
HealingStrong's Around the Word
Join us around the table with friends who love the Lord and want to dig deeper into God's Word. Hosted by Cheryl Collins and joined by friends of HealingStrong, this podcast is sure to peak your interest in learning more about God's Word, as discussions on each podcast are short, bite-sized morsels that help to go deeper and enjoy God's Word. Cheryl and the podcast team will discuss stories that build trust in God through the history of Joseph, Esther, Jehoshaphat, Daniel, Nehemiah, the Disciples, and of course, Jesus! These episodes encourage our faith in overcoming our fear, and who doesn't need strengthened faith?
HealingStrong's Around the Word
Episode 26 - The Jehoshaphat Series: Bad Alliances (2 Chronicles 18:1-4 NIV)
We explore the cautionary tale of Jehoshaphat's alliance with evil King Ahab from 2 Chronicles 18, examining how compromise begins when we get comfortable and fail to seek God's guidance first.
• King Jehoshaphat of Judah made a marriage alliance with wicked King Ahab of Israel
• Comfortable living and popularity can lead to spiritual compromise
• The danger of making decisions first and only consulting God afterward
• Being unequally yoked in relationships leads to being pulled off course
• Don't ignore the "check in your spirit" warning about relationships or business partnerships
• Seek God's wisdom first (Matthew 6:33) rather than asking for His blessing after deciding
• God promises to give wisdom whenever we ask for it
Please visit our website at healingstrong.org to learn more about our mission and community groups.
Your donation enables us to continue offering this podcast and other resources for free supporting those facing cancer and chronic illness, caregivers and others. Every donation makes a big difference. Please donate here.
Suggested Resources:
BIBLE PLAN - Trusting God's Plan in the Battle: Lessons from the Life of Jehoshaphat
PODCAST - Genesis to Revelation Bible Reading
TOOLS - Refresh Your Spirit through God's Word
Please visit our website at healingstrong.org to learn more about our mission and community groups.
HELP US GROW:
Your donation enables us to continue offering this podcast and other resources for free supporting those facing cancer and chronic illness, caregivers and others. Every donation makes a big difference. Please donate here.
If you've got someone that you are partnering with in a business or in a romantic relationship and you got that little check in your spirit that's going, I don't know about that. Maybe I should talk to God. You need to listen. Well, hey, everybody, this is Cheryl and you're listening to Healing Strongs Around the Word. We are friends that love to sit around the table, read God's Word and then discuss what we see in the passages. So each day you're going to hear me reading a Bible passage and then you'll hear us talking about it. Today I'll be reading 2 Chronicles, 18, verses 1-4, from the NIV version of the Bible. So join us Around the Word. 2 Chronicles, 18, verses 1-4.
Speaker 1:Now, jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor and he allied himself with Ahab by marriage. Some years later he went down to see Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle for him and the people with him, and urged him to attack Ramoth-Gilead. Ahab, king of Israel, asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Jehoshaphat replied I am as you are and my people as your people. We will join you in the war. But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel First seek the counsel of the Lord. That was our Bible passage for today.
Speaker 2:So now let's listen in on what Susie, angie, Jeff and myself were learning around the word and myself were learning around the Word, but rich, popular King Jehoshaphat of Judah made a marriage alliance for his son with the daughter of King Ahab of Israel. Who knows about King Ahab, by the way? Bad, bad, bad dude. And his wife was Jezebel.
Speaker 1:Yeah, y'all heard about Jezebel, right? Yeah, she's like one of the worst people in the Bible. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:We still use her reference as referring to someone as a Jezebel. Then it says a few years later, he went down to Samaria to visit King Ahab. Oh, so we met him, we're going to start visiting him. And King Ahab gave a great party for him and his aides, butchering great numbers of sheep and oxen for the feast. Then he asked King Jehoshaphat to join forces with him against Ramoth Gilead. Come on, buddy, let's get together. My translation says this. Why? Of course, king Jehoshaphat replied I'm with you all the way. My troops are at your command. However, let's check with the Lord first.
Speaker 1:Oh, there's the stopping point. So he has a little check in his spirit there.
Speaker 2:Maybe I think we need to talk to God about this. I'm about to create an alliance with one of the most evil men that. I mean he knew King Ahab he was the Northern Kingdom king and so he knew all of his, the way he lived and the gods that he worshipped and all that. But yet he was willing to entertain the thought of going into alliance with him. But then he said, well, wait a minute, let's check with the Lord first.
Speaker 3:Well, that's one thing, when we start feeling comfortable in our lives because God has blessed us, oh yeah, because God has blessed us don't stop being disciplined in seeking the Lord, because that's where problems begin.
Speaker 3:I can't imagine him making an alliance like that if he were every day dedicated to seeking the Lord. But he got comfortable, and so that's where compromise begins to happen, and so that's where compromise begins to happen, and in this case it looks like a very destructive compromise and alliance with ahab, which was he was horrible. How could he not know?
Speaker 1:yeah, he was truly evil. So for context for people to think about, think about one of the worst, like dictators or something in the world, and that's who you decide to align with from a marriage standpoint.
Speaker 2:So you're going to be in that family while they're married and this translation that I was referring to says but rich, popular King Jehoshaphat. So being rich and being popular and being invited into King Ahab's kingdom and given a big party for him, it got to Jehoshaphat.
Speaker 1:Well, think about the pressure too that he's now. He first made the mistake of going to. He's invited and he decides to go. He could have squashed it right then and there. And then afterwards he gets there and they put on a full show for him like come on, join us. We need your help. We're buddies, we're part of the same family right.
Speaker 3:They were in-laws and they were of the same lineage. They were Jewish people all together and marriage tied them together. So you know we're together. We're brothers, we're family them together.
Speaker 1:So you know we're together we're brothers, we're family, we stick together. This reminds me I have to say this, as you know, for any of those single people out there that this is that principle of do not be unequally yoked with someone you know, because this is what happens. He started to pull Jehoshaphat in an basically off his course where he should not have been going, because he aligned himself with someone that he shouldn't have. You know, maybe on the surface things looked good, but deeper down he obviously knew there was something up if he said we should check in with God about this and he didn't. So if you've got, if you've got someone that you are partnering with in a business or in a romantic relationship, and you got that little check in your spirit, that's going I don't know about that. Maybe I should talk to God. You need to listen. You need to listen big time, absolutely.
Speaker 2:And Cheryl, notice the scripture. Jehoshaphat said oh, I'm with you all the way he made his decision first. And then said oh, I'm with you all the way he made his decision first. And then said oh, I better go check with him.
Speaker 1:So now he's going to look weird if he backs out on it now and that's what I do in my life.
Speaker 2:Oh, this is what I want to do, this is what I'm going to go do, and then I go oh well, let me check with the Lord on that. You're just setting yourself up for failure, angie. I mean, really, how about checking with the Lord first?
Speaker 1:Seek ye first the kingdom. Let's go back to your verse you love Seek ye first and then. Because, had he done that, he would have probably been like no, I'm not even going to go.
Speaker 2:I'm not even going to go because don't put yourself in a place that you're just setting yourself up for failure, If you yeah, he shouldn't have gone.
Speaker 1:Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. That's Matthew 6, 33. So, yeah, don't go do what you wanna do and then kind of bring God into it after the fact. Go to God first and get wisdom from him on the situation. He says whenever we ask for wisdom, he will always give it. So that's awesome because you're seeking his perspective on it. Thank you so much for joining us for Healing Strong's Around the Word podcast. I hope that you were encouraged to dig deeper into God's Word. Take a minute of your time and visit us at healingstrongorg, where you can find out more about our mission and our amazing community groups. Until next time, remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.