Chapter 15—Jehoshaphat
Until called to the throne at the age of thirty-five, Jehoshaphat had
before him the example of good King Asa, who in nearly every crisis
had done “that which was right in the eyes of the Lord.”
1 Kings 15:11
.
During a prosperous reign of twenty-five years, Jehoshaphat sought to
walk “in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside.”
In his efforts to rule wisely, Jehoshaphat endeavored to persuade
his subjects to take a firm stand against idolatrous practices. Many
of the people in his realm “offered and burnt incense yet in the high
places.”
1 Kings 22:43
. The king did not at once destroy these shrines;
but from the beginning he tried to safeguard Judah from the sins
characterizing the northern kingdom under the rule of Ahab, of whom
he was a contemporary for many years. Jehoshaphat himself was loyal
to God. He “sought not unto Baalim; but sought to the Lord God
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of his father, and walked in His commandments, and not after the
doings of Israel.” Because of his integrity, the Lord was with him, and
“stablished the kingdom in his hand.”
2 Chronicles 17:3-5
.
“All Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and
honor in abundance. And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the
Lord.” As time passed and reformations were wrought, the king “took
away the high places and groves out of Judah.”
Verses 5, 6
. “And the
remnant of the Sodomites, which remained in the days of his father
Asa, he took out of the land.”
1 Kings 22:46
. Thus gradually the
inhabitants of Judah were freed from many of the perils that had been
threatening to retard seriously their spiritual development.
Throughout the kingdom the people were in need of instruction in
the law of God. In an understanding of this law lay their safety;
by conforming their lives to its requirements they would become
loyal both to God and to man. Knowing this, Jehoshaphat took steps
to ensure to his people thorough instruction in the Holy Scriptures.
The princes in charge of the different portions of his realm were
directed to arrange for the faithful ministry of teaching priests. By royal
appointment these instructors, working under the direct supervision
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