A Critical Error

2 Chronicles 21-23

21:4 When Jehoram had ascended the throne of his father and was established, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and also some of the princes of Israel. 5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.



Two days ago as we read in Chapter 18, I noticed this verse:

18:1 Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor, and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab.

While Jehoshaphat was commended for walking with the Lord and following his way, he made a critical error in making an alliance with Ahab. We are never told why he did this. However, in today's verses we see the fruit of this poor decision. Jehoshaphat put his firstborn, Jehoram, on the throne. As we learn from 21:6, this was the son who was the center of the marriage alliance with Ahab. From Jehoram's conduct, we see that he learned much more from his wife than he did from his father (not a good case for "missionary dating"… :-o ). The consequences were severe for Jehoshaphat's legacy and ultimately for Jehoram himself:

21:20 He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed with no one's regret. They buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

How disastrous. He departed with no one's regret. Now there's a way to be remembered.

This story reminds me of the saying "you soon match the stride of those with whom you walk". There's a reason we're told not to be "unequally yoked" in relationship with unbelievers. It's much easier to follow the desires of our sinful nature than to stand in the way of the Lord. The unbeliever does not seek the Lord's purposes, and our natural tendency in relationship with the unbeliever is to stray from the Lord. While we are to be in the world, we must not be "of it". We are to be agents of change, building Christ's kingdom. The world will always be at war with the Lord, and forging alliances with unbelievers is essentially treasonous. Our closest relationships must be with the people of God. There we find true fellowship, accountability, and a common purpose.