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
Leave a Comment below
Join the Team
Interested in writing for the Bible Reading Plan? Email hello@biblereadingplan.org.
4 thoughts on “2 Chronicles 19”
This chapter addressed King Jehoshaphat’s priorities, his response to constructive criticism, and his devotion to God. Through the seer, Jehu, Jehoshaphat is confronted regarding an alliance with the wicked King Ahab. His fear of man seemed to trump the fear of God in that moment. As king he could have retaliated against Jehu, but chose submission instead. He returned to God and actively instituted judges & priests to serve the people in the law of the Lord. He knew who God was and wanted to insure his people did, too. Jehoshaphat understood that God holds us accountable for the authority/leadership over others. My application for today is knowing and living in the tension of a fallen world while remaining faithful to God is our greatest challenge. It will be imperative to keep our heart aligned with his and not distracted or lured into the easy way that leads to destruction. It’s the intentional feeding of our souls that will starve our fears. Never forget that as believers in Christ’s completed work on the cross, we have the Holy Spirit who is our guide, counselor and teacher.
Psalm 67:1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah We are blessed to be a blessing, flowing from God to us, outward to others. Thank you Tedashii for your heart and God’s Word you poured out to us yesterday.
So we have to get rid of the junk in our lives that causes us to stumble and be a blessing to those around us. Thank goodness God is good and great in His grace and mercy towards us. He was also great in His mercy towards King J. Because King J wanted to and put in place for the people to follow God, he appointed godly leadership to help him implement God’s laws with integrity. Now applying this to our lives today=integrity, honor, truthfulness and the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 22:4 True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor and long life. Psalm 34:9-10 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Shane and Shane also have a song on Psalm 34 (my favorite) Oh taste and see
God You are amazing in such a grand orchestration of all the pieces falling in place when it is needed. I have tasted and seen that You are good and I am blessed beyond measure! Thank You for wisdom, for holy fear, for listening ears, for obedience to Your voice in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!!
I left off on Zephaniah 3 and would like to pick up from there but it won’t let me type it in , it has gone back to the beginning of chapter 2 Chronicles 3 . How can I go to Zephaniah ?
Patty, scroll to the top of this page and find 3 horizontal bars in the top right hand corner. Click on the bars which will take you to a page with options. Click on the “Explore” tab then type Zephaniah 4 in the search bar. It should take you directly there.