THE STRENGHTS AND WEAKNESSES OF
KING JEHOSHAPHAT
2 Chronicles 17: 3
Sermon by:
Rev. H.A. Bergsma
PUBLISHED BY
PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE
OF THE
FREE REFORMED CHURCHES OF NORTH AMERICA.
(August 2005)
LITURGY:
Votum
Psalter 349
Law of God
Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 17: 1 - 6
2 Chronicles 18: 1 - 4, 28, 29
2 Chronicles 19: 1 - 7
1 Kings 22: 41 – 50
Text: 2 Chronicles 17: 3
Psalter 227
Congregational Prayer
Offerings
Psalter 282
Sermon
Psalter 394
Thanksgiving Prayer
Psalter 407
Doxology: Psalter 404: 5
Congregation of the Lord,
Some of the kings in Old Testament times had very interesting lives … and very instructive lives too!
The Lord had peculiar dealings with some of them, and some of them have become memorials of the Lord’s grace.
I wish to speak to you about one of such kings of Old Testament times, namely King Jehoshaphat, and explore some of the things of his life and times, and hopefully, receive some instructive tips from it all.
King Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, and reigned as king in Judah from 872 to 848 B.C. … which is about 80 years after King Solomon.
His name “Jehoshaphat” is telling. It means: “Jehovah shall judge.”
And the Lord Jehovah did judge him … favourably, we may believe, because we can read of him that the Lord was with Jehoshaphat.
But this does not mean that everything was smooth and straight and sweet for Jehoshaphat.
And there is where some instructive tips may come in for you and me.
We have read several Bible passages about King Jehoshaphat’s life from the First Book of Kings and from the Second Book of Chronicles.
They are just a few “snap-shots” of his life, so to speak.
In our text we are told the following … 2 Chronicles 17:3 “And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim.”
This is what you must remember first and foremost … the Lord was with Jehoshaphat.
But there is more to Jehoshaphat’s story.
Therefore, let us consider the story of King Jehoshaphat’s life by this theme …
AND THE LORD WAS WITH JEHOSHAPHAT … BUT!
1. The Strength Of Jehoshaphat’s Reign.
2. The Set-Backs In Jehoshaphat’s Reign.
3. The Weakness Of Jehoshaphat’s Reign.
Congregation,
King Jehoshaphat lived in a turbulent time of Israel’s history.
The nation was divided into two kingdoms.
There was the Kingdom of Israel, and the Kingdom of Judah.
The Kingdom of Israel had consistently evil kings, but some good kings were to be enjoyed in the Kingdom of Judah.
King Jehoshaphat was one of such good kings.
He began his reign over Judah when he was 35 years old, and he ruled the Kingdom of Judah for 25 years.
It was obvious to all that he wanted to walk in the ways of the Lord, and those ways of the Lord brought religious reforms to the land.
This was the strength of Jehoshaphat’s reign.
One of the first things that could be said of him when he became king was that he “sought not unto Baalim” as those of the Kingdom of Israel were doing.
King Jehoshaphat wanted nothing to do with the Baal worship … in fact, we read in verse 6 of our text-chapter that “he took away the high places and groves out of Judah.”
Another notable thing he did was that he put the Sodomites out of the land.
In other words, he did not permit practicing homosexuals to live in the land.
In 2 Chronicles 19 we read more about his religious reform.
Not only did he want to break his people from the Baal worship and its perversions (apparently the gay-scene was part of it), but he also wanted to bring the people back to the worship of the Lord.
This was done by instituting religious teaching classes, and by appointing judges throughout the land.
All the teachers and judges were to be “God-fearing” people, so that the Lord’s ways would be taught and practiced.
King Jehoshaphat himself set the example of “God-fearing” worship, by going up to the temple at Jerusalem, and there praying publicly for his people, for their spiritual well-being and for their physical protection against enemies.
Much like what King Solomon had done some 80 years before him.
Before going to war, King Jehoshaphat insisted on enquiring of the Lord by way of the Lord’s prophets, and while at war, he encouraged his people to strengthen themselves in the Lord.
In short, King Jehoshaphat took a lead in religious reforms: he broke with the things that were evil, and he re-instituted the ways and worship of the Lord.
Again, this was the strength of Jehoshaphat’s reign.
I suppose it would not be out of line (though not politically correct) to suggest that our land could use such sort of religious reforms as done in Jehoshaphat’s reign.
But perhaps we should begin with ourselves personally … the breaking with sin and returning in the ways and worship of the Lord.
Our text say that the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first (or: in the former) ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baal.
Personal reform comes before family reforms, or congregational or national reform.
We might lament the spiritual state of our nation … and it is indeed a sad state of affairs.
A modern brand of Baal worship is on the rise, along with all its perversions – Sodomites and all!
You might lament the spiritual state of the congregation, and perhaps you have some reason for it … be it deadness, dullness, coldness, unfriendliness, worldliness, or whatever.
And I do get to hear one of those labels once in a while in my meetings with elderly or with young people.
You might lament the spiritual state of your own family; you say it is hard to get the children to church or be involved in church-activities; the children are scattering and doing their own thing.
In other words, you would love to see some reforming done in the congregation, and in the family.
But remember dear people!
Personal reform comes before family, congregational, or national reform.
Personal reform comes first.
Are you, personally, doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord?
Are you, personally, walking in the ways of the Lord?
Are you, personally ready and willing to break with sin, whatever sin this might be?
Our Bible-text speaks of the Baal-practices; but sin, and the practice of it comes in many forms and shades, and whatever it is … it must be broken with personally, before any right worship of the Lord can be instituted or legislated by you.
Jehoshaphat set the right example for his people … he personally worshipped the Lord, and the Lord was with him … and therefore could he institute the worship of the Lord in Judah and legislate it to his people.
This was the strength of Jehoshaphat’s reign.
(II)
But still, having said that, this is not all that can be said about Jehoshaphat’s reign.
As we must consider in the second place: The Set-Backs In Jehoshaphat’s Reign.
Not everything went smoothly in his reign.
For instance … he constantly had to be on the war-alert.
He had to build strong fortified cities
He had to enlist many men so that he would have a strong military presence around him at all times.
He had to engage in a military arms race, so to speak, with his neighbor, particularly with the Kingdom of Israel.
No doubt, such a military arms race was a costly enterprise.
Now, during the early years of his reign the immediate neighboring nations did not dare to challenge him and his armies.
But as time grew on, things changed.
We read in 2 Chronicles 20 that a great host of enemies threatened him … a combined force from Moab and of Ammon and a great multitude from beyond the sea, and from Syria.
That particular threat was taken care of, miraculously by the Lord.
But it goes to show that Jehoshaphat, unlike Solomon, did not enjoy a reign of peace.
A more striking set-back is recorded for us in 1 Kings 22:48 … Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.
Apparently, a fleet of ships, meant for the high seas, and meant to bring much gold to Judah, never made it far out.
We are not told, but the fleet most likely smashed in a storm on the rocks at Eziongeber.
Historians tell us that this event damaged the economy of Judah considerably.
Another striking set-back is recorded for us in 1 Kings 22:43 … Nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places.
In the beginning of Jehoshaphat’s reign we hear of him taken away the Baal altars and the groves, and putting the Sodomites out of the land.
But at the end of his reign it has to be reported that he was not successful in doing so.
The high places were not taken away, and the Baal worship, with the Sodomite-cult, was not eradicated.
A final striking setback for Jehoshaphat’s reign, although he himself did not experience it in his lifetime, was the murder of his 6 sons by their older brother.
You can read of it in 2 Chronicles 21.
Jehoshaphat himself was spared the sorrow of such an horrific tragedy … but surely it tells us something of the state his family was in.
Now, if Jehoshaphat did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and if it can be said that the Lord was with Jehoshaphat … (which is a wonderful thing to be said and to know) …why were there still such set-backs in the life and times of Jehoshaphat?
Why were there such blemishes on Jehoshaphat’s reign and why such terribly upsetting things in his family?
Why were the blessings in Jehoshaphat’s reign at best only mixed blessings?
(III)
We must explore this in the last place, and with the Lord’s help derive some instructive tips from it, under the heading of The Weakness Of Jehoshaphat’s Reign.
Congregation, there were some notable weaknesses in King Jehoshaphat personally, and in his reign.
First of all something about his religious reforms.
We noted that at the beginning of his reign he removed the high-places and the groves, and put the Sodomites out of the land.
In other words, he got rid of the Baal worship.
But at the end of his reign it is reported that the high-places were still there “for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places.”
It seems that Jehoshaphat slackened off in his reforms during the course of his reign.
He lost his zeal for reforms during the course of his reign.
He started off well, but he did not keep it up!
Isn’t this often a danger with us as well?
In personal life … when you are born-again, that is to say, when you come newly into the faith, you have a great zeal for the Lord and a real commitment to reform your way of life.
You break with your former sinful ways and even with former sinful friends, because sin is no longer a pleasure for you, and the company of friends you enjoyed before is no longer enjoyable company to you.
You do away with what you know is displeasing to the Lord, because what displeases the Lord, displeases you.
But as time goes on, certain sins creep back into your life again; you lose some of that reforming zeal, and you allow far more in your life than what you should.
The excitement of the newly found faith is no longer there.
The zeal for the Lord is waning; and your commitment to Him isn’t quite there as it was before.
Perhaps your spiritual situation is become like those whom Jesus addresses in Revelation 2, who are told that they had left their first love.
If so, Jesus tells you: “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”
If such is the case with you, you are addressed by the Word this hour!
There was another weakness of Jehoshaphat’s reign that should provide us with an instructive tip: he made some alliances with one king in particular, which he should never have made.
It was an alliance with the wicked King Ahab of the Kingdom of Israel.
It is a dark blotch on his reign where we read in 1 kings 22:44 that he made peace with the king of Israel.
It was an unholy alliance that should never have been made, and which would give Jehoshaphat much pain and grief yet.
Dear people!
Unholy alliances are still being made everyday by Christians.
Such unholy alliances could simply be in the form of having sinful friends, of which the Bible warns that “bad company ruins good morals.”
Young people! Be careful in choosing your friends.
You might think that you are strong enough spiritually, but sinful friends can easily lead you astray, often without you realizing it.
The marriage of a believer to an unbeliever is another form of an unholy alliance.
This is a greater spiritual danger than many wish to admit.
The Bible warns for this sort of thing when it says that we should not be unequally yoked together. (2 Cor.6:14)
There is another matter closely related to it … and I know it is a sensitive area, but I believe it needs to be addressed: even marrying someone from another church-federation with different, or non-Reformed doctrinal emphasis, can be construed as being unequally yoked, and can bring on many problems.