Read 2 Chronicles 19
19 When Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem, 2 Jehu the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him and said to the king, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord?Because of this, the wrath of the Lord is on you. 3 There is, however, some good in you, for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles and have set your heart on seeking God.”
Jehoshaphat Appoints Judges
4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 5 He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah. 6 He told them, “Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for mere mortals but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. 7 Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”
8 In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, priests and heads of Israelite families to administer the law of the Lord and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem. 9 He gave them these orders: “You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord. 10 In every case that comes before you from your people who live in the cities—whether bloodshed or other concerns of the law, commands, decrees or regulations—you are to warn them not to sin against the Lord; otherwise his wrath will come on you and your people. Do this, and you will not sin.
11 “Amariah the chief priest will be over you in any matter concerning the Lord, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the tribe of Judah, will be over you in any matter concerning the king, and the Levites will serve as officials before you. Act with courage, and may the Lord be with those who do well.”
Go Deeper
We see in yesterday’s reading of 2 Chronicles 18, Good King Jehoshaphat made an unholy alliance with King Ahab (both militarily and personally) through his son’s marriage to Ahab’s daughter. These could have cost him his life without his prayerful plea during the battle with the Arameans, and the Lord’s gracious protection. After he returns to Jerusalem unharmed, Jehu the seer, meets him with some poignant words in verses 2 and 3 saying, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, the wrath of the Lord is on you. There is, however, some good in you, for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles and have set your heart on seeking God.” As we learned from king David and now king Jehoshaphat, in spite of our mistakes, God will go with us if we are men and women after God’s own heart.
We now see why king Jehoshaphat was labeled “good.” From his desire to live for God, He led his nation to do the same. The last 7 verses show how serious he was about the nation returning to God by traveling to the people with the sole purpose of “bringing them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers.” This is a beautiful testimony of his heart and one we should all desire for our families, communities, and nation. All of us lead in some capacity and king Jehoshaphat’s message is relevant today. He charges the people of the nation to return to the God of their fathers.
He further tells the newly appointed Judges in verse 6, “Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for mere mortals but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict.” Verse 7 ends with this warning, “judge carefully, for with the Lord our God, there is no injustice, or partiality or bribery.” He is saying that integrity matters a lot to God. He goes on to appoint Levites, priests, and heads of families to administer God’s law settling disputes among those in Jerusalem. Finally, he reestablishes Godly social order according to the law and makes it clear to those leading their communities, to lead with justice and righteousness at the heart of every decision. He finally asks those carefully chosen leaders to ask all the Israelites in their respective parts of the nation to live with integrity and a clear conscience without sin.
There are three important points in this short but loaded chapter. First, Godly leadership is so important, and the only way to lead this way is committing one’s heart fully to God and His ways. Jehoshaphat showed his heart of humility before God in proclaiming over all the nation to return to God. Isaiah 55:9 says, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” As we lead in our spheres, may we first humbly admit that God’s ideas and ways are better than our own. Second, in leading effectively, we must grow in the knowledge of God’s thoughts and ideas. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” As we put God first and study scripture, we better see and understand His wisdom and knowledge. We can apply His ways into our own lives and perhaps influence for the good of others. Over time, we will watch His wisdom work within our lives and circumstances because we will think and act in tandem with God. Thirdly, we can trust God in everything which is the mark of maturity as a leader. Whether it is our marriages, families, children, friendships, work, communities or church service, Matthew 6:33 gives us the place to start saying, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you as well.”
Simply stated, we must seek the Lord first rather than money, power, position or pleasure. As did Good King Jehoshaphat, we also are to seek His Kingdom with humility before God, learning the wisdom of God, and trusting in our all-sufficient Savior to guide and help us in every circumstance we will ever face. Growing in humility, wisdom, and trust throughout our earthly life will bring a deep intimacy with Christ now, and indomitable hope for our future.
Questions
- Whose voices do you choose to listen to when seeking wisdom? Who are the people that you know will point you to Jesus, even if it’s not what you want to hear?
- Where are you ignoring the voice of God in your life? Where do you need to surrender to him?
- Are you the type of friend that is willing to point others to truth, in love, even when it feels difficult?
A Quote
“True greatness, true leadership, is found in in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you.”
Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership
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9 responses to “2 Chronicles 19”
“Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors” (v4).
Of all of King Jehoshaphat’s accomplishments, this one is most noteworthy. Scripture records he went out “again” meaning it was his habit that eventually turned into his legacy. Of all the things to be known for, let it be the same for us, to know Christ deeply and make him known.
It is so refreshing to read about Jehoshaphat’s love of the Lord. What a great legacy he left trying to bring the people back to the Lord.
But there is some good in you – Would this be said of all God’s children, for we all stumble like Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat made a big blunder by following along with Ahab’s plans. BUT GOD showed him favor. So Jehoshaphat then repented and tried to help undo damage he had caused.
Others are watching you/us all the time. When we fall, they can say see I told you they were not really Jesus followers, or they can say Oh my, we need to pray for her she stumbled. Then when you/us repent and turn away from the sin that made us stumble, they can say, I see a true follower of Christ who loves Him and wants to make right choices, I have been standing in the gap for her, to come along side of her until she can get her feet underneath herself.
What I am trying to say and not able to get words, is that to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength can be challenging, like it was with Joheshaphat. We live in a dying world, an Ahab world. We have to be in this world but not of it. We have social media, read same books, go to same parks so it can be a challenge to be different. Loving God, doing right things, not doing things like the world does them, being different by repenting and showing the love of God to others. Praying for those that are struggling.
THOUGHT – Every time we go to the Word of God, we are in a sense going to a “prophet,” but even more than a prophet, for a prophet was an intermediary for the Word of the LORD, but the Scripture is Yahweh speaking directly (Isa 55:11), yea, even “breathing” on us and into us the Living and Active Word (Heb 4:12+), in effect giving us “divine resuscitation” from the God breathed Word (2Ti 3:16+). The question for each of us (every time we go to the Fountain of His Word) is how will we respond? Will respond like Ahab who heard the clear prophetic word but failed to heed it (and suffered the consequences of not heeding) or will we respond like Jehoshaphat (and his father Asa – to the first prophet) and experience “times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord?” (Acts 3:19+). In short, when we go to the living Word, we should expect to some degree to experience revival of our souls. Psalm 119:25+ says “My soul cleaves to the dust; Revive me according to Your word.” In simple terms, to experience daily revival, re-Bible! fhttps://www.preceptaustin.org/2-chronicles-19-commentaryrom
God thank You for Holy Spirit. Thank You for Your Spirit within me to cleanse, separate, sanctify and to dedicate me to You. God thank You that I am for Your service and glory!! God where ever I am let me be serving You and others for Your glory. God thank You to have the love goggles of Yours, to see others and to pray for them immediately. God help me to stand up for what is right, to be a light in a dark world, to have faith and courage to be a witness for and about You God. Thank You for today, these minutes in this day. God help my actions to follow my words, this morning and my actions to be true to my words. God I am grateful thankful, and blessed beyond measure in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I love these marching orders from Jehoshaphat in verse 9: “You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord.”
Those are still good orders. I pray I follow them.
Yes!
🙋♀️ same here.
Amen!
6 “He told them, “Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for mere mortals but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict.”
This verse reminds me of Colossians 3:23 . . . “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.”
As is always the case, I open the chapter and find MORE real life reflection and application. These days, leadership transitions seem to be everywhere I turn.
Today’s story opens after Jehoshaphat had just been rebuked for aligning with Ahab. It sounds like he recognized the kingdom needed a course correction — civically AND spiritually. So instead of settling for business as usual, he took time to assess the condition of his people and focus on strengthening the systems and leaders around him. He then set about appointing judges to restore right governance, right alignment — and right worship.
But Jehoshaphat didn’t simply put people into leadership roles and walk away. He reminded them Who they ultimately served — and what it would take to serve well:
• “Consider carefully what you do.”
• “You do not judge for man but for the Lord.”
• “Let the fear of the Lord be upon you.”
• “Act with courage, and may the Lord be with the upright.”
Jehoshaphat’s posture reminds me how seriously leadership should be regarded. Choosing leaders isn’t casual, automatic or simply administrative. And those who lead must do so with humility, clarity and courage.
There’s something in that posture I want to carry with me.
Because we never know where we may be called/appointed to serve/lead next. But wherever it is, such kingdom assignment will not be just an “organizational position.”
It’s a spiritual imperative.