Day 42: Jehoshaphat

2 Chronicles 17-20

- Jehoshaphat was Asa's son and he devoted his ways to the Lord.
- the nations surrounding Judah were afraid of the Lord and did not wage war against Jehoshaphat because of this.
- he amassed a very large army of over a million men.
- he allied himself with king Ahab by marriage.
- some years later, Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to join him in battle against Ramoth Gilead. He agreed but first asked God for counsel.
- 400 prophets of Israel are gathered and they all say to go for it. But Jehoshaphat wasn't convinced and wanted a prophet from the Lord.
- Ahab said there was one named Micaiah but he always prophesied bad stuff about Ahab.
- so Micaiah was brought forward and he claims that the lying spirit had entered the mouths of all the prophets to entice Ahab to go to battle. So Ahab throws him in prison and Micaiah states that Ahab will in fact die in battle and never return.
- so both Ahab and Jehoshaphat go to battle. Ahab tries to disguise himself as a regular soldier while Jehoshaphat wears his royal robes. When the enemy saw Jehoshaphat, they tried to kill him thinking he was the king of Israel. But Jehoshaphat cried out to God and God saved him. Ahab was struck with a random arrow and eventually died.
- Jehoshaphat's righteousness is incomplete. Although he rid the land of Asherah poles and idols, he still sided with those who hate the Lord.
- he later appoints judges in the land and ordered them to fear the Lord for He is the ultimate judge over all.
- armies from Moab and Ammon attacked Jehoshaphat. But the people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord. Jehoshaphat stood in front of all his people and said:

"O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7 O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 'If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.' "

- through a prophet, the Lord promised to deliver them and they all fell down in worship.
- they went out singing, "Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever."
- and with that, they defeated the Moabites and Ammonites and there was peace again because all the kingdoms were afraid.
- Jehoshaphat reigned 25 years and walked in the ways of the Lord.

Jehoshaphat came close to screwing up but he realized his mistake and God blessed him. One point that struck me was how he turned to God for guidance before attacking Ramoth Gilead (although he made the wrong choice by fighting) and also when he was attacked by Moab and Ammon. I should not be afraid to turn to God and ask for help whenever I am in need. For example, I should pray for the strength and inspiration to finish writing this history term paper right now...