made no difference to God.
How many of God's people since that day have fallen into a similar trap, even into some association with the world for the sake of gold. God took a very serious view of this good king's associations. There is no direct evidence that he took part in any religious observance with Ahab's house. But he joined Ahab in war and Ahab's son in trade, and that was evil in the sight of the Lord his God.
God's answer came in two parts.
This time the Lord did not only reprove him. He sent another prophet, Eliezer, to tell him that the Lord had broken his works, because he had allied himself with Ahaziah. God backed up that word at once by wrecking his ships before any voyage to Tarshish. We are not told how Jehoshaphat took this message and this action against him. But it surely reminds us that God shows no favouritism. He will not excuse sin in even the most godly persons.
The wreck carried a principle wider than one fleet:
Again Jehoshaphat had to learn a lesson from the destruction of his fleet at Ezion-geber. An undertaking may be well planned and look free from outward danger. It can still only end in disappointment and failure when children of God combine with those who walk in the ways of sin.
The story does not end in failure. The broken fleet finally did its work in Jehoshaphat.
Thank God, the prophet's word and the destruction of his fleet finally showed Jehoshaphat the great weakness of his life. An alliance with the world, whatever its purpose may be, is something God disapproves of. It will bring judgment on His children.
The same writer draws the lesson for us:
There were some "good things found in him". But his snare was worldly association. The lesson we learn from his history is to beware of that evil... If we mix ourselves up with the world, and let its rules and principles govern and lead us, we will certainly suffer in our own souls and spoil our testimony.
- Joined again. After rebuke, rescue and rest, Jehoshaphat still joined himself to a wicked king. Even a godly heart is unstable.
- Joined by the flesh. The flesh explains the repeat. It is no better in the believer than in the unbeliever, and only humility and self-distrust keep watch on it.
- Joined for gold. This time the partnership was business, not war. God still called it evil.
- Joined works broken. God sent Eliezer to say He had broken the works, then wrecked the ships. Good planning cannot save a venture built on the wrong partnership.
- Joined no more. Jehoshaphat finally saw the weakness of his whole life. The call stands for us too: do not let the world's principles govern us.
And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish; and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.
Jehoshaphat's reign does not end with the great victory earlier in this chapter. It ends with a shipyard at Ezion-geber, built in partnership with Ahaziah of Israel. Why would a king just delivered by God tie himself again to the house of Ahab? And what does God do with works built on such a partnership?
Jehoshaphat had joined himself to Ahab's family before. Only one thing explains why he did it again.
Yet who can measure the human heart, with its deep and malignant depths? Who can trace its tangled ways? Could anyone imagine it? Would Jehoshaphat, after such solemn lessons, join himself with the ungodly again, to further their ambitious, or rather their greedy, schemes? No one could imagine it, except someone who had learned something of his own heart.
His repentance after the earlier alliance was real, but it did not reach deep enough.
Jehoshaphat had clearly repented of his former evil, and God had restored him. Even so, he had never fully judged himself before God for that sinful alliance. Like many more today, the king found it hard to grasp that association with evil defiles.
The earlier partnership with Ahab was military. This one was a trading venture, and the change of motive did not change God's verdict.
This time the partnership was not for war, but for gold, as recorded in 1 Kings 22:48... How many of God's people since that day have fallen into the same snare! Many have joined with the world for the sake of gold. God took a very serious view of this good king's associations. There is no direct evidence that he took part in any religious ceremony with Ahab's house. But he joined Ahab in war, and Ahab's son in trade, and that was evil in the sight of the Lord his God.
Wealth itself had been part of the snare.
It would appear from this that having riches and honour had proved a snare for Jehoshaphat, as it has been for so many. The Lord warns of this danger in the parable of the sower, when He speaks of the "deceitfulness of riches" (Matt. 13:22).
Jehoshaphat was not the first king to build a fleet at this port.
They were made at Ezion-Geber where Solomon had his navy built (1 Kings 9:26)... During his reign he linked himself with three kings of the wicked house of Ahab, to his humiliation and sorrow. These were Ahab himself, and then his sons Ahaziah and Joram, or Jehoram. No good came of any of these associations. The ships they built together were barely launched before they were broken at Ezion-Geber.
The name of the place carries its own lesson:
Ezion Geber means "the counsel of a man." Jehoshaphat had sought such counsel, not the counsel of God.
Good planning did not save this venture.
He entered another unholy alliance, for commercial reasons, with wicked Ahaziah, King of Israel. The ships to go to Tarshish never reached their destination; they were broken. "The destruction of his fleet at Ezion-Geber taught Jehoshaphat again what happens when the children of God join with those who walk in the ways of sin. Their undertakings can only end in disappointment and failure. That is true however well planned those undertakings are, and however free from outward danger they appear."
The tone of the record shifts here.
Grace working in the king's heart is the special mark of Chronicles. This brief passage speaks only of responsibility, and departs from the usual character of the book. Eliezer pronounces judgment without the softening we noticed in Jehu's prophecy (2 Chron. 19:3).
One writer takes the same principle into business today.
When a Christian yokes himself with an unbeliever for business purposes, he gives up, in effect, his own responsibility. From then on the acts of the firm become his acts... A servant of Christ will find himself hampered in a hundred ways by his worldly partnership... His word says, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers." Such is the principle. It cannot be broken without damage to the testimony and loss of spiritual blessing.
Jehoshaphat's story does not end in the wreckage. A parallel account shows him turning down the next offer.
From 1 Kings 22, it seems Jehoshaphat took the divine rebuke to heart... "Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with your servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not."
1 Kings preserves that refusal. The record here stops at the judgment.
- Joined — One word condemns the venture: "joined." Jehoshaphat kept joining himself to the ungodly. His repentance over Ahab had not gone deep enough to stop him doing it again with Ahab's son.
- Gold — The motive shifted from war to trade, and God's assessment did not shift with it. The riches and honour he already held became the snare.
- Counsel — Ezion-geber was Solomon's old shipyard, and the plan was carefully made. Even good plans fail when they rest on man's counsel instead of God's.
- Broken — God sent Eliezer to speak, then broke the ships to prove the word true. He does not excuse sin in His most godly servants.
- Refused — The wreck did its work. When Ahaziah offered the same partnership again, Jehoshaphat said no. Loss that teaches separation is gain.
And Eliezer the son of Dodavah, of Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, Jehovah has broken thy works. And the ships were broken, and could not go to Tarshish.
Jehoshaphat's reign does not close with the great victory of the chapter before. It ends with a shipbuilding partnership and a prophet's blunt verdict. A man of real faith ties himself to a wicked king, and God tells him that the failure of the venture is His own doing.
God did not just let the project collapse. He announced its end through Eliezer, then made that word come true.
On this occasion the partnership was not for war, but for gold, as recorded in 1 Kings 22:48: "Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold." From 2 Chronicles 20:37 we learn of God's intervention. First, He sent His prophet Eliezer the son of Dodavah to reprove him with the words, "Because you have joined yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has broken your works." Then the Lord carried out His word, "and the ships were broken, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish."
The writer quotes an older translation here. The ESV reads, "the LORD will destroy what you have made."
Jehoshaphat had a record of genuine godliness behind him. It bought him no exemption.
Nothing is said of how Jehoshaphat received this message and God's action against him. But it reminds us that God is no respecter of persons. He will not excuse sin in even the most godly persons.
Even the name of the shipyard points to where the plan came from.
Jehoshaphat evidently wanted to follow Solomon in building ships to bring gold from Ophir, but the ships were wrecked at Ezion Geber. Ezion Geber means "the counsel of a man." Jehoshaphat had sought such counsel, not the counsel of God.
This was not the first time, and it would not be the last. One writer traces the repetition to something that stays in every believer.
We could not explain how a man of such godliness and faith was betrayed again and again into unholy alliances, if we did not know what "the flesh" is. It is no better in a believer than in a sinner. It is always ready to betray the believer into wrongdoing, unless he watches against it in the spirit of humility and self-distrust… So, during his reign, he linked himself 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. There is always something of Satan's cunning or power in these unequal yokes. Child of God, beware of them!
The venture looked commercially sound. Nothing was wrong with the ships; everything was wrong with the company.
He entered another unholy alliance, for commercial reasons, with wicked Ahaziah, King of Israel. The ships that were to go to Tarshish never reached their destination; they were broken. "Again Jehoshaphat had to learn something in the destruction of his fleet at Ezion-Geber. Undertakings can be well planned and seem free from outward danger. They can still only end in disappointment and failure, when the children of God join with those who walk in the ways of sin."
The account in Chronicles stops at the judgment, but the parallel record shows a changed man.
From 1 Kings 22 it would seem that Jehoshaphat took the divine rebuke to heart, and that between the visit of the prophet and the actual destruction of the ships he had repented of what he had done, for we read in verse 49, "Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, 'Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.' But Jehoshaphat was not willing."
A broken fleet closes a reign that had much good in it. The lesson is plain.
Such was Jehoshaphat — such his extraordinary course. There were some "good things found in him." But his snare was worldly association. The lesson we learn from his history is to beware of that evil. Yes, we need these words sounded in our ears with constant seriousness: "Come out, and be separate." We cannot mix ourselves up with the world, and let its maxims and principles govern and lead us, without suffering in our own souls and spoiling our testimony.
- Joined — One cause explains the wreck. Jehoshaphat tied himself to a wicked king, this time for gold, not for war.
- Counselled — He built at Ezion Geber, "the counsel of a man." The plan came from man, not from God.
- Warned — God spoke before He struck. Eliezer brought the verdict that the Lord would destroy what Jehoshaphat had made.
- Broken — A well-planned venture still ends in failure when God's children join those who walk in the ways of sin. God excuses sin in no one, however godly.
- Separated — Jehoshaphat's snare was worldly association. The call stands: "Come out, and be separate." He obeyed it at last, refusing Ahaziah's next offer.