1 Kings 22:48-52 (NKJV):
48 Jehoshaphat made merchant ships[d] to go to
Ophir for gold; but they never sailed, for the ships were wrecked at Ezion
Geber.
49 Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to
Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But
Jehoshaphat would not.
50 And Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers, and
was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. Then Jehoram his
son reigned in his place.
51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king over Israel
in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned
two years over Israel.
52 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and
walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin;
53 for he served Baal and worshiped him, and
provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had
done.
I don`t know how about you, but I find this place
of scripture very encouraging to read. For once, it`s rewarding to read about
the authorities who followed the Lord because the distinction of their ruling
period is drastically different from those of the wicked kings. The contrast is
clearly stated even in this passage, where the Lord shows us the difference of
the wicked king Ahaziah and a godly king Jehoshaphat. This is a picture of a
blessed king who chose to walk in the ways of the Lord. His life was full and
abundant, but most importantly he chose not to compromise with the sin for more
money and ungodly union with the king Ahaziah.
It prompted me to examine my heart today once
again to see if my heart is in the right place with the Lord, or am I chasing
after “gold”? Do I have enough courage to turn down ungodly fellowship and
unions through compromise in order to get what I want? I think this is such an
obvious challenge for many of us who like to get what we want.
There are few important things to note here:
-When we read the books of Samuel, Kings, and
Chronicles, the Bible is very clear on stating who the parents are of the kings,
and this is to let everyone know who was responsible for their godly or ungodly
upbringing. In this case, we see that Jehoshaphat had Asa for his father, who
was a godly king and ruled for 41 years (1 Kings 15:9-11).
42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became
king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was
Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 43 And he walked in all the ways of his father
Asa. He did not turn aside from them, doing what was right in the eyes of the
Lord. Nevertheless the high places were not taken away, for the people offered
sacrifices and burned incense on the high places (1 Kings 22:42-43 NKJV).
I don`t know if you noticed this, but the Bible labels
people with certain titles, and they could be either rewarding or embarrassing.
David was walking in the ways of the Lord, and his subsequent generations, like
Asa king, and Jehoshaphat listed here are marked with this label: they followed
after the Lord the way David did.
11 Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord,
as did his father David (1 Kings 15:11 NKJV).
However, when we look at the disgraceful kings and
idolatrous kings, we see the way they are labeled, and I think this is a loud
rebuke from the Lord:
52 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and
walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin (1 Kings 22:52 NKJV).
This is what`s said about the ungodly king
Ahaziah; he did evil in the sign of the Lord the way his father did, but most
importantly look at the last part of the verse: “in the way of Jeroboam the son
of Nebat, who had made Israel sin”.
God makes it very clear of what our “title” is. When
we walk with the Lord, He promotes us and blesses us with great reputation, but
when we blaspheme His name and disgrace His name, we get appropriate "title" for
that as well.
This is a very loud and clear reminder for me,
being a parent, to make sure I raise my daughter in the ways of the Lord, so
she could be blessed and knew how essential it is to be cleaved to the Lord
with all her heart. The Bible is very consistent on making this point. God
reiterates this message to us over and over again, so it`s worth noting. Let`s
remind ourselves of this essential responsibility of a parenthood and the way
the Lord will hold us to this accountability when we face Him one day.
-The other important fact here to note is that
Jehoshaphat although sent the ships for the gold to Ophir, but he didn`t make
that his ultimate focus or ambition to obtain this treasure at any cost. Please
note here that in the verse 48, it`s stated clearly that the ships wrecked.
That was the end of the story for Jehoshaphat.
48 Jehoshaphat made merchant ships[d] to go to
Ophir for gold; but they never sailed, for the ships were wrecked at Ezion
Geber.
This was the message from the Lord reminding him
to store his treasures in the Lord and not in earthly possessions. How many of
us, would have ignored such a simple message and kept on the course on the task
of getting what we want or think we should have?
Have you ever try to find a place to live only to
be faced with obstacles and hindrances of finding a place in the area of your
choice? Your reasoning may have been to have better schools for your kids, or
better house to live in, or more prestigious area to live in to make a big
statement to your co-workers of your financial status? Or perhaps, you tried to
book a vacation in the place of your choice only to see that the dates you
picked suddenly started to climb up in price making it unaffordable for you?
Whatever the reason it may be, you can fill in the blank.
The message is the same to all of us: when we see
obstacles in whatever we do, this is the right time to stop and check them
against the scripture-His Word that would give you guidance, or even more
importantly bring the desires of our hearts to the Lord.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall
direct[a] your paths (Proverbs 3:6 NKJV).
Jehoshaphat had a very unique heart, just like his
father Asa, he lived for the Lord. He was a king, and to send the ships to
Ophir for gold made all the sense in the world. What kind of a king would not
want more gold and money to stand out among the other rulers? But Jehoshaphat
chose to heed to the obstacle of the wrecked ship at Ezion Geber to know better
than that, that if the Lord would have wanted him to have that gold, He would
have provided him a way of getting it.
What`s even more interesting, is Jehoshaphat was
faced with temptation of going into agreement with Ahazaiah in order to get
this gold. Look how simple and blunt this verse is:
49 Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to
Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But
Jehoshaphat would not.
Didn`t we just read about Ahaziah and the kind of
a king he was? Look at what it says about him:
51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king over Israel
in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned
two years over Israel. 52 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in
the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam
the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; 53 for he served Baal and worshiped
him, and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, according to all that his
father had done (3 Kings 22:51-53 NKJV).
Here we see again in the verse 52 that he was an
evil king and walked in the ways of his mother and father. That`s a loud
statement right there and a reminder once again for us as parents to be godly
parents. Ahaziah only ruled for 2 years as opposed to the king Jehoshaphat who
ruled for 25 years (verse 42). God sees everything and the way we live
ourselves as well as the way we raise our children, so this is a sobering
reminder for me to examine my ways and the way I bring up my daughter.
We see that the king Jehoshaphat chose not to get
gold at a cost of rejecting a partnership with the king Ahaziah who did evil in
the sight of the Lord. I think it is no doubt that the king Jehoshaphat had his
grand-grand-grand-grandfather’s Psalms in his head who said:
3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate
the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me. 4 A perverse heart
shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness (Psalm 101:3-4 NKJV).
Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and
my heart. 3 For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in
Your truth. 4 I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, Nor will I go in with
hypocrites. 5 I have hated the assembly of evildoers, And will not sit with the
wicked (Psalm 26:3-5 NKJV).
Jehoshaphat chose not to compromise with the
evildoing and idolatrous king in order to obey God`s word. He did not think it
was foolish turning down an offer of assistance getting gold of his choice in
order to preserve his heart in the right place with the Lord. I find this such
a great encouragement and comfort for myself. This only possible to do when we
walk in the Spirit and have relationships with the Lord because this is the
only way to realize how futile and small the treasures of this world are in
comparison to how much we have with the Lord.
This is a wakeup call for many of us whose hearts
went astray to turn to the Lord and choose Him over any possible “gold”; be
that a better place to live, or a more expensive and luxurious vacation.
This is what Jesus reminded us of:
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also (Luke 12:34 NKJV).
Do we all understand that this is exactly what the
king Jehoshaphat chose to do: he chose to guard his heart and to have God as
His king rather than the treasures of this world; he chose to turn down the
friendship with the wicked king in order to please the Lord and obey His commandments?
Are we doing the same? Could the same be true of
us? Could the people who know us, claim the same facts as we read about
Jehoshaphat: that we have godly parents, that we don`t mind missing on career
ladder in order to preserve His word, turn down ungodly friendships in order
not to compromise with the world?
I don`t know how about you, but this is a
challenge today from the Lord for me and a reminder to examine my heart in order
to cleave to the Lord all the more.
I would encourage you to do the same. If you think
that you were chasing after career promotions, or a batter and fancier place to
live at a cost of your relationships with the Lord, and perhaps even ignored
the obstacles He sent your way to heed to Him instead, I would challenge you to
soften your heart and examine it just the way David prayed in his Psalm 26.
It`s so easy to harden our hearts and become deaf to God`s guidance when we`re
focused on something we want sometimes, and I am guilty of this myself. God
will bless you and will guide you when you put Him and His word first over your
desires. He promised, and is faithful to direct our paths.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not
worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things (Matthew
6:33-34 NKJV).
Let us not seek the earthly treasures but store treasures
in heaven with the Lord!
