2 Chronicles 20–21

20TH CHAPTER

King Jehoshaphat Defeats Judah’s Enemies

¹Later the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites^acame to wage war against Jehoshaphat. ²Some men reported to Jehoshaphat, “A large crowd is coming against you from the other side of the Dead Sea, from Edom.^bThe crowd is already in Hazazon Tamar” (also called En Gedi). 

³Frightened, Jehoshaphat decided to ask for the Lord’s help. He announced a fast throughout Judah. ⁴The people of Judah gathered to seek the Lord’s help. They came from every city in Judah. 

⁵In the new courtyard at the Lord’s temple, Jehoshaphat stood in front of the people. ⁶He said, “Lord God of our ancestors, aren’t you the God in heaven? You rule all the kingdoms of the nations. You possess power and might, and no one can oppose you. ⁷Didn’t you, our God, force those who were living in this country out of Israel’s way? Didn’t you give this country to the descendants of your friend Abraham to have permanently? ⁸His descendants have lived in it and built a holy temple for your name in it. They said, ⁹‘If evil comes in the form of war, flood,^cplague, or famine, we will stand in front of this temple and in front of you because your name is in this temple. We will cry out to you in our troubles, and you will hear us and save us.’ 

¹⁰“The Ammonites, Moabites, and the people of Mount Seir have come here. However, you didn’t let Israel invade them when they came out of Egypt. The Israelites turned away from them and didn’t destroy them. ¹¹They are now paying us back by coming to force us out of your land that you gave to us. ¹²You’re our God. Won’t you judge them? We don’t have the strength to face this large crowd that is attacking us. We don’t know what to do, so we’re looking to you.” 

¹³All the people from Judah, their infants, wives, and children were standing in front of the Lord. ¹⁴Then the Lord’s Spirit came to Jahaziel. (He was the son of Zechariah, grandson of Benaiah, great-grandson of Jeiel, whose father was Mattaniah, a Levite descended from Asaph.) ¹⁵Jahaziel said, “Pay attention to me, everyone from Judah, everyone living in Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what the Lord says to you: Don’t be frightened or terrified by this large crowd. The battle isn’t yours. It’s God’s. ¹⁶Tomorrow go into battle against them. They will be coming up the Ziz Pass. You will find them at the end of the valley in front of the Jeruel Desert. ¹⁷You won’t fight this battle. ⸤Instead,⸥ take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord for you, Judah and Jerusalem. Don’t be frightened or terrified. Tomorrow go out to face them. The Lord is with you.” 

¹⁸Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face touching the ground. Everyone from Judah and the people who lived in Jerusalem immediately bowed down in front of the Lord. ¹⁹The Levites, descendants of Kohath and Korah, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with very loud songs. 

²⁰They got up early in the morning and went to the desert of Tekoa. As they were leaving, Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. Trust the Lord your God, and believe. Believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” 

²¹After he had advised the people, he appointed people to sing to the Lord and praise him for the beauty of his holiness. As they went in front of the troops, they sang, “Thank the Lord because his mercy endures forever!” ²²As they started to sing praises, the Lord set ambushes against the Ammonites, Moabites, and the people of Mount Seir who had come into Judah. They were defeated. ²³Then the Ammonites and Moabites attacked the people from Mount Seir and annihilated them. After they had finished off the people of Seir, they helped destroy one another. 

²⁴The people of Judah went to the watchtower in the desert and looked for the crowd. Corpses were lying on the ground. No one had escaped. ²⁵When Jehoshaphat and his troops came to take the loot, they found among them a lot of goods, clothes,^dand valuables. They found more than they could carry. They spent three days collecting the loot. ²⁶On the fourth day they gathered in the valley of Beracah. Because they thanked the Lord there, that place is still called the valley of Beracah ^[Thanks^[ today. 

²⁷All the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned to Jerusalem. They rejoiced while Jehoshaphat led them. The Lord gave them a reason to rejoice about ⸤what had happened to⸥ their enemies. ²⁸So they brought harps, lyres, and trumpets to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem. 

²⁹The fear of the Lord came over the kingdoms in that area when they heard how the Lord waged war against Israel’s enemies. ³⁰Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was peaceful, since his God surrounded him with peace. 

Summary of Jehoshaphat’s Reign—1 Kings 22:41–50

³¹Jehoshaphat ruled as king of Judah. He was 35 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 25 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi. ³²Jehoshaphat carefully followed the example his father Asa had set and did what the Lord considered right. ³³But the illegal worship sites on the hills were not torn down. The people still didn’t have their hearts set on the God of their ancestors. 

³⁴Everything else about Jehoshaphat from first to last is written in the records of Jehu, son of Hanani, which is included in the Book of the Kings of Israel. 

³⁵After this, King Jehoshaphat of Judah allied himself with King Ahaziah of Israel, who led him to do evil. ³⁶Jehoshaphat joined him in making ships to go to Tarshish. They made the ships in Ezion Geber. ³⁷Then Eliezer, son of Dodavahu from Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat. He said, “The Lord will destroy your work because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah.” So the ships were wrecked and couldn’t go to Tarshish. 

21ST CHAPTER

King Jehoram of Judah—1 Kings 22:51; 2 Kings 8:17–19

¹Jehoshaphat lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His son Jehoram succeeded him as king. ²He had the following brothers, sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. All were the sons of King Jehoshaphat of Israel. ³Their father gave them many gifts: silver, gold, and other expensive things, along with fortified cities in Judah. But Jehoshaphat gave the kingdom to Jehoram, who was the firstborn. 

⁴After Jehoram had taken over his father’s kingdom, he strengthened his position and then executed all his brothers and some of the officials of Israel. ⁵Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king, and he ruled for 8 years in Jerusalem. ⁶He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as Ahab’s family had done, because his wife was Ahab’s daughter. So he did what the Lord considered evil. ⁷But the Lord, recalling the promise^ahe had made to David, didn’t want to destroy David’s family. The Lord had told David that he would always give him and his descendants a ⸤shining⸥ lamp. 

Edom Wins Independence from Judah—2 Kings 8:20–24a

⁸During Jehoram’s time Edom rebelled against Judah and chose its own king. ⁹Jehoram took all his chariot commanders to attack. The Edomites and their chariot commanders surrounded him, but he got up at night and broke through their lines. ¹⁰So Edom rebelled against Judah’s rule and is still independent today. At the same time Edom rebelled, Libnah rebelled because Jehoram had abandoned the Lord God of his ancestors. ¹¹Jehoram made illegal places of worship in the hills of Judah. This caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to chase after foreign gods as if they were prostitutes. So he led Judah astray. 

¹²Then a letter came to him from the prophet Elijah. It read, “This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: You haven’t followed the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or the ways of King Asa of Judah. ¹³Instead, you have followed the ways of the kings of Israel. You, like Ahab’s family, have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to chase after foreign gods as if they were prostitutes. You have killed your brothers, your father’s family. Your brothers were better than you. ¹⁴The Lord will strike a great blow to your people, your sons, your wives, and all your property because you did this. ¹⁵You will suffer from a chronic intestinal disease until your intestines come out.” 

¹⁶The Lord prompted the Philistines and the Arabs who lived near the people of Sudan to attack Jehoram. ¹⁷They fought against Judah, broke into the country, and took away everything that could be found in the royal palace. They even took Jehoram’s sons and wives. The only son left was Ahaziah,^bJehoram’s youngest son. ¹⁸After this, the Lord struck Jehoram with an incurable intestinal disease. ¹⁹Two years later, as his life was coming to an end, his intestines fell out because of his sickness. He died a painful death. 

His people did not make a bonfire in his honor as they had done for his ancestors. ²⁰He was 32 years old when he became king, and he ruled for 8 years in Jerusalem. No one was sorry to see him die. He was buried in the City of David but not in the tombs of the kings.