Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and strengthened himself against Israel. He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken. Yahweh was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and didn’t seek the Baals, but sought to the God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not in the ways of Israel. Therefore Yahweh established the kingdom in his hand. All Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honor in abundance. His heart was lifted up in the ways of Yahweh. Furthermore, he took away the high places and the Asherah poles out of Judah. Also in the third year of his reign he sent his princes, even Ben Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah; and with them the Levites, even Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests. They taught in Judah, having the book of Yahweh’s law with them. They went about throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people. The fear of Yahweh fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute. The Arabians also brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams, and seven thousand seven hundred male goats. Jehoshaphat grew great exceedingly; and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah. He had many works in the cities of Judah; and men of war, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem. This was the numbering of them according to their fathers’ houses: From Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor; and next to him Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred eighty thousand; and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself to Yahweh, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor. From Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield; and next to him Jehozabad, and with him one hundred eighty thousand ready and prepared for war. These were those who waited on the king, in addition to those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.
Parallel Translations
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Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and strengthened himself against Israel.
He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken.
Yahweh was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and didn’t seek the Baals,
but sought to the God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not in the ways of Israel.
Therefore Yahweh established the kingdom in his hand. All Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honor in abundance.
His heart was lifted up in the ways of Yahweh. Furthermore, he took away the high places and the Asherah poles out of Judah.
Also in the third year of his reign he sent his princes, even Ben Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah;
and with them the Levites, even Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests.
They taught in Judah, having the book of Yahweh’s law with them. They went about throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.
The fear of Yahweh fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.
Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute. The Arabians also brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams, and seven thousand seven hundred male goats.
Jehoshaphat grew great exceedingly; and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah.
He had many works in the cities of Judah; and men of war, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem.
This was the numbering of them according to their fathers’ houses: From Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor;
and next to him Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred eighty thousand;
and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself to Yahweh, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor.
From Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield;
and next to him Jehozabad, and with him one hundred eighty thousand ready and prepared for war.
These were those who waited on the king, in addition to those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.
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And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel.
And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken.
And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim;
But sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.
Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance.
And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah.
Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Ben-hail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah.
And with them he sent Levites, even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah, Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests.
And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.
And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.
Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and tribute silver; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he goats.
And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store.
And he had much business in the cities of Judah: and the men of war, mighty men of valour, were in Jerusalem.
And these are the numbers of them according to the house of their fathers: Of Judah, the captains of thousands; Adnah the chief, and with him mighty men of valour three hundred thousand.
And next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand.
And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the LORD; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour.
And of Benjamin; Eliada a mighty man of valour, and with him armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand.
And next him was Jehozabad, and with him an hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for the war.
These waited on the king, beside those whom the king put in the fenced cities throughout all Judah.
Show all 3 translations
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And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel.
And he placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken.
And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto the Baalim;
but sought to the God of his father, and walked in His commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.
Therefore the LORD established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance.
And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD; and furthermore he took away the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.
Also in the third year of his reign he sent his princes, even Ben-hail, and Obadiah, and Zechariah, and Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah;
and with them the Levites, even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah, the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests.
And they taught in Judah, having the book of the Law of the LORD with them; and they went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught among the people.
And a terror from the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.
And some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and silver for tribute; the Arabians also brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he-goats.
And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles and cities of store.
And he had many works in the cities of Judah; and men of war, mighty men of valour, in Jerusalem.
And this was the numbering of them according to their fathers' houses: of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him mighty men of valour three hundred thousand;
and next to him Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand;
and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the LORD, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour;
and of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valour, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield;
and next to him Jehozabad, and with him a hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for war.
These were they that waited on the king beside those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (179)
- 2 Chronicles 18:1 (vv5, 12) Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and he allied himself with Ahab.
- 2 Kings 22:2 (v3) He did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, and walked in all the way of David his father, and didn’t turn away to the right hand or to…
- Isaiah 41:10 (v3) Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will…
- 2 Chronicles 35:3 (vv7, 9) He said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy to Yahweh, “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king…
- Matthew 6:33 (v5) But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.
Show all 100 cross-references
- Psalms 127:1 (v5) Unless Yahweh builds the house, they who build it labor in vain. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain.
- Matthew 2:11 (v5) They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they…
- 2 Timothy 4:22 (v3) The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.
- 2 Chronicles 26:8 (vv1, 11) The Ammonites gave tribute to Uzziah. His name spread abroad even to the entrance of Egypt; for he grew exceedingly strong.
- Genesis 39:2-3 (v3) Yahweh was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. He was in the house of his master the Egyptian. His master saw that Yahweh was with…
- Genesis 39:21 (v3) But Yahweh was with Joseph, and showed kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
- Joshua 1:9 (v3) Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.”
- Judges 6:12 (v3) Yahweh’s angel appeared to him, and said to him, “Yahweh is with you, you mighty man of valor!”
- 1 Kings 12:28 (v4) So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look and behold…
- 2 Chronicles 14:14 (v10) They struck all the cities around Gerar; for the fear of Yahweh came on them, and they plundered all the cities; for there was much plunder…
- Job 42:12 (v5) So Yahweh blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of…
- Psalms 46:11 (v3) Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.
- Ecclesiastes 12:9-10 (v7) Further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. Yes, he pondered, sought out, and set in order many proverbs.…
- Matthew 28:20 (v3) teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
- Exodus 15:14-16 (v10) The peoples have heard. They tremble. Pangs have taken hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed.…
- Exodus 34:24 (v10) For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither shall any man desire your land when you go up to appear before…
- Judges 5:9 (v16) My heart is toward the governors of Israel, who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless Yahweh!
- 1 Samuel 10:27 (v5) But certain worthless fellows said, “How could this man save us?” They despised him, and brought him no present. But he held his peace.
- 2 Chronicles 9:14 (v11) in addition to that which the traders and merchants brought. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and…
- 2 Chronicles 15:3 (v7) Now for a long time Israel was without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law.
- 2 Chronicles 15:8 (v2) When Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of…
- 2 Chronicles 16:9 (v10) For Yahweh’s eyes run back and forth throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward…
- 2 Chronicles 32:23 (v5) Many brought gifts to Yahweh to Jerusalem, and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah; so that he was exalted in the sight of all…
- Nehemiah 8:7-8 (v7) Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused…
- Proverbs 16:7 (v10) When a man’s ways please Yahweh, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
- Hosea 14:9 (v6) Who is wise, that he may understand these things? Who is prudent, that he may know them? For the ways of Yahweh are right, and the…
- 1 Peter 5:10 (v5) But may the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, perfect,…
- 2 Chronicles 32:5 (vv1, 12) He took courage, built up all the wall that was broken down, and raised it up to the towers, with the other wall outside, and strengthened…
- 2 Chronicles 32:27-29 (vv5, 12) Hezekiah had exceedingly much riches and honor. He provided himself with treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices,…
- Genesis 35:5 (v10) They traveled, and a terror of God was on the cities that were around them, and they didn’t pursue the sons of Jacob.
- Joshua 1:5 (v3) No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor…
- Judges 5:2 (v16) “Because the leaders took the lead in Israel, because the people offered themselves willingly, be blessed, Yahweh!
- 2 Samuel 5:10 (v3) David grew greater and greater; for Yahweh, the God of Armies, was with him.
- 2 Samuel 8:2 (v11) He struck Moab, and measured them with the line, making them to lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and one…
- 1 Kings 15:24 (v1) Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in his father David’s city; and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.
- 1 Chronicles 22:18 (v3) “Isn’t Yahweh your God with you? Hasn’t he given you rest on every side? For he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand; and…
- 1 Chronicles 29:9 (v16) Then the people rejoiced, because they offered willingly, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to Yahweh; and David the king…
- 2 Chronicles 8:2-6 (v12) Solomon built the cities which Huram had given to Solomon, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there. Solomon went to Hamath Zobah,…
- 2 Chronicles 14:6-7 (v12) He built fortified cities in Judah; for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years, because Yahweh had given him rest. For he…
- 2 Chronicles 15:17 (v6) But the high places were not taken away out of Israel; nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
- 2 Chronicles 17:2 (v19) He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his…
- 2 Chronicles 20:33 (v6) However the high places were not taken away, and the people had still not set their hearts on the God of their fathers.
- 2 Chronicles 27:4 (v12) Moreover he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and in the forests he built fortresses and towers.
- 2 Chronicles 30:22 (v7) Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who had good understanding in the service of Yahweh. So they ate throughout the feast for…
- Nehemiah 8:13-14 (v7) On the second day, the heads of fathers’ households of all the people, the priests, and the Levites were gathered together to Ezra the…
- Nehemiah 9:3 (v7) They stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of Yahweh their God a fourth part of the day; and a fourth part they…
- Psalms 51:13 (v7) Then I will teach transgressors your ways. Sinners will be converted to you.
- Psalms 68:29 (v5) Because of your temple at Jerusalem, kings shall bring presents to you.
- Psalms 119:1 (v6) Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to Yahweh’s law.
- Ecclesiastes 1:12 (v7) I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 8:10 (v3) Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand, for God is with us.”
- Matthew 1:23 (v3) “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel;” which is, being interpreted,…
- Luke 1:6 (v4) They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
- Luke 4:43-44 (v7) But he said to them, “I must preach the good news of God’s Kingdom to the other cities also. For this reason I have been sent.” He was…
- John 5:46 (v9) For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote about me.
- Acts 1:1 (v7) The first book I wrote, Theophilus, concerned all that Jesus began both to do and to teach,
- 1 Thessalonians 2:12 (v4) to the end that you should walk worthily of God, who calls you into his own Kingdom and glory.
- Genesis 13:2 (v5) Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
- Genesis 26:13-14 (v5) The man grew great, and grew more and more until he became very great. He had possessions of flocks, possessions of herds, and a great…
- Exodus 3:12 (v3) He said, “Certainly I will be with you. This will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt,…
- Exodus 4:12 (v3) Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak.”
- Deuteronomy 4:5 (v7) Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as Yahweh my God commanded me, that you should do so in the middle of the land…
- Deuteronomy 8:13-14 (v5) and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; then your…
- Deuteronomy 33:10 (v7) They shall teach Jacob your ordinances, and Israel your law. They shall put incense before you, and whole burnt offering on your altar.
- Joshua 2:9-11 (v10) She said to the men, “I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants…
- 2 Samuel 7:25-26 (v5) Now, Yahweh God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant, and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do as you have…
- 2 Samuel 8:15 (v3) David reigned over all Israel; and David executed justice and righteousness for all his people.
- 1 Kings 4:21 (v5) Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and…
- 1 Kings 9:4-5 (v5) As for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that…
- 1 Kings 10:25 (v5) Year after year, every man brought his tribute, vessels of silver, vessels of gold, clothing, armor, spices, horses, and mules.
- 1 Kings 10:27 (v5) The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and cedars as common as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland.
- 1 Kings 11:6 (v3) Solomon did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and didn’t go fully after Yahweh, as David his father did.
- 1 Kings 22:43 (v6) He walked in all the way of Asa his father. He didn’t turn away from it, doing that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes. However the high…
- 2 Kings 3:4 (v11) Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder; and he supplied the king of Israel with the wool of one hundred thousand lambs, and of one…
- 2 Kings 8:18 (v4) He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did Ahab’s house; for he married Ahab’s daughter. He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s…
- 2 Kings 17:19 (v4) Also Judah didn’t keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
- 2 Kings 18:3 (v3) He did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, according to all that David his father had done.
- 1 Chronicles 27:25-31 (v13) Over the king’s treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and over the treasures in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in…
- 2 Chronicles 1:15 (v5) The king made silver and gold to be as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars to be as common as the sycamore trees that are in…
- 2 Chronicles 9:27 (v5) The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars to be as abundant as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland.
- 2 Chronicles 15:2 (v3) and he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin! Yahweh is with you, while you are with him; and if…
- 2 Chronicles 15:8-13 (v3) When Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of…
- 2 Chronicles 17:5 (v11) Therefore Yahweh established the kingdom in his hand. All Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honor in abundance.
- 2 Chronicles 19:3 (v6) Nevertheless there are good things found in you, in that you have put away the Asheroth out of the land, and have set your heart to seek…
- 2 Chronicles 19:8 (v8) Moreover in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed Levites and priests, and of the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel, for the judgment of…
- 2 Chronicles 26:6-9 (v12) He went out and fought against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built…
- 2 Chronicles 26:10-15 (v13) He built towers in the wilderness, and dug out many cisterns, for he had much livestock; in the lowland also, and in the plain. He had…
- 2 Chronicles 34:3-7 (v6) For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he…
- Ezra 7:1-6 (v8) Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, the son…
- Psalms 18:21-22 (v6) For I have kept the ways of Yahweh, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his ordinances were before me. I didn’t put away…
- Psalms 34:11 (v7) Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.
- Psalms 46:7 (v3) Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.
- Psalms 72:10 (v5) The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
- Psalms 76:11 (v5) Make vows to Yahweh your God, and fulfill them! Let all of his neighbors bring presents to him who is to be feared.
- Psalms 132:1-5 (v3) Yahweh, remember David and all his affliction, how he swore to Yahweh, and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: “Surely I will not come into…
100 distinct cross-references across this passage (179 total citations).
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Explain this passage (27 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 14, 15, 16, 19 That is, his virtues: meaning before he had committed…
That is, his virtues: meaning before he had committed with Bathsheba, and against Uriah.
Sought not help at strange Gods.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19 2Ch 17:1 And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his…
2Ch 17:1 And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel.
Ver. 1. And Jehoshaphat his son reigned.] See 1Ki 15:24.
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And strengthened himself against Israel.] Or, Upon Israel; i.e., upon that part of it which was subject to him.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 19 Against the king and people of Israel, who had…
Against the king and people of Israel, who had molested the kingdom of Judah with wars all the days of Asa, after that sin of his mentioned 2Ch 16:2, &c.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 10 Here we find concerning Jehoshaphat,
Here we find concerning Jehoshaphat,
I. What a wise man he was. As soon as he came to the crown he strengthened himself against Israel, Ch2 17:1. Ahab, an active warlike prince, had now been three years upon the throne of Israel, the vigour of his beginning falling in with the decay of Asa's conclusion. It is probable that the kingdom of Israel had, of late, got ground of the kingdom of Judah and began to grow formidable to it; so that the first thing Jehoshaphat had to do was to make his part good on that side, and to check the growing greatness of the king of Israel, which he did so effectually, and without bloodshed, that Ahab soon courted his alliance, so far was he from giving him any disturbance, and proved more dangerous as a friend than he could have been as an enemy. Jehoshaphat strengthened himself not to act offensively against Israel or invade them, but only to maintain his own, which he did by fortifying the cities that were on his frontiers, and putting garrisons, stronger than had been, in the cities of Ephraim, which he was master of, Ch2 17:2. He did not strengthen himself, as his father did, by a league with the king of Syria, but by fair and regular methods, on which he might expect the blessing of God and in which he trusted God.
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II. What a good man he was. It is an excellent character that is here given him. 1. He walked in the ways of his father David. In the characters of the kings, David's ways are often made the standard, as Kg1 15:3, Kg1 15:11; Kg2 14:3; Kg2 16:2; Kg2 18:3. But the distinction is nowhere so strongly marked as here between his first ways and his last ways; for the last were not so good as the first. his ways, before he fell so foully in the matter of Uriah (which is mentioned long afterwards as the bar in his escutcheon, Kg1 15:5), were good ways, and, though he happily recovered from that fall, yet perhaps he never, while he lived, fully retrieved the spiritual strength and comfort he lost by it. Jehoshaphat followed David as far as he followed God and no further. Paul himself thus limits our imitation of him (Co1 11:1): Follow me, as I follow Christ, and not otherwise. Many good people have had their first ways, which were their best ways, their first love, which was their strongest love; and in every copy we propose to write after, as we must single out that only which is good, so that chiefly which is best. The words here will admit another reading; they run thus: He walked in the ways of David his father (Hareshonim), those first ways, or those ancient ways. He proposed to himself, for his example, the primitive times of the royal family, those purest times, before the corruptions of the late reigns came in. See Jer 6:16. The Septuagint leaves out David, and so refers it to Asa: He walked in the first ways of his father, and did not imitate him in what was amiss in him, towards the latter end of his time. It is good to be cautious in following the best men, lest we step aside after them. 2. He sought not to Baalim, but sought to the Lord God of his father, Ch2 17:3, Ch2 17:4. The neighbouring nations had their Baalim, one had one Baal and another had another; but he abhorred them all, had nothing to do with them. he worshipped the Lord God of his father and him only, prayed to him only and enquired of him only; both are included in seeking him. 3. That he walked in God's commandments, not only worshipped the true God, but worshipped him according to his own institution, and not after the doings of Israel, Ch2 17:4. Though the king of Israel was his neighbour and ally, yet he did not learn his way. Whatever dealings he had with him in civil matters, he would not have communion with him, nor comply with him in his religion. In this he kept close to the rule. 4. His heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord (Ch2 17:6), or he lifted up his heart. He brought his heart to his work, and lifted up his heart in it; that is, he had a sincere regard to God in it. Unto thee, O Lord! do I lift up my soul. His heart was enlarged in that which is good, Psa 119:32. He never thought he could do enough for God. He was lively and affectionate in his religion, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, cheerful and pleasant in it; he went on in his work with alacrity, as Jacob, who, after his vision of God at Bethel, lifted up his feet, Gen 29:1, margin. He was bold and resolute in the ways of God and went on with courage. His heart was lifted up above the consideration of the difficulties that were in the way of his duty; he easily got over them all, and was not frightened with winds and clouds from sowing and reaping, Ecc 11:4. Let us walk in the same spirit.
III. What a useful man he was, not only a good man, but a good king. He not only was good himself, but did good in his generation, did a great deal of good. 1. He took away the teachers of lies, so images are called (Hab 2:18), the high places and the groves, Ch2 17:6. It is meant of those in which idols were worshipped; for those that were dedicated to the true God only were not taken away, Ch2 20:33. It was only idolatry that he abolished. Nothing debauched the nation more than those idolatrous groves or images which he took away. 2. He sent forth teachers of truth. When he enquired into the state of religion in his kingdom he found his people generally very ignorant: they knew not that they did evil. Even in the last good reign there had been little care taken to instruct them in their duty; and therefore Jehoshaphat resolves to begin his work at the right end, deals with them as reasonable creatures, will not lead them blindfold, no, not into a reformation, but endeavours to have them well taught, knowing that that was the way to have them well cured. In this good work he employed, (1.) His princes. Those about him he sent forth; those in the country he sent to teach in the cities of Judah, Ch2 20:7. He ordered them, in the administration of justice, not only to correct the people when they did ill, but to teach them how to do better, and to give a reason for what they did, that the people might be informed of the difference between good and evil. The princes or judges upon the bench have a great opportunity of teaching people their duty to God and man, and it is not out of their province, for the laws of God are to be looked upon as laws of the land. (2.) The Levites and priests went with the princes, and taught in Judah, having the book of the law with them, Ch2 17:8, Ch2 17:9. They were teachers by office, Deu 33:10. Teaching was part of the work for which they had their maintenance. The priests and the Levites had little else to do. But, it seems, they had neglected it, pretending perhaps that they could not get the people to hear them. "Well," says Jehoshaphat, "you shall go along with the princes, and they with their authority shall oblige the people to come and hear you; and then, if they be not well instructed, it is your fault." What an abundance of good may be done when Moses and Aaron thus go hand in hand in the doing of it, when princes with their power, and priests and Levites with their scripture learning, agree to teach the people the good knowledge of God and their duty! These itinerant judges and itinerant preachers together were instrumental to diffuse a blessed light throughout the cities of Judah. But it is said, They had the book of the law of the Lord with them. [1.] For their own direction, that thence they might fetch all the instructions they gave to the people, and not teach for doctrines the commandments of men. [2.] For the conviction of the people, that they might see that they had a divine warrant for what they said and delivered to them that only which they received from the Lord. Note, Ministers, when they go to teach the people, should have their Bibles with them.
IV. What a happy man he was. 1. How happy he was in the favour of his God, who signally owned and blessed him: The Lord was with him (Ch2 17:3); the word of the Lord was his helper (so the Chaldee paraphrase); the Lord established the kingdom in his hand, Ch2 17:5. Those stand firmly that have the presence of God with them. If the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, that will establish the work of our hands and establish us in our integrity. 2. How happy he was in the affections of his people (Ch2 17:5): All Judah brought him presents, in acknowledgment of his kindness in sending preachers among them. The more there is of true religion among a people the more there will be of conscientious loyalty. A government that answers the end of government will be supported. The effect of the favour both of God and his kingdom was that he had riches and honour in abundance. It is undoubtedly true, though few will believe it, that religion and piety are the best friends to outward prosperity. And, observe, it follows immediately, His heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord. Riches and honour in abundance prove to many a clog and a hindrance in the ways of the Lord, an occasion of pride, security, and sensuality; but they had a quite contrary effect upon Jehoshaphat: his abundance was oil to the wheels of his obedience, and the more he had of the wealth of this world the more was his heart lifted up in the ways of the Lord.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–19 And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead,.... In…
And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead,.... In the stead of Asa his father:
and strengthened himself against Israel; the ten tribes, by fortifying his cities, building castles, raising and keeping a large standing army, as the latter part of this chapter shows, and the next verse.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 19 Jehoshaphat is established in his kingdom, ver. 1-3. His…
Jehoshaphat is established in his kingdom, ver. 1-3. His piety, ver. 4-6. He sends Levites to teach Judah, ver. 7-9. His influence over his neighbours, ver. 10, 11. His greatness, captains and armies, ver. 12-19.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 19 Jehoshaphat succeeds his father Asa, and reigns piously, and
CHAPTER XVII
Jehoshaphat succeeds his father Asa, and reigns piously, and
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is particularly blessed, 14.
He establishes an itinerant ministry, for the instruction of
the people, through all the cities of Judah, which produces
the most beneficial effects, 7-10.
The Philistines and Arabians bring him gifts, 11.
His greatness, 12, 13.
The commanders of his troops, 14-19.
NOTES ON CHAP. XVII
Verse 1. Jehoshaphat - and strengthened himself against Israel] The kingdoms of Israel and Judah were rivals from the beginning; sometimes one, sometimes the other, prevailed. Asa and Baasha were nearly matched; but, after Baasha's death, Israel was greatly weakened by civil contentions, and Jehoshaphat got the ascendancy. See 1Kg 16:16-23.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 19 2Ch 17:1. Jehoshaphat strengthened himself against Israel — Against…
2Ch 17:1. Jehoshaphat strengthened himself against Israel — Against the king and people of Israel, who had molested the kingdom of Judah with wars all the days of Asa, after that sin of his, mentioned 2Ch 16:2, &c. Ahab had now been three years upon the throne of Israel, an active, warlike prince. The vigour of the beginning of his reign falling in with the decay of the conclusion of Asa’s, it is probable the kingdom of Israel had of late gained ground of the kingdom of Judah, and become formidable to it; so that Jehoshaphat wisely judged that the first thing he had to do was to strengthen himself on that side, and check the growing greatness of the king of Israel; which he did so effectually, and without bloodshed, that Ahab soon courted his alliance, (so far was he from giving him any disturbance,) and proved more dangerous as a friend, than he could have been as an enemy.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 14 Jehoshaphat ascended the throne in the fourth year of…
Jehoshaphat ascended the throne in the fourth year of Ahab 1Ki 22:41, probably after that monarch had contracted his alliance with the royal family of Sidon, and before he was engaged in war with Syria. It was thus not unnatural that Jehoshaphat should begin his reign by strengthening himself against a possible attack on the part of his northern neighbor.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 19 Israel. In consequence of the civil broils, which ensued…
Israel. In consequence of the civil broils, which ensued after the death of Baasa. The two kingdoms had been nearly equal.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 d. Jehoshaphat: the Prophets Michah Son of Imlah and…
d. Jehoshaphat: the Prophets Michah Son of Imlah and Jehu Son of Hanani.—Ch. 17–20
α. Jehoshaphat’s Measures for the external and Internal Defence of his Kingdom: 2Ch_17:1-9
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2Ch_17:1.And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel. 2And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah, and placed garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which 3Asa his father had taken. And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat; for he walked in the former ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim. 4But sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in His commandments, 5and not after the doing of Israel. And the Lord stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought presents to Jehoshaphat; and he had riches and honour in abundance. 6And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord; and, moreover, he took away the high places and Asherim out of 7Judah. And in the third year of his reign he sent his princes, Benhail,1 and Obadiah, and Zechariah, and Nethaneel, and Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. 8And with them the Levites, Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth,2 and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah, Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests. 9And they taught in Judah, and had with them the book of the law of the Lord, and went round all the cities of Judah, and taught among the people.
β. The Effects of these Measures: Jehoshaphat’s increasing Power: 2Ch_17:10-19
10And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that 11were around Judah, and they warred not with Jehoshaphat. And some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and silver in abundance; the Arabs also brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and 12seven thousand and seven hundred he-goats. And Jehoshaphat became ever greater to the highest degree; and he built in Judah castles and cities with stores. 13And he had much store in the cities of Judah: and men of war, 14mighty men of valour, in Jerusalem. And this was the muster of them after their father-houses: of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the chief, 15and with him mighty men of valour three hundred thousand. And at his hand Jehohanan the chief, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand. 16And at his hand Amasiah son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the Lord; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour. 17And of Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valour, and with him, armed with bow 18and shield, two hundred thousand. And at his hand Jehozabad, and with 19him a hundred and eighty thousand equipped for the war. These were they who ministered to the king, besides those whom the king had placed in the fenced cities in all Judah.
γ. Jehoshaphat’s Affinity with Ahab, and the War against Ramoth-gilead: 2 Chronicles 18
2Ch_18:1 And Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined 2affinity with Ahab. And in the course of years he went down to Ahab to Samaria: and Ahab killed for him, and the people that were with him, sheep and oxen in abundance; and he persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth-gilead. 3And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramoth-gilead? And he said to him, I am as thou, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war. 4And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Ask now this day the 5word of the Lord. And the king of Israel gathered the prophets, four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; and God will give it into the hand 6of the king. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we may ask of him? 7And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we may inquire of the Lord; but I hate him, because he never prophesied good to me, but always evil: that is Michah son of Imlah: and Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
8And the king of Israel called a chamberlain, and said, Fetch quickly Michah3 son of Imlah. 9And the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, sat each on his throne, clothed in robes, and they sat in a floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. 10And Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made him iron horns, and said, Thus saith the Lord, With these thou shalt push Syria, until they are consumed. 11And all the prophets prophesied so, and said, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper; and the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
12And the messenger that went to call Michah spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets are with one mouth good for the king: let now thy 13word then be as one of them, and speak thou good. And Michah said, As 14the Lord liveth, what my God saith, that will I speak. And he came to the king; and the king said unto him, Michah, Shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand. 15And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee, that thou speak nothing to me but truth in the 16name of the Lord? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master; let them return every man to his house in peace. 17And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good to me, but evil?
18And he said, Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord; I saw the Lord sitting upon His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right 19hand and on His left. And the Lord said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said4 this, 20and another said that. And the spirit came forth, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will entice him: and the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? 21And he said, I will go forth, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets: and He said, Thou shalt entice, and shaft also prevail: go forth, and do so. 22And now, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy 23prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee. And Zedekiah son of Chenaanah drew near, and smote Michah on the cheek, and said, Which way 24went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak with thee? And Michah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day when thou goest from chamber to chamber 25to hide thyself. And the king of Israel said, Take ye Michah, and carry him 26back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son. And say ye, Thus saith the king, Put him in the prison, and let him eat bread of trouble, 27and water of trouble, until I return in peace. And Michah said, If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me: and he said, Hear, all ye people.
28And the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, went up to Ramoth-gilead. 29And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Disguised I will go into the battle; but thou put on thy robes: and the king of Israel disguised 30himself, and they went into the battle. And the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, Fight ye not with small or great, but only with the king of Israel. 31And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, This is the king of Israel; and they compassed about him to fight; and Jehoshaphat cried out, 32and the Lord helped him, and God turned them away from him. And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king 33of Israel, that they turned from after him. And a man drew a bow in his simplicity, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: and he said to the charioteer, Turn thy hand,5 and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. 34And the battle went up in that day, and the king of Israel was standing in the chariot against Syria until the evening; and he died at the time of the sun setting.
δ. Judgment of Jehu the Prophet on the Covenant of Jehoshaphat with Ahab: 2Ch_19:1-3
2Ch_19:1.And Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned home in peace to Jerusalem. 2And Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Must we help the wicked, and shouldst thou love them that 3hate the Lord? and for this is wrath upon thee from the Lord. Yet good things are found with thee; for thou hast destroyed the Asherim out of the land, and thou hast directed thy heart to seek God.
ε. Jehoshaphat’s further Reforms of Worship and Law: 2Ch_19:4-11
4And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again among the people, from Beersheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back to the 5Lord God of their fathers. And he appointed judges in the land, in all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city. 6And said to the judges: See what ye do; for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord; and He is with you in judgment. 7And now let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed and do ye; for with the Lord our God is neither iniquity, nor respect of persons, 8nor taking of gift.—And also in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed of the Levites and priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Israel, for the judgment 9of the Lord, and for pleading; and they returned to Jerusalem. And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of the Lord, with 10truth and a perfect heart. And in6 every plea that cometh before you of your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, ye shall advise them, that they trespass not against the Lord, so that wrath come upon you and your brethren: thus shall ye do, and not trespass.7 11And, behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you for every matter of the Lord; and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for every matter of the king; and the Levites are officers before you: take courage, and do ye, and the Lord will be with the good.
ζ. Jehoshaphat’s Victory over the Moabites, Ammonites, and other Nations of the East: 2Ch_20:1-30
Ch. 20. .And 1it came to pass after this, that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, and with them of the Meunites,8 came against Jehoshaphat to battle. 2And they came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh against thee a great multitude from beyond the sea, from Syria; and, behold, they are at 3Hazezon-tamar, that is Engedi. And Jehoshaphat was afraid,9 and set his 4face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast over all Judah. And the Jews assembled to seek the Lord: even from all the cities of Judah came they to seek the Lord. 5And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, 6in the house of the Lord, before the new court. And said, Lord God of our fathers, art not Thou God in heaven, and ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and in thy hand are strength and might, and none is with Thee 7to withstand Thee. Hast not Thou, our God, driven out the inhabitants of this land before Thy people Israel, and given it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend for ever? 8And they dwelt therein, and built Thee a sanctuary therein 9for Thy name, saying: If evil come upon us, sword, judgment, or pestilence or famine, we shall stand before this house, and before Thee—for Thy name is in this house—and shall cry unto Thee out of our affliction: then Thou wilt hear and help. 10And now, behold, the sons of Ammon, and Moab, and mount Seir, whom thou wouldst not let Israel invade, when they came out of the 11land of Egypt, but they departed from them, and destroyed them not. And, behold, they requite us by coming to cast us out of Thy possession which 12Thou hast given us. Our God, wilt Thou not judge them? for in us is no might against this great multitude that cometh against us; and we know not what we shall do: but our eyes are upon Thee. 13And all Judah stood before the Lord, and their little ones, their wives, and their sons.
14And upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation. 15And he said, Attend ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat; Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed before this great multitude; 16for the battle is not yours, but God’s. To-morrow go ye down against them: behold, they go up by the hill of Haziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17Ye shall not have to fight here: step forth, stand ye, and see the help of the Lord who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear ye not, nor be dismayed; to-morrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you. 18And Jehoshaphat bowed his face to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, to worship the Lord. 19And the Levites of the sons of Kohath, and of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with an exceeding loud voice.
20And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, Hear ye me, Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and ye shall be established; believe in His prophets, and ye shall prosper. 21And he advised the people, and appointed men singing unto the Lord, and praising in holy beauty, when they go out before the armed men, and saying, 22Give thanks to the Lord; for His mercy endureth for ever. And at the time when they began with song and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and 23they were smitten. And the sons of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, to cut off and destroy them; and when they had ended with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
24And Judah came to the watch-tower in the wilderness, and looked to the multitude; and, behold, they lay as corpses on the earth, and none escaped. 25And Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, and they found with them in abundance, goods and corpses,10 and costly vessels; and they stripped off for themselves more than they could carry; and they were three days taking the spoil, for it was great. 26And on the fourth day they assembled in the valley of blessing; for there they blessed the Lord: therefore they 27called the name of the place the valley of blessing unto this day. And they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, to return to Jerusalem with gladness; for the Lord had made them glad over their enemies. 28And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries, and harps, and trumpets, unto the house of the Lord. 29And the fear of God was upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord fought against 30the enemies of Israel. And the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; for his God gave him rest round about.
η. End of the Reign of Jehoshaphat: 2Ch_20:31-37
31And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty and five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem and his mother’s name was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi. 32And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and departed not from it, so that he did that 33which was right in the sight of the Lord. Only the high places were not taken away, and the people had not yet directed their heart to the God of their fathers.
34And the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the words of Jehu son of Hanani, which are inserted in the book of the kings of Israel.
35And afterwards Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah 36king of Israel: he was wicked in his doing. And he allied himself with him, 37to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made ships in Ezion-geber. And Eliezer, son of Dodavah11 of Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast allied thyself with Ahaziah, the Lord hath broken thy work: and the ships were wrecked, and were not able to go to Tarshish.
EXEGETICAL
Besides the report in 2 Chronicles 18 of the unsuccessful campaign of Jehoshaphat and Ahab against Ramoth-gilead, agreeing almost literally with 1Ki_22:2-35 and the closing section 2Ch_20:30-37, which coincides partly in matter and partly in form with 1Ki_22:41-51, the Chronist presents in this enlarged history of the reign of Jehoshaphat only original matter, serving to supplement the books of Kings, and that on the basis of those “words” or records of Jehu ben Hanani, which he himself names as his source in 2Ch_20:34.
1. Jehoshaphat’s Measures for the Internal and External Defence of the Kingdom: 2Ch_17:1-9.—Strengthened himself against Israel, endeavoured to defend and secure himself against attack on the side of Israel (comp. 2Ch_1:1). This was obviously in the first part of his reign, before he formed affinity with Ahab (2Ch_18:1), and so long as the recollection of Baasha’s attack on his predecessor Asa operated.
2Ch_17:2. Placed garrisons in the land;נְצִיבִים, military posts, as 1Ch_9:16. On b, comp. 2Ch_15:8.
2Ch_17:3. For he walked in the former ways of his father David, not in the later ways of David, which were characterized by his crimes regarding Uriah and Bathsheba, by the foolish step of numbering the people, etc.—Sought not unto Baalim.לְhere and in the following verse is nota accusativi, after the later usage. The Baalim (comp. Jdg_2:11) comprise all kinds of idolatry, even that finer kind, consisting in the worship of Jehovah under certain animal forms, which is designated in the following verse as the “doing of Israel” that was avoided by Jehoshaphat.
2Ch_17:5. And the Lord stablished the kingdom in his hand; comp. 2Ki_14:5. On the following מִנְחָה, “gift” (= נְדָבוֹת, Psa_110:3), comp 2Ch_17:11, where the term denotes the tribute of a subject people. On “riches and honour in abundance,” see 2Ch_18:1, also 1Ch_29:28; 2Ch_1:12.
2Ch_17:6 ff. The Internal Defence of the Kingdom by the Extirpation of Idolatry and the Instruction of the People in the Law.—And his heart was lifted up. in the ways of the Lord, showed a heightened courage to proceed in a godly walk; גָּבַהּ לֵב here, otherwise than in 2Ch_26:16, 2Ch_32:25, etc., not in the bad sense of an ungodly pride, but sensu bono. The following “and moreover” (וְעוֹד) points back to 2Ch_17:3. For the “high places” and Asherim, comp. on 2Ch_14:2.
2Ch_17:7. And in the third year of his reign; according to Hitzig’s not improbable conjecture (Geschichte, pp. 9 ff., 198 f.), a jubilee year, and indeed the year 912 b.C. The five princes, nine Levites, and two priests named in the following verse are otherwise unknown.
2Ch_17:9. And they taught in Judah, on the basis of the presently named “book of the law of the Lord,” the religious and civil enactments of which, on the occasion of this solemn ecclesiastical visitation of Jehoshaphat (Starke and other ancients), were brought to the recollection and impressed anew on the attention of the Jews. This mention of the book of the law under Jehoshaphat, almost 300 years before Josiah’s renewed inculcation and vindication of its authority, is of no small apologetic importance. It shows that, if not the whole Pentateuch in its present form, yet a work already approaching to its present compass, was already extant in the tenth century b.C. (comp. also on 2Ch_15:13). And indeed the concrete, detailed, and definite nature of the present notice leaves no doubt of this, that not merely the Chronist living after the exile, but his much older voucher, contemporary with the recorded fact (probably Jehu ben Hanani), bears this testimony to the existence of the Torah at so early a date.
2. The Effects of these Measures: Jehoshaphat’s increasing Power: 2Ch_17:10-19.—And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands (almost literally so, 2Ch_20:29; comp. also 2Ch_14:13; 2Ch_12:8, etc.). Rightly Rambach observes: Erat hoc prœmium pietatis Josaphati, quod vicini satisque potentes hostes non auderent adversus ipsum hiscere. On the contrary, Berth. perverts the theocratic causal nexus set forth clearly enough by the writer, when he remarks on this passage: “Jehoshaphat had time to attend to the instruction of his people, because the neighbouring nations did not then venture to make war on Judah.”
2Ch_17:11. And some of the Philistines brought. מִן־פְּלִשְׁתִּים is subject (with partitive מִן).—And silver in abundance, literally, “and silver a load”; comp. 2Ch_20:25. Falsely the Vulg., which assigns to the term מַשָּׂא, “load,” the meaning “tribute” (vectigal).—The Arabs also (עַרְבִים = עַרְבִיאִים; see 2Ch_21:16, 2Ch_22:1), the Beduin tribes of north-western Arabia, perhaps those whom Asa had subdued by the victory over Zerah (comp. 2Ch_14:14.).
2Ch_17:12. And Jehoshaphat became ever greater. The construction according to Ew. § 280, b; עַד־לְמַעְלָה, as in 2Ch_16:12.—And he built in Judah castles.בִּירָנִיּוֹת, plur. of בִּירָנִית (= בִּירָה) a Syrian form occurring only here and 2Ch_27:4. “Cities with stores,” as 2Ch_8:4.
2Ch_17:13. And he had much store. So rightly Luther, Starke, Keil, Kamph., etc. Of the same signification is מְלָאכָה, Exo_22:7-10. Otherwise (Vulg. opera magna, Clericus, Berth., Neteler, etc.): “much labour, great preparations,” to which, however, b does not suit; comp. also 2Ch_11:11.
2Ch_17:14. And this was the muster of them, the result of the muster, or also their “order”; comp. 1 Chron. 24:49.—Of Judah, the captains of thousands, leaders, field-marshals. The following statement of the three Jewish divisions of the army under Adnah, Jehohanan, and Amasiah, and of the two divisions of Benjamin under Eliada and Jehozabad (2Ch_17:15-18), is certainly historical, if we only mark the concrete form, bearing the stamp of direct historical truth, of the notice concerning Amasiah: “who willingly offered himself unto the Lord,” and also the circumstance that the kind of armour worn by the Benjamites agrees with earlier statements (comp. 1Ch_8:40; 2Ch_14:7). But the exceedingly high numbers, which give for Judah alone 780,000, for Benjamin 380,000, and thus for both tribes together the total of 1,160,000 warriors, form no inconsiderable difficulty; comp. the Evangelical and Ethical Reflections.
2Ch_17:19. These were they who ministered to the king.אֵלֶּה, “these,” refers to the five generals or commanders, not to the thousands of warriors. Likewise the following clause: “whom the king had placed in the fenced cities in all Judah,” refers to other officers besides those five, not to other troops besides those already enumerated.
3. Jehoshaphat’s Affinity with Ahab: the Campaign against Ramoth-gilead: 2 Chronicles 18 Comp. 1Ki_22:2-35, and Bähr on this passage. Here are only the statements peculiar to the Chronist to be expounded.—And Jehoshaphat . . . joined affinity with Ahab, in this way, that he gave his son Joram in marriage to Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel; see 2Ch_21:6.12 This affinity, which occasioned the subsequent visit of Jehoshaphat to Ahab, and the participation in his unfortunate campaign, is here clearly mentioned as something mischievous, attended with destructive effects, as the first link of a chain of misfortunes (comp. 2Ch_19:2); the וְ before יִתְחַתֵּן has accordingly, as it were, an adversative force, and the verse expresses this thought: “Although Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, yet he was so foolish as to make affinity with Ahab.” Comp. S. Schmidt, Josaphatus, cetera dives et gloriosus, infelicem adfinitatem cum Achabo, rege Israeli-tarum, contrahit, etc. See, for the rest, Evangelical and Ethical Reflections.
2Ch_18:2. And in the course of years, nine years, as the comparison of 1Ki_22:2; 1Ki_22:41 with 2Ki_8:26 shows; the affinity of Jehoshaphat with Ahab by the marriage of Joram and Athaliah must, according to these passages, have fallen in the eighth, and the death of Ahab, in the campaign against Ramoth, in the seventeenth, year of Jehoshaphat’s reign.—And he persuaded him, partly by the great banquets and hospitalities which he prepared in his honour (comp. הֵסִית, “entice, tempt,” in such places as Jdg_1:14; Job_2:3; Deu_11:7, etc.). In 1Ki_12:3, instead of this persuasive influence on Jehoshaphat, is set forth rather the political motive of Ahab to begin the war against the Syrians in Ramoth-gilead; our author is silent on this, because on principle he does not wish to recount anything of the deeds or enterprises of the northern king.
2Ch_18:5. Gathered the prophets, four hundred men. 1 Kings: “about 400 men,” which is the more correct, as the number is obviously a round one.—Shall we go; in 1 Kings: “Shall I go,” in harmony with the following אִם אֶחְדָּל, “or shall I forbear.” Inversely in 1 Kings (2Ch_18:14) both verbs are plural.
2Ch_18:7. Prophesied . . . always evil, literally, all his days (כָּל־יָמָיו), a phrase emphasizing the opposition, which is wanting in 1 Kings.
2Ch_18:9. And they sat in a floor. The וְיוֹשְׁבִים, superfluous on account of the preceding יוֹשְׁבִים, is wanting in 1 Kings.
2Ch_18:14. And they shall be delivered into your hand. Instead of this very definite prediction (which is certainly ironical), the parallel text in 1 Kings has, more indefinitely: “And the Lord shall deliver it into the king’s hand.”
2Ch_18:19. See the Crit. Notes.
2Ch_18:23. Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me? Instead of this circumstantial אֵי זֶה הַדֶּרֶךְ (comp. 1Ki_13:1; 2Ki_3:8), 1Ki_22:24 has the simpler and shorter אֵי זֶה.
2Ch_18:26. Let him eat bread of trouble, and water of trouble. Possible is also the translation proposed by Kamph. with reference to Psa_60:5 : “Let him eat as bread of trouble,” etc.
2Ch_18:30. And the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots. In 1 Kings the number of these captains (thirty-two) is also given, by reference to the earlier war, 1Ki_20:24.
2Ch_18:31. And the Lord helped him, and God turned them away from him. This religious reflective remark is wanting in 1Ki_22:32, but is by no means a hindrance to the connection, as Berth, thinks, but rather a very seasonable enunciation of that which, to the writer, necessarily formed the point and force of the whole narrative.
2Ch_18:34. And the king of Israel was standing in the chariot. Instead of the partic. Hiph.מַֽעֲמִיד “holding himself upright,” 1Ki_22:35 has, less distinctly, the Hoph.מָֽעֲמָד “held upright.” The close of the whole narrative, containing accounts of the return of the defeated army, and the more particular circumstances of the death of Ahab (1Ki_22:36-39), is omitted by our author, because it belongs properly to a history of the northern kingdom.
4. The Prophet Jehu’s Judgment on the Covenant with Ahab: 2Ch_19:1-3.—And Jehoshaphat . . . returned home in peace to Jerusalem, so that the prophecy of Michah (2Ch_18:16) was fulfilled in him.
2Ch_19:2. And Jehu the son of Hanani . . . went out to meet him: the same prophet who, 1Ki_16:1, had acted under Baasha in the northern kingdom; perhaps a son of that Hanani whom Asa in wrath had ordered into prison (2Ch_16:7 ff.).—Must we help the wicked, and shouldst thou love them that hate the Lord? The construction is as in 1Ch_5:1; 1Ch_9:25 (לְ with the infin.). It is to be supposed that the words are spoken in earnest indignation, but they turn with their displeasure rather against the idolatrous tyrant Ahab than against Jehoshaphat, who only for a season walked by his side.—And for this is wrath upon thee from the Lord; camp. 1Ch_27:24, and with קֶצֶף מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָֹה the simpler קֶצֶף יְהוָֹה2Ch_32:26. The words point prophetically to the soon after occurring dangerous invasion of the Ammonites, Moabites, and Meunites, and also to the unfortunate sea-voyage from Ezion-geber, 2 Chronicles 20 :
2Ch_19:3. Yet good things are found with thee, things worthy of praise; comp. 2Ch_12:12; 1Ki_14:13. For b (where the fem. הָֽאֲשֵׁרוֹת appears instead of the usual plur. masc.), comp. 2Ch_17:4 f., 2Ch_12:14.
5. Jehoshaphat’s further Reforms of Worship and Law: 2Ch_19:4-11.—And he went out again among the people, literally, “and he turned and went.” Reference is made to the former going out, 2Ch_17:7 ff. The following statement of the south and north boundary of the kingdom of Judah; “from Beersheba to Mount Ephraim,” is copied after the similar formula: “from Dan to Beersheba,” which refers to the whole land of Israel; comp. Jdg_20:1; 2Sa_3:10; 2Sa_17:11; 1Ki_5:5.—And brought them back to the Lord, “made them return”; comp. 2Ch_24:19.
2Ch_19:5. City by city, or “in every city” (וָעִיר לְעִיר; comp. 1Ch_26:29), according to he legal precept, Deu_16:18.
2Ch_19:6. Not for man, but for the Lord, in God’s name, and according to His holy will, as Θεοῦ διάκονοι, Rom_13:4; comp. also Pro_16:11.—And he is with you in the judgment, in the judicial decision, in passing sentence; comp. Deu_17:9, also 2Ch_1:17; Exo_21:6; Exo_22:7, etc. The supplying of יְהוָֹה as subject to וְעִמָּכֶם is indispensable, as the failure of all attempts to explain it without this supplement, for example, that of the Vulg. (et quodcunque judicaveritis, in vos redundabit), shows.
2Ch_19:7. And now let the fear of the Lord be upon you in a preserving way, that ye may beware of judging unjustly. For the phrase, comp. 2Ch_17:10.—Take heed, and do ye, do it in a heedful, conscientious way, cum diligentia cuncta facite (Vulg.). On the following words, comp. Deu_10:17; Deu_16:19; Psa_89:7; Act_10:34.
2Ch_19:8-11. The Supreme Tribunal instituted by Jehoshaphat in Jerusalem,—an institution resting on Exo_18:19; Exo_18:26, Deu_17:8-13; comp. Keil, Bibl. Archœol. ii. 250 ff.—And also in Jerusalem, not merely in the various fenced cities (2Ch_19:5), where judges of inferior instance were appointed. That besides Levites and priests, laymen, “of the chiefs of the fathers of Israel,” tribe-chiefs out of the rest of the people, are named as appointed by Jehoshaphat to be judges, involves no contradiction of 1Ch_23:4; 1Ch_26:29, according to which David had appointed 6000 Levites as “judges and officers” (שׁטרים); for that these Levites should exclusively administer the law was not there asserted.—For the judgment of the Lord, and for pleading. Synonymous with לְמִשְׁפַּט יְהוָֹה stands, 2Ch_19:11, לְכֹל דְּבַר יְהוָֹה, “for every matter of the Lord”; and synonymous with לָרִיב that passage gives לְכֹל דְּבַר הַמֶּלֶךְ “for every matter of the king or the state”; so that the sense of the whole is: “for all matters relating to religion or polity.” As examples of the former, Berth. well adduces disputes concerning the release of the first-born, dues to the temple, the clean and the unclean, etc.—And they returned to Jerusalem; Jehoshaphat and the commission accompanying him returned from their journey through the country and the fenced cities of Judah to Jerusalem; comp. 2Ch_19:4. As this statement would have been more suitable before 2Ch_19:8, and as any reference of it to others than Jehoshaphat and his companions (for example, to the Levites, priests, and chiefs nominated for the new supreme court, as Rambach, Starke, and others think) is inadmissible, the change proposed by Kamph. of וַיָּשֻׁבוּ into וַיֵּשְׁבוּ “and they dwelt in Jerusalem” (the supreme judges just nominated), appears not inappropriate.
2Ch_19:9. Thus shall ye do, as is fully stated in 2Ch_19:10. On בְּלֵב שָׁלֵם, “with undivided heart,” comp. 2Ch_15:17, 2Ch_16:9; 1Ki_8:61.
2Ch_19:10. And in every plea.בָּל־רִיב stands before as cas. absol.; the וְ before is explicative; comp. Grit. Note. As “brethren who dwell in their cities” those are designated who bring appeals from the country or the smaller cities of Judah and Benjamin before the supreme court at Jerusalem, and demand its higher decision; comp. Deu_17:8.—Between blood and blood, in criminal cases which involve murder and homicide (comp. Exo_21:12 ff.). The following phrase: “between law and commandment, statutes and judgments,” applies to a dispute concerning the import or application of certain laws, or a doubt according to what legal enactment the case in point is to be decided (comp. Deu_17:8).—Ye shall advise them, by imparting instruction concerning the decisions of the law, admonish (הִזְהִיר, as in Exo_18:20; Ecc_12:12), that they may not err by the theoretical or practical abuse of the law, and thereby bring guilt (אָשָׁם) upon the whole people.
2Ch_19:11. And, behold, Amariah the chief priest, scarcely different from the fifth high priest after Zadok, mentioned 1 Chron. 5:37 (see on the passage). The “ruler of the house of Judah,” Zebadiah son of Ishmael, is not otherwise known.—And the Levites are officers before you,שֹׁטְרִים, in 1Ch_23:4; 1Ch_26:29.—The Lord will be with the good; וִיהִי is here a future, scarcely an optative: “the Lord be with the good.” Comp. besides, 2Ch_20:17. The good are the judges who discharge their office fitly and well.
6. Jehoshaphat’s Victory over the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites: 2Ch_20:1-30.—And it came to pass after this, after the events related in 2Ch_18:19, which fall perhaps six or seven years before the death of Jehoshaphat, and of which the death of Ahab almost certainly falls in the year 897 b.C. A still more exact date for the present war results from the monument of victory of the Moabitish King Mesha, discovered three years ago, which must have been erected very soon after Ahab’s death, and shortly before the outbreak of the present war, and therefore about 896 b.C. See Schlottmann, “Der Moabiterkönig Mesa,” Stud. u. Krit. 1871, p. 587 ff., especially p. 610 ff.; and comp. beneath, Evangelical and Ethical Reflections, No. 4.—And with them of the Meunites.מֵהָעַמּוֹנִים can scarcely mean, as many of the ancients, and even Hengst. (Gesch. d. Reiches Gottes. ii. 2, 211), think, nations beyond the Ammonites; for even if מִן, according to 1Sa_20:22; 1Sa_20:37, could have the sense “beyond or remote from,” yet 2Ch_20:10; 2Ch_20:22 f. point distinctly to a people inhabiting mount Seir. Accordingly we must read, as ἐκ τῶν Μιναίων of the Sept. indicates (comp. 1Ch_4:41), rather מֵהַמְּעוּנִים, and think of the Meunites (Meinites, 1Ch_4:41, Kethib) inhabiting the city Maon (מָעוֹן) near Petra as their capital. If in the following verse (with Calmet, Keil, and others) מֵאֱדֹם were read instead of the difficult מֵאֲרָם, every scruple against this assumption (proposed by Hiller, Onomast. p. 285, and supported by nearly all the moderns) must vanish. But even without this further emendation, it possesses a high degree of probability; for, according to Josephus, Antiq.ix. 1, 2, they were Arabs, and probably inhabitants of Arabia Petræa, who, in alliance with the Ammonites and Moabites, undertook the expedition against Jehoshaphat; and in 2Ch_26:7 Meunites are named along with Philistines and Arabs as a southern tribe subdued in war by Uzziah.
2Ch_20:2. From beyond the sea, from Syria. For מֵאֲרָם must apparently be read מֵאֱלם, “from Edom or Idumæa” for only this determination of the starting-point agrees with מֵעֵבֶר לְיָם, “beyond the sea” (the Dead Sea); and the Syr. seems to have read מֵאֱדֹם, while the remaining old versions certainly confirm the Masoretic text. If we adhere to it, “Aram” or Syria must at all events be taken in a very wide sense (= North Arabia); comp. Hengst. as quoted.—And, behold, they are at Hazezon-tamar, that is Engedi (comp. Gen_14:1; Jos_15:62; Son_1:14; Robinson, Pal. ii. 439 f.), where Ain Jidy now lies, at the middle of the west shore of the Dead Sea, about fifteen hours from Jerusalem. The army of the allied foes had, it appears, reached this place through a marsh surrounding the south end of the Dead Sea, or by crossing the south ford of this sea (between the eastern peninsula Lisan and the opposite point of the west shore, not far from the valley Engedi; comp. Hoffmann, Blicke in die früheste Gesch. des Gelobten Landes, 2.26 f.).
2Ch_20:3-13. Jehoshaphat and the People seek the Help of the Lord.—And Jehoshaphat … set his face, שׂוּם פָּנִים = נָתַן פָּנִים; comp. Jer_42:15; Dan_9:8. On the “proclaiming of a fast over all Judah,” comp. Jdg_20:26; 1Sa_7:6; Joe_2:15.
2Ch_20:5. Before the new court, the outer or great court (see 2Ch_6:9), that might have been built or repaired in Asa’s or Jehoshaphat’s time, and therefore is here called new. The place before this court, from which Jehoshaphat offered his prayer, was perhaps at the entrance of the inner or priest’s court.
2Ch_20:6. Lord God of our fathers. Jehoshaphat thus addresses God, to remind him of his former benefits to his people, to which is then annexed a reference to his absolute omnipotence; comp. Psa_115:3, and on “None is with Thee, to withstand Thee,” Psa_94:16; 1Ch_29:12; 2Ch_14:10, and like passages.
2Ch_20:7. Comp. Exo_23:20 ff.; Jos_23:9; Jos_24:12; also Gen_13:15 f., 2Ch_15:18.
2Ch_20:9. If evil come upon us, sword, judgment (שְׁפוֹט only here in this sense), or pestilence, etc. The cases enumerated in Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple (2Ch_6:22-39) are here summarily recapitulated.
2Ch_20:10. The sons of Ammon and Moab . . whom Thou wouldst not let Israel invade, from whom our ancestors in the time of Moses and Joshua peacefully withdrew, without attacking them; comp. Num_20:14 ff.; Deu_2:4; Deu_2:9; Deu_2:19; Deu_2:29; Jdg_11:17 f.
2Ch_20:11. And behold = “yea, behold.”—Possession which Thou hast given us, “made us possess,” הוֹרִישׁ, as in Jdg_11:24; Ezr_9:12.
2Ch_20:12. For in us is no might against this great multitude, “before, in the face of this great multitude”; comp. 2Ch_14:9, etc. For the following expression of confidence: “our eyes are upon Thee,” comp. Psa_25:15; Psa_123:2; Psa_141:8. On 2Ch_20:13 (“and their little ones”), comp. Jon_3:5.
2Ch_20:14-17. God’s Answer by the Prophet Jahaziel.—And upon Jahaziel … the Levite of the sons of Asaph. The ancestor in the fifth degree of this Jahaziel is said to be Mattaniah, possibly the same son of Asaph who is called, 1Ch_25:2; 1Ch_25:12, Nethaniah (as מ and נ in the formation of nom.propr. are often interchanged). An identity with Mattaniah the son of Heman, 1Ch_25:4; 1Ch_25:16, is not to be thought of.
2Ch_20:15. The battle is not yours, but God’s; comp. 1Sa_17:47; Neh_4:14; also Mat_10:20.
2Ch_20:16. Behold, they go up by the hill of Haziz, perhaps the Wady el Hasasah on the north border of the wilderness of the same name, which stretches from the Dead Sea to Tekoa, and no doubt corresponds to the here-named “wilderness of Jeruel.” With this reference to El Hasasah corresponds the rendering of the name הַצִּיץ by ’Ασσεῖς in the Sept., whereas certainly Josephus renders the name by ἀνάβασις λεγομένη ἐξοχῆς (Antiq. ix. 1, 2), and thus conceives it as if it were צִיץ (ἐξοχήwith the article; were this view, the necessity of which is by no means established (comp. Ew. Gesch. 2d edit. iii. p. 475), confirmed, the hill of Ziz would have to be identified with the steep pass over Ain Jidy (Robinson, ii. 438, 446).
2Ch_20:17. Ye shall not have to fight here. בָּזֹאת, in this conflict with so great a multitude of foes; comp. 2Ch_20:15.
2Ch_20:18-19. Thanksgiving of Jehoshaphat and the People for the encouraging Promise by the Prophet.—And the Levites of the sons of Kohath and of the Korhites. The second וְ before מִן־בְּנֵי הַקָּרְחִים may be only explicative, as the Korhites descended from Kohath, 1Ch_6:18; 1Ch_6:22.
2Ch_20:20-23. The divine promise is fulfilled by an unexpected self-destruction of the foemen.—And as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood up, probably in the gate by which the warriors went forth (the valley or dung-gate, at all events one of those facing the south). On the words: “believe, and ye shall be established,” comp. Isa_7:9; Isa_28:16; Deu_1:32.
2Ch_20:21. And he advised the people, busied himself as a sound adviser (יוֹעֵץ), by exhorting to confidence in God; in a similar sense stands יִוָּעֵץ אֶל in 2Ki_6:8.—And appointed men singing unto the Lord (לְ in ליהוה as nota genitivi), and praising in holy beauty: לְהַדְרַת־ק׳, otherwise בְּהַדְרַת־ק׳1Ch_16:29; Psa_29:2; Psa_110:3.
2Ch_20:22. And at the time . . . the Lord set an ambush.מְאָֽרְבִים signifies insidiatores, insidiœ (Vulg.), as in Jdg_9:25. By these waylayers .cannot be meant angels sent by God (Piscat. and other ancients, Ew., Kamph., Berth.—doubtful H. Schultz, Theol. des A. T. ii. 322); for such an interference of supernatural powers, good or evil, must have been clearly indicated (as in 2Ki_6:17; 2Ki_19:35). As little can the מארבים be waylaying Jews, because the Jews, according to 2Ch_20:15; 2Ch_20:17; 2Ch_20:24, were merely spectators of the bloody encounter between their opponents. The waylaying without doubt was done by a part of the confederates themselves, probably some of the Meunites, the inhabitants of mount Seir, who, being eager for booty, had laid the crafty ambush, on whose sudden assault the Ammonites and Moabites must have regarded their Meunite allies as traitors, and thereupon opened the wild game of the self-slaughter of their army. Thus in the main, by comparison with the partly similar event in Jdg_7:22 ff., J. H. Mich., Cler., Calm., etc., and recently Keil and Hengst. (Gesch. des R. G. ii. 2, 213 f.), the latter of whom appears inclined to find in מארבים an allusion to the name Arabs (“the predatory swarms,” he thinks, of the tribes of Arabia Petræa and Deserta might have joined the Idumæans), and to lay down a hypothesis similar to that of K. H. Sack (Theol. Aufsatze, Gotha 1871), who wishes to make Arabs (עֲרָבִים) also of the ravens (עֹרְבִים) of Elijah, 1Ki_17:6. Comp. also Schlottmann, p. 611, who endeavours to make out the fanaticism of the Ammonites and Moabites, as heathenish polytheistic opponents of the monotheistic Edomites, to be one of the causes of the massacre, but overlooks the fact that the Edomites had properly no part in the affair.
2Ch_20:23. And when they had ended with the inhabitants of mount Seir, had completely massacred them in the affray that arose; comp. Dan_11:44. On the words: “they helped to destroy one another,” comp., for the substantive מַשְׁחִית22:4; Eze_5:16; Dan_10:8.
2Ch_20:24-30. The Impression of the Event on the Jews and their Neighbours.—And Judah came to the watch-tower in the wilderness, to an elevated point, a rising ground not far from Tekoa, whence the wilderness of Jeruel (2Ch_20:16) might be surveyed.—And none escaped: so at least it appeared. The statement is to be understood as ideal, and not strictly real.
2Ch_20:25. And they found with them in abundance, goods and corpses, and costly vessels. Intermediate between רְכוּשׁ, “goods,” and כְּלֵי חֲמֻדוֹת, “costly vessels” (comp. Dan_11:38), are named “corpses,” obviously very surprising. The reading בְּגָדִים, garments, should therefore at once receive the preference; comp. Jdg_8:25 f.—And they stripped off for themselves more than they could carry, literally “to nothing of carrying”: comp. Num_4:24.
2Ch_20:26. And on the fourth day they assembled in the valley of blessing. This “vale of blessing” (Emek-berachah) must be sought near the field of battle. It is evidently the present Wady Bereikut, west of Tekoa, near the road leading from Jerusalem to Hebron, in which pretty broad and open valley the ruins of a place of the name of Bereikut are still preserved (Robinson, Phys. Geogr. p. 106); comp. the Caphar Baruka of Jerome in the Vita S. Paulœ, with its outlook on the Dead Sea. It is inadmissible, with Thenius and Hitzig (on Joel 4:2, 12, and Gesch. p. 199), to make this valley of blessing the same with the Kidron or the valley of Jehoshaphat. For though Joel 4:11 f. names the site of the present battle “the valley of Jehoshaphat,” it does not follow from this poetico-prophetical designation that he had in view the upper valley of Kidron afterwards so called, which bears this name first in Eusebius, but nowhere in the sacred Scriptures of the Old and New Testament (see Berth. on this passage).
2Ch_20:27. For the Lord had made them glad over their enemies; comp. Ezr_6:22; Neh_12:43.
2Ch_20:29. And the fear of God was upon all the kingdoms of the countries bordering on Judah. On the “fear of God,” comp. 2Ch_17:10; on the last words, 2Ch_15:15, 2Ch_14:4.
7. End of the Reign of Jehoshaphat: 2Ch_20:31-37. Comp. 1Ki_22:41-51, a section which there forms the whole account of the reign of Jehoshaphat, but is therefore amplified with some notices that are wanting here—1. With the statement that “Jehoshaphat had peace with the king of Israel,” 1Ki_22:45 (which appeared superfluous here on account of 1Ki_18:1 ff.); 2. With a passing reference to Jehoshaphat’s might and great deeds, 1Ki_22:46 (which is wanting here in the corresponding 2Ch_20:34, because the most important of these great deeds have been here recorded at length in 1 Kings 17-20); 3. With a remark on the removal of the rest of the Sodomites out of the land, 1Ki_22:47 (which is wanting here, because in the time of Asa, 16, no notice is taken of these Sodomites who are mentioned in 1Ki_15:12); 4. With the notice that Edom had no king, but only a deputy, ver 48 (which is here omitted as unimportant). To these enlargements, as exhibited in the account in 1 Kings compared with our own, are added some partly formal, partly material, deviations, which are set forth in the sequel.
2Ch_20:33. The people had not yet directed their heart. For this 1Ki_22:44 has: “the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places” (comp. 2Ki_12:4; 2Ki_14:4; 2Ki_15:4, etc.).
2Ch_20:34. The rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat . . . are written in the words of Jehu son of Hanani. Comp. on this citation, for which in 1 Kings we find merely “the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah,” Introd. § 5, No. 2.
2Ch_20:35. And afterwards Jehoshaphat allied himself with Ahaziah: he (Ahaziah, not Jehoshaphat, as Berth, thinks) was wicked in his doing. This introduction, containing an unfavourable judgment on the covenant with Ahaziah (similar to that pronounced on the affinity with Ahab, xviii. 1), to the narrative of the unfortunate sea-voyage from Ezion-geber, is wanting in 1 Kings. The אַֽחֲרֵי־כֵן points only in general to the time after the victory over the Ammonites, Moabites, and Meunites. The date of the present undertaking follows more exactly from this, that Ahaziah came to the throne in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat, 897 or 896, and reigned two years, that is, till about 894 b.C.
2Ch_20:36. To make ships to go to Tarshish. On the contrary, 1Ki_22:49 has: “Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold.” The easiest solution of this difference is the assumption of an error on the part of the Chronist, who made out of the ships of Tarshish ships going to Tarshish; comp. Introd. § 6, p. 25. But if we must rather harmonize the two accounts, we must assume either—a. a Tarshish in the direction of Ophir, and thus to the east or south-east, different from the Spanish Tarsis-Tartessus (with. Seetzen and others; comp. excursus on 2 Chronicles 8, No. 1), or b. that the confederates had designed both a voyage to Ophir in the east and a voyage to Tarsis in the west, for the latter of which either a circumnavigation of Africa round the Cape of Good Hope or a crossing of Lower Egypt by the canal of Seti (between the Sin. Heroopolitanus and the Nile) must have been contemplated.
2Ch_20:37. And Eliezer son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied, a prophet only named here and known by the present utterance. On the name Dodavahu, see Crit. Note; for Mareshah, on 1Ch_11:8.—Were not able to go to Tarshish. עָצַר, as 2Ch_13:20, 2Ch_14:10, and elsewhere. On the repeated invitation of Ahaziah to Jehoshaphat to prosecute the undertaking, when it failed at first through this mishap and Jehoshaphat’s refusal, our author says nothing; otherwise 1Ki_22:50.
Evangelical And Ethical Reflections, Homiletic And Apologetic Observations, On Ch. 17–20
1. The history of Jehoshaphat, as our author relates it, certainly exceeds that which is recorded of him in the book of Kings in the richness and multiplicity of its details. But it furnishes no exhaustive or complete picture of that which Jehoshaphat did in war and peace during the twenty-five years of his reign (915–891), as is manifest from this, that the campaign against Mesha of Moab, undertaken in conjunction with Joram of Israel (2 Kings 3), that fell probably in one of the later years of his reign (at least after the erection of the monument of Mesha, as Schlottmann has shown, Stud. u. Krit. 1871, p. 614 ff.), is altogether omitted. But with the completeness, a simple, well-grounded homogeneous form is wanting in the present description. The varied sources used gleam forth throughout; the accounts of war and peace alternate without internal organic connection; the whole by no means bears the character of a narrative produced at a single casting (comp. Berth, p. 350). Yet a certain plan and an overruling simple principle cannot be unobserved in the present sketch. It is obviously the aim of the author to draw in the reign of Jehoshaphat the picture of a government richly blessed of God, and internally, as well as externally, powerful from the good old times of the yet unimpaired theocracy. The fundamental thought which seems to bind the narrative together he expresses in the twice repeated sentence, that “a terror of God came over all the kingdoms of the countries,” with which he accompanies first the rule of Jehoshaphat as prince of peace (2Ch_17:10), and next the great discomfiture of the confederate nations, Moab, Ammon, and Edom (2Ch_20:29). It is the possession of a power far-ruling, spreading’ on all sides great fear and awe, solid, and resting on purely theocratic sentiment and organic development of the inner powers of the theocratic constitution, not on tyranny and conquest, which our author finds to admire and celebrate in Jehoshaphat. Hence he industriously sets forth, along with his orthodox reform of religion, and his endeavours to raise as high as possible the defensive and military power of the Jewish state (2Ch_17:2; 2Ch_17:14 ff.), that also which was undertaken by him for the upholding of the administration of justice, in particular the institution of a supreme court of judicature at Jerusalem (2Ch_19:8-11). He therefore relates of his military undertakings chiefly those which were either accompanied with decisive consequences, or in which at least God’s protective power and gracious help were realized to him on account of his theocratic inclination; thus, of the two wars which, according to 1Ki_22:2 ff., 2Ki_3:1 ff., he undertook as confederate of the northern kingdom, the former, that issued more fortunately for him (that against the Syrians in Ramoth-gilead, 18), is described at full length, and with all the characteristic traits found in the source common to him and the author of the book of Kings; whereas he makes no mention of the second, waged along with Joram against Mesha of Moab, probably on account of its less favourable or at least nearly barren issue.13 Finally, on account of the wish to depict in Jehoshaphat the representative of the Jewish state developed to its full power before the captivity, he expressly places him on a par with David his “father” (forefather); he makes him therefore enjoy the favour and help of Jehovah, because he walked in “the former ways of David,” that is, he worshipped God, in the main at least, and irrespective of the worship still tolerated here and there on the high places, in a theocratically pure and lawful way (2Ch_17:3). With Solomon, of whom Jehoshaphat likewise reminds us as a prince of peace, as a wise and circumspect father of his country, and as an upholder of the administration of justice, he does not compare him, probably because, first, a characteristic element of the reign of Solomon, its great pomp and splendid wealth, appears to have been wanting in the kingdom of Jehoshaphat, and secondly, notwithstanding his endeavours after peace, his reign had taken a far less peaceful course than that of the great Shelomoh (peaceful).
2. Jehoshaphat is the glorious, pious, and mighty David of the southern kingdom: to this result points the whole narrative of our author. From this point of view also will the prodigious numbers be estimated which he gives in describing the disposable forces of Judah and Benjamin under his reign. The there mentioned 780,000 Jews and 380,000 Benjamites can scarcely be accepted as literally true. Their near approach to the numbers resulting from the census taken by David (1Ch_21:5) seems intended to convey the idea that the kingdom of Judah alone had under Jehoshaphat, the alter David, attained a strength which almost matched the power of the twelve still united tribes under the first David (1,100,000 Israelites and 470,000 Jews), that Judah by itself alone had now developed a number and power which surpassed that of the northern tribes at that earlier period. If this be the meaning of those numbers, the less objection needs be made to their surprising magnitude; their ideal character is also plain from the whole connection; and there is as little need to have recourse to the assumption of some error in the transcribing of the numbers or numeral letters,—an expedient, besides, which seems scarcely admissible, on account of the proportionality of the numbers in the several divisions of the troops, as to that of legendary extravagance or arbitrary fiction, whether it be that of the Chronist or of his older voucher (perhaps the prophet Jehu, 2Ch_20:34).14
3. How far, therefore, the author was from imparting to the here and there ideally-coloured picture which he drew of the great heroic king the form of a panegyric legend or a fabulous eulogium; how true, on the contrary, lie remained to his office as a historian,—is shown by the circumstance that here also, as in the case of David, Asa, etc.,. he adds the shade to the light, and by no means passes over in silence a series of less favourable traits of the administration of Jehoshaphat. Especially his affinity with Ahab, the idolatrous king of Israel, is duly set forth as a fatal deviation from the path of theocratic purity and strictness (comp. Ezr_9:1 ff; Ezr_10:1 ff.; Neh_9:2; Neh_13:23 ff.) to the slippery ground of international friendship or affinity with idolatrous neighbours (comp. Solomon’s Egyptian spouse, 2Ch_8:11 f.). On account of this step, and the consequent often going hand in hand with Israel in warlike expeditions, the king had repeatedly to undergo censure by the mouth of God-inspired prophets, first by the stout Jehu ben Hanani, who directly charged him with helping the wicked, and loving them that hate the Lord (2Ch_19:2), afterwards by Eliezer ben Dodavah, who places the failure of the voyage from Ezion-geber under the character of a divine correction for drawing in one yoke with the unbelieving (2Ch_20:37). On the part of two other prophets, indeed, who are introduced in our section, he encounters no such rebuke: Michah son of Imlah treats him when standing out beside Ahab in the favourable light of a relatively theocratic prince, with mild forbearance, and favours him with the promise of a “return in peace” from the defeat and dispersion of the sheep of the house of Israel (2Ch_18:16); and so what the Levite Jahaziel says, before setting out to the war with the eastern nations, includes nothing but admonitions to take courage, and promises of deliverance by the strong hand of the Lord (2Ch_20:14-17). But certainly the critical situations to which these prophetic words refer are in and of themselves sufficiently serious and menacing: they are crises introduced by the fault of the king, by his inconsiderate entering into ungodly alliances and relations, feeble preludes of that which the unhappy marriage of his son with the daughter of Jezebel should afterwards bring down in heavy judgments on his house and people. On this account, in the dangerous posture of affairs introduced in this way, along with solemn rebuke, comforting encouragement was in place; the certainly guilty king, deserving of punishment, but not in the same degree as the sovereigns of Israel, was yet one with whom, as the rough Jehu acknowledged, “good things were found” (2Ch_19:3). He deserved along with reproving instruction also strengthening encouragement, that he might continue to walk in the ways of his fathers David and Asa (2Ch_17:3, 2Ch_20:32). He was worthy to be aroused to abide in the path of theocratic righteousness, that at least under his rule the inevitable evil effects of that affinity with an idolatrous house might be restrained as far as possible, and the people retained in that moderate state of piety and morality which is indicated (2Ch_20:33) by the sentence: “the people had not yet directed their heart to the God of their fathers.” What he himself says and does, also, in conformity with such encouraging and strengthening words of the prophets, bears the stamp of true repentance, humble acknowledgement of his guilt, and firm continuance in the path of tighteousness. As the reproof of Jehu appears to have wrought in him the counter-part of that which Asa had once done on the occasion of a similar announcement from Hanani his father (Comp. 2Ch_19:4 ff.), so his address in the campaign against the eastern nations to the people, or rather in the name of the people to the Lord (2Ch_20:6-11), vies with the following prophetic utterance of Jahaziel in realizing firm confidence in God and triumphant faith. It is, however, a confidence in God resting on the ground of penitent and believing confession of sin which he here expresses; it is a truly penitent and believing resignation to the divine grace working all in all, an essentially evangelical experience of salvation, whence his subsequent admonition to his warriors: “Believe, and ye shall be established” (2Ch_20:20), springs, a monitory and prophetic word, in which he himself becomes a prophet, a prophetic type, and a presumptive prophetic source, from which the greatest of the Old Testament seers for a century and a half afterwards, in all probability, drew their almost literally coinciding words (see on this passage). At all events, the assumption that Isaiah, the seer of Davidic princely blood, consciously rested on this believing word of a royal ancestor, that might have been early celebrated on account of the divine blessing attending it, is a good deal more natural than either the assertion of an only accidental dependence of the similar phrases, or than the easy expedient of a thoughtless hyper-criticism, according to which the Chronist made his royal hero speak after the manner of Isaiah, or use a play of words borrowed from this prophet.
4. It is, before all, the antique, thoroughly fresh, and concrete characteristic, foreign likewise to the tone of mythical legend or arbitrary invention in the sources, as they lie clearly discernible at the ground of our author’ narrative, which must be set forth in an apologetic respect, and maintained with all emphasis against such doubts as that above indicated, with respect to the originality of Jehoshaphat’s address, 2Ch_20:20; or as Gramberg’s and Credner’s conjecture (expressed on Joel 4:11), that the whole narrative 2Ch_20:1-30 is nothing but a free, half-poetical remodelling of the short statement in 2Ki_3:23 f. With regard to the character of our chapter, as supported throughout by definite historical traditions and solid sources, Movers and Bertheau have already made striking remarks; comp. the latter, p. 349 ff.: “1. In the accounts of Jehoshaphat’s institutions, which were designed to spread the knowledge of the law and secure to his people an orderly administration of justice, the many details and names (among others, that of the high priest Amariah, 2Ch_19:11, who was also in other accounts a contemporary of Jehoshaphat) are a sure proof of this, that our historian found exact statements in his sources, if he also elaborated the historical material in his own way. 2. This applies also to the reports of the defensive preparations and the division of the army, 2Ch_17:15 to 2Ch_19:3. In the remarkable narrative of the battle in which the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites destroyed one another (2Ch_20:1-30), we discern, indeed, throughout the mode of thought and style peculiar to our author, but we discover also very distinct historical recollections: the localities are exactly described, 2Ch_20:16-20; the designation ‘new court’ is found only in 2Ch_20:5 (it must be taken from a source in which the new building was mentioned); the series of the forefathers of Jahaziel, 2Ch_20:14, is a proof that he had already drawn the attention of the older writers to him, who were in a position to give an account of his forefathers. This battle of extermination was before the mind of the prophet Joel when he called the place of the divine decision ‘the valley of Jehoshaphat’ (comp. on 2Ch_20:26).… The statement in 2Ki_3:23 refers to a quite different situation; and as it might have presented the starting-point and the historical ground for the reports in 2 Chronicles 20, it is not to be overlooked. 4. Finally, our author must have found reports of the action of the prophets Jehu (2Ch_19:2 f.) and Eliezer (2Ch_20:37), since he tells of the contents of their speeches in their own words. The brief report also in 1Ki_22:41-51 seems to point to the contents of several narratives of Chronicles: 1Ki_22:47 refers to the extirpation of idolatry (2Ch_17:3-6); 1Ki_22:46 speaks of the military force of Jehoshaphat, of which 2Ch_17:2; 2Ch_17:10-19 treats more fully,” and so forth. To the arguments for its authenticity here set forth, mostly taken from the internal value of the sources of our section, with which are to be compared the apologetic discussions of Kleinert (Das Deuteronomium, etc., p. 141) respecting the law reform of Jehoshaphat in its relation to Deuteronomy 17, is to be added a weighty, if only indirect and extra-biblical, testimony—the recently - discovered inscription of Mesha king of Moab, a highly-important monumental document for the history of one of the neighbouring states of the kingdom of Jehoshaphat, which serves to confirm, at least in general, the historical relations as our section represents them, and, especially in a chronological respect, in so far as it proceeds most probably from the time between the campaign described in 2 Chronicles 18 and that in 2 Chronicles 20, fits well into the series of events here described; comp. Schlottmann, as quoted, especially p. 621 ff.
Footnotes:
[1]For בֶּן־חַיִלִ the Sept. (and Syr.) appears to have read בְּנֵי חַיִל; for they translate appellatively, υἱοὺς τῶν δυνάτων. But the word is certainly a proper name; comp. בֶּן־חֶסֶת, 1Ki_4:10, and similar names.
[2]The Kethib; שְׁמָרִימוֹת is a mere mistake for שְׁמִירָמוֹת, the Keri.
[3] Kethib: מִיבָהוּ. Keri: מִיבָיָהוּ.
[4]The redundant אֹמֵר after וַיֹּאמֶר זֶה is perhaps inserted by a mistake of the tramscriber, and therefore, according to 1Ki_22:20, to be erased.
[5] Kethib: יָדֶיךָ. Keri: ידְךָ.
[6] וְ before כָּל־רִיב is wanting in the Sept. and Vulg., but if taken explicatively it involves no difficulty.
[7]Kethib: תֶּאְשָׁמוּ. Keri: תֶּֽאֱשָׁמוּ.
[8]Instead of מֵהָעַמּוֹנִים is undoubtedly to be read מֵהַמְּעוּנִים, as the ἐκ τῶν Μιναίων of the Sept. shows.
[9]Kethib: וַיִּרָא. Keri: וַיִּירָא.
[10]Instead of פְּנָרִים, four mss. in Kennic. and three in de Rossi, likewise some old editions (Complut., Brix., Bomberg. a. 1518, 21, Münst.), read בְּנָדִים; so also the Vulg. (vestes), and apparently also the Sept., as well as several recent expositors, Dathe, Berth., and Kamph.
[11]For דּוֹדָוָהוּ the Sept. has Δωδία, after which Berth., without sufficient reason, would write דּוֹדִיָּהוּ. Comp. rather such names as Hodaviah, Joshaviah.
[12]There also concerning Hitzig’s hypothesis (founded on 2Ki_8:26 and 2Ch_22:2), that Athaliah was not the daughter, but the sister, of Ahab.
[13]The passage 2Ki_3:27 b imports in any case an issue of the war with Moab not quite favourable to Joram and Jehoshaphat even though we understand the expression: “and there was great indignation concerning Israel,” only of the displeasure and abhorrence of the human sacrifice offered by the king of Moab, and the consequent retreat from the country of the enemy (as also Bähr on the passage]. But the question is, whether Schlottmann (p. 618 f.) is not right in thinking of a divinely sent calamity, such as a plague, by which the united army of Israel and Judah was forced to a speedy retreat under heavy losses. In this case the Chronist would have had so much the more ground for the omission of this record.
[14] Moreover, that which Neteler adduces (p. 212 f.) in support of their numbers in their literal sense deserves attention. 1. The tribe of Simeon at this time belonged to the tribe of Judah (2Ch_19:4?), by which the number of warriors of the latter, amounting to almost 800,000 men, is
explained; 2. The Philistines (?) and the Edomites, who were tributary to Judah, may have been compelled to add their contingent to his force; 3. If we reckon the auxiliary troops of Simeon, Philistia, and Edom at 200,000 men, of the remaining 600,000 Jewish troops, on an average, 20,000 men were due to each of the 120 cities which belonged to the tribe (Joshua 15), which does not seem unnaturally high, as numerous villages belonged to each of these cities; 4. An increase of 130,000 men fit to bear arms since the census of David, in a period of three generations, is nothing wonderful, especially with the accession of many from the other tribes to the southern kingdom, if we consider the extraordinary fertility of the land, the small means of subsistence required in the south, and the industrial productivity of the Jews at that time. A somewhat satisfactory account would thus be furnished with regard to the 780,000 Jewish troops. But how stands it with the 380,000 warriors whom the small rocky and mountainous territory of Benjamin had to produce ?
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 14 he walked in the first ways of his father…
he walked in the first ways of his father David--He imitated the piety of his great ancestor in the early part of his reign before he made those unhappy lapses which dishonored his character.
and sought not unto Baalim--a term used for idols generally in contradistinction to the Lord God of his father.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 14 1. Strengthened himself against Israel — Asa had shown…
1. Strengthened himself against Israel — Asa had shown a fear of Israel, and rather than venture war had hired the help of Ben-hadad, (2Ch_16:1-3;) but his son Jehoshaphat prepared at the beginning of his reign to withstand opposition from his northern neighbour. Rawlinson also suggests that a reason for Jehoshaphat’s strengthening himself against Israel may have been the alliance which Ahab had then recently formed with the king of Zidon by marriage with his daughter Jezebel. 1Ki_16:31.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 Ch. 2Ch_17:1-6 (cp. 1Ki_22:41-43). The Character of Jehoshaphat’s Reign
Ch. 2Ch_17:1-6 (cp. 1Ki_22:41-43). The Character of Jehoshaphat’s Reign
1. strengthened himself against Israel] Render, strengthened himself in (over) Israel; cp. 2Ch_1:1; 2Ch_12:13.
Read full note →
Israel] See note on 2Ch_11:3.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 (1) And Jehoshaphat . . . in. his stead.—The…
(1) And Jehoshaphat . . . in. his stead.—The last words of 1Ki_15:24. The name means Iah judgeth.
And strengthened himself against Israel.—As described in 2Ch_17:2. Israel is here the northern kingdom. These defensive measures were taken in the early part of the reign, and before Jehoshaphat connected himself by marriage with the northern dynasty (2Ch_18:1).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 To the contents of this chapter, and to the…
To the contents of this chapter, and to the reign of Jehoshaphat, which occupies this and the following three chapters, the Book of Kings furnishes as yet no parallel. All that it has to say of Jehoshaphat now is summed up in one sentence, (1Ki_15:24) "And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead," till we arrive at the ten verses of 1Ki_22:41-51, with their very slender sketch. (see also 2Ki_3:1-14)
Jehoshaphat. In 2Ch_20:31 and 1Ki_22:41, 42 we are told that Jehoshaphat was now thirty-five years of age. He must, therefore, have been born when Asa was in the sixth year of his reign, and presumably not under sixteen years of age. His reign extended to twenty-five years, i.e. from B.C. 914 to B.C. 889. The name signifies "whom God judges," or "pleads for." Ahab is now in the fourth year of his reign, and the symptoms he manifests (1Ki_16:30-33) are those that the rather urge Jehoshaphat to strengthen himself, i.e. strengthen the defences of his kingdom on the Israel side.
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Vers. 1-9.
The first chapter of Jehoshaphat"s career.
Although to the end Jehoshaphat was neither an unfaithful king nor an unfaithful man, and certainly no apostate, yet the first chapter of his career reads the best. The mounting of the sun was fine, but clouds hung about the noonday sun, and the setting was not a sky of perfect western glory. The unfolding of the bud looked towards a perfect flower, but some blight seemed to visit it, and some worm was in the fruit. The three chief features of this beginning of Jehoshaphat"s reign show most healthfully, as follows:
I HIS VARIED DETERMINED ATTENTION AND DEVOTION TO HOME. Policy would dictate it, kindness and love would urge it, in all the wide range of its analogies; wisdom would smile upon it; hut duty, with solemn, dignified voice, commands it. The Christian of youngest earliest faith is taught to provide for his own household; the apostles are to begin at Jerusalem; the man of business belies the name and forfeits his character, and brings himself to the ground, if he do not follow a similar rule; and certainly the king and the man in authority, be the nature of his rule what it may, can make himself no exception. We see with satisfaction King Jehoshaphat make his footing sure in this essential way. These all rehearse the principle that every man must rule first the domain of his own innermost kingdom, his own heart and life, where none may rule, nay, none can, except himself or himself and God!
II HIS LEGISLATION FOR THE REVIVAL OF THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE, AND HIS CARRYING OF THE SAME INTO EFFECT. Ignorance is no safety, though knowledge is responsibility. Mere knowledge, mental gift, mental activity, mental acquisition, mental store, and store of experience, even, these are no reliable sources of real safety, neither guide nor refuge for the real life. For these, religious education is necessary. Religious education rests on religious knowledge. Religious knowledge rests on religious teaching and teachers, and these mean the teaching and the teachers of revelation. So the right principles of action get reached, and motive dormant or even unborn springs into life and action. Nor is it immaterial to observe the very opposite, indeed, of immaterial that, in so complex and multitudinous a life as that of a nation, it must be more than ever hopeless, that any principle can motive its life, any mechanism regulate it, any influence elevate and purify it, except such as work just as religion does, on every individual equally, on the innermost thought and feeling of every individual, and with no secondary force, but with sovereign authoritative command met by willingly conceded obedience from the heart. In nothing throughout all his reign was Jehoshaphat so right as in restoring and paying all attention to the restoring of religious education.
III THE GREAT, MOST EXCEPTIONAL, AND MOST TO BE DESIRED HARVEST REAPED. The greatness of that harvest was seen in the fact that it was so general, so widespread. "All the lands round about Judah" (elsewhere we learn or may gather that this description embraced Israel also to a large extent) and "Philistia" and "Arabia" swelled it. They who had silver, brought silver; and they who had flocks, flocks. The exceptional character of it lay in the fact that it was so largely due to moral sources. Jehoshaphat had not as yet waged a war nor fought a battle. But the fame of him round about was as of the coming man. And it may most justly be pronounced a harvest that was to be desired, in that it is more pointedly described, most precisely described as the result of this, that it was, behind and above all else, "the fear of the Lord" that "fell on all." There is no so honourable reward, title, "present," that can be conferred on mortal man, as that which comes to that man by virtue of" the fear of the Lord" falling on those around him, and yet somehow linking him with it. It looks as though he had been very right himself, unusually right; yet in nothing more right, nothing more happy, than in the impression which it would appear he has honestly and successfully given, that it is and has been as the servant and minister of the Lord, that he has been acting, under him, for him, and with the smile of his prospering blessing resting on him, and his seed-sowing and growing.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON Vers. 1, 2.
Spiritual fortification.
Jehoshaphat did well to "strengthen himself against Israel." One that ought to be in the closest possible relationship to us but that is formally separated from us and that is likely to be jealous of our power is most to be feared by us. The avowed enemy is not so hostile as the envious rival, as the unfriendly "neighbour." And there was nothing of untrustfulness in this procedure of the king"s. Had he gone to Syria as his father did (2Ch_16:2) for help against Israel, he would have been open to just rebuke as Asa was; but in keeping his own fortresses in good sound condition, in seeing that they were well manned and fortified, he was simply acting with that practical sagacity which is not condemned but commended of God. (Luk_16:9, Luk_16:10) The words suggest to us some lessons concerning the wisdom of spiritual fortification.
I THE SUPREME QUESTION. Are we in the enemy"s country, in a strange land; or are we in our own true home? Are we in a state of spiritual bondage or dependence, or are we enjoying true spiritual liberty? Is God our only Sovereign, and are we rejoicing in his gracious, benignant sway? Are our souls right with him, and, being right with him, are they free from the tyranny of all other lords? Is our spiritual estate one of honourable loyalty to God and of honourable freedom from all servitude and subjection?
II THE NEXT VITAL CONSIDERATION. Are we taking wise measures to" strengthen ourselves" against our natural or probable enemies? It is most unwise to assume that, because it is well with us now, it must always be well with us. "Final perseverance" as a sacred obligation is an excellent doctrine, but not as a mere comforting assumption.
(1) The exhortations of the Divine Word (Rom_11:20; 1Co_9:27 1Co_10:12; Rev_3:2, Rev_3:11)
(2) the numerous well-attested facts we have read and those we have witnessed;
(3) the weakness of which we are conscious; all these considerations urge us to consider what we should do to "strengthen ourselves," what steps we should take that the neighbouring enemy may not encroach, that the estate which God has given us to guard may be held inviolate. Of what kind shall be our
III SPIRITUAL FORTIFICATION. HOW shall we "place forces in our fenced cities," and "set garrisons in the land"? We shall do this:
1. By forming wise habits of devotion.
(1) Of public and also (and more particularly) of private devotion;
(2) such habits as will encourage the greatest possible measure of spontaneous and spiritual communion;
(3) such habits as will secure the twofold communication God speaking to us and our speaking to him.
1. By entering on a course of sacred usefulness. Nothing is so likely to keep the flame of piety alight on the altar of our hearts, to preserve our own moral and spiritual integrity, as doing, regularly and methodically, some real service to other souls.
2. Maintaining a right attitude of soul. The attitude of humility, and therefore of conscious dependence on God; the attitude of wariness and watchfulness against the first uprising of evil against us or within us; the attitude of thoughtfulness; the disposition to let our mind go toward those things which are highest and worthiest, toward the truth of God, toward the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. With such "fenced cities " as these in the soul, we shall be strong against the enemy whom we have most to fear. C.
HOMILIES BY T. WHITELAW Vers. 1-6.
The accession of Jehoshaphat.
I THE DATE OF HIS CORONATION.
1. The thirty-fifth year of his age. He was thus born in the sixth year of Asa"s reign, (2Ch_16:14) during the ten years of quiet. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. (1Ki_22:42) A man of mature years when he ascended the throne, he was better qualified to bear the load of responsibility his father"s decease had, in God"s providence, cast upon him.
2. The fourth year of Ahab King of Israel. (1Ki_22:41) If Judah was fortunate in getting such a sovereign as Jehoshaphat, Jeshoshaphat was unfortunate in having such a neighbour as Ahab. (1Ki_16:30-33) Man is always more or less influenced by his surroundings, and especially by his neighbours. These, when good, are a blessing; when evil, a curse. In the latter case, if he cannot improve them, they will deteriorate. (2Ch_18:1)
II THE RENOWN OF HIS THRONE. The throne:
1. Of a prosperous kingdom. Judah, if small, was valiant and religious. Under the preceding reign it had achieved brilliant feats in battle, and advanced considerably on the path of religious reform.
2. Of a good father. With all his imperfections, Ass was one of the best of Judah"s kings, and it was no slight honour that Jehoshaphat should have descended from and succeeded such a parent. Noblesse oblige: it entailed on Jehoshaphat the duty of walking in his father"s footsteps as man and king.
3. Of a famous ancestor. The throne he ascended had come down from David, the second king of united Israel, in direct and unbroken succession, whereas the throne of Israel had thrice changed dynasties and always for the worse. (1Ki_15:27 1Ki_16:10, 1Ki_16:22)
4. Of a great God. The throne Jehoshaphat obtained was Jehovah"s, and Jehoshaphat was merely his viceroy and representative.
III THE PRUDENCE OF HIS RULE.
1. He considered Israel as an enemy. This was wise. If Baasha had been hostilely disposed towards Judah all the days of his father Asa, Ahab was not likely to be more peacefully inclined. Cautious men should understand the situations in which they are placed. No good can come from mistaking enemies for friends.
2. He strengthened himself against Israel. He planted garrisons throughout Judah and in the cities of Mount Ephraim his father had captured from Baasha, (2Ch_15:8) and located forces in all the fenced cities of Judah. "The prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; the simple pass on, and are punished". (Pro_22:3 Pro_27:12) "The prudent man looketh well to his going", (Pro_14:15) especially when Ahabs are abroad.
IV THE GREATNESS OF HIS ALLY. Asa had sought a league with Benhadad of Syria: Jehoshaphat (2Ch_16:2) preferred a league with Jehovah. (2Ch_17:8) An ally:
1. All-powerful, as his father Asa once believed, (2Ch_14:11) as David had often sung, (Psa_66:3 Psa_76:6, 7 89:8) as Moses had long ago taught, (Deu_7:21) as Miriam had chanted on the sea-, (Exo_15:8) and as Jehovah himself had once reminded Abraham. (Gen_18:14)
2. Omniscient, as Hanani the seer had on a memorable occasion told his father, (2Ch_16:9) and as he perhaps remembered, having been then a boy of ten years of age; an ally who could assist in every strait for which his aid was wanted (Pro_15:3) yea, who could detect straits and emergencies in which his aid would be wanted before the individual himself should see them, and who would be forward with reinforcements even before their need was discerned.
3. Unchanging. Benhadad broke his league with Baasha, (2Ch_16:4) as doubtless he would have done with Asa had more powerful inducements been offered him by Baasha or another. When Jehovah covenants with his people, he changes not (1Sa_15:29; (Psalm (Isa_54:10; Jer_33:20, Jer_33:21; Mal_3:6)
4. Gracious. Benhadad required to be bribed. Jehovah grants his friendship and aid free, stipulating only that they whose ally he becomes shall be true to him. (2Ch_15:2) Motley, somewhere in his "Dutch Republic," says that when William of Orange was advised to seek the help of European sovereigns in his struggle with Philip of Spain, he replied that he had formed a league with the King of kings.
V THE QUALITY OF HIS RELIGION.
1. Personal. Jehoshaphat as a man, not merely as a monarch, was pious. He, and not only his temple officials, sought Jehovah. Religion nothing, if not personal. Kings as well as subjects are under law to God.
2. Practical. Jehoshaphat"s piety was not limited to state proclamations, or official acts of homage to Jehovah in the temple, but extended to the domain of his own individual walk.
3. Ancestral. It had been the religion of his father Asa and of his renowned ancestor David in their best days, of Asa before he took the first false step in leaving Jehovah for Benhadad, of David before and after he sinned in connection with Bathsheba.
4. Scriptural. It was the worship of Jehovah as prescribed by the Law of Moses, and not the service of idols as practised by the northern kingdom; in particular not the adoration of golden calves like those at Dan and Bethel. (1Ki_12:28) Scripture the only directory of worship for the New Testament Church.
5. Reformatory. Not content with abstaining from idolatrous worship, Jehoshaphat abandoned the position of neutrality and compromise his father had occupied; (2Ch_15:17) he "took away the high places and groves out of Judah." Neutrality in religion always an impossibility, (Jos_24:15) is less a possibility now than ever. (Mat_12:30)
VI THE REWARD OF HIS PIETY.
1. Jehovah established the kingdom in his hand. Jehovah had done so to (2Sa_5:12) and to Solomon, (1Ki_2:46) according to his promise (2Sa_7:12, 2Sa_7:13; 1Ki_9:5) In continuation of that promise, he now confirms the government of Judah in the hands of their descendant. The only real King-maker and Throne-establisher is God (Pro_8:15; Psa_2:6 Psa_61:6; Hos_13:11) No monarch can keep his crown when God wishes to uncrown him; no throne can be upset until God grants permission to throw it down.
1. His subjects did him homage by presenting gifts. (Ver. 5.) Hardly taxes, but free-will offerings over and above, in expression of loyalty and good will, as appears to have been customary on the accession of a king. (1Sa_10:27) It augurs well for a reign when it begins with God"s blessing and the people"s favour. No ruler"s title is complete, wanting either of these seals.
2. He had riches and honour in abundance. This accorded with the promise given to the good man. (Psa_112:1-3) God never fails to honour them who honour him, (1Sa_2:30) or to enrich, if not with material yet with spiritual treasures, such as serve him with fidelity and fear. (Pro_3:16 Pro_22:4) See this illustrated in the lives of David, (1Ch_29:28) Solomon (1Ki_10:24, 1Ki_10:25, 1Ki_10:27; 2Ch_9:23, 2Ch_9:24) and Hezekiah. (2Ch_32:7)
VII THE HAPPINESS OF HIS HEART. This was "lifted up in the ways of the Lord" (ver. 6), not with pride, but:
1. With inward satisfaction. True religion diffuses such a feeling through the heart (Psa_119:165; Pro_3:17; Isa_32:17 Isa_48:18)
2. With earnest resolution. The elevation of spirit he experienced impelled him to labour for the reformation of his country and the improvement of his people. Sincere piety ever seeks to extend itself. Genuine goodness always aims at doing good to others. Christ commands his followers to do good and communicate. (Mat_10:8)
Learn:
1. The responsibility of high station.
2. The duty of earnestness in religion.
3. The profit of true piety.
4. The joy of godliness. W.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 6, 8, 16 And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead.
2Ch_17:1-19
And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead.
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The conditions of national prosperity
This chapter shows--
I. That true religion is the basis of the State; and that wherever it prospers there the State prospers.
II. That it is the wisdom of kings to encourage religion with all their power and influence.
III. That a religious nation is ever a great nation.
IV. That a religious nation is ever a peaceful and united nation. (A. Clarke, D. D.)
Jehoshaphat
I. His policy as a statesman.
1. It was protective (2Ch_17:1-2).
2. It was wise.
3. It was eminently patriotic.
II. His character as a man.
1. He was distinguished for true piety.
(1) In his every-day life (2Ch_17:3).
(2) In his private devotions (2Ch_17:3-4).
(3) In his obedience to God (2Ch_17:4).
2. The inspiration of his heart came from the consciousness of his obedience to God (2Ch_17:6).
III. His wisdom as a ruler.
1. He removed temptation from his people (2Ch_17:6).
2. He provided for his people the highest means of good (2Ch_17:7-9). (Metropolitan Pulpit.)
Jehoshaphats prosperity
I. Its measure. Everything indicates that it was great and genuine. Not an element of true prosperity is wanting, whether we consider him individually or as identified with the realm. It involved--
1. The safety of the kingdom.
2. Wealth.
3. Honour from abroad.
4. The love and confidence of his own people.
II. Its origin. This was partly natural, partly supernatural.
1. Natural.
(1) The roots of his prosperity lay largely in himself. He was a man of correct instincts and good convictions. A man of worth and weight of character. By these he won the love and secured the co-operation of his people.
(2) He was wise in management.
2. Supernatural. The Lord stablished the kingdom in his hand. It was a reward of piety. He honoured God, and God honoured and exalted him. Lessons:
1. The union of prudence and piety. Each is helpful to the other; neither is sufficient without the other. Prudence gives tone and practicality to piety; piety gives sweetness and mellowness to prudence. Piety alone tends to feebleness and inefficiency; prudence alone inclines to coldness and covetousness. United they round out the character in beauty and strength.
2. Reform through religion and law. Jehoshaphat united the civil and religious power in securing national reform. How necessary is this union in the great struggle with intemperance and other moral defilements. (Monday Club Sermons.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 2 Chronicles 17-20
JEHOSHAPHAT-THE DOCTRINE OF NONRESISTANCE
2 Chronicles 17-20
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ASA was succeeded by his son Jehoshaphat, and his reign began even more auspiciously than that of Asa. The new king had apparently taken warning from the misfortunes of Asas closing years; and as he was thirty-five years old when he came to the throne, he had been trained before Asa fell under the Divine displeasure. He walked in the first ways of his father David, before David was led away by Satan to number Israel. Jehoshaphats heart was lifted up, not with foolish pride, like Hezekiahs, but "in the ways of Jehovah." He sought the God of his father, and walked in Gods commandments, and was not led astray by the evil example and influence of the kings of Israel, neither did he seek the Baals. While Asa had been enfeebled by illness and alienated from Jehovah, the high places and the Asherim had sprung up again like a crop of evil weeds; but Jehoshaphat once more removed them. According to the chronicler, this removing of high places was a very labor of Sisyphus: the stone was no sooner rolled up to the top of the hill than it rolled down again. Jehoshaphat seems to have had an inkling of this; he felt that the destruction of idolatrous sanctuaries and symbols was like mowing down weeds and leaving the roots in the soil. Accordingly he made an attempt to deal more radically with the evil: he would take away the inclination as well as the opportunity for corrupt rites. A commission of princes, priests, and Levites was sent throughout all the cities of Judah to instruct the people in the law of Jehovah. Vice will always find opportunities; it is little use to suppress evil institutions unless the people are educated out of evil propensities. If, for instance, every public-house in England were closed tomorrow, and there were still millions of throats craving for drink, drunkenness would still prevail, and a new administration would promptly reopen gin-shops.
Because the new king thus earnestly and consistently sought the God of his fathers, Jehovah was with him, and established the kingdom in his hand. Jehoshaphat received all the marks of Divine favorer usually bestowed upon good kings. He waxed great exceedingly; he had many fortresses, an immense army, and much wealth; he built castles and cities of store; he had arsenals for the supply of war material in the cities of Judah. And these cities, together with other defensible positions and the border cities of Ephraim occupied by Judah, were held by strong garrisons. While David had contented himself with two hundred and eighty-eight thousand men from all Israel, and Abijah had led forth four hundred thousand, and Asa five hundred and eighty thousand, there waited on Jehoshaphat, in addition to his numerous garrisons, eleven hundred and sixty thousand men. Of these seven hundred and eighty thousand were men of Judah in three divisions, and three hundred and eighty thousand were Benjamites in two divisions. Probably the steady increase of the armies of Abijah, Asa, and Jehoshaphat symbolizes a proportionate increase of Divine favor.
The chronicler records the names of the captains of the five divisions. Two of them are singled out for special commendation: Eliada the Benjamite is styled "a mighty man of valor," and of the Jewish captain Amaziah the son of Zichri it is said that he offered either himself or his possessions willingly to Jehovah, as David and his princes had offered, for the building of the Temple. The devout king had devout officers.
He had also devoted subjects. All Judah brought him presents, so that he had great riches and ample means to sustain his royal power and splendor. Moreover, as in the case of Solomon and Asa, his piety was rewarded with freedom from war: "The fear of Jehovah fell upon all the kingdoms round about, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat." Some of his weaker neighbors were overawed by the spectacle of his great power; the Philistines brought him presents and tribute money, and the Arabians immense flocks of rams and he-goats, seven thousand seven hundred of each.
Great prosperity had the usual fatal effect upon Jehoshaphats character. In the beginning of his reign he had strengthened himself against Israel and had refused to walk in their ways; now power had developed ambition, and he sought and obtained the honor of marrying his son Jehoram to Athaliah the daughter of Ahab, the mighty and magnificent king of Israel, possibly also the daughter of the Phoenician princess Jezebel, the devotee of Baal. This family connection of course implied political alliance. After a time Jehoshaphat went down to visit his new ally, and was hospitably received. {2Ch_18:1-3}
Then follows the familiar story of Micaiah the son of Imlah, the disastrous expedition of the two kings, and the death of Ahab, almost exactly as in the book of Kings. There is one significant alteration: both narratives tell us how the Syrian captains attacked Jehoshaphat because they took him for the king of Israel and gave up their pursuit when he cried out, and they discovered their mistake; but the chronicler adds the explanation that Jehovah helped him and God moved them to depart from him. And so the master of more than a million soldiers was happy in being allowed to escape on account of his insignificance, and returned in peace to Jerusalem. Oded and Hanani had met his predecessors on their return from victory; now Jehu the son of Hanani met Jehoshaphat when he came home defeated. Like his father, the prophet was charged with a message of rebuke. An alliance with the Northern Kingdom was scarcely less reprehensible than one with Syria: "Shouldest thou help the wicked, and love them that hate Jehovah? Jehovah is wroth with thee." Asas previous reforms were not allowed to mitigate the severity of his condemnation, but Jehovah was more merciful to Jehoshaphat. The prophet makes mention of his piety and his destruction of idolatrous symbols, and no further punishment is inflicted upon him.
The chroniclers addition to the account of the kings escape from the Syrian captains reminds us that God still watches over and protects His children even when they are in the very act of sinning against Him. Jehovah knew that Jehoshaphats sinful alliance with Ahab did not imply complete revolt and apostasy. Hence doubtless the comparative mildness of the prophets reproof.
When Jehus father Hanani rebuked Asa, the king flew into a passion, and cast the prophet into prison; Jehoshaphat received Jehus reproof in a very different spirit: he repented himself, and found a new zeal in his penitence. Learning from his own experience the proneness of the human heart to go astray, he went out himself amongst his people to bring them back to Jehovah; and just as Asa in his apostasy oppressed his people, Jehoshaphat in his renewed loyalty to Jehovah showed himself anxious for good government. He provided judges in all the walled towns of Judah, with a court of appeal at Jerusalem; he solemnly charged them to remember their responsibility to Jehovah, to avoid bribery, and not to truckle to the rich and powerful. Being themselves faithful to Jehovah, they were to inculcate a like obedience and warn the people not to sin against the God of their fathers. Jehoshaphats exhortation to his new judges concludes with a sentence whose martial resonance suggests trial by combat rather than the peaceful proceedings of a law-court: "Deal courageously, and Jehovah defend the right!"
The principle that good government must be a necessary consequence of piety in the rulers has not been so uniformly observed in later times as in the pages of Chronicles. The testimony of history on this point is not altogether consistent. In spite of all the faults of the orthodox and devout Greek emperors Theodosius the Great and Marcian, their administration rendered important services to the empire. Alfred the Great was a distinguished statesman and warrior as well as zealous for true religion. St. Louis of France exercised a wise control over Church and state. It is true that when a woman reproached him in open court with being a king of friars, of priests, and of clerks, and not a true king of France, he replied with saintly meekness, "You say true! It has pleased the Lord to make me king; it had been well if it had pleased Him to make some one king who had better ruled the realm." But something must be allowed for the modesty of the saint; apart from his unfortunate crusades, it would have been difficult for France or even Europe to have furnished a more beneficent sovereign. On the other hand, Charlemagnes successor, the Emperor Louis the Pious, and our own kings Edward the Confessor and the saintly Henry VI, were alike feeble and inefficient; the zeal of the Spanish kings and their kinswoman Mary Tudor is chiefly remembered for its ghastly cruelty; and in comparatively recent times the misgovernment of the States of the Church was a byword throughout Europe. Many causes combined to produce this mingled record. The one most clearly contrary to the chroniclers teaching was an immoral opinion that the Christian should cease to be a citizen, and that the saint has no duties to society. This view is often considered to be the special vice of monasticism, but it reappears in one form or another in every generation. The failure of the administration of Louis the Pious is partly explained when we read that he was with difficulty prevented from entering a monastery. In our own day there are those who think that a newspaper should have no interest for a really earnest Christian. According to their ideas, Jehoshaphat should have divided his time between a private oratory in his palace and the public services of the Temple, and have left his kingdom to the mercy of unjust judges at home and heathen enemies abroad, or else have abdicated in favor of some kinsman whose heart was not so perfect with Jehovah. The chronicler had a clearer insight into Divine methods, and this doctrine of his is not one that has been superseded together with the Mosaic ritual.
Possibly the martial tone of the sentence that concludes the account of Jehoshaphat as the Jewish Justinian is due to the influence upon the chroniclers mind of die incident which he now describes.
Jehoshaphats next experience was parallel to that of Asa with Zerah. When his new reforms were completed, he was menaced with a formidable invasion. His new enemies were almost as distant and strange as the Ethiopians and Lubim who had followed Zerah. We hear nothing about any king of Israel or Damascus, the usual leaders of assaults upon Judah; we hear instead of a triple alliance against Judah. Two of the allies are Moab and Ammon; but the Jewish kings were not wont to regard these as irresistible foes, so that the extreme dismay which takes possession of king and people must be due to the third ally: the Meunim we have already met with in connection with the exploits of the children of Simeon in the reign of Hezekiah; they are also mentioned in the reign of Uzziah, and nowhere else, unless indeed they are identical with the Maonites, who are named with the Amalekites in Jdg_10:12. They are thus a people peculiar to Chronicles, and appear from this narrative to have inhabited Mount Seir, by which term "Meunim" is replaced as the story proceeds. Since the chronicler wrote so long after the events he describes, we cannot attribute to him any very exact knowledge of political geography. Probably the term "Meunim" impressed his contemporaries very much as it does a modern reader, and suggested countless hordes of Bedouin plunderers; Josephus calls them a great army of Arabians. This host of invaders came from Edom, and having marched round the southern end of the Dead Sea, were now at Engedi, on its western shore. The Moabites and Ammonites might have crossed the Jordan by the fords near Jericho; but this route would not have been convenient for their allies the Meunim, and would have brought them into collision with the forces of the Northern Kingdom.
On this occasion Jehoshaphat does not seek any foreign alliance. He does not appeal to Syria, like Asa, nor does he ask Ahabs successor to repay in kind the assistance given to Ahab at Ramoth-gilead, partly perhaps because there was no time, but chiefly because he had learnt the truth which Hanani had sought to teach his father, and which Hananis son had taught him. He does not even trust in his own hundreds of thousands of soldiers, all of whom cannot have perished at Ramoth-gilead; his confidence is placed solely and absolutely in Jehovah. Jehoshaphat and his people made no military preparations; subsequent events justified their apparent neglect: none were necessary. Jehoshaphat sought Divine help instead, and proclaimed a fast throughout Judah; and all Judah gathered themselves to Jerusalem to ask help of Jehovah. This great national assembly met "before the new court" of the Temple. The chronicler, who is supremely interested in the Temple buildings, has told us nothing about any new court, nor is it mentioned elsewhere; our author is probably giving the title of a corresponding portion of the second Temple: the place where the people assembled to meet Jehoshaphat would be the great court built by Solomon. {2Ch_4:9}
Here Jehoshaphat stood up as the spokesman of the nation, and prayed to Jehovah on their behalf and on his own. He recalls the Divine omnipotence; Jehovah is God of earth and heaven, God of Israel and Ruler of the heathen, and therefore able to help even in this great emergency:-
"O Jehovah, God of our fathers, art Thou not God in heaven? Dost Thou not rule all the kingdoms of the heathen? And in Thy hand is power and might, so that none is able to withstand Thee."
The land of Israel had been the special gift of Jehovah to His people, in fulfillment of His ancient promise to Abraham:-
"Didst not Thou, O our God, dispossess the inhabitants of this land in favor of Thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend forever?"
And now long possession had given Israel a prescriptive right to the Land of Promise; and they had, so to speak, claimed their rights in the most formal and solemn fashion by erecting a temple to the God of Israel. Moreover, the prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the Temple had been accepted by Jehovah as the basis of His covenant with Israel, and Jehoshaphat quotes a clause from that prayer or covenant which had expressly provided for such emergencies as the present:-
"And they" (Israel) "dwelt in the land, and built Thee therein a sanctuary for Thy name, saying, If evil come upon us, the sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before Thee (for Thy name is in this house), and cry unto Thee in our affliction; and Thou wilt hear and save."
Moreover, the present invasion was not only an attempt to set aside Jehovahs disposition of Palestine and the long-established rights of Israel: it was also gross ingratitude, a base return for the ancient forbearance of Israel towards her present enemies:-
"And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom Thou wouldest not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them and destroyed them not-behold how they reward us by coming to dispossess us of Thy possession which Thou hast caused us to possess."
For this nefarious purpose the enemies of Israel had come up in overwhelming numbers, but Judah was confident in the justice of its cause and the favor of Jehovah:-
"O our God, wilt Thou not execute judgment against them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us, neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon Thee."
Meanwhile the great assemblage stood in the attitude of supplication before Jehovah, not a gathering of mighty men of valor praying for blessing upon their strength and courage, but a mixed multitude, men and women, children and infants, seeking sanctuary, as it were, at the Temple, and casting themselves in their extremity upon the protecting care of Jehovah. Possibly when the king finished his prayer the assembly broke out into loud, wailing cries of dismay and agonized entreaty; but the silence of the narrative rather suggests that Jehoshaphats strong, calm faith communicated itself to the people, and they waited quietly for Jehovahs answer, for some token or promise of deliverance. Instead of the confused cries of an excited crowd, there was a hush of expectancy, such as sometimes falls upon an assembly when a great statesman has risen to utter words which will be big with the fate of empires.
And the answer came, not by fire from heaven or any visible sign, not by voice of thunder accompanied by angelic trumpets, nor by angel or archangel, but by a familiar voice hitherto unsuspected of any supernatural gifts, by a prophetic utterance whose only credentials were given by the influence of the Spirit upon the speaker and his audience. The chronicler relates with evident satisfaction how, in the midst of that great congregation, the Spirit of Jehovah came, not upon king, or priest, or acknowledged prophet, but upon a subordinate minister of the Temple, a Levite and member of the Temple choir like himself. He is careful to fix the identity of this newly called prophet and to gratify the family pride of existing Levitical families by giving the prophets genealogy for several generations. He was Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, of the sons of Asaph. The very names were encouraging. What more suitable names could be found for a messenger of Divine mercy than Jahaziel-"God gives prophetic vision" - the son of Zechariah-"Jehovah remembers?"
Jahaziels message showed that Jehoshaphats prayer had been accepted; Jehovah responded without reserve to the confidence reposed in Him: He would vindicate His own authority by delivering Judah; Jehoshaphat should have blessed proof of the immense superiority of simple trust in Jehovah over an alliance with Ahab or the king of Damascus. Twice the prophet exhorts the king and people in the very words that Jehovah had used to encourage Joshua when the death of Moses had thrown upon him all the heavy responsibilities of leadership: "Fear not, nor be dismayed." They need no longer cling like frightened suppliants to the sanctuary, but are to go forth at once, the very next day, against the enemy. That they may lose no time in looking for them, Jehovah announces the exact spot where the enemy are to be found: "Behold, they are coming by the ascent of Hazziz, and ye shall find them at the end of the ravine before the wilderness of Jeruel." This topographical description was doubtless perfectly intelligible to the chroniclers contemporaries, but it is no longer possible to fix exactly the locality of Hazziz or Jeruel. The ascent of Hazziz has been identified with the Wady Husasa, which leads up from the coast of the Dead Sea north of Engedi, in the direction of Tekoa; but the identification is by no means certain.
The general situation, however, is fairly clear: the allied invaders would come up from the coast into the highlands of Judah by one of the wadies leading inland; they were to be met by Jehoshaphat and his people on one of the "wildernesses," or plateaus of pasture-land, in the neighborhood of Tekoa.
But the Jews went forth, not as an army, but in order to be the passive spectators of a great manifestation of the power of Jehovah. They had no concern with the numbers and prowess of their enemies; Jehovah Hiresell would lay bare His mighty arm, and Judah should see that no foreign ally, no millions of native warriors, were necessary for their salvation: "Ye shall not need to fight in this battle; take up your position, stand still and see the deliverance of Jehovah with you, O Judah and Jerusalem."
Thus had Moses addressed Israel on the eve of the passage of the Red Sea. Jehoshaphat and his people owned and honored the Divine message as if Jahaziel were another Moses; they prostrated themselves on the ground before Jehovah. The sons of Asaph had already been privileged to provide Jehovah with His prophet; these Asaphites represented the Levitical clan of Gershom: but now the Kohathites, with their guild of singers, the sons of Korah, "stood up to praise Jehovah, the God of Israel, with as exceeding loud voice," as the Levites sang when the foundations of the second Temple were laid, and when Ezra and Nehemiah made the people enter into a new covenant with their God.
Accordingly on the morrow the people rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa, ten or twelve miles south of Jerusalem. In ancient times generals were wont to make a set speech to their armies before they led them into battle, so Jehoshaphat addresses his subjects as they pass out before him. He does not seek to make them confident in their own strength and prowess; he does not inflame their passions against Moab and Ammon, nor exhort them to be brave and remind them that they fight this day for the ashes of their fathers and the temple of their God. Such an address would have been entirely out of place, because the Jews were not going to fight at all. Jehoshaphat only bids them have faith in Jehovah and His prophets. It is a curious anticipation of Pauline teaching. Judah is to be "saved by faith" from Moab and Ammon, as the Christian is delivered by faith from sin and its penalty. The incident might almost seem to have been recorded in order to illustrate the truth that St. Paul was to teach. It is strange that there is no reference to this chapter in the epistles of St. Paul and St. James, and that the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews does not remind us how "by faith Jehoshaphat was delivered from Moab and Ammon." There is no question of military order, no reference to the five great divisions into which the armies of Judah and Benjamin are divided in chapter 17. Here, as at Jericho, the captain of Israel is chiefly concerned to provide musicians to lead his army. When David was arranging for the musical services before the Ark, he took counsel with his captains. In this unique military expedition there is no mention of captains; they were not necessary, and if they were present there was no opportunity for them to show their skill and prowess in battle. In an even more democratic spirit Jehoshaphat takes counsel with the people-that is, probably makes some proposition, which is accepted with universal acclamation.
The Levitical singers, dressed in the splendid robes in which they officiated at the Temple, were appointed to go before the people, and offer praises unto Jehovah, and sing the anthem, "Give thanks unto Jehovah, for His mercy endureth forever." These words or their equivalent are the opening words, and the second clause the refrain, of the post-Exilic Psalms 106,107,118, and 136. As the chronicler has already ascribed Psalms 106 to David, he possibly ascribes all four to David, and intends us to understand that one or all of them were sung by the Levites on this occasion. Later Judaism was in the habit of denoting a book or section of a book by its opening words.
And so Judah, a pilgrim caravan rather than an army, went on to its Divinely appointed tryst with its enemies, and at its head the Levitical choir sang the Temple hymns. It was not a campaign, but a sacred function, on a much larger scale a procession such as may be seen winding its way, with chants and incense, banners, images, and crucifixes, through the streets of Catholic cities.
Meanwhile Jehovah was preparing a spectacle to gladden the eyes of His people and reward their implicit faith and exact obedience; He was working for those who were waiting for Him. Though Judah was still far from its enemies, yet like the trumpet at Jericho, the strain of praise and thanksgiving was the signal for the Divine intervention: "When they began to sing and praise, Jehovah set liars in wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Self." Who were these liars in wait? They could not be men of Judah: they were not to fight, but to be passive spectators of their own deliverance. Did the allies set an ambush for Judah, and was it thus that they were afterwards led to mistake their own people for enemies? Or does the chronicler intend us to understand that these "liars in wait" were spirits; that the allied invaders were tricked and bewildered like the shipwrecked sailors in the Tempest; or that when they came to the wilderness of Jeruel there fell upon them a spirit of mutual distrust, jealousy, and hatred, that had, as it were, been waiting for them there? But, from whatever cause, a quarrel broke out amongst them; and they were smitten. When Ammonite, Moabite, and Edomite met, there were many private and public feuds waiting their opportunity; and such confederates were as ready to quarrel among themselves as a group of Highland clans engaged in a Lowland foray.
"Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir utterly to slay and destroy them." But even Ammon and Moab soon dissolved their alliance; and at last, partly maddened by panic, partly intoxicated by a wild thirst for blood, a very Berserker frenzy, all ties of friendship and kindred were forgotten, and every mans hand was against his brother. "When they had made an end of the inhabitants of Self, every one helped to destroy another."
While this tragedy was enacting, and the air was rent with the cruel yells of that death struggle, Jehoshaphat and his people moved on in tranquil pilgrimage to the cheerful sound of the songs of Zion. At last they reached an eminence, perhaps the long, low summit of some ridge overlooking the plateau of Jeruel. When they had gained this watchtower of the wilderness, the ghastly scene burst upon their gaze. Jehovah had kept His word: they had found their enemy. They "looked upon the multitude," all those hordes of heathen tribes that had filled them with terror and dismay. They were harmless enough now: the Jews saw nothing but "dead bodies fallen to the earth"; and in that Aceldama lay all the multitude of profane invaders who had dared to violate the sanctity of the Promised Land: "There were none that escaped." So had Israel looked back after crossing the Red Sea and seen the corpses of the Egyptians washed up on the shore. {Exo_14:30} Set when the angel of Jehovah smote Sennacherib, -
"Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown."
There is no touch of pity for the wretched victims of their own sins. Greeks of every city and tribe could feel the pathos of the tragic end of the Athenian expedition against Syracuse; but the Jews had no ruth for the kindred tribes that dwelt along their frontier, and the age of the chronicler had not yet learnt that Jehovah had either tenderness or compassion for the enemies of Israel.
The spectators of this carnage-we cannot call them victors-did not neglect to profit to the utmost by their great opportunity. They spent three days in stripping the dead bodies; and as Orientals delight in jewelled weapons and costly garments, and their chiefs take the field with barbaric ostentation of wealth, the spoil was both valuable and abundant: "riches, and raiment, and precious jewels more than they could carry away."
In collecting the spoil, the Jews had become dispersed through all the wide area over which the fighting between the confederates must have extended; but on the fourth day they gathered together again in a neighboring valley and gave solemn thanks for their deliverance: "There they blessed Jehovah; therefore the name of that place was called the valley of Berachah unto this day." West of Tekoa. not too far from the scene of carnage, a ruin and a wady still bear the name "Bereikut"; and doubtless in the chroniclers time the valley was called Berachah, and local tradition furnished our author with this explanation of the origin of the name.
When the spoil was all collected, they returned to Jerusalem as they came, in solemn procession, headed, no doubt, by the Levites, with psalteries, and harps, and trumpets. They came back to the scene of their anxious supplications: to the house of Jehovah. But yesterday, as it were, they had assembled before Jehovah, terror-stricken at the report of an irresistible host of invaders; and today their enemies were utterly destroyed. They had experienced a deliverance that might rank with the Exodus; and as at that former deliverance they had spoiled the Egyptians, so now they had returned laden with the plunder of Moab, Ammon, and Edom. And all their neighbors were smitten with fear when they heard of the awful ruin which Jehovah had brought upon these enemies of Israel. No one would dare to invade a country where Jehovah laid a ghostly ambush of liars in wait for the enemies of His people. The realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, not because he was protected by powerful allies or by the swords of his numerous and valiant soldiers, but because Judah had become another Eden, and cherubim with flaming swords guarded the frontier on every hand, and "his God gave him rest round about."
Then follow the regular summary and conclusion of the history of the reign taken from the book of Kings, with the usual alterations in the reference to further sources of information. We are told here, in direct contradiction to 1Ch_17:6 and to the whole tenor of the previous chapters, that the high places were not taken away, another illustration of the slight importance the chronicler attached to accuracy in details. He either overlooks the contradiction between passages borrowed from different sources, or else does not think it worth while to harmonize his inconsistent materials.
But after the narrative of the reign is thus formally closed the chronicler inserts a postscript, perhaps by a kind of after-thought. The book of Kings narrates {1Ki_22:48-49} how Jehoshaphat made ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they were broken at Ezion-geber; then Ahaziah the son of Ahab proposed to enter into partnership with Jehoshaphat, and the latter rejected his proposal. As we have seen, the chroniclers theory of retribution required some reason why so pious a king experienced misfortune. What sin had Jehoshaphat committed to deserve to have his ships broken? The chronicler has a new version of the story, which provides an answer to this question. Jehoshaphat did not build any ships by himself; his unfortunate navy was constructed in partnership with Ahaziah; and accordingly the prophet Eliezer rebuked him for allying himself a second time with a wicked king of Israel, and announced the coming wreck of the ships. And so it came about that the ships were broken, and the shadow of Divine displeasure rested on the last days of Jehoshaphat.
We have next to notice the chroniclers most important omissions. The book of Kings narrates another alliance of Jehoshaphat with Jehoram, king of Israel, like his alliances with Ahab and Ahaziah. The narrative of this incident closely resembles that of the earlier joint expedition to Ramoth-Gilead. As then Jehoshaphat marched out with Ahab, so now he accompanies Ahabs son Jehoram, taking with him his subject ally the king of Edom. Here also a prophet appears upon the scene; but on this occasion Elisha addresses no rebuke to Jehoshaphat for his alliance with Israel, but treats him with marked respect: and the allied army wins a great victory. If this narrative had been included in Chronicles, the reign of Jehoshaphat would not have afforded an altogether satisfactory illustration of the main lesson which the chronicler intended it to teach.
This main lesson was that the chosen people should not look for protection against their enemies either to foreign alliances or to their own military strength, but solely to the grace and omnipotence of Jehovah. One negative aspect of this principle has been enforced by the condemnation of Asas alliance with Syria and Jehoshaphats with Ahab and Ahaziah. Later on the uselessness of an army apart from Jehovah is shown in the defeat of "the great host" of Joash by "a small company" of Syrians. The positive aspect has been partially illustrated by the signal victories of Abijah and Asa against overwhelming odds and without the help of any foreign allies. But these were partial and unsatisfactory illustrations: Jehovah vouchsafed to share the glory of these victories with great armies that were numbered by the hundred thousand. And, after all, the odds were not so very overwhelming. Scores of parallels may be found in which the odds were much greater. In the case of vast Oriental hosts a superiority of two to one might easily be counterbalanced by discipline and valor in the smaller army.
The peculiar value to the chronicler of the deliverance from Moab, Ammon, and the Meunim lay in the fact that no human arm divided the glory with Jehovah. It was shown conclusively not merely that Judah could safely be contented with an army smaller than those of its neighbors, but that Judah would be equally safe with no army at all. We feel that this lesson is taught with added force when we remember that Jehoshaphat had a larger army than is ascribed to any Israelite or Jewish king after David. Yet he places no confidence in his eleven hundred and sixty thousand warriors, and he is not allowed to make any use of them. In the case of a king with small military resources, to trust in Jehovah might be merely making a virtue of necessity; but if Jehoshaphat, with his immense army, felt that his only real help was in his God, the example furnished an a fortiori argument which would conclusively show that it was always the duty and privilege of the Jews to say with the Psalmist, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of Jehovah our God." {Psa_20:7} The ancient literature of Israel furnished illustrations of the principle: at the Red Sea the Israelites had been delivered without any exercise of their own warlike prowess; at Jericho, as at Jeruel, the enemy had been completely overthrown by Jehovah before His people rushed upon the spoil; and the same direct Divine intervention saved Jerusalem from Sennacherib. But the later history of the Jews had been a series of illustrations of enforced dependence upon Jehovah. A little semi-ecclesiastical community inhabiting a small province that passed from one great power to another like a counter in the game of international politics had no choice but to trust in Jehovah, if it were in any way to maintain its self-respect. For this community of the second Temple to have had confidence in its sword and bow would have seemed equally absurd to the Jews and to their Persian and Greek masters.
When they were thus helpless, Jehovah wrought for Israel, as He had destroyed the enemies of Jehoshaphat in the wilderness of Jeruel. The Jews stood still and saw the working out of their deliverance; great empires wrestled together like Moab, Ammon, and Edom, in the agony of the death struggle: and over all the tumult of battle Israel heard the voice of Jehovah, "The battle is not yours, but Gods; set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the deliverance of Jehovah with you, O Judah and Jerusalem." Before their eyes there passed the scenes of that great drama which for a time gave Western Asia Aryan instead of Semitic masters. For them the whole action had but one meaning: without calling Israel into the field, Jehovah was devoting to destruction the enemies of His people and opening up a way for His redeemed to return, like Jehoshaphats procession, to the Holy City and the Temple. The long series of wars became a wager of battle, in which Israel, herself a passive spectator, appeared by her Divine Champion; and the assured issue was her triumphant vindication and restoration to her ancient throne in Zion.
After the Restoration Gods protecting providence asked no armed assistance from Judah. The mandates of a distant court authorized the rebuilding of the Temple and the fortifying of the city. The Jews solaced their national pride and found consolation for their weakness and subjection in the thought that their ostensible masters were in reality only the instruments which Jehovah used to provide for the security and prosperity of His children.
We have already noticed that this philosophy of history is not peculiar to Israel. Every nation has a similar system, and regards its own interests as the supreme care of Providence. We have seen, too, that moral influences have controlled and checkmated material forces; God has fought against the biggest battalions. Similarly, the Jews are not the only people for whom deliverances have been worked out almost without any co-operation on their own part. It was not a Negro revolt, for instance, that set free the slaves of our colonies or of the Southern States. Italy regained her Eternal City as an incidental effect of a great war in which she herself took no part. Important political movements and great struggles involve consequences equally unforeseen and unintended by the chief actors in these dramas, consequences which would seem to them insignificant compared with more obvious results. Some obscure nation almost ready to perish is given a respite, a breathing space, in which it gathers strength; instead of losing its separate existence, it endures till time and opportunity make it one of the ruling influences in the worlds history: some Geneva or Wittenberg becomes, just at the right time, a secure refuge and vantage-ground for one of the Lords prophets. Our understanding of what God is doing in our time and our hopes for what He may yet do will indeed be small, if we think that God can do nothing for our cause unless our banner flies in the forefront of the battle, and the war-cry is "The sword of Gideon!" as well as "The sword of Jehovah!" There will be many battles fought in which we shall strike no blow and yet be privileged to divide the spoil. We sometimes "stand still and see the salvation of Jehovah."
The chronicler has found disciples in these latter days of a kindlier spirit and more catholic sympathies. He and they have reached their common doctrines by different paths, but the chronicler teaches non-resistance as clearly as the Society of Friends. "When you have fully yielded yourself to the Divine teaching," he says, "you will neither fight yourself nor ask others to fight for you; you will simply stand still and watch a Divine providence protecting you and destroying your enemies." The Friends could almost echo this teaching, not perhaps laying quite so much stress on the destruction of the enemy, though among the visions of the earlier Friends there were many that revealed the coming judgments of the Lord; and the modern enthusiast is still apt to consider that his enemies are the Lords enemies and to call the gratification of his own revengeful spirit a vindication of the honor of the Lord and a satisfaction of outraged justice.
If the chronicler had lived today, the history of the Society of Friends might have furnished him with illustrations almost as apt as the destruction of the allied invaders of Judah. He would have rejoiced to tell us how a people that repudiated any resort to violence succeeded in conciliating savage tribes and founding the flourishing colony of Pennsylvania, and would have seen the hand of the Lord in the wealth and honor that have been accorded to a once despised and persecuted sect.
We should be passing to matters that were still beyond the chroniclers horizon, if we were to connect his teaching with our Lords injunction, "Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." Such a sentiment scarcely harmonizes with the three days stripping of dead bodies in the wilderness of Jeruel. But though the chroniclers motives for non-resistance were not touched and softened with the Divine gentleness of Jesus of Nazareth, and his object was not to persuade his hearers to patient endurance of wrong, yet he had conceived the possibility of a mighty faith that could put its fortunes unreservedly into the hands of God and trust Him with the issues. If we are ever to be worthy citizens of the kingdom of our Lord, it can only be by the sustaining power and inspiring influence of a like faith.
When we come to ask how far the people for whom he wrote responded to his teaching and carried it into practical life, we are met with one of the many instances of the grim irony of history. Probably the chroniclers glowing vision of peaceful security, guarded on every hand by legions of angels, was partly inspired by the comparative prosperity of the time at which he wrote. Other considerations combine with this to suggest that the composition of his work beguiled the happy leisure of one of the brighter intervals between Ezra and the Maccabees.
Circumstances were soon to test the readiness of the Jews, in times of national danger, to observe the attitude of passive spectators and wait for a Divine deliverance. It was not altogether in this spirit that the priests met the savage persecutions of Antiochus. They made no lame attempts to exorcise this evil spirit with hymns, and psalteries, and harps, and trumpets; but the priest Mattathias and his sons slew the kings commissioner and raised the standard of armed revolt. We do indeed find indications of something like obedience to the chroniclers principles. A body of the revolted Jews were attacked on the Sabbath Day; they made no attempt to defend themselves: "When they gave them battle with all speed, they answered them not, neither cast they a stone at them, nor stopped the places where they lay hid and their enemies rose up against them on the sabbath, and slew them, with their wives, and their children, and their cattle, to the number of a thousand people." No Divine intervention rewarded this devoted faith, nor apparently did the Jews expect it, for they had said, "Let us die all in our innocency; heaven and earth shall testify for us that ye put us to death wrongfully." This is, after all, a higher note than that of Chronicles: obedience may not bring invariable reward; nevertheless the faithful will not swerve from their loyalty. But the priestly leaders of the people looked with no favorable eye upon this offering up of human hecatombs in honor of the sanctity of the Sabbath. They were not prepared to die passively; and, as representatives of Jehovah and of the nation for the time being, they decreed that henceforth they would fight against those who attacked them, even on the Sabbath Day. Warfare on these more secular principles was crowned with that visible success which the chronicler regarded as the manifest sign of Divine approval; and a dynasty of royal priests filled the throne and led the armies of Israel, and assured and strengthened their authority by intrigues and alliances with every heathen sovereign within their reach.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 CRITICAL NOTES.] This chapter is peculiar to the writer…
CRITICAL NOTES.] This chapter is peculiar to the writer of Chronicles. Jehoshaphat becoming king takes measures for defence of his kingdom (2Ch_17:1-9); in consequence grows in power (2Ch_17:10-19).
2Ch_17:1-6.—Jehoshaphat’s measures for defence. Strengthened, prepared to resist, to defend against attack from northern kingdom. 2Ch_17:2. Garrisons or governors (cf. 1Ki_4:7-19), all fortresses filled with troops, military stations established in various parts of the country and in cities of Mount Ephraim which belonged to Jehoshaphat (ch. 2Ch_15:8). 2Ch_17:3. First, ancient imitated piety of his great ancestor in early part of his reign. Baalim in contrast with the God of his father, idol deities generally (Jdg_2:11). 2Ch_17:4. Doings of Israel. Special idolatrous customs of northern kingdom at the time and the worship of the calves. 2Ch_17:5. Presents, freewill offerings, not ordinary taxes paid to royal treasury. “Some reason to believe that a ‘benevolence’ of this kind was expected as a matter of course at the accession of a new sovereign” [Speak. Com.]. 2Ch_17:6. Lifted up, not proud (chs. 2Ch_26:16; 2Ch_32:25); exalted by the ways of Jehovah (marg.), was encouraged, emboldened by a sense of Divine favour and ventured on reforms.
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2Ch_17:7-11.—Moral measures. Princes, extraordinary commissioners and priests along with them. A deputation of five princes, nine Levites assisted by two priests, took a copy of the law with them, sent on tour in towns of Judah to give religious instruction to the people. 2Ch_17:9-11. Presents, Philistines tributaries or wishing to become such; Arabians, nomad tribes on south of Dead Sea, sought protection and paid tribute in cattle.
2Ch_17:12-19.—Jehoshaphat’s greatness and prosperity. Castles, places of defence situated for protection of roads, or valleys opening into the country (ch. 2Ch_27:4). Store, cities for keeping ammunition and provisions in preparation of siege. Business, much labour also expended on old “cities of Judah,” besides building and fortifying other places. 2Ch_17:14-19. “Whenever a census was taken among Israelites, the numbering was by tribes and families. Hence the expression in text, which occurs thirteen times in first chapter of Numbers” [Speak. Com.]. Captains, princes of thousands, highest officers in command. Three of them, Adnah the highest post. By the side of him who commanded largest division, Jehohanan and Amaziah had command of 280,000 and 200,000 men. 2Ch_17:16. Amaz. a volunteer, or by an act of his own devoted himself to the service of Jehovah. Light-armed and heavy-armed troops waited on the king. “These numbers have been with good reason regarded as corrupt by most critics. They cannot be successfully defended either as probable in themselves or as in harmony with the other statements of the military force, or of the population, contained in our author” [Speak. Com.]. Others account for the numbers by including every one fit to bear arms in time of peace pursuing their daily callings; auxiliaries from tributary Philistines and Arabs; and all who on religious grounds attached themselves to the kingdom of Judah [cf. Murphy].
HOMILETICS
JEHOSHAPHAT’S GOOD BEGINNING.—2Ch_17:1-19
Natural for Jehoshaphat to succeed his father, but in defending his kingdom ne indicated a policy; in rising above his surroundings, resisting prevalent customs, and introducing reforms he made a good beginning. Taking the chapter as a sketch—
I. Jehoshaphat’s natural defences. Jehoshaphat “strengthened himself against Israel.” During Asa’s decay Ahab acted with vigour. Israel getting a formidable kingdom, needful for Jehoshaphat to bestir himself and maintain his own. This done not by league and bribe, but in natural, just, and quiet method against possible attack. A prudent man foresees the evil and prepares for it. The tempers of men must be watched, the threatening of the times met, and weak places should be strengthened and guarded. To ignore inevitable tendencies, to act without foresight and preparation, most ruinous.
II. Jehoshaphat’s moral reforms. He cared for the spiritual welfare as well as for the outward security of the kingdom. Anxious to restore the worship of Jehovah, to instruct the people, and to administer justice (2Ch_19:5).
1. Reforms springing from personal piety. He himself upright and sincere in serving God. A man of foresight and reverence, of deep conviction and uncompromising principle. One who felt God’s presence more needful than garrisons in cities and forces on land.
2. Reforms displaying zeal against idolatry. He walked “not after the doings of Israel” (2Ch_17:4), was dead against calf worship, strictly adhered to Divine enactments, removed monuments, and destroyed groves which disgraced the land, and almost entirely cleansed it from idolatry (2Ch_20:33).
3. Reforms connected with the instruction of the people. A commission of education was formed, equipped, and sent “about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people” (2Ch_17:9). Kings and princes help a nation, not by stifling inquiry, attempting to force opinion and punishing heterodoxy; but by spreading education, encouraging virtue, and exalting God’s word. Nations who receive this word most tolerant and intelligent, most philanthropic and exalted.
III. Jehoshaphat’s consequent prosperity and honour. In personal conduct separated alike from gross idolatry and Israelitish apostasy; in government ruling in the fear of God, and for the good of his subjects, “the Lord stablished the kingdom in his hand.”
1. At home peace and plenty. His people loyal and submissive, voluntary, offerings abundant—”riches and honour” without stint.
2. Abroad security and honour. None disturbed his peaceful reign, hostile peoples bowed before him, the tributes of nations poured into his treasury, and the fear of God “fell upon all the kingdoms” with its restraining influence.
JEHOSHAPHAT’S UPRIGHTNESS.—2Ch_17:3-4
Jehoshaphat expressly commended for integrity, even when condemned for his sin (2Ch_19:3). This corresponds with his conduct at beginning of his reign, and the continuance of his uprightness after sad and untoward events.
I. A man’s character is determined by his relation to God. He acknowledged and “sought the Lord God of his father.” In some relation all stand to God, and according to conduct, not creed, profession nor opinion, moral character and condition determined.
II. A man’s character and course of life are specially observed by God. David’s life described in parts, each part under God’s inspection. Youth, manhood, and old age; relapses and restorations known to him. Scripture lives detected, impartially given in temptations, failings, and virtues. “Thou, O Lord, knowest me: thou hast seen me and tried mine heart toward (with) thee” (Jer_12:3).
III. The latter part of a man’s life may be worse than the first part. “The first ways of his father David.” A contrast between the earlier and the latter days of David, who relapsed and dishonoured in character. Age should bring wisdom, honour, and meetness for eternity. The seed ripens for the crop. Youth grows into maturity, and the student should give the accomplished scholar. Sad to deteriorate in life (Solomon, Jehoshaphat, &c.). “Sad when you have to go back to a man’s youth to find his virtues, or his most conspicuous excellences; but most beautiful when a man’s earlier mistakes are lost in the richness and wisdom of his later conduct” [Parker].
IV. The good only and not the evil in a man’s life should be imitated. Jehoshaphat walked in the godly ways of David; customary and easier to follow the evil. Multitudes and fashions influence; men naturally prone to the inferior and to forget the lofty and spiritual. The universal influence of bad examples presupposes a universal readiness to yield to it. “Be ye therefore followers (Greek, imitators) of God as dear children” (Eph_5:1).
“Presume not that I am the thing I was,
For I have turned away my former self,
So will I those that keep me company” [Shakes.].
THE TEACHING COMMISSION.—2Ch_17:6-9
This a counterpoise to influences which had degraded Judah, and a continuation of Asa’s reaction. These men employed eminently useful, though otherwise unknown.
I. The persons which composed the commission. Officers of court and camp, of civil and religious authority.
1. The princes. A deputation of five to represent civil and constitutional government.
2. The Levites. Nine in number to instruct in ritual and temple service.
3. The priests. Two to explain the nature and enforce the duties of religion. The commission not warriors nor revolutionists, but reformers and revivalists. To educate the people in their duty to God, the king, and to each other.
II. The work which the commission had to perform. Educational and religious.
1. To teach the people. “They taught in Judah” (2Ch_17:9). Education required to chase away superstition, ensure just legislation, develop the energies, and alleviate the condition of the people.
2. To expound the word. “The book of the law” with them. God’s law their text-book and authority. The command of the prince, the creed of the priest, and the ritual of the Levite not to displace God’s word. A law above man, a book more than human to appeal to: a written statute, an authoritative declaration, a final revelation to which to call men’s attention. “In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
III. The effects which followed the work of the commission. The nation improved, reformed, and greatly blessed.
1. In outward prosperity. Peace and prosperity enjoyed; insurrections and wars prevented; unbroken opportunities for pursuit of education and commerce.
2. In moral character. People taught the law of God, returned to religious ways and worship. God’s presence their defence and dignity (2Ch_17:10). Such the effect of the Bible at all times. Its principles tend to civilise and elevate, reform and refine. It is the foe of oppression, the protector of the weak, and the Magna Charta of true liberty. What the boasted civilisation of ancient or modern nations without the Bible! Judge Bible teaching by its fruits! Everywhere it justifies its existence and claims. Its itinerant ministry and popular teaching in the providence of God has preserved this country from revolutions and wars amid the ruins and dissolutions of European nations!
JEHOSHAPHAT’S GREATNESS.—2Ch_17:12-19
I. In the extent of his possessions. “Castles and cities of store,” places for victuals and arms. “He had much business,” undertakings of religion, preparations for peace and war. A great kingdom and great responsibilities committed to his care.
II. In the vastness of his army. The warriors arranged in the army according to their father’s houses. Consisted of five unequal divisions, comprised 1,160,000 men, without including those who garrisoned the fortresses. No monarch, since the time of Solomon, equalled Jehoshaphat in the extent of his revenue, in the strength of his fortifications, and the number of his troops [Jamieson].
III. In the skill of his captains. Five great generals, loyal in spirit, mighty in valour, and ready for any undertaking. “These waited on the king” (2Ch_17:19).
“There is not a sovereign in Europe or in the world, but might read this chapter with advantage.
1. It shows most forcibly that true religion is the basis of the state; and that wherever it prospers, there the state prospers.
2. It shows also, that it is the wisdom of kings to encourage religion with all their power and influence; for if the hearts of the subjects be not bound and influenced by true religion, vain is the application of laws, fines, imprisonments, or corporal punishment of any kind.
3. A religious nation is ever a great nation; it is loved by its friends, it is dreaded by its enemies.
4. It is ever a peaceful and united nation: the blessings of religion, and a wholesome and paternal government, are so fully felt and prized, that all find it their interest to preserve and defend them. Harmony, peace, piety, and strength are the stability of such times. May Britain know and value them!” [A. Clarke].
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
2Ch_17:4-6. Jehoshaphat’s religion.
1. Practical in its possession. Not formal, complimentary, nor expedient for the times. A man of deep conviction, courage, and generous patriotism. If the end had only been as beginning, almost a complete character!
2. Earnest in its nature. He “sought” earnestly and constantly “the Lord God of his father.”
3. Prominent in its testimony. For eighteen years—contemporary with Ahab and Jezebel, the period of Baalism in Israel—firm and faithful, “sought not unto Baalim.”
4. Self-denying in its example. “Not after the doings of Israel,” fashionable and prevalent; but “lifted up” in conformity to God and delight in God’s service.
The working hand and the happy heart. The chief things for a traveller on such a pilgrimage as ours is a right goal before him, the right road before him, the right impulse within him. The chief thoughts of which we are here reminded are:
1. Religion pervading our life—the Lord.
2. Activity pervading our religion—the ways.
3. Cheerfulness pervading our activity [Christian Treasury, 1859].
2Ch_17:7-11. The royal edict. I. We notice the edict of king Jehoshaphat:
1. Mark the benevolence displayed in it;
2. Its policy was not inferior to its benevolence;
3. The benefits arising from it were incalculable. II. The manner in which it was carried into execution. This suggests—
1. That loyalty to the king demands our concurrence with him in his good work;
2. That gratitude to the Jewish nation demands it at our hands;
3. A love to the rising generation should lead us to avail ourselves of the present opportunity to promote their welfare;
4. That a concern for the honour of our holy religion should operate to unite us all in executing the royal edict [C. Simeon, M.A.].
2Ch_17:13. Business, which he performed diligently, personally, and thoroughly. “Many works (LXX.) going forward at once; a negotious man was he. His business, say some, lay in beautifying and fortifying those cities. Augustus gloried at his death, that whereas he had found Rome built with brick, he had left it made of marble [Trapp].
2Ch_17:16. Willingly offered himself. The volunteer—
1. Religious in spirit. Recognition of “the Lord.”
2. Resolute in arms. The vows of God upon him.
3. Valiant in service. Like ancient votaries in Mohammedan armies, never known to return home without victory. “The people blessed all the men that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem.”
“He always wins who sides with Thee,
To him no chance is lost;
Thy will is sweetest to him, when
It triumphs at his cost” [F. W. Faber].
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 17
2Ch_17:3-5. The Lord with him, stablished the kingdom, &c. God is the only source of stability as infinite, absolute, and changeless. He gives stability to his word, church, and people. “In the great hand of God I stand” [Shakespeare].
2Ch_17:7-9. The book of the law. The influence of the Bible has been very efficient towards the introduction of a better and more enlightened sense of right and justice among the several governments of Europe. It taught the duty of benevolence to strangers, of humanity to the vanquished, of the obligation of good faith, of the sin of murder, revenge, and rapacity. The history of Europe, during the earlier periods of modern history, abounds with interesting and strong cases to show the authority of revelation over turbulent princes and fierce warriors, and the effect of that authority in meliorating manners, checking violence, and introducing a system of morals which inculcate peace, moderation, and justice [Chancellor Kent].
2Ch_17:13. Much business. Nothing is denied to well-directed labour; nothing is ever to be attained without it [Sir Joshua Reynolds]. All sorts of mischiefs happen to unoccupied professors of religion; there is no evil from which they are secure. Better would it be for them to accept the lowest occupation for the Lord Jesus than remain the victims of inaction [Spurgeon].
“Troubles spring from idleness,
And grievous toils from needless ease”
[Franklin].
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 2Ch 17:3-5
2Ch 17:3-5
I. It is an unspeakable blessing to have been born in the line of a Christian parentage. Much more than godly instruction and example is involved in the blessing. By a mysterious law of God’s government, tendencies in character spring from the line of natural descent. It is a great thing to have had that fountain of our moral being purified and vitalised by the grace of God.
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II. The religion of our fathers, because it is such, has a strong presumptive claim upon our faith. The presumption may be balanced by opposing evidence, but till it is thus neutralised it exists in the case of every man.
III. It is one of the Divine laws of the increase of the Church that the children of Christian parents should themselves be Christians. There is a law of Christian nurture by which, through the grace of God, every Christian family becomes a nursery of the Church of God.
IV. The imitation of a godly ancestry is peculiarly pleasing to God. God is pleased with honour paid to His own laws. When He has given to a young man the inestimable blessing of a Christian parentage, He looks to see the blessing recognised.
V. It is an act of signal and relentless guilt to break the line of a pious heritage by a godless life. A tripled and quadrupled cordon of spiritual influences must be charged and broken through. Such forces are never overcome but by the aid of opposing forces from the powers of darkness.
A. Phelps, The Old Testament a Living Book, p. 89.
Reference: 2Ch 17:5.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. ii., p. 264.
2Ch 17:7-9
I. Organisation. This scheme was originated and directed by one man. Ornamental committees will ruin any cause. Oneness of heart is deeper and stronger than an alphabetical list of names. There is a great deal of disunion under apparent concentration. Union of heart will carry us through all dangers; union of names will but multiply our perils.
II. The commission organised by Jehoshaphat was aggressive. The princes, the Levites, and the priests "went about through all the cities of Judah." It was an itinerant ministry. The Gospel is nothing if not aggressive. It must challenge attention; it must lift up its voice amid all competitors. It does not wait for battle; it begins it.
III. The commission which Jehoshaphat sent into the cities of Judah was educational. Those who were sent took with them the book of the Law of the Lord, and taught the people. What was the consequence? "The fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat." Religious teachers are better than armies. To magnify God is to take care of the nation.
Parker, City Temple, 1873, p. 357.
Reference: 2Ch 18:6, 2Ch 18:7.—T. R. Evans, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxx., p. 198.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv1, 16 2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
JEHOSHAPHAT’S REFORM
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2Ch 17:1 - 2Ch 17:10.
The first point to be noted in this passage is that Jehoshaphat followed in the steps of Asa his father. Stress is laid on his adherence to the ancestral faith, ‘the first ways of his father David,’-before his great fall,-and the paternal example, ‘he sought to the God of his father.’ Such carrying on of a predecessor’s work is rare in the line of kings of Judah, where father and son were seldom of the same mind in religion. The principle of hereditary monarchy secures peaceful succession, but not continuity of policy. Many a king of Judah had to say in his heart what Ecclesiastes puts into Solomon’s mouth, ‘I hated all my labour, . . . seeing that I must leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool?’ But it is not only in kings’ houses that that experience is realised. Many a home is saddened to-day because the children do not seek the God of their fathers. ‘Instead of the fathers’ should ‘come up thy children’; but, alas! grandmother Lois and mother Eunice do not always see the boy who has known the Scriptures from a child grow up into a Timothy, in whom their unfeigned faith lives again. The neglect of religious instruction in professedly Christian families, the inconsistent lives of parents or their too rigid restraints, or, sometimes, their too lax discipline, are to be blamed for many such cases. But there are many instances in which not the parents, but the children, are to be blamed. An earnest Sunday-school teacher may do much to lead the children of godly parents to their father’s God. Blessed is the home where the golden chain of common faith binds hearts together, and family love is elevated and hallowed by common love of God!
Jehoshaphat’s religion was, further, resolutely held in the face of prevailing opposition. ‘The Baalim’ were popular; it was fashionable to worship them. They were numerous, and all varieties of taste could find a Baal to please them. But this young king turned from the tempting ways that opened flower-strewn before him, and chose the narrow road that led upwards. ‘So did not I, because of the fear of God,’ might have been his motto. A similar determined setting of our faces God-ward, in spite of the crowd of tempting false deities around us, must mark us, if we are to have any religion worth calling by the name. This king recoiled from the example of the neighbouring monarchy, and walked ‘not after the doings of Israel.’ His seeking to God was very practical, for it was not shown simply by professed beliefs or by sentiment, but by ordering his life in obedience to God’s will. The test of real religion is, after all, a life unlike the lives of the men who do not share our faith, and moulded in accordance with God’s known will. It is vain to allege that we are seeking the Lord unless we are walking in His commandments.
Prosperity followed godliness, in accordance with the divinely appointed connection between them which characterised the Old Dispensation. ‘Prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament; adversity is the blessing of the New,’ says Bacon. But the epigram is too neat to be entirely true, for the Book of Job and many a psalm show that the eternal problem of suffering innocence was raised by facts even in the old days, and in our days there are forms of well-being which are the natural fruits of well-doing. Still, the connection was closer in Judah than with us, and, in the case before us, the establishment of Jehoshaphat in the kingdom, his subject’s love, which showed itself in voluntary gifts over and above the taxes imposed, and his wealth and honour, were the direct results of his true religion.
A really devout man must be a propagandist. True faith cannot be hid nor be dumb. As certainly as light must radiate must faith strive to communicate itself. So the account of Jehoshaphat’s efforts to spread the worship of Jehovah follows the account of his personal godliness. ‘His heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord.’ There are two kinds of lifted-up hearts; one when pride, self-sufficiency, and forgetfulness of God, raise a man to a giddy height, from which God’s judgments are sure to cast him down and break him in the fall; one when a lowly heart is raised to high courage and devotion, and ‘set on high,’ because it fears God’s name. Such elevation is consistent with humility. It fears no fall; it is an elevation above earthly desires and terrors, neither of which can reach it, so as to hinder the man from walking in ‘the ways of the Lord.’ This king was lifted to it by his happy experience of the blessed effects of obedience. These encouraged him to vigorous efforts to spread the religion which had thus gladdened and brightened his own life. Is that the use we make of the ease which God gives us?
Jehoshaphat had to destroy first, in order to build up. The ‘high places and Asherim’ had to be taken out of Judah before the true worship could be established there. So it is still. The Christian has to carry a sword in the one hand, and a trowel in the other. Many a rotten old building, the stones of which have been cemented in blood, has to be swept away before the fair temple can be reared. The Devil is in possession of much of the world, and the lawful owner has to dispossess the ‘squatter.’ No one can suppose that society is organised on Christian principles even in so-called ‘Christian countries’; and there is much overturning work to be done before He whose right it is to reign is really king over the whole earth. We, too, have our ‘high places and Asherim’ to root out.
But that destructive work is not to be done by force. Institutions can only be swept away when public opinion has grown to see their evils. Forcible reformations of manners, and, still more, of religion, never last, but are sure to be followed by violent rebounds to the old order. So, side by side with the removal of idolatry, this king took care to diffuse the knowledge of the true worship, by sending out a body of influential commissioners to teach in Judah. That was a new departure of great importance. It presents several interesting features. The composition of the staff of instructors is remarkable. The principal men in it are five court officers, next to whom, and subordinate, as is shown not only by the order of enumeration, but by the phrase ‘with them,’ were nine Levites, and, last and lowest of all, two priests. We might have expected that priests should be the most numerous and important members of such a body, and we are led to suspect that the priesthood was so corrupted as to be careless about religious reformation. A clerical order is not always the most ardent in religious revival. The commissioners were probably chosen, without regard to their being priests, Levites, or ‘laymen,’ because of their zeal in the worship of Jehovah; and the five ‘princes’ head the list in order to show the royal authority of the commission.
Another point is the emphasis with which their function of teaching is thrice mentioned in three verses. Apparently the bulk of the nation knew little or nothing of ‘the law of the Lord,’ either on its spiritual and moral or its ceremonial side; and Jehoshaphat’s object was to effect an enlightened, not a forcible and superficial, change. God’s way of influencing actions is to reveal Himself to the understanding and the heart, that these may move the will, and that may shape the deeds. Wise men will imitate God’s way. Jehoshaphat did not issue royal commands, but sent out teachers. In 2Ch 19:5 we find him despatching ‘judges’ in similar fashion throughout Judah. They had the power to punish, but these teachers had only authority to explain and to exhort.
The present writer accepts the chronicler’s statement that the teachers had ‘the Book of the Law’ with them, though he recognises it as possible that that ‘Book’ was not identical with the complete collection of documents which now bears the name. But, be that as it may, the incident of our text is remarkable as being the only recorded systematic and complete attempt to diffuse the remedy against idolatry throughout the kingdom, as putting religious reformation on its only sure ground, and as hinting at deep and widespread ignorance among the masses.
‘When a man’s ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.’ So Judah found. ‘A terror of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms’ around. No doubt, the news filtered to them of how Jehovah was exerting His might on the nation, and a certain indefinable awe of this so potent god, who was defeating the Baalim, made them think that peace was the best policy. Each nation was supposed to have its own god, and the national god was supposed to fight for his worshippers; so that war was a struggle of deities as well as of men, and the stronger god won. Here was a god who had reconquered his territory, and had cast out usurpers. Prudence dictated keeping on good terms with him. But it never occurred to any of these peoples that their own gods were any less real than Judah’ s, or that Judah’s God could ever become theirs.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 Reign of Jehoshaphat
Reign of Jehoshaphat
An account of a mission of Levites to teach the Law, and of the king's army.
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The particulars of Jehoshaphat's reign here given are additional to those contained in 1Ki_22:41-50.
1. Strengthened himself against Israel] Jehoshaphat came to the throne in the fourth year of Ahab, and it is probable that some interval elapsed before he made peace with him, as recorded in 1Ki_22:44.
2. Which Asa.. taken] see 2Ch_15:8, and note.
3. His father David] LXX omits 'David,' so that his father means Asa, whose early actions (2Ch_14:2) are here contrasted with the oppressiveness and want of faith that he displayed in his later years (2Ch_16:7-10). Baalim] RV 'the Baalim' (and so elsewhere), i.e. the various false gods to each of whom the title 'Baal' (=Lord), was applied.
4. The doings of Israel] an allusion either to the worship of the calves (2Ch_13:8-9) or to that of the Zidonian Baal, introduced into Israel by Jezebel, the wife of Jehoshaphat's contemporary, Ahab.
7. He sent to his princes] The princes were to organise the teaching which was carried out by the Levites named in the next v.
9. Went about] This is the only record in the historical books of the diffusion of a knowledge of the Law by means of a mission. In the reign of Josiah (2Ki_23:2) and after the return from the exile (Neh_8:3-18) the Law was merely read before assemblies of the people at Jerusalem.
13. Much business] i.e. was busily employed on works of defence. And the men of war.. were] better, 'and he had men of war.. in Jerusalem.'
14-18. It is generally agreed that there must be some error in these enormous numbers.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 14 After the Jewish custom of calling a family, or…
father
After the Jewish custom of calling a family, or tribal head, father; e.g. Joh 8:53.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 2. Reformation under Jehoshaphat
2. Reformation under Jehoshaphat
CHAPTER 17 Jehoshaphat’s Reformation and Increase
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1. The Lord was with Jehoshaphat (2Ch 17:1-5)
2. The revival under his reign (2Ch 17:6-9)
3. His increase (2Ch 17:10-19)
Jehoshaphat, the son of Asa, began his reign by strengthening himself against Israel. The Lord was with him, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, which means David’s faithful walk before his great sin. The Lord greatly blessed him by establishing his kingdom and in giving him riches and honor in abundance. The Lord kept all His promises. When Jehoshaphat saw the evidences of divine blessing, his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord. This does not mean that he was puffed up, but that he became encouraged to go on in the good way he was following. The high places and groves were removed by him. In 1Ki 22:43, we read that he did not take away the high places and that the people offered incense there. The work was not completely done. While he personally wanted to see it accomplished and commanded that it be done, the people failed in fully carrying out his wishes. “For as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers” (20:33). Another work he did, was the sending out of teachers to instruct in the knowledge of the LORD. Their names are interesting. Ben-hail, “son of strength”; Abadiah, “servant of the Lord”; Zechariah, “the Lord remembers 11; Nethaneel, “gift of God”; Michariah, “Who is like the Lord?” He also sent priests and Levites. “And they taught in Judah and had the book of the law of the LORD with them and went about throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people.” It was a revival in teaching and in the study of the Word. No true revival can take place unless it is connected with the Word.
And the results soon came. The fear of the LORD fell upon the surrounding kingdoms. They feared to touch the people who were thus blessed. The Philistines brought presents and tribute silver; the Arabians immense herds of cattle. It was all a fulfillment of Deu 11:22-25. Judah had a phenomenal increase. Without doubt this chapter presents one of the best scenes in the kingdom of Judah.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv1, 10 Jehoshaphat’s Piety.
Jehoshaphat’s Piety.
v. l And Jehoshaphat, his son, reigned in his stead and strengthened himself against Israel, for the behavior of the kings of Israel made it advisable to adopt proper measures of defense against the northern kingdom, both in strengthening the fortresses and in increasing the army.
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v. 2. And he placed forces, strong garrisons, in all the fenced cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, military posts with special governors or trusted officers, and in the cities of Ephraim, those which had been taken by Judah, 2Ch 15:8, which Asa, his father, had taken.
v. 3. And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the first ways of his father David, as this great king of Judah had behaved in the early part of his reign, before the matter of Bathsheba, and sought not unto Baalim, did not become guilty of idolatry in any form,
v. 4. but sought to the Lord God of his father, made the worship of the true God the purpose of his life, and walked in His commandments and not after the doings of Israel, in the matter of the abominable calf-worship, 1Ki 12:28.
v. 5. Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand, 2Ki 14:5; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents, as was customary at the beginning of a new king’s reign; and he had riches and honor in abundance, the presents of his subjects were made in proportion to the estimation in which they held him.
v. 6. And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord, it was so full of faith and piety that it was exalted above the lowness and meanness of idolatry and willful transgressions. Moreover, he took away the high places, those consecrated to Baal, and groves, the wooden pillars devoted to Astarte, out of Judah. It seems that the people resorted to idolatry just as soon as any king became lax in his insistence upon the true worship alone.
v. 7. Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Ben-hail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah, in an extraordinary visitation of the district to find out the status of the knowledge of the Law.
v. 8. And with them he sent Levites, even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan and Adonijah and Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah, Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests, who were, of course, the directors of the course.
v. 9. And they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the Lord with them; for copies of the books of Moses were available, probably even the original copy, which was rediscovered under Josiah, three hundred years later, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people, giving them all the information concerning the civil and religious precepts as contained in the book which was even then known as the Law of Jehovah. It is well-pleasing to the Lord if the rulers of a country exercise justice and judgment, maintain discipline and order, and perform all the tasks of their office in such a way as to promote peace and prosperity.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17 in his place
in his place
"after his father"
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strengthened himself against Israel
Jehoshaphat prepared the army for battle. AT: "prepared the army to be able to battle Israel" (See: Synecdoche)
He placed forces
"He places soldiers"
garrisons
military encampments set up to protect the people
translationWords
Jehoshaphat
king
kingdom of Israel
kingdom of Judah
Ephraim
Asa
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12 17:1 Including a two-year co-regency with his father, Asa,…
17:1 Including a two-year co-regency with his father, Asa, Jehoshaphat reigned from 872 to 848 BC. • The last years of Asa’s reign were characterized by conflicts and oppression, so Jehoshaphat needed to consolidate power within Judah to restore peace and stability. Israel had been an enemy during Asa’s days, but Jehoshaphat soon entered into an alliance with Ahab (18:1-2).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.