1 Kings 22:41 - Meaning and Application

Here is a short account of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. We will hear much more about him in Chronicles, and there we will see both his greatness and his goodness. One thing did lessen his honor, though, his close friendship with the house of Ahab. That alliance hurt him in more than one way.

His partnership with Ahab in war had already put him in danger, and his business deal with Ahaziah, Ahab’s son, went no better. Jehoshaphat offered to join him in a fleet of merchant ships that would bring gold from Ophir, like Solomon’s ships had done (1 Kings 22:49). But while they were getting the ships ready, a storm damaged them badly at Ezion-geber. A prophet later showed Jehoshaphat that this was God’s rebuke for joining himself to wicked Ahaziah (2 Chronicles 20:37).

So when Ahaziah later asked again to share in the trade, or even to send his servants with some of Jehoshaphat’s ships, Jehoshaphat refused: “Jehoshaphat would not” (1 Kings 22:49). God’s discipline, explained by God’s word, had fully broken him away from that ungodly and unhappy prince. It is better to pay dearly for wisdom than to go without it. Foolish people are called fools because they will not learn until experience teaches them, especially the danger of keeping company with wicked people.

Jehoshaphat’s reign was not very long, but it was one of the best. He ruled for twenty-five years (1 Kings 22:42), and those years came in the prime of his life, between thirty-five and sixty. When you add his father’s happy forty-one-year reign to Jehoshaphat’s twenty-five years, you get a grateful picture of how long Judah enjoyed a flourishing kingdom and true religion, even while Israel was in a very bad state. Jehoshaphat did not reign as long as his father, but he also did not end with the shameful failures that marked his father’s later years (2 Chronicles 16:9, 2 Chronicles 16:10, 2 Chronicles 16:12). It is better for a man known for wisdom and honor to die while that good name is still fresh than to live long enough to outlast it.

Still, his reign was one of the best, both in godliness and in prosperity. He did what was right in the Lord’s eyes (1 Kings 22:43). He kept God’s commands and followed the steps of his good father, and he stayed with that path. Yet his character had a flaw, like every person’s does, the high places were not removed, even from Judah and Benjamin, though those tribes were close to Jerusalem and could easily bring their offerings and incense there.

Old wrong habits are hard to root out, especially when people once saw them supported by those who were good. The high places had been used by Samuel, Solomon, and others, and that made them harder to remove. In his public affairs, Jehoshaphat also did well. He kept peace in a lasting way, which ended the troubles that had come from war with Israel (1 Kings 22:44). That peace would have been an even greater blessing if he had stopped there and not gone on to make family ties with Israel.

He also set a deputy, or governor, in Edom, so that Edom paid tribute to him (1 Kings 22:47). In that, the prophecy about Esau and Jacob was fulfilled, that the older would serve the younger. More generally, Scripture mentions his power and his wars (1 Kings 22:45). He pleased God, and God gave him strength and success. His death is mentioned to finish his story (1 Kings 22:50), though later, in the history of the kings of Israel, he is mentioned again (2 Kings 3:7).

The chapter then begins the story of Ahaziah, Ahab’s son (1 Kings 22:51-53). His reign was very short, not even two years. God sometimes brings quick judgment on sinners. The record here gives him a very bad name. He kept Jeroboam’s idolatry and also continued Baal worship, even though he had heard how Jeroboam’s family was ruined and had seen his own father led to destruction by the prophets of Baal, who had often been shown to be false prophets.

Still, he took no lesson and no warning. He followed the example of his wicked father and the counsel of his even more wicked mother, Jezebel, who was still alive. It is a miserable thing when children not only inherit a sinful nature from their parents, but are also taught by them how to use that corruption. And it is a very unhappy thing, the most unhappy thing, when parents help lead their children’s souls toward ruin.