We continue with our study of the history of the Temple.
When we last left off, Y’hoshaphat was sitting on the throne of Judah.
At the same time, in the north, Ahav was the King of Ephraim-Israel.
Y’hoshaphat decided to ally with Ahav by having his son marry Ahav’s daughter.
The two kings combined their armies and marched against Aram to retake the Israelite city of Ramoth-Gilead, which the Arameans held.
During the battle, Ahab disguised himself while Jehoshaphat wore his royal robes, so the Aramean chariot commanders (who had orders to target only the king of Israel) mistook Jehoshaphat for Ahab and closed in on him.
He cried out, God diverted them, and he escaped.
Ahab, despite the disguise, was killed by a random arrow.
When Jehoshaphat got home, the prophet Jehu, son of Hanani, met him and said:
“Should you help the wicked
and love those who hate the LORD?
Because of this, wrath has gone out
against you from the LORD.”
-2 Chronicles 19:2
After this warning, Jehoshaphat went into a panic.
He responded to the rebuke by going hog wild with another round of religious reforms in Judah.
He built a new courtyard next to the Temple.
He also had his workers reshape the hill of Moriah.
The hill had small dips and low spots around it.
Workers cut dirt from the nearby ridges and used it to fill in the low spots.
This transformed the rough terrain into flat ground where they could put up new buildings and defensive walls to protect the city.
After Y’hoshaphat passed away, the several kings who came after him might as well have been spawns of satan, so despicably evil was their behavior.
We don’t have time to get into the details of their unkosher behavior in this post.
But trust me, it was horrific!
Onward.
After Jehoshaphat died, his son Jehoram became king.
He ruled for about eight years.
His son Ahaziah came next, but that homie only lasted about one year.
Then Ahaziah’s mother, Athaliah, grabbed the throne.
She held on to power for about six years.
Now, this woman was a pure demon on steroids.
Jezebel was her mama, and boy, the apple sure didn’t fall far from the cursed tree in this case.
In fact, the apple rolled downhill and accelerated like a boulder greased with pig fat rolling straight toward the house of David.
Under Athaliah’s reign, her sons broke into the Temple and stole its treasures for themselves.
These undisciplined boys even donated some of the holy items to the temple of Ba’al.
And yes, the Temple in Jerusalem stayed open through all of this.
Man, I can only guess how horrific it must have been for the priests who had to serve while this wicked queen and her family paid homage to their evil inclinations daily.
Alrighty, that’s enough detail for today.
Let’s bring this to a close with an interesting takeaway.
It all has to do with Jehoshaphat allying with the wicked King Ahav.
He nearly paid with his life for standing shoulder to shoulder with Ahab, and the prophet Jehu called him out for that.
The lesson here is…
Be cautious of whom you decide to partner with.
Jehoshaphat was a good king.
He loved the Lord.
He cleaned up idol worship in Judah.
So he was doing well until he partnered with the wicked Ahav.
Tragically, that alliance didn’t make Ahav better.
It made Judah worse!
That’s how it always turns out.
When good partners with evil…
The evil doesn’t improve.
The good gets dragged down.
Because of this one ungodly alliance…
Jehoshaphat nearly took an arrow meant for another man.
His son married into the house of Jezebel.
That marriage brought Athaliah into Judah.
And Athaliah nearly wiped out the entire line of David.
That’s the line of the Messiah, man!
Jehoshaphat probably thought he was being smart.
“This is my chance to obtain peace with the north.
Team up with a stronger army…
And establish a united front against Aram.”
So, politically speaking, the deal made all the sense in the world.
But the prophet Jehu didn’t ask him if the deal made sense.
He asked him one question:
“Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD?”
That’s the question we need to ask ourselves before we sign anything, join anything, or marry into anything.
Not “is this a good opportunity?”
But “who in the world am I yoking myself to?”
Because you don’t just partner with a person.
You partner with everything attached to that person.
Jehoshaphat didn’t just get Ahav.
He got Jezebel.
He got Athaliah.
He got the whole freakin’ cursed package!
So be careful who you stand shoulder to shoulder with, homies.
From a worldly perspective…
The deal might look sweet.
But if the man (or woman) is wicked…
You ain’t getting a partner.
You’re getting a plague.
Ya feel me?
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING WITH THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Do not become unequally yoked
together with unbelievers.
For what partnership has righteousness
with lawlessness?
Or what fellowship has light
with darkness?
What harmony has Messiah
with Belial?
Or what does a believer
share with an unbeliever?
What agreement has God’s Temple
with idols?
— 2 Corinthians 6:14–15
“Adulterers!
Don’t you know
that friendship with the world
is hostility toward God?
Therefore, whoever chooses
to be a friend
of the world
makes himself
an enemy of God.”
— James 4:4
“Let no one deceive you with empty words.
Because of these things God’s wrath comes
upon the sons of disobedience.
Therefore, do not become partners with them.
For once you were darkness, but now you are light
in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
For the fruit of light consists of all goodness,
righteousness, and truth.
Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Take no part in the fruitless deeds
of darkness, but instead expose them.“
— Ephesians 5:6–11
Leave a Reply