Jehoshaphat, King of Judah: The Man Who Asked for Yahweh's Word

Who he was

Jehoshaphat (יְהוֹשָׁפָט) was a king of Judah, of the tribe of Judah, living in the era of the divided kingdom, an age placed at around 975 BC to 586 BC on Ussher's chronology (1650). He was the son of Asa and Azubah, and the father of Jehoram, Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael and Shephatiah. His name first surfaces in 1 Kings 15:24, at the close of his father's account, and it is still being written down in 1 Chronicles 3:10, where he stands in the royal line of Judah. Sixty-seven verses across five books carry his name, most of them in 2 Chronicles.

A reign that begins in strength

A good many of his mentions are not scenes at all but the flat notices of a royal record: his accession and the length of his reign (1 Kings 22:41-42; 2 Chronicles 17:1), summaries of his conduct and his wealth (2 Chronicles 17:3, 17:5), and closing formulas (1 Kings 22:44-45; 2 Chronicles 20:30-31, 20:34-35). Between those notices, the Chronicler pauses to describe what his kingdom looked like from the outside: "The fear of Yahweh fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute. The Arabians also brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams, and seven thousand seven hundred male goats. Jehoshaphat grew great exceedingly; and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah" (2 Chronicles 17:10-12). Security, tribute, building projects: a king at the height of his powers.

The alliance and Ramoth Gilead

The longest stretch of narrative comes when the king of Israel puts a question to him. "Will you go with me to battle to Ramoth Gilead?" Jehoshaphat answers, "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." Then, in the same breath, "Please inquire first for Yahweh's word" (1 Kings 22:4-5). Both halves of the man are there in two sentences: total commitment to another king's war, and an instinct to ask God about it afterward.

The prophets are assembled, and Jehoshaphat is not satisfied. "Isn't there here a prophet of Yahweh, that we may inquire of him?" The king of Israel names one: "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil." Jehoshaphat replies, "Don't let the king say so" (1 Kings 22:7-8). He knows what a true prophet is and he knows that hating one is no argument. He is right about the theology and he still goes: "So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, 'I will disguise myself, and go into the battle; but you put on your robes.' The king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle" (1 Kings 22:29-30). Jehoshaphat wears the robes; the other man hides. The scene continues at 1 Kings 22:10, 22:18 and 22:32, and the parallel account runs through 2 Chronicles 18:1, 18:3-4, 18:6-7, 18:9, 18:17, 18:28-29 and 18:31. His return home is met at 2 Chronicles 19:1-2, and his work afterward is recorded in 2 Chronicles 19:4 and 19:8.

Alarm, and a fast

Later the threat comes to him. "After this, the children of Moab, the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. Then some came who told Jehoshaphat, saying, 'A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea from Syria. Behold, they are in Hazazon Tamar' (that is, En Gedi). Jehoshaphat was alarmed, and set himself to seek to Yahweh. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah" (2 Chronicles 20:1-3). Scripture does not hide the fear; it names it, and then names what he did with it. The rest of that day is told in 2 Chronicles 20:5, 20:15, 20:18, 20:20, 20:25 and 20:27.

Ships that never sailed

"Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they didn't go; for the ships wrecked at Ezion Geber. Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, 'Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.' But Jehoshaphat would not" (1 Kings 22:48-49). Compare 2 Chronicles 20:35 and 20:37. Then the record closes: "Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in his father David's city. Jehoram his son reigned in his place" (1 Kings 22:50). Ahaziah's accession is dated to his seventeenth year, for a reign of two years over Israel in Samaria (1 Kings 22:51). His death and succession are also told in 2 Chronicles 21:1-2, and his name is still invoked after him in 2 Chronicles 21:12 and 22:9, and in 2 Kings 3:11-12.

The failures

They are not hidden. "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses" (1 Kings 22:4) is spoken before any inquiry is made, and the inquiry that follows cannot undo it. He defends Micaiah's honour and then marches anyway (1 Kings 22:8, 22:29). He lets himself be sent into battle in his robes while the king of Israel goes disguised (1 Kings 22:30). Alliance with the house of Ahab keeps reappearing in his story (2 Chronicles 18:1; 19:1-2; 20:35-37), even though he refused Ahaziah's sailors at the last (1 Kings 22:49).

What we are not told

The dossier records no open questions, and the quoted passages leave things simply unsaid. Azubah is named as his mother and nothing more is given here. Why the ships wrecked at Ezion Geber is not explained (1 Kings 22:48). Of his seven sons, six are names only in the record before us.

The line to Christ

One New Testament verse carries him: Matthew 1:8. The king who asked for Yahweh's word and then went to Ramoth Gilead anyway is not dropped from the reckoning. His name stands in the line Matthew traces to Jesus Christ, a link kept not by his steadiness but by God's.