seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Chronicles 19:1 When Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem,2 Jehu the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him and said to the king, “Should you help the wicked and love[a] those who hate the Lord? Because of this, the wrath of the Lord is on you. 3 There is, however, some good in you, for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles and have set your heart on seeking God.”
4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 5 He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah. 6 He told them, “Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for mere mortals but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. 7 Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”
8 In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, priests and heads of Israelite families to administer the law of the Lord and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem. 9 He gave them these orders: “You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord. 10 In every case that comes before you from your people who live in the cities—whether bloodshed or other concerns of the law, commands, decrees or regulations—you are to warn them not to sin against the Lord; otherwise his wrath will come on you and your people. Do this, and you will not sin.
11 “Amariah the chief priest will be over you in any matter concerning the Lord, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the tribe of Judah, will be over you in any matter concerning the king, and the Levites will serve as officials before you. Act with courage, and may the Lord be with those who do well.”
a. 2 Chronicles 19:2 Or and make alliances with
You know... when I read this... I was thinking "Jehoshaphat, what were you thinking? You know Ahab is no good. You should be count yourself lucky to be alive!" Ahab had Jehoshaphat put on his brightly colored king's robe so he would draw fire during a battle. Ahab had been threatened... so Ahab figured he would thwart the plan by sending Jehoshaphat out in his kingly attire. But God knows everything and God took a stray arrow and drove it right through a crack in Ahab's armor. So it's the fact that Jehoshaphat didn't even get injured in that battle that blows my mind. That's also what Jehu was talking about. Jehu was saying "You should have been killed! What were you thinking? You know Ahab is no good!"
Once again.... the easy English site has the explanation that is the least preachy.
Jehu, son of Hanani went out to meet Jehoshaphat. Hanani was the prophet who had met with King Asa about 50 years earlier. Asa had asked for help from the people from Aram when he should have asked for help from the LORD (16:7-8). Hanani told Asa how the LORD would punish him. About 35 years before this meeting with Jehoshaphat, the LORD sent Jehu to Baasha king of Israel. Baasha had done evil things, as Jeroboam had done before him. Jehu told Baasha that the LORD would kill his family (1 Kings 16:1-7).
Now the LORD sent Jehu to Jehoshaphat. The LORD was angry with Jehoshaphat because he had gone to help Ahab. Ahab hated the LORD and he did not worship him. It was a serious error to make an agreement with Ahab. Jehoshaphat should not have made such an agreement.
But Jehoshaphat pleased the LORD by the good things that he had done. He had removed the Asherah poles. And he had tried to obey God. Jehoshaphat desired to be loyal to the God of his ancestors.
Jehoshaphat went to every part of his kingdom. He went from Beersheba in the extreme south to the mountains of Ephraim in the north. He went to the people to persuade them to turn back again to the LORD.
As he went, he appointed judges in each city. He gave to them serious and necessary advice. He told them that they were not responsible to any man. They must not give special benefit to any person. They were responsible to the LORD who was with them. They had to know and to apply the law of the LORD. The LORD is the chief judge and he is their judge.
This chief court had two divisions. The first division was for the Law of Moses. The second division was for all other matters.
There were two presidents over the courts in Jerusalem. Amaziah was the chief priest. He was the president over the first division of the court. He was responsible for all that was in the Law of Moses. Zebadiah was responsible for all matters that the second division of the court had to make decisions about. There were Levites who served as officials on behalf of the judges.
So was this the beginning of criminal and civil court? Nope.... the Law of Moses covers matters that are both criminal and civil. But the type of case was important in that if it were a crime or civil matter that was addressed in the Mosaic Law [Deuteronomy and Leviticus] then it would go to Amaziah's courtroom. Everything else went to Zebadiah's court. This is from blueletterbible.org.
Behave courageously, and the LORD will be with the good: The prominent theme of courageous obedience is repeated again in Chronicles. It was the job of the judges to courageously do what was good, and to then trust that the LORD will be with the good.
"WITHOUT good and wholesome laws, no nation can be prosperous; and vain are the best laws if they be not judiciously and conscientiously administered." (Clarke)
Jehoshaphat was never in danger. God knew his heart. Jehoshaphat had already sent priests and Levites out to teach Deuteronomy and Leviticus to the people of Judah and Benjamin. I think the reason Jehu showed up in the first place was to reassure Jehoshaphat. If I had just been dressed as a moving target to draw fire away from someone else.... I'd be shaking in my shoes. I think Jehu was sent to Jehoshaphat to say.... "calm down, it's ok, don't do anything that stupid again.... now get back to teaching".
