Kings of Judah, Pt. 6: "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" (2 Chron 17)

ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY (2 CHRONICLES 17:1-19:11)
The week heading into my 45th birthday was a rich and sweet experience, in more ways than one. Four days before my birthday I was invited to an all-you-can-eat seafood and steak dinner. I ate four helpings, five pieces of chocolate for dessert and a full plate of pineapple. The next day I felt bad and headed to the gym early in the morning. At night, I had a birthday dinner with friends, ordering five dishes and a bowl of soup for a table of four.

On the eve of my birthday, I invited three college students for lunch to thank them for leading the VBS that had just concluded a day earlier at church. My wife suggested buffet would be great for hungry young people. That same night a family invited my wife and me for birthday dinner at their home and to meet their son who had just returned from China a day earlier.

On the morning of my birthday I had to attend a denomination district conference morning till noon, when the organizers announced free lunch for all at China Buffet. Amazing, I had three buffets in four days! On the night of my birthday my sister brought Chinese BBQ takeout to my home to celebrate my birthday. I grew older in my age and thicker at the waist that week. Buffet is the worst; each time I want to eat my money’s worth.

Compromise is succumbing, yielding and deferring to a weakness. It’s been said, “Compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece.”

Compromises are a fact of life but make sure you know what things you can give in, who you can give in to and why you can’t give in thoughtlessly.

Jehoshaphat was a righteous king, not just a good king but an excellent king. He was godly, capable and determined; one of the best and brightest kings that ever lived. The king was strong in defense early in his reign but he opted for alliance with a wicked king later but sobered up knowing his mistake in the end. He was a naïve person, a man-pleaser and an easy prey that had to be bailed out by God in the end.

What is the result of compromising with sin? Why is confronting the problem better than compromising one’s character? How do we deal with our weaknesses?

GET YOUR POINT ACROSS
17:1 Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king and strengthened himself against Israel. 2 He stationed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah and put garrisons in Judah and in the towns of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured. 3 The LORD was with Jehoshaphat because in his early years he walked in the ways his father David had followed. He did not consult the Baals 4 but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel. 5 The LORD established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honor. 6 His heart was devoted to the ways of the LORD; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah. 7 In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah to teach in the towns of Judah. 8 With them were certain Levites-Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-Adonijah-and the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9 They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the LORD; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people. 10 The fear of the LORD fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not make war with Jehoshaphat. (2 Chron 17:1-10)

When the English naturalist Charles Darwin was a boy, he collected beetles. One day he found a rare specimen but he didn’t have a container to hold it, so he held it in his fist. Then he saw a second beetle, picked it up and held it in his other fist. Then to his surprise, he spotted a third rare beetle. Quickly, he put one beetle in his mouth and grabbed the third specimen with his free hand. (

To defend itself, the beetle in Darwin’s mouth gave him a squirt of acid and Darwin went into a fit of coughing. When it was over he had lost all three beetles.

Multitasking or doing too many things at one time causes a person to get nothing and lose everything.

Jehoshaphat, the fourth king of Judah, was a powerful and godly king who did what was best for himself and his people, doing an excellent job with what he had, better than most kings. He held his own ground and kept Israel’s enemies away. Of all the southern kings, he found the right balance between political might ( 2) and spiritual devotion. He believed in divine intervention, but he also believed in military buildup. His biggest influence was his father, the good king Asa (v 4). They were the first father and son team in the southern kingdom that was unflinchingly on God’s side. His father shaped him most but, unlike his father who was stubborn in his old age (2 Chron 16:7-10), the son was teachable throughout his life. The son made a breakthrough and a name for himself in history, and his royal leadership was more impressive than his father’s.

While Jehoshaphat was known for the gifts he received and the great wealth and honor he possessed (v 5), the biggest legacy he left behind was the spiritual revival that he brought continually to the kingdom, that which the 35-year old king ordered and oversaw for the next 25 years he was on the throne (1 Kings 22:42). Revival did not come because of the king’s programs and prosperity, but the king’s pursuit of God. The greatest testament to Jehoshaphat’s reign was the seven times the Hebrew text recorded that he “sought” God and not Baal (2 Chron 17:3, 4, 18:4, 6 7 19:3, 20:3). The word “sought” appeared more times in Jehoshaphat’s case and in his favor than all other kings noted together. He did something that even his father could not do (2 Chron 15:17), that is, he removed the high places from Judah (v 6). Also, while his father was credited with cutting down the Asherah poles (2 Chron 15:16), Jehoshaphat was credited with removing them from Judah (v 6). He more than made a difference; he made a dent. Jehoshaphat did not merely follow his father’s footsteps; he matched his father stride by stride and charted his own course in history. The son’s achievement corresponded with the Chinese sayings, “Green stems from blue (color), but surpasses the blue 青出於籃勝於籃-” or “Back ocean waves (those after) pushing the front waves (those before) 長江後浪推前浪.”

Not one to rest on his laurels after he was firmly seated on the throne, settled and secure in his reign, Jehoshaphat made lasting changes instead of cosmetic changes. In the third year of his reign (v 7) he appointed four head officials (Hebrew for “prince”), nine Levites and two priests and sent them throughout the towns of Judah to teach the people the law of the Lord, with the Book of the Law of the Lord in tow. This word “teach” was powerfully used 17 times in Deuteronomy (Deut 4:1, 4:5, 4:10, 4:10, 4:14, 5:1, 5:31, 6:1, 11:19, 14:23, 17:19, 18:9, 20:18, 31:12, 31:13, 31:19, 31:22), especially in Moses’ commission and reminder to teach the law to the children of Israel (Deut 4:10, 11:19, 31:19), but the teaching ministry had fell on hard times and the teaching of the law was not mentioned after Deuteronomy. What an object lesson the traveling Book of the Law was. The first public exhibition of the Book of the Law of the Lord created a stir, sparked a revival, and dismayed their enemies (v 10), who later showered Jehoshaphat with gold and silver and livestock as tribute and gifts (v 11).

Jehoshaphat reached the pinnacle of a king’s reign and power in his heyday. The same Hebrew word for “exceedingly” (17:12), powerful translated as “more and more” powerful in NIV, was used to describe Solomon’s stature before the latter’s famous fall (1 Chron 29:25, 2 Chron 1:1).

GET YOUR PRINCIPLES RIGHT
18:1 Now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor, and he allied himself with Ahab by marriage. 2 Some years later he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle for him and the people with him and urged him to attack Ramoth Gilead. 3 Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied, “I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will join you in the war.” 4 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the LORD.” 5 So the king of Israel brought together the prophets-four hundred men-and asked them, “Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?” “Go,” they answered, “for God will give it into the king’s hand.” 6 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?” 7 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say that,” Jehoshaphat replied. 8 So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.” 9 Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance to the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them. 10 Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron horns, and he declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.’” 11 All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. “Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious,” they said, “for the LORD will give it into the king’s hand.” 12 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, as one man the other prophets are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.” 13 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I can tell him only what my God says.” 14 When he arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?” “Attack and be victorious,” he answered, “for they will be given into your hand.” 15 The king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?” 16 Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the LORD said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’” 17 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?” 18 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing on his right and on his left. 19 And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’ “One suggested this, and another that. 20 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, ‘I will entice him.’ “‘By what means?’ the LORD asked. 21 “‘I will go and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said. “‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’ 22 “So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you.” 23 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped Micaiah in the face. “Which way did the spirit from the LORD go when he went from me to speak to you?” he asked. 24 Micaiah replied, “You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room.” 25 The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king’s son, 26 and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.’” 27 Micaiah declared, “If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Mark my words, all you people!” 28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 29 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. 30 Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.” 31 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “This is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him. God drew them away from him, 32 for when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him. 33 But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king told the chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” 34 All day long the battle raged, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then at sunset he died. (2 Chron 18:1-34)

Lucy and her grandma went to church every Sunday. The old lady was very religious and boasted that she hadn’t missed a Sunday in forty years. You can’t imagine Lucy’s surprise when the old girl walked up in the middle of the new preacher’s sermon. Lucy took off after the old lady and caught up with her two miles up the road.

“Gran, what on earth made you do such a thing?” demanded Lucy. “That sermon of his was over!” snapped Granny.

“Why, he was only half through. He done preached against gamblin’, and he done preached against gossipin’, and he was just startin’ on drinkin’ when you got up and left.” “That’s what I mean,” said the old lady. “He was done preachin’. He was just startin’ in on meddlin’.” (George Jessel, Toastmaster General’s Favorite Jokes 66-67, Secaucus, NJ/Castle/73)

Confronting sin is an unpopular and impossible task to the weak and the unprincipled. It’s been said, “Confrontation is caring enough about another person to get the conflict on the table and talk about it.”

Jehoshaphat thought a little give and take with Ahab, rubbing shoulders, scratching backs and massaging egos would not hurt, but a prophet begged to differ. The southern king allied himself with Ahab by marriage. His daughter-in-law was the daughter of the northern kingdom’s King Ahab, who was the most evil king in Israel up to this point. The Bible says Ahab did more evil in the eyes of the Lord and did more to provoke the Lord to anger than previous kings of Israel (1 Kings 16:30-33). King Ahab and his queen Jezebel’s equally-evil daughter Athaliah, in time to come, will lead two generations of Judah kings – Jehoram and his son Ahaziah - astray after Jehoshaphat’s death (2 Kings 8:16-18, 2 Kings 8:25-27, 2 Chron 24:7), order the elimination and execution all the king’s other sons and then seize the throne and rule the land for six years after his son Ahaziah’s death (2 Chron 22:10-12).

Jehoshaphat learned the hard way of the danger in associating and aligning with wicked king Ahab, which he could refuse. One thing led to another. His son’s marriage to Ahab’s daughter was bad enough, but the middle-age 53-year-old Jehoshaphat, in the eighteenth year of his reign (2 Kings 3:1) made it worse by agreeing to join forces with Ahab in war against Ahab’s enemies. The godly king was too ready to please, too quick to reply and too related to resist (v 3). It was a harrowing experience and a death wish to be in Ahab’s company; the good king almost lost his decent life for the wrong reason. Ahab convinced the trusting, naive and compliant Jehoshaphat to wear his robes while the former himself battled in disguise (18:29), in effect making Jehoshaphat the target because the Syrians’ war and beef was with Ahab, not Jehoshaphat.

Jehoshaphat was so unguarded, unthinking and unsuspecting that God had to help him twice. First, he sent his prophet Micaiah to warn the king, but still the king did not get the message. When the king did not get it, God had a plan B. He made the pursuers realized at the last minute that they were after the wrong king. They shot the right king in the end with a random and straying arrow. Jehoshaphat was a smart king who could stabilize a country and win a war by himself but he let his guard down in the company of so-called friends and relatives. Most of all, he let the Lord down by risking his life without sense, making himself a needless target and hanging out with godless people. He had a good heart to seek the Lord’s guidance (18:4, 6, 7), but his chumminess with Ahab clouded his judgment. His social ties were too strong and too close to enable him to differentiate between friend from foe and fakes.

GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT
19:1 When Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem, 2 Jehu the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him and said to the king, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, the wrath of the LORD is upon you. 3 There is, however, some good in you, for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles and have set your heart on seeking God.” 4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers. 5 He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah. 6 He told them, “Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for man but for the LORD, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. 7 Now let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Judge carefully, for with the LORD our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.” 8 In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, priests and heads of Israelite families to administer the law of the LORD and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem. 9 He gave them these orders: “You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the LORD. 10 In every case that comes before you from your fellow countrymen who live in the cities-whether bloodshed or other concerns of the law, commands, decrees or ordinances-you are to warn them not to sin against the LORD; otherwise his wrath will come on you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not sin. 11 “Amariah the chief priest will be over you in any matter concerning the LORD, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the tribe of Judah, will be over you in any matter concerning the king, and the Levites will serve as officials before you. Act with courage, and may the LORD be with those who do well.” (2 Chron 19:1-11)

A scorpion, being a poor swimmer, asked a turtle to carry him on his back across a river. “Are you mad?” exclaimed the turtle. “You’ll sting me while I’m swimming and I’ll drown.”

“My dear turtle,” laughed the scorpion, “if I were to sting you, you would drown and I would go down with you. Now, where is the logic in that?” “You’re right,” cried the turtle. “Hop on!”

The scorpion climbed aboard and halfway across the river gave the turtle a mighty sting. As they both sank to the bottom, the turtle resignedly said, “Do you mind if I ask you something? You said there’d no logic in your stinging me. Why did you do it?” “It has nothing to do with logic,” the drowning scorpion sadly replied. “It’s just my character.”

Some people are best to beware and not to befriend.

The Lord, through the mouth of His servant Jehu, censured Jehoshaphat but did not condemn him because it was not a flaw in character, it was a flaw in judgment. His sin was the sin of ignorance and not of insubordination. It was a first and not a frequent mistake. It was a slip-up and a set-up. Still, Jehoshaphat deserved a good tongue lashing for he had no boundaries with Ahab, held back nothing from him and treated him like best friends. The southern king had to learn to distant himself from those who despise the Lord. The problem with Jehoshaphat was that he was a kindly man who wanted to help others and to show support (2 Chron 19:2), but the problem was he was too close (“love”) to those who did not share his values and belief. The disliked Ahab was the only king in the Bible accused of hating God (2 Chron 19:2). Jehoshaphat was not like Ahab by any stretch of imagination. The choice of word “hate” was not lightly mentioned and not a gross exaggeration. Ahab himself confessed to hating God’s servant, the prophet Micaiah (2 Chron 18:7), in the previous chapter.

However, a funny thing happened on the way to God’s wrath upon Jehoshaphat (2 Chron 19:2). The king made the biggest U-turn in history. Extraordinary good deeds and continual spiritual reform marked his reign, and God was merciful and lenient in wrath and judgment to the repentant king. Not that Jehoshaphat had forgotten about the lesson, but he raised his performance index and gave 110% to God. There was work to be done, judges to be appointed (2 Chron 19:6) and widespread reform to the cities. The reinvigorated king took God’s words to heart and passed on the lesson to the Levites, priests and heads of Israelite families whom he appointed to administer the law of the Lord and to settle disputes. He exhorted them to serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord and warned them not to sin against the Lord; otherwise God’s wrath will come on all involved (2 Chron 19:9-10).

Jehoshaphat appointed judges in each of the fortified cities of Judah (2 Chron 19:5), literally putting the fear of the Lord in them (19:7). The word “injustice” should be translated as “wickedness” – this is the only time translated as “injustice.” Jehoshaphat was the only southern king to talk openly of wickedness, impartiality and bribery. In fact, the Hebrew words “partiality” – literally “respecter of faces,” and “bribe” are original to Jehoshaphat. The king had learned his lesson: he had given face and shown favor to Ahab just because they were related and he paid a heavy price for it. He previously lost his coolness and lost his brains and head when he faced relatives. It’s been said, “Charity begins at home.” Jehoshaphat realized he had lots to do in Judah itself.

The long-winded king was the only king in the Bible to lecture or belabor the word “faithfully” and “wholeheartedly” (2 Chron 19:9). Yes, he was grumpy and nagging but for the better. The legacy of Jehoshaphat was incredible. A repented guy did so much good. If that was not enough, the third wave of reform was round the corner. He rid the land of the rest of the male shrine prostitutes who remained there even after the reign of his father Asa and, next time round, had the courage to say “No” to Ahab’s son who wanted them to join forces in sailing and trading (1 Kings 22:46-49).

Conclusion: People deceive themselves when they think they have no options, encounter no obstacles and receive no objections when they are tempted. 1 Corinthians says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” Do you listen to what God says, not what people say? Do you choose your friends or let them choose you? Do you give your best or second best to God?