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Context No. 3961 of 4322 · 2 Chronicles

Context · Reflection

2 Chronicles 20:31-37: in context

31So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign. He reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 32He walked in the way of Asa his father, and didn’t turn away from it, doing that which was right in the LORD’s eyes. 33However the high places were not taken away, and the people had still not set their hearts on the God of their fathers. 34Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is included in the book of the kings of Israel. 35After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. The same did very wickedly. 36He joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish. They made the ships in Ezion Geber. 37Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have joined yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” The ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

Jehoshaphat was a good king who walked in the ways of his faithful father and did what was right in the LORD's sight. And yet this passage records a serious misstep: he allied himself with Ahaziah, the wicked king of Israel, joining him in a shipbuilding venture. And a prophet came to Jehoshaphat with a rebuke: because you have joined with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed what you have made; and the ships were wrecked.

Here is a warning that even a genuinely faithful person can be led into trouble by unwise partnerships with the ungodly. Jehoshaphat's fault was not open rebellion against God but a careless alliance, yoking himself in a joint venture with a man opposed to God. And God, who cared about his servant, disrupted the venture rather than let the partnership prosper. There is a lesson here about the company we keep and the ventures we join. It is possible to be sincere in our faith and still compromise ourselves by entangling alliances with those whose values are set against God. Such partnerships tend not toward good but toward trouble.

Am I careful about the partnerships and ventures I bind myself to, aware that even a sincere faith can be compromised by entangling alliances with those whose values are set against God?

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