Tag Archives: Ahab

Jehu and the Prophets

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Jehu had contact with at least three prophets (four if you count the one who anointed him) during his lifetime: Elijah, Elisha, and Micaiah. Jehu was an army commander during the days of Ahab and if you put together 2 Kings 9: 24 – 26 and 1 Kings 21: 17 – 23 it is apparent that Jehu was present when Elijah spoke the destruction that was to come to Ahab’s house. I find it interesting when someone is present when a word from the Lord is spoken and years later the hearer of that word is part of the fulfillment of the prophecy. No doubt Jehu would have also heard Elijah’s announcement from the Lord about how Ahab had humbled himself and that the word would come upon his son (1 Kings 21: 29).

As a commander of the army, it is also to be expected that Jehu was present when Micaiah prophesied against Ahab and he died. This should have had an impact on him and how he viewed words from the Lord. But his attitude is hard to read in the story of his anointing. At first, glance, when the young man came with the word from Elisha Jehu, seems to downplay his anointing until the other officers become serious about the oil dripping from his head (See Jehu – The Start). But this show of support may have been what he really wanted to see before he would act openly on that word.

Elisha was the other prophet that he would have been around and you have to wonder if he was the prophet who delivered the word in 2 Kings 10: 30. Jehu was promised and received four generations of his family as kings of Israel (See 2 Kings 15: 12). Elisha was present for Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Jehoash (13: 14). It is a shame that even with all of this help from the Lord Jehu would/could not follow the Lord more closely (10: 31) (See Jeroboam- The Lord Your God for the sin that Israel stayed in). But it must be pointed out that God in His love gave Jehu every chance and three solid men of God to help him.

I still am in awe of God for loving Israel so much that He sent Elijah and Elisha to them andJehoshaphat's Timeline not to Judah. God tried hard to get them to change but they would not. In reading the start of 2 Kings it would seem that Elijah’s chariot ride to heaven happened right after Ahab’s death but he wrote a letter to Jehoram condemning his treachery and pronouncing his death. That could add about nine years before the cloak fell to Elisha. So exactly when all of the miracles in 2 Kings 2 – 8 happened we can not tell because the chronicler talks about kings but does not name them. It is possible that Elijah was alive to see the word he spoke against Ahab come to pass.

Jehoshaphat – A Warning For Today

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Jehoshaphat – A Warning For Today

Jehoshaphat was a godly king who did good and tried to have his people follow in the Jehoshaphat's Timelineways of the Lord. He took measures to protect against Israel (2 Chronicles 17:1), had the people taught from the Book of the Law by priest (vs. 9), rid the land of false worship (vs. 6), reformed the judicial system (19:4-10), lead Judah’s army against a huge invading army (20: 1-30), and took care of his family (21:3). I think it is fair to say that he loved God and personally choose the “high road” but he did have a really alarming mindset.

This mindset shows itself in four things Jehoshaphat did. In 2 Chronicles 18:1 he aligned himself/Judea with Israel (the Northern Kingdom) by marriage; he allowed/arranged the marriage of Jehoram to Athaliah (Ahab’s daughter). In 2 Chronicles 18: 2 he agreed to go with Ahab to get Ramoth Gilead back from Aram and he went with Joram in 2 Kings 3 to attack Moab.  Then in 2 Chronicles 20: 36 it talks about a trade agreement with Ahaziah Ahab’s son. (In the passages below I combined Kings and Chronicles where these books cover the topic. The book of Kings talk about both Israel and Judah while Chronicles primarily covers the kings of Judah.)

I and II Kings with I and II Chronicles From the Conservative Version

  • 1Ki 22:45 2Ch 20:34 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 written in the history of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is inserted in the book of the kings of Israel.
  • 1Ki 22:46 And he put away out of the land the remnant of the sodomites, who remained in the days of his father Asa.
  • 1Ki 22:47 And there was no king in Edom; a deputy was king.
  • 2Ch 20:35 And after this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. The same did very wickedly.
  • 2Ch 20:36 And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish.
  • 1Ki 22:48 2Ch 20:36 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold in Ezion-geber, but they did not go, for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber.
  • 1Ki 22:49 Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.
  • 2Ch 20:37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou have joined thyself with Ahaziah, LORD has destroyed thy works. And the ships were broken so that they were not able to go to Tarshish.
  • 1Ki 22:50 2Ch 21:1 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.

2 Chronicles 19: 2 states the problem, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord.” (NIV) Right away many Christians would say what about evangelism or how can we ever be a witness to the unsaved? I think with a little meditation it is easy to see this is not what Jehoshaphat was doing, he was “yoking” himself to people who had rejected much of the Laws of God on purpose and set up another religious experience. The most destructive of these four acts was the marriage alliance with the royal family of Baal-worshipping Ahab and Jezebel. The three “business deals” are bad because it mixed the unbelievers into his nation that he was trying to change to follow God. So the warning is to pastors and heads of households – watch what you allow/bring into your lives and that of your charges. In a future post, I will look at the results of Jehoshaphat’s choices.