November 29, 2025

Jehoshaphat handed the kingdom to his firstborn son, Jehoram, before he died. He had other sons who would have been a better choice because they were holier than he was, but he gave them cities, silver, and gold for their inheritance. However, after Jehoshaphat passed away, Jehoram killed all his brothers. He was probably protecting his throne so none of them would try to overtake him. Jehoram was not a good king like his father, Jehoshaphat, and his grandfather, Asa, and the people didn’t like him. It makes perfect sense that he turned out the way he did since he was married to Ahab and Jezebel’s daughter, Athaliah. Elijah had passed a letter on to him before he was translated into heaven, telling him that all his family would be killed, his people would die of disease, the goods in his house would be taken away, and he would die because disease would cause his bowels to fall out. Everything Elijah told him came true. He reigned for only eight years. God saved one of his sons to keep the Davidic line reigning over the kingdom. Given that information, we know now that Ahab and Jezebel were in the lineage of Jesus through Athaliah and Jehoram. Jesus is the prime example of how you can overcome your lineage. 

The lesson is not to allow fear to overtake you to the point that you undermine your own life. Relax and let God handle the details so you can live in peace knowing that nothing happens unless God allows it. Could fear have been the issue with Jehoram’s bowel health? It’s possible; that’s why we need to let it go and trust God.

And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day. 2 Chronicles 21:15

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.

November 27, 2025

We must be careful with whom we align ourselves. Jehoshaphat made an agreement with Ahab for his son Joram to marry Ahab and Jezebel’s daughter, Athaliah. He must have thought that his son should marry a king’s daughter, even though Ahab was not a son of David and was a usurper to the throne. Ahab wanted Jehoshaphat to help him go to war to recover Ramoth-gilead from the Syrians. They inquired of the fake prophets of Ahab, but Jehoshaphat wanted him to ask one of the Lord’s prophets; however, Ahab hated him because he never prophesied good for him. He was right, because when you are bad, you only get dire prophecies. The Lord’s prophet, Micaiah, in so many words, told him he would die in battle. Ahab put him in prison.  Ahab devised a plan: he would dress as a soldier, while Jehoshaphat would wear kingly robes. Jehoshaphat should have been suspicious of a plan coming from Ahab since he was a good-for-nothing scoundrel, but he wasn’t, and when the Syrian king sent his men to kill King Ahab, they thought Jehoshaphat was him. Jehoshaphat cried out to the Lord, and He saved him. However, the Syrians did kill Ahab, and the prophet Micaiah’s prediction came true. 

We must be careful. There are scoundrels out there hoping to take advantage of our godly nature; we must always be aware of the character of those we deal with and use our best judgment when we align with others. Remember, just because someone calls themselves a Christian doesn’t mean they are holy. They may be the devil in disguise. Pray and listen to the Holy Spirit, especially when he gives you a check in your spirit about someone’s intentions. God admonished Jehoshaphat for aligning with such a scoundrel. 

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle. 2 Chronicles18:29

November 26, 2025

After King Asa’s death, Jehoshaphat, his son, began to reign. At that time, Ahab reigned in Israel; if you remember anything about Ahab and his wife Jezebel, you know they were awful. So Jehoshaphat increased his army to over a million soldiers and began fortifying the cities against Israel. Seeing this, Ahab allied with Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat tore down all the high places and groves where the people worshipped their fake gods. The people loved him, brought him gifts, and he increased in wealth. He built castles and storehouses throughout the land. The more his wealth increased, the more grateful he was to God. He loved the Lord and didn’t worship any other gods, but because his people were ignorant of the truth about God, three years into his reign, he sent princes, Levites, teachers, and priests to teach the people the law of the Lord. Up to this point in the story, there was peace in the land of Judah. 

When we set our minds to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, worshiping only Him, the one thing we can count on is inner peace. Jesus is the key to our peace, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will teach us and lead us in the right direction. Your household is your kingdom; start there, and God will increase your kingdom.  

And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim; But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. 2 Chronicles 17:3-4

November 25, 2025

Baasha, king of Israel, the northern kingdom, decided to rebuild the city of Ramah to control King Asa, from the southern kingdom, and keep him from coming and going as he pleased. King Asa, forgetting what God had done to help him win against Ethiopia, consulted with the king of Syria, King Benhadad, sending him gifts from the temple and from the king’s house to encourage him to help. Benhadad went to war with Israel and smote some of the territories. When King Baasha heard what had happened, he stopped building Ramah, and Judah went in and carried away all the building materials they were using. God wasn’t happy about what Asa did without consulting Him and sent the seer, Hanani, to admonish him for what he did. Asa got mad about his chastisement and put Hanani in prison. If ever there was an example of the saying, “don’t shoot the messenger,” this was it! We need to make sure we express our anger only to the appropriate person; in this case, he should have been mad at himself and become remorseful. A few years later, he began to suffer from a disease in his feet, but still didn’t consult God for healing. Instead, he relied on those considered doctors. He died a couple of years later. 

Don’t forget that God is your source for everything. We must rely on Him. Consult Him before every decision you make, whether it is about a business deal or about your health. Allow Him to guide your actions. He is very jealous and wants all of your attention, so make sure you never leave Him out.

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. 2 Chronicles 16:9

November 24, 2025

After Abijah’s death, his son Asa became king. Asa started well and did what was right in the eyes of God, and encouraged the people to return to God. He destroyed all the altars, high places, idols, and groves, then persuaded them to follow the commandments. It was quiet for ten years under his watch, so they began building cities and fortifications. His army in both Judah and Benjamin was solid, and their use of weapons was complementary. They had peace until Ethiopia decided to cause them trouble. However, Ethiopia didn’t factor in Asa’s closeness to God, and even with an army many times bigger than Asa’s, they were overtaken and plundered. That day, God increased the herds of cattle and sheep for the people of Judah.

This story is a good lesson for us not to be idle during times of peace in our household. Find something to do; don’t waste your day away just because you think everything is under control. Shore up your relationship with God because you never know when the enemy will strike; send them running because your relationship with the Almighty is solid. Remember, He will fight for you; you only need to be still.. 

So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. 2 Chronicles 14:12

November 23, 2025

Abijah is now the King of Judah; he was the son of Rehoboam, the grandson, or possibly the great-grandson, of Absalom, King David’s son, who had amazing hair that led to his death. That’s not the point of 2 Chronicles 13, but I thought it was a good tidbit of information to help keep track of the lineage. Abijah tried to restore the ten tribes to the authority of the line of David, but King Jeroboam disagreed. Abijah continued to acknowledge God and continue the daily ritual of sacrifice to Him, but Jeroboam and the people of Israel, the ten tribes that left, worshipped the golden calf that Jeroboam had made for them to worship. Abijah told them that God was on his side. A battle ensued, with Abijah having 400,000 men of valor and Jeroboam having 800,000 soldiers. Jeroboam ambushed the soldiers of Abijah’s army, but the priests sounded the trumpets, and the men of Judah shouted unto God. Israel fled, and God delivered them into the hands of Judah; it was a slaughter. Judah won because God was on their side. Jeroboam was weakened that day and never recovered; he died a few years later.  

We all face battles, but if you want to win, you had best proclaim God as your strength. There might be an order to procuring the victory: tell your enemy that God is on your side, and when you appear to be losing, cry for God to intervene, and don’t ever leave God out; make Him the reason for your confidence. It worked for Abijah; it certainly couldn’t hurt to use his strategy. The point is never to go it alone; God is for you, so who could be against you?

Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers. 2 Chronicles 13:18