At the beginning of our reading we find King Jehoshaphat at the supreme moment of crisis. He faces an invasion by Judah's eastern neighbors, the Moabites and Ammonites which threatens to wipe out his kingdom. In the face of that danger the chronicler tells us that Jehoshaphat is afraid, but in his fear he does not look for outside aid, but rather sets "himself to seek the LORD" (20:3). Realizing that resistance apart from God's help is impossible, he prays, together with the whole nation (20:4).
And Jehoshaphat's appeal is offered as example by the chronicler of what prayer should be. He stands in the assembly—this is to be a public prayer offered not only on his own behalf but on behalf of the nation. He stands in the "house of the LORD," where God had promised Solomon he would hear the prayers of this people in times of crisis, and calls upon God to be faithful to that promise (20:9). He expresses the absolute dependence of the people upon their God –"we are powerless" he says, "against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you" (20:12).
And in response to Jehoshaphat's prayer, "the spirit of the LORD" comes upon one Jahaziel, and he delivers a message of hope—"Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God's" (20:15). The army is to go out, but not fight; they are to take their positions and "stand still, and see the victory of the LORD on your behalf" (20:17). The word "stand" is used again and again in our reading to connote an attitude of faith and hope. The king and people bow down before the LORD, we are told, but the Levites stand up "to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice" (20:19).
So the people rise up early in the morning and go out into the wilderness to face the enemy. And as they go, the king again stands up and exhorts his troops—"Believe in the LORD your God and you will be established; believe his prophets"(20:20). The emphasis in the Books of Chronicles is upon worship, and here again singers go out before the army chanting that verse that we heard first at the dedication of the temple: "Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever" (20:21). And God does indeed show his steadfast love by giving Jehoshaphat and Judah a great victory that wins them not only a great quantity of booty but also peace and "rest all around" (20:30).
The chronicler has very little that is critical to say about Jehoshaphat, who does what is "right in the sight of the LORD" (20:32). He does err in undertaking a cooperative trading expedition to Tarshish with King Ahaziah of Israel, who does "wickedly" (20:35). The chronicler disapproves of any such contact with the northern kingdom, and he tells us that a prophet named Eliezer tells the king that because he has joined with Ahaziah, the LORD is going to ruin their joint venture. And this does indeed come to pass—the ships are wrecked and do not go to Tarshish after all (20:37).
At the death of good king Jehoshaphat, his first-born son Jehoram accedes to the throne and immediately puts all his brothers to the sword to remove any opposition to his rule (21:4). He walks in the way of the kings of Israel, the chronicler tells us, the house of Ahab with whom he has close family connections—a daughter of King Ahab, the infamous Athaliah, is his wife (21:6). Jehoram is not destroyed because of the covenant God made with David, "since [the LORD] had promised to give a lamp to him and to his descendents forever" (21:7). But God does not allow Jehoram to prosper either. The vassal state of Edom successfully revolts and cannot be taken to task, because Judah's king had "forsaken the LORD, the God of his ancestors" (21:8).
Jehoram undoes the reforms of his father, making "high places," and leading the inhabitants of Jerusalem into unfaithfulness. His behavior earns him a scathing letter from the Elijah in which the prophet foretells the outbreak "a great plague," and tells the king that he himself "will have a severe sickness with a disease of [his] bowels, until [his] bowels come out, day after day, because of the disease" (21:15). What this nasty ailment was we don't know, but Jehoram eventual died of it; after suffering for two years he perished in great agony (21:18). The chronicler reports with obvious pleasure that Jehoram departed this life "with no one's regret"(21:20). But in the meantime the Philistines and "the Arabs who are near the Ethiopians"—Nubians, perhaps—invade Judah, sack the palace and carry off and eventually kill all the king's sons save the youngest, Ahaziah.
This ill-stared monarch lasts only a single year, during which he walks "in the ways of the house of Ahab." This is really not so surprising since his mother, Athaliah, King Ahab's daughter, is "his counselor in doing wickedly" (22:3). He goes to visit his cousin, King Jehoram of Israel—yes, another of the same name as Ahaziah's father—who has been wounded fighting the Arameans (22:6). But during his visit to his sick relative, he has the great bad fortune of getting caught in a rebellion led by Jehu son of Nimshi "whom the LORD had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab" (22:7). Jehu captures Ahaziah and puts him to death.
Hearing of her son's death, wicked Athaliah, acting in good oriental style, seizes power and slaughters the whole royal family. Only one son, Joash, a mere baby at the time, survives by being hidden in the temple, where he remains six years while Athaliah has her way with the kingdom (22:12).
But judgment is coming for the wicked queen, as we shall see in tomorrow's reading.
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