HealingStrong's Around the Word

Episode 39 - The Jehoshaphat Series: Oops I Did It Again (2 Chronicles 20:31-37, 21:1 NIV)

• HealingStrong • Episode 18

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We explore King Jehoshaphat's disappointing final chapter and what it teaches us about our own tendency to return to unwise alliances after spiritual victories. Even biblical heroes like Jehoshaphat experienced cycles of obedience and drift, showing God's ongoing redemption for imperfect people.

• Jehoshaphat reigned 25 years and was initially faithful to God
• Despite earlier lessons, he formed another alliance with a wicked king (Ahaziah)
• God mercifully destroyed their trading ships but spared Jehoshaphat himself
• Matthew 6:33 reminds us to "seek first the kingdom of God" before making decisions
• God's throne of grace remains available whenever we stumble and need redemption
• Biblical narratives show cycles of redemption—we're all works in progress

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


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Speaker 1:

I just think to myself. How many times have I gone back again and made a wicked alliance with something from my past? Oh, too often.

Speaker 2:

Hi there, my name is Cheryl and you are listening to Healing Strong's Around the Word. We are friends sitting around a table who love the Lord and we love digging deep into His Word. Each day you'll hear me read a Bible passage and then you'll hear us chatting about what we learned from it. Today I'll be reading 2 Chronicles 20, verses 31 through 37, and 2 Chronicles 21, verse 1,. All from the NIV version of the Bible. So join us Around the Word. 2 Chronicles 20, verses 31 through 37.

Speaker 2:

So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was 35 years old when he became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem 25 years. His mother's name was Azuba, daughter of Shilhi. He followed the ways of his father, asa, and did not stray from them. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. The high places, however, were not removed and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.

Speaker 2:

The other events of Jehoshaphat's reign, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu, son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel. Later, jehoshaphat, king of Judah, made an alliance with Ahaziah, king of Israel, whose ways were wicked. He agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships. After these were built in, a Zion-Geber, eleazar, son of Dodavahu of Marasha, prophesied against Jehoshaphat saying Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made. The ships were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade.

Speaker 2:

2 Chronicles 21, verse 1. Then Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of David and Jehoram, his son, succeeded him as king. That was our Bible passage for today. So now let's listen in on what Susie, angie, jeff and myself were learning around the Word what happened to Jehoshaphat in the end? We saw him through many ups and downs and this amazing battle that we've just been talking about for days. So now this is kind of like an end cap of how he ended his reign and frankly, y'all, it was a little bit of a wah wah.

Speaker 1:

That was a bummer. It was a bummer. He reigned for 25 years. Maybe some of this great, exciting stuff that we've just learned about was in the early part of that 25 years, and then over time, things kind of returned back to what they were. What they were, yeah, jehoshaphat strayed again and we see that. Believe it or not, he made another unwise alliance with a wicked king, and I just think to myself how many times have I gone back again and made a wicked alliance with something from my past?

Speaker 2:

Oh, too often wicked alliance with something from my past. Oh, too often I think you're not alone on that one. I think we all do that. It was King Ahab's son that he made an alliance with to build some ships, some trading ships, and unfortunately that didn't go too well. What happened to the ships?

Speaker 1:

They were destroyed, so the ships met disaster and never arrived at their destination.

Speaker 2:

Which I mean thankfully Jehoshaphat wasn't on the ship or something, and it was destroyed, you know. So God was gracious in that he took out the merchandise and not the person. But it just kind of goes to show that we can have our spiritual victories, but if we're not maintaining that close relationship with the Lord, it just kind of goes to show that we can have our spiritual victories, but if we're not maintaining that close relationship with the Lord we can easily walk back into or drift away.

Speaker 3:

We can drift away. Well, it just reminds me of Joshua, when he did not inquire of the Lord when they were defeating the enemies of this promised land. They were defeating the enemies of this promised land and they didn't inquire of the Lord, and they were deceived by a group of people. That's right, and so it's important to inquire of the Lord first.

Speaker 1:

First, yeah, the operative word there is first, and that takes us to Matthew 6, 33. Seek ye first the kingdom, and the kingdom of course is God's word. In prayer with God, you know God's ways and God's will. When you're in God's word, that's his kingdom.

Speaker 2:

So that's just a reminder not to be on a bummer note about Jehoshaphat. But I mean, that's the good thing about the Bible, because this shows us that this is a true historical document. Because guess what, if I was a king, when I'm writing my chronicles and my story, I'm not going to tell you the bad stuff that I did. That's going to make me look bad. Yet they did, and this is the one time you would want him to end on a really good note and he kind of didn't you know. So it just shows to me that we're reading a word that is full of fallible people, just like we are. Nobody's perfect, we never arrive.

Speaker 3:

Yes, we never arrive.

Speaker 2:

No, not until we've died and we're believers have we arrived. Not until we've died and we're believers have we arrived. So I hope that gives you a little bit of encouragement that you don't have to be some, you know, super warrior all the time, like if you've made mistakes you always have the throne of grace to come back to. You always do.

Speaker 1:

Well, throughout the whole book, the message from beginning to end of the scripture itself is the story of redemption, our redemption to God, the Father, because of the fall of sin. So it's redemption over and over and over. Jehoshaphat was redeemed, he's still messed up, redeemed, still messed up, and then he died.

Speaker 2:

This kind of follow up on Jehoshaphat's story reminds me whenever you're watching those movies that are about a true story or inspired by a true story and you see the pictures of the people in the end and you see, like the little words that say so-and-so did this and this. Unfortunately, this bad deal with the ships wasn't a good way to end, but, like I said earlier, it shows that he was a real person and he wasn't perfect, but, as Angie said, he was redeemed, just like we can be redeemed as well. Thank you so much for joining us for Healing Strong's Around the Word podcast. I hope you were encouraged to open up your own Bible and read these stories for yourself. And if you want to know more about who we are Healing Strong, just check out our website, healingstrongorg, and you can find out about our mission and our community groups. Until next time, remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.