Wrapping up Jehoshaphat’s story in 2Chronicles this morning. Interesting guy, this king of Judah. You know this guy loved the LORD . . . the chronicler says of him that he “sought the God of his father and walked in His commandments” . . . that “his heart was courageous in the ways of the LORD” (2Chron. 17:4, 6). His pursuit of the things of God overflowed into his rule and Judah, as a nation, was better for it. He was a man of faith . . . a man of prayer . . . a man who seemed to never lose perspective on the fact that the battle was the LORD’s. But there’s something that’s also a bit troubling about Jehoshaphat . . . he seemed to be man who was undiscerning of unholy alliances.

Back in chapter 18, we read that Jehoshaphat “made a marriage alliance with Ahab” (18:). Now Ahab, king of Israel, was just a really, really bad dude. Influenced heavily by his wife, Jezebel, he promoted rampant idolatry and paganism within the northern kingdom of God’s people. And Jehoshaphat orchestrates a marriage between one of his sons and one of Ahab’s daughters as a way of ensuring peace between the two kingdoms. But the immediate consequences are almost disastrous. Ahab uses this alliance to persuade Jehoshaphat to join him in battle against the enemies of Israel. Even though Jehoshaphat demands that they inquire of the LORD . . . and even though the prophetic forecast for the battle is not good . . . and even though Ahab sets up Jehoshaphat as a decoy (as in, you dress like a king and I’ll disguise myself (18:29-30)) . . . Jehoshaphat, for the sake of the alliance, enters the battle. Only by the protective grace of God does he escape . . . Ahab, on the other hand, does not.

You think that might be the warning enough to Jehoshaphat . . . but, as I read this morning, he enters into another unholy alliance with Ahab’s son, Ahaziah who assumed his father’s throne. The son’s no better than the dad. But Jehoshaphat joins in a commercial venture which shipwrecks . . . literally (20:35-37). Don’t get how a man so tuned to seeking the LORD makes such bad decisions on what he’s willing to align himself to . . . or maybe I do get it, and that’s what so unsettling.

But what really disturbed me this morning was the impact of Jehoshaphat’s lack of discernment on his son. Jehoshaphat’s oldest son, Jehoram, takes the throne after his dad dies. And after two generations of kings who, for the most part, sought the Lord . . . after almost 65 years of rule where the LORD was honored in Judah . . . Jehoram “did what was evil in the sight of the LORD” (21:6b). He began his reign by killing all six of his brothers (21:4) . . . “moreover, he made high places in the hill country of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into whoredom and made Judah go astray” (21:11). Bad king . . . bad rule. So how come? Why didn’t Jehoram follow in the footsteps of his father?

Remember that “marriage alliance” of chapter 18 . . .

Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife.   (2Chronicles 21:5-6a ESV)

Not placing the blame on Jehoram’s wife . . . not saying, “The woman made him do it” . . . but the Spirit inspires the chronicler to make the connection. The unholy alliance, entered into by his father, bears some really bad fruit. While Jehoshaphat may have modeled a lot of right stuff before his son, he kind of also set him up for failure . . . putting into play other influences which would drag his son down . . . putting upon him an unequal yoke which he was unable to compensate for. Again, not taking away any accountability at all for the freewill decisions made by Jehoram . . . just saying because of some poor discernment on Jehoshaphat’s part . . . because of his proneness to unholy alliances . . . his son ended up with a father-in-law who did a better job of dragging his son-in-law down than Jehoshaphat did in lifting his son up.

A warning to me about the potential long term implications of playing loose with the things of devotion to God . . . with compromising the pursuit of holiness . . .

Oh, to beware of unholy alliances . . .