November 28, 2025

Hanani the seer made sure Jehoshaphat knew that God wasn’t pleased with him for dealing with the ungodly Ahab, who had set himself against Him. Here’s what he said to him:

And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD. 2 Chronicles 19:2

Yes, we are to love our neighbors, and those who hate us, but are we to love those who hate God? Even David set himself apart from those who hated God. You have to think hard about this one. Can “Christian,” who hates you, even love God? My thoughts are that we should keep them at a distance and have no dealings with them because it seems that they are a “Christian” in name only, and there is no true love there. This situation may be one of those instances where we must rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit; we don’t want to cross the line and face rebuke for dealing with someone who hates God like Ahab. 

Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? Psalms 139:21

Even though Jehoshaphat aligned himself with the ungodly king, Ahab, He commended him for the good he had done for Judah. God was pleased with how he tried to set the people in the right direction and bring them back to Him by removing the groves (the Phoenician goddess Astarte) from the land.