Welcome back to the Bible Journey Daily Podcast. It's wonderful to have you with me again as we continue our journey through the Book of Two Chronicles, a book that records not only the rise and fall of Kings, but also can teach us how to walk wisely and to live wisely with the Lord. But before we begin today, I want to pause and say a heartfelt thank you for any of you who have chosen to listen to this podcast and join with me in this journey through the entire Bible, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. I never imagined it could have become such a big worldwide thing when I first launched it over five years ago. So thank you for being with me. And if you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that wherever you get your podcasts from, and you too can make your decision to make the daily study of the Bible part of the rhythm of your daily life. You have access to all 23 seasons of the books we've covered so far, and they're all available. If not, where you get your ordinary podcasts from, you can certainly access the entire back catalogue for free on Patreon. Okay, today's episode I've titled How to Respond to a Rebuke. Now in our last time together yesterday, Jehosaphat, this king of Judah, we saw him make a dangerous alliance with Ahab, the king of Israel. We saw how he listened to the wrong choices, followed the wrong counsel, and how he very nearly lost his life because of that. But now in chapter nineteen we see him return home, and God sends a prophet immediately out to rebuke him. And what Jehosaphat does next is one of the most beautiful and important moments of his life, because he doesn't try and defend himself, he doesn't justify his actions, and thankfully he doesn't imprison this prophet, as sadly yesterday we saw Ahab do. Instead, he responds with humility, he receives the rebuke, he corrects his course, and thereafter he leads the nation into deeper obedience. That's why I believe that today's chapter 19 teaches us something that every believer would be very helpful to learn. How to respond to God when God confronts us, how to respond when we are corrected, or and how to respond to when we are rebuked in life. So let's explore how we do that in today's episode of the Bible Journey Daily Podcast. Sometimes they need scolding, the Bible calls it, and it has been my observation, and perhaps yours as well, friends, that it is not only children, but adults also tend not to respond well to this sort of thing. The proper response, of course, is to hear the correction and to heed it. But is there a response perhaps beyond even that that we should consider? Is there a way to respond to a rebuke that goes above and beyond the simple acknowledgement? Now, one of the kings in the Old Testament shows us exactly how to do that, because today we see Jehoshaphat's response to a prophet's rebuke, and it is one of the most helpful lessons in all of the Bible for anyone who has ever been corrected. Corrected in life, and more importantly, corrected by the Lord. And if you've not been, well, it's very likely you will at some point in the future. So let's look today at our chapter, which is 2 Chronicles 19. It's a short chapter, but it still packs a powerful message. So it begins with us saying Jehoshaphat return home. And he's alive after his wayward adventures with Ahab, but he's not innocent of what has gone on recently. Verse 1 says, When Jehoshaphat, King of Jerusalem, returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem. Now I'll just pause there. To understand this verse, we have to remember what has just happened in the previous chapter. In chapter 18, yesterday, we saw Jehoshaphat visit Ahab, the king of the northern kingdom, and Ahab, the king there, suggested that they go to war together. And Jahab responded wisely initially and said, Well, okay, but let's inquire of the Lord first. Now, then a true prophet of God, a fellow called Makaiah, warned that the king of Israel would be killed if they do this. But then four hundred false prophets said, No, go, God will give you the victory. Ahab listened to the four hundred prophets, ignored the one good prophet of God, and Jehoshaphat sadly followed him into the battle. And Ahab died exactly as God said he would, and Jehoshaphat, well he barely escaped with his life. So now at the beginning of chapter 19, it opens with Jehoshaphat returning home. He's alive, yes, but he's not innocent of what has gone before, and his rebuke comes in verse 2. Jehu the seer, the son of Hana, went out to meet him and said to him, Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this the wrath of the Lord is on you. So Jehosaphat has barely stepped back in Jerusalem when this prophet confronts him, Jehu, the son of Hananiah. And he meets him at the gate of the city, and he rebukes him sharply there, asking the ironic rhetorical question, Should you have helped the wicked? Should you have been involved with those who actually declare that they hate the Lord? Now Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab was not merely unwise, it was in fact ungodly, because it was a partnership with a man who self-declaringly hated the Lord and persecuted God's prophets, and indeed we know by reading more widely that he promoted idolatry in the northern land of Israel. And Jehu says plainly, because of this, the wrath of the Lord is now on you. Now Jehoshaphat had been spared in battle, but he is not being spared the rebuke for his actions here. Nevertheless, even in that rebuke there is wrapped up some encouragement as well. Verse 3 There is, however, some good in you, he said, for you have rid the land of the Ashrappels, and you have set your heart on seeking God. So this is quite remarkable and interesting. Jehu rebukes Jehosaphat strongly in verse 2, but then he encourages him in verse 3. He says, You did wrong, my friend, but he also says you have done right at times. You made a foolish alliance, but you removed idols in the land. You endangered your life and the life of others, but overall you have a heart that desires to seek the Lord. This is one of the great impressions that you can get if you choose to study the Old Testament carefully, because it does indeed show, even in these ancient scriptures, that people are complex. They are not all simply good or bad. They are often a mixture of both. They are often a mixture of both. Jehoshaphat made a serious mistake, but he also did some good things in his life and at times showed a sincere heart. So he is rebuked, but he's not rejected. He is corrected, but note he's not actually condemned. So when he returns home, Jehu is there to rebuke him sharply, but Jehu also acknowledges Jehozephat's sincere devotion at times and in the past. So Jehozephat is presented to us as a mixture of failure and faithfulness, like most of us. But coming now is the big potential teaching moment for him and for us. Here I believe is the point of the passage. How do we see Jehoshaphat respond to this rebuke? Now, as I said, people don't usually respond well to correction. My bottom line, jump to reaction, is always to feel a little defensive. You've probably seen that and experienced it yourself. You've probably had people react poorly when you've tried to give them advice or just gently correct them. But what is the proper response? Well, to acknowledge the truth, to accept the correction, and to repent. Of course, yes, that's all true. That's what God requires of it. But Jehoshaphat, here we see, goes beyond that. And this is what I believe makes this chapter so valuable to us even today. Because Jehosaphat's response is to return repentance into reform. Jehoshaphat has just been rebuked sharply, directly, unmistakably by this prophet Jehu, and most people when rebuked either react defensively, withdraw emotionally, or simply nod politely and then move on without changing anything. But Jehozephat really does something and models something really extraordinary for us here. He goes beyond repentance, he goes beyond just acknowledging his sin. He even goes beyond correcting his sin. He turns the rebuke into change. Verse 4. It says Jehosaphat lived in Jerusalem and 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. This is what is remarkable and insightful in this chapter. Jehoshaphat didn't merely say, You know what, you're right, I shouldn't have done that thing. He didn't just merely repent privately or just adjust his own behavior. He goes out among the people personally, declaring he's travelled from Bathsheba in the far south to the hill country of Ephraim, the northern border of Judah. And what does he do? He turns the people back to the Lord. His alliance with Ahab, he recognises, set a bad example, and his compromise has influenced others in the land. His failure has affected the whole nation. So Jehosaphat now also tries to go out and repair the damage he has done. So this is going beyond repentance. This is repentance that becomes leadership, the type of repentance that can bring restoration not only to the individual, but to the wider, more affected amongst them. Scripture, by the way, uses the phrase from Dan to Bersheba to describe the whole land. Dan is the northernmost point of ancient Israel, but after the division of the kingdom, Dan was no longer part of Judah, and the northern kingdom of Judah now is marked by the hill country of Ephraim, which is why that designation of the border is used. Anyway, I digress. So what the chronicler is saying here is that Jehoshaphat went from Beersheba to Ephraim, and so he's saying Jehovah travels throughout the entire southern kingdom. He didn't send delegates, he didn't issue degrees, decrees, he didn't write letters, he went himself. And then, verse 5, he appointed judges in the land and in each of the fortified cities of Judah. Now Jehoshaphat likely found corruption on the way, inconsistency and partiality amongst these judges, amongst these existing judges. So he appoints new judges, trustworthy judges throughout their land. He is rebuilding the nation spiritually and administratively. Then Jehosaphat instructs these new judges on how they should behave. In verses six and seven it tells us he told them, Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging from your mortals, but for the Lord who is with you whenever you give a verdict. 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. So Jehosaphat reminds the judges that they are to judge for the Lord, not for men. They must judge with integrity, with impartiality, and they must reject bribery, meaning they must reflect God's character in all their decisions. Now this judicial reform is rooted in Scripture and the Mosaic Law. So Jehosaphat is not merely correcting his own mistake, he's correcting and reforming and restoring the entire nation. Verse 8. In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, priests, and the heads of the Israelite families to administer the law of the Lord and to settle disputes. So this is what we'd probably call today a sort of central court of appeal, a high court, a supreme court, and it's located in Jerusalem. And Jehoshaphat appoints Levites, priests, and these leading fathers of Israel to judge different cases involving things involving things like civil disputes, bloodshed between people, offenses against commandments, statutes and ordinances. And then Jehosaphat issues his final instructions, and he says he gave them these orders. You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord. In every case that comes before you, 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. So Jehoshaphat is instructing and telling the judges here to serve faithfully and wholeheartedly, to serve in a way that warns the people and also prevents future sin, so that they can avoid God's wrath by doing what is right. So this is not merely legal administration being set up here. This is spiritual leadership. And in the final verse of today's chapter, verse eleven, it says, Amaria, the chief priest, will be over you in all matters of the Lord, and Zebediah will be over you in all the matters of the king. So Jehosaphat here establishes a chief priest over religious cases and a chief official over civil cases, as well as all these Levites and assistants we just saw. So this all mirrors Moses' system established under God and revealed by God in Exodus 18. Local judges and a central court of appeal. And so Jehosaphat revives what Israel had neglected. And the point here is that Jehoshaphat is going way beyond repentance. He repents and then he reforms. He goes out among the people, he turns them back to the Lord, he appoints the administrative and legal system judges, he instructs those judges in righteousness, he revives the judicial system, he restores obedience to the law in the land, so he strengthens the entire nation spiritually. Jehosaphat's response here to his rebuke has gone way above and beyond because he uses this rebuke as motivation to not only receive the forgiveness of God but to bring others back to the Lord as well, indeed, the whole nation. This chapter, I believe, gives us one of the most powerful lessons in the Old Testament about how to respond to correction in our lives. The best response being modelled here to a rebuke from the Lord is to turn failure into ministry. Most people, as I said, do not respond well to rebuke or correction. The best you can usually hope for is someone saying, Well, I suppose you're right now I'm wrong. But even that doesn't happen very often, does it? Pride so often gets in the way. But Jehosaphat not only does this, but he goes way beyond that. He was rebuked, he was confronted, and he was told plainly, you did wrong, and he was warned that the wrath of God was now upon him. And what have we seen him do? Yes, he repented, but then he did something more, something rare, something beautiful, and something that if you and I pay attention can be deeply instructive for our lives even today. He uses the rebuke as motivation to teach others, and he turns his failure into ministry. He turns his correction into restoration and reformation. This is the lesson of the chapter, friends. Use your failure as an opportunity to teach others the word and the plans of the Lord. Also use your struggles in life to help support and minister to others who are going through the same struggles that you went through. And this is the classic Old Testament template, if you like, an illustration of this principle. And we see it again. I'm thinking of when David committed adultery with Bathsheba. He was confronted and rebuked, and later he wrote the famous Psalm 51, the great penitential Psalm, as it's called, and in it he pleads for forgiveness and cleansing and restoration. Verses nine to twelve say, Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. So David isn't just asking for forgiveness here, he's asking for cleansing and restoration. But then comes the key verse, the verse that parallels Jehosaphat's response we've just seen. 51 verse 13. Then he says, so in response to this, then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will be turned back to you. This is the turning point. David first said, Forgive me, but then he says, if you do that, then I will teach others. So he doesn't stop at repentance, he goes beyond that, and he uses his failure as a platform for ministry. He uses his sin as a lesson for others. He review, he uses the rebuke he has received as motivation for him to teach similar transgressors God's ways. And this is exactly what we've just seen Jehoshaphat do, isn't it? Now, by the way, in the New Testament, there are also many New Testament parallels to this. One is found in Luke 22, where Jesus himself speaks to Simon Peter and says, Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat, but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail, and when you have turned back, you will strengthen your brothers. So Jesus says, You know what, Simon Peter, you will fail. You will deny me, you will be rebuked, but you will be restored. And when you have been restored, when you have turned back, then strengthen your brothers. In other words, use your failure to help others, use your restoration to restore others, and use your rebuke to strengthen others in their faith and in their lives. This is the New Testament parallel, one of many, to today's chapter in the Old Testament, 2 Chronicles 19. Jehoshaphat turned back and did indeed strengthen his brothers. David turned back and then taught transgressors God's ways. We know that through his writings, his life, and his extensive Psalms. And Peter, Simon Peter, didn't turn, indeed turn back and was key in strengthening and establishing the early church. We know that. So this is the biblical pattern. One of the great falsehoods that Satan tries to deceive Christians with is that he tries to get them to believe that because they've sinned in the past, that makes them no longer qualified or able to serve. David felt that, Jehoshaphat no doubt felt, probably felt that at this time. Peter, we know, certainly felt that. But Psalm 51, 2 Chronicles, and those verses from Luke 22 all teach the same truth. Failure does not disqualify you from serving in the future, because if you respond to rebuke with repentance and restoration, you can indeed serve again. You should indeed serve again. You are in fact uniquely equipped to serve in that area of failure when others are doing the same thing as you once did. Jehosaphat proves that point. I hope you found it helpful and you too are able to utilize it in your life going forward today. Thanks for being with me today. So the story of Two Chronicles shows us that the proper response to rebuke is not merely to admit the fault, not merely to repent, not merely to adjust your behavior, but that there is in fact an opportunity to go beyond that. To turn rebuke into reform, correction into restation, restoration, and turn your failures into ministry. We saw this guy go out among the people and strengthen the entire nation. He has restored the civic judicial system and he taught others the word of the Lord. He used his own failure as a platform for ministry in order to help others avoid the same mistake. And that is the ultimate best response to a rebuke when God rebukes you for sin. David did that exact same thing. That exact same thing. After his sin with Bathsheba, he prayed for forgiveness, as we saw in 51, and then he said, I will teach your transgressors your way. And indeed he did that. And Peter did the same thing. After denying the Lord, he went out and strengthened his brothers. They all turned away from their sin and they all used their failures to strengthen others so that others' people were less likely to do the same thing and make the same mistakes as they have done. And that is the biblical pattern revealed today. So, my friend, if God chooses you to rebuke you, listen and repent. But don't merely repent, use the experience to help someone else walk more faithfully with the Lord. You have unique failures and challenges in your life, you can use those to help others. So that's it for today. Thank you for joining me. My prayer today is these examples will help you to respond to godly correction with humility, repentance, and with a desire to help others grow in their work with the Lord. Now in tomorrow's episode, we returned with 2 Chronicles, chapter 20, you'll not be surprised to hear. And in that we see Jehoshaphat face one of the greatest crises in his life. Armies gathered against him, fear grips the nation, and trouble surrounds him on every side. And yet, in that moment, Jehoshaphat shows us how to face up to the problems of life. The overwhelming ones, the frightening ones, the unexpected ones, and how to do it with faith, prayer, and worship. I've actually titled tomorrow's episode How to Face All of Life's Problems. Isn't that a bold claim? But it is one, but I only make it because this is the Word of God, and what we're looking at tomorrow is one of the most encouraging chapters, certainly in the entire book. Our Books of Chronicles, maybe some many would say in all of the Old Testament. So you don't want to miss that, and I'll hope you'll join me for that. But until then, my prayers the Lord keeps you humble, teachable, and ready to hear and listen to correction and ready to use it to strengthen others. So with that all said, I'll say bye-bye for now, and I'll see you in the next episode. Bye bye now.