Jehoshaphat came to the throne of Judah at the age of thirty-five, at which time Ahab had been king of Israel three years. The reign of Jehoshaphat, like that of his father Asa, was a prosperous one, but while, like his father, Jehoshaphat acknowledged that the Lord was the strength of His people, he also followed the policy of Asa in increasing the number of his fighting men.
Although the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat, this did not seem to be considered sufficient, and so we find the armies of Judah reaching the enormous total of one million, one hundred and sixty thousand, without counting the garrisons which the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.
Not by Might
It had been necessary to teach Asa that the national safety did not depend upon its armed hosts, and there were events in Jehoshaphat's life which showed that, with all his piety and steadfastness, he needed to learn the same lesson.
The possession of so large an army made him a desirable ally, and Ahab sought his assistance against the king of Syria. Ahab and Jezebel would know how to entrap the unworldly Jehoshaphat, if he should cease to seek the Lord humbly for wisdom and guidance, and they seem to have taken special pains to gain his goodwill. "And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth-Gilead." (2 Chronicles 18:2)
Jehoshaphat knew that Ahab was a wicked king, who had almost extinguished the worship of the true God, by favoring the idolaters and persecuting the servants of Jehovah, yet his answer to Ahab was, "I am as you are, and my people as your people; and we will be with you in the war." (2 Chronicles 18:3)
The alliance between the two was strengthened by the marriage of Ahab's daughter to the eldest son of Jehoshaphat, a union which bore evil fruit.
Departing From God
Micaiah, a true prophet, gave a faithful warning as to the disastrous results that would follow the projected campaign, but the first steps had been taken in departing from the Lord, and it seemed easier to go forward than back. Jehoshaphat perhaps comforted himself with the thought that, supported by so large an army, he could not run much risk, but he had forfeited the protection of the Lord, and nothing else could avail him.
His new ally dexterously arranged, as he supposed, to divert all danger from himself to Jehoshaphat, and therein demonstrated at once to the latter how poor an exchange he had made in forsaking the Lord for such a friend. The principal onslaught of the Syrians was made upon Jehoshaphat, and his life was in peril till he "cried out, and the Lord helped him; and God moved them to depart from him." (2 Chronicles 18:31)
Turning to the Lord
As Jehoshaphat returned to his home in Jerusalem a sadder, and perhaps a wiser man, a prophet was sent to meet him with the rebuke, "should you help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon you from before the Lord." (2 Chronicles 19:2)
The vain-confidence which had prepared the way for the disaster was not confined to Jehoshaphat, for all the cities of Judah were permeated with the military spirit. It was therefore necessary that all should learn how "cursed is the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord." (Jeremiah 17:5)
The report came that a great multitude of the Moabites and Ammonites were gathered to battle against Judah. "And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord." (2 Chronicles 20:3-4)
The Victory That Overcomes
Victory was certain then. Even with a large army, if that were all, success would have been extremely uncertain, but the turning to the Lord in faith was the overcoming. "The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord." (Proverbs 21:31)
So the message was sent to praying Judah: "The battle is not yours but God's." (2 Chronicles 20:15)
They had turned the matter over to Him, and He took it up promptly and gladly. To every soul before whom is the battle of life, against sin, God sends the message of comfort, that the "warfare is accomplished." (Isaiah 40:2)
Victory is achieved, and faith may take it from first to last. "You shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you." (2 Chronicles 20:17)
The enemies of Judah were totally destroyed, "and the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about." (2 Chronicles 20:29-30)
Entering into Rest
It was not the fault of the Lord that His people did not have rest all the time. Jehoshaphat had it at the beginning of his reign, and the only thing that disturbed the rest was the army he raised to secure it. God had been always proclaiming rest, and to this day, "the rest remains for the people of God." (Hebrews 4:9)
Rest, because "the works are finished from the foundation of the world." (Hebrews 4:3)
Peace, because the "warfare is accomplished." (Isaiah 40:2)
Israel failed to enter in, "because of unbelief," (Hebrews 3:19) and that is the only barrier between us and God's perfect rest. "Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest." (Hebrews 4:11)
Exalting the Nation
Because Jehoshaphat did not learn perfectly every lesson given him, he was not therefore rejected. God blessed him to the fullest extent possible, and established the kingdom in his hand. Jehoshaphat provided for the more thorough teaching of the Word of God throughout his dominions by sending forth men of the tribe of Levi, who "went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people." (2 Chronicles 17:9)
They had with them the book of the law of the Lord. In this work and in the prosperity that followed in its train, it was made manifest that: "Righteousness exalts a nation." (Proverbs 14:34)
They realized the truth of the words spoken by Moses, "This is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." (Deuteronomy 4:6)
As the Word of the Lord was diligently taught throughout the land, the fear of the Lord was made known to the surrounding peoples, and the Philistines and the Arabians were numbered among those who brought presents and tribute to Jehoshaphat.--Present Truth, September 29, 1898--Notes on the Sunday-School Lessons, October 9--2 Chronicles 17:1-10
E.J. Waggoner