The Good, The Bad, and The Complicated: The Reign of Jehoshaphat Text: 1 Kings 22:41-50
Introduction: The Anatomy of a B+ King
When we read the histories of the kings of Israel and Judah, we are not simply getting a dry recitation of dates and events. We are being instructed in the ways of God with men. We are shown what pleases Him, what provokes Him, and what happens when men attempt to do both at the same time. The Scriptures are relentlessly honest about our heroes. Abraham lied, Moses disobeyed, David committed adultery and murder. And in our text today, we have the summary of the reign of Jehoshaphat, a genuinely good king, a righteous king, who nevertheless had a significant blind spot. His report card from the divine historian is largely positive, but it is not a straight A. It is a B+, and the notes in the margin are just as instructive as the grade itself.
Jehoshaphat is the kind of man many evangelicals would be thrilled to have in office today. He is a reformer. He fears God. He promotes the law. He cleans house. But he is also a man who makes compromises. He is a man who tolerates things he ought to destroy. He is a man who makes peace where there should be a clear line of separation. His story is therefore a cautionary tale for all of us. It teaches us that reformation is not just about grand gestures and public pronouncements. True reformation gets down into the weeds. It deals with the persistent, popular sins that everyone has grown accustomed to. It refuses to make peace with God's enemies, no matter how politically convenient it might seem.
In this brief summary of his twenty-five-year reign, we see the pattern of his life: general faithfulness punctuated by glaring compromise. We see his righteous acts, and we see the limits of those acts. We see his wisdom, and we see his folly. We see God's blessing on his rule, and we see God's chastening hand on his ventures. And in all of it, we are meant to learn what it means to walk before God, not just mostly, but wholly.
The Text
Now Jehoshaphat the son of Asa became king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. And he walked in all the way of Asa his father; he did not turn away from it, doing what is right in the sight of Yahweh. However, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense on the high places. Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might which he showed and how he warred, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And the remnant of the male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa, he purged from the land. Now there was no king in Edom; a deputy was king. Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "Let my servants go with your servants in the ships." But Jehoshaphat was not willing. And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David, and Jehoram his son became king in his place.
(1 Kings 22:41-50 LSB)
Righteous... But (vv. 41-44)
The account begins with the basic facts and the fundamental spiritual evaluation of Jehoshaphat's reign.
"And he walked in all the way of Asa his father; he did not turn away from it, doing what is right in the sight of Yahweh. However, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense on the high places. Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel." (1 Kings 22:43-44)
The first thing to note is the high praise. Jehoshaphat "did what is right in the sight of Yahweh." This is the most important thing that can be said about any ruler, or any man. He followed in the footsteps of his father Asa, who was himself a reformer. This is a testimony to generational faithfulness. God loves to see faith passed down from father to son.
But immediately after this commendation, we get the great "however." The Hebrew here is emphatic: "However, the high places were not taken away." This was the persistent, nagging sin of Judah. The high places were centers of worship outside of Jerusalem. God had commanded that He be worshiped only at the place He would choose, which was the Temple (Deut. 12). Some of these high places were dedicated to Yahweh, but it was disobedient, syncretistic worship. It was worship on man's terms, not God's. Many others were thoroughly pagan, dedicated to Baal and Asherah. Jehoshaphat, like his father Asa before him, failed to tear them all down. Why? Because it was popular. The people liked it. To tear them down would have been politically costly. It would have meant confronting the deeply ingrained, sentimental, traditional sins of the people. It is one thing to issue a royal decree; it is another thing to go into every village and tear down the beloved local shrine where their grandfathers had worshiped. This was a failure of nerve, a failure to carry the reformation all the way down to the roots.
This is a permanent temptation for all reformers. We want to deal with the big, obvious sins, but we leave the respectable, popular ones alone. We will preach against the abortion clinic, as we should, but we will not preach against the materialism and covetousness that fills our own churches. A half-reformation is no reformation at all. It is a compromise that leaves the seeds of future apostasy in the ground, ready to sprout as soon as a weaker king comes to the throne.
And right on the heels of this failure, we are told, "Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel." This is not a commendation. The king of Israel at this time was Ahab, the most wicked king in Israel's history, a man wholly given over to Baal worship under the influence of his wife Jezebel. Later, it would be Ahab's son, Ahaziah, who was cut from the same rotten cloth. To make peace with the house of Ahab was to make peace with idolatry. It was a fool's errand. This alliance, sealed by the marriage of Jehoshaphat's son to Ahab's daughter, almost cost Jehoshaphat his life in battle (1 Kings 22:32-33) and would nearly extinguish the line of David a generation later. You cannot be at peace with God's enemies and expect to remain at peace with God.
Righteous Deeds and a Sovereign Hand (vv. 45-48)
The narrative then gives us a summary of his other accomplishments and a curious note about a neighboring kingdom.
"And the remnant of the male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa, he purged from the land. Now there was no king in Edom; a deputy was king. Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber." (1 Kings 22:46-48 LSB)
Here we see more of Jehoshaphat's commendable zeal. He purged the land of the "male cult prostitutes." This is not simply about sexual sin; it is about the public, institutionalized, religious perversion that was part and parcel of Canaanite idolatry. These were not just sinners; they were clergy in the cult of Baal. To purge them was to attack the infrastructure of paganism. It was a righteous and necessary act of cleansing. It is a reminder that a godly ruler is concerned with the public morality and piety of his nation. He is a minister of God to punish evil (Romans 13:4), and this certainly qualifies.
Next, we have this seemingly random detail: "there was no king in Edom; a deputy was king." This is not a throwaway line. Edom was a historic enemy of Israel. For them to be without a king, ruled by a mere deputy, signifies that they were a vassal state, under the thumb of Judah. This is a quiet testimony to the blessing of God on Jehoshaphat's reign. Despite his compromises, his general faithfulness brought strength and security to the kingdom. When God's man is on the throne, even with his flaws, God establishes his dominion over his enemies. It is a picture of geopolitical strength flowing from covenantal fidelity.
But then we see the consequence of his great failure, his compromise with Israel. He builds a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, on the Red Sea, to sail to Ophir for gold, just as Solomon had done. This was a grand economic project. But the ships were wrecked before they ever set sail. Why? The parallel account in 2 Chronicles tells us plainly: "Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works" (2 Chron. 20:37). This was a joint venture with the wicked king of Israel. God smashed the entire fleet on the rocks to teach Jehoshaphat a very expensive lesson about unequal yokes. God will not bless partnerships between His people and idolaters. He will not have His name associated with their wicked enterprises. He would rather sink the entire investment than allow it to succeed under such compromised terms.
A Lesson Learned (vv. 49-50)
The final verses of this section show that Jehoshaphat, to his credit, learned his lesson. The costly rebuke was effective.
"Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, 'Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.' But Jehoshaphat was not willing. And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David..." (1 Kings 22:49-50 LSB)
After the shipwreck, Ahaziah comes with another proposal. Perhaps he is suggesting they try again, or perhaps he wants to put his men on whatever ships might have been salvaged. He wants to continue the partnership. But this time, Jehoshaphat refuses. "But Jehoshaphat was not willing." He had learned. The sting of the financial loss, coupled with the prophetic word against him, had finally gotten through his thick skull. He was a good man, and good men, when they are chastened by the Lord, repent. He drew a line. The alliance was over. It is a small phrase, "he was not willing," but it represents a significant turning point. It is the wisdom that comes from painful experience.
This is how God works with His children. He blesses our obedience, but He also chastens our disobedience. He does not cast us off for our compromises, but He will discipline us, sometimes severely, to teach us the folly of them. The shipwreck was an act of fatherly love. God loved Jehoshaphat too much to let him succeed in his compromised venture with a wicked king.
And so, the account concludes. Jehoshaphat dies and is buried with honor among the kings of Judah. His was a long and largely prosperous reign. He was a good king, a B+ king. He was a man who did right in the eyes of the Lord, but who reminds us that the path of faithfulness requires a constant vigilance against the subtle temptations of compromise, popularity, and political convenience. He reminds us that true reformation must be thorough, and that our alliances matter deeply to God.
Conclusion: No High Places in the Heart
The story of Jehoshaphat is our story. We are called to be reformers in our own lives, in our families, in our churches, and in our communities. And like him, we are often zealous to tear down the big, ugly idols. We will fight the obvious evils. But what about the high places? What are the respectable sins, the popular compromises, the traditional disobediences that we tolerate in our own hearts and in our midst?
Perhaps it is a love of money that leads us into worldly partnerships. Perhaps it is a fear of man that keeps us from speaking the truth on controversial issues. Perhaps it is a sentimental attachment to old habits that are not grounded in Scripture. These are the high places of the heart, and if they are not torn down, they will become the source of our downfall.
Like Jehoshaphat, we must learn, either the easy way or the hard way, that there can be no peace with the Ahabs of this world. There can be no partnership with wickedness. The Lord is a jealous God, and He will not share His glory with idols, whether they are made of stone on a hilltop or are cherished in the secret places of our hearts.
The good news of the gospel is that we have a king who is not a B+ king. We have a king, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is perfect in all His ways. He did not come to make peace with the world's systems; He came to conquer them. He did not tolerate any high places; He tore down every stronghold of sin and rebellion at the cross. And He calls us to follow Him, not in a spirit of half-hearted compromise, but with a whole-hearted devotion that takes a sledgehammer to every idol and bows the knee to Him alone. Let us learn from Jehoshaphat's successes and his failures, and resolve by God's grace to carry our reformation all the way home.