The High Cost of Low Alliances Text: 2 Kings 8:16-24
Introduction: The Unraveling of a Bad Idea
The history of God's people is a history of covenants. God makes covenants, and men either keep them or break them. But there is another kind of covenant that weaves its way through this history, and that is the unholy alliance. It is the attempt to secure by political maneuvering what can only be had by faithful obedience. It is the shortcut that turns out to be the long way around, leading through briars and swamps. It is the pragmatic marriage that ends in spiritual adultery and, ultimately, political ruin.
We saw the beginning of this particular bad idea back in the days of Jehoshaphat, a good king who made a foolish decision. He was a reformer, a man who loved the law of God, but he thought he could secure peace and stability for Judah by marrying his son, Jehoram, to the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. That daughter was Athaliah, a viper from a viper's nest. Jehoshaphat allied himself with Ahab, the poster boy for apostasy in Israel. He thought he could contain the poison. He thought he could make a treaty with the darkness without getting any on himself. He was wrong.
What we have in our text today is the bill coming due. The chickens of that compromised decision are coming home to roost, and they are not pleasant birds. We see the spiritual infection that began with a wedding feast now metastasizing into the very heart of Judah's royal line. Jehoram, the son of a godly father, becomes a carbon copy of his wicked father-in-law. This is not just a personal tragedy; it is a national disaster. When the king sneezes, the whole kingdom catches a cold. When the king embraces idolatry, the whole nation is dragged toward the cliff's edge.
This passage is a stark warning about the nature of spiritual compromise. It is a lesson in covenantal consequences. And yet, in the middle of this grim account of sin and its wages, we find a glorious, granite-like promise. We see the faithfulness of God shining like a lamp in the encroaching darkness. God's covenant with David is not contingent on the faithfulness of David's sons. It is contingent on the faithfulness of God. And that is a foundation that can never be shaken.
The Text
Now in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then the king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king. He 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, just as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab became his wife; and he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. However, Yahweh was not willing to make Judah a ruin, for the sake of David His servant, since He had promised him to give a lamp to him through his sons always. In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah and made a king over themselves. Then Joram crossed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him. And he arose by night and struck the Edomites who were surrounding him and the commanders of the chariots; but his army fled to their tents. So Edom revolted against Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. Now the rest of the acts of Joram and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? So Joram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son became king in his place.
(2 Kings 8:16-24 LSB)
The Poisoned Well (vv. 16-18)
We begin with the ascension of a king who had every advantage, and threw it all away.
"Now in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then the king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king. He 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, just as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab became his wife; and he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh." (2 Kings 8:16-18)
The historian is meticulous with the timeline, locking this story into real-world history. But the key information is not the date, but the spiritual trajectory. Jehoram is the son of Jehoshaphat, a good king. He is a covenant child, raised in the palace, instructed in the law. He had a front-row seat to his father's reforms. But none of it stuck. Why? The text gives us the reason with brutal simplicity: "for the daughter of Ahab became his wife."
This is cause and effect. This is spiritual physics. You do not marry the daughter of Jezebel and expect to raise godly children for Yahweh. You do not bring a missionary from the cult of Baal into the center of your home and family and think you can quarantine the influence. The influence always flows downhill. The Chronicler fills in the grisly details: Jehoram began his reign by murdering all his brothers, the other sons of Jehoshaphat, to consolidate his power (2 Chron. 21:4). This is the fruit of Ahab's house: paranoia, bloodshed, and tyranny. He learned the politics of Samaria, not the piety of Jerusalem.
His wife, Athaliah, was a true daughter of her mother. The text says he "walked in the way of the kings of Israel." This was not just a personal preference for a different worship style. This was a state-sponsored apostasy. He was importing the state-sponsored, calf-and-Baal worship of the northern kingdom into Judah. He was undoing the reforms of his own father. The reason is stated plainly: his wife. This is a profound statement on the power of marriage. A man is to lead his wife, but when he yokes himself to a woman who is leading him away from God, he is a fool if he thinks he can win that tug-of-war by his own strength. He is tying himself to a boulder and trying to swim up a waterfall.
He "did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh." This is the final verdict on his reign. It does not matter if he had a balanced budget or a strong military. It does not matter if the GDP went up. In the sight of God, the one whose opinion actually constitutes reality, his entire administration was evil. All political calculus that leaves God out of the equation is a vanity and a fraud.
The Unbreakable Promise (v. 19)
Based on verse 18, the logical conclusion would be for God to wipe Judah off the map, just as he was preparing to do with the house of Ahab in the north. But God's actions are not dictated by our sin; they are dictated by His promises.
"However, Yahweh was not willing to make Judah a ruin, for the sake of David His servant, since He had promised him to give a lamp to him through his sons always." (2 Kings 8:19)
This verse is pure, unadulterated gospel. The "However" here is one of the great hinges of redemptive history. Judah deserved ruin. Jehoram was begging for it. But God was not willing. Why? Not because of some latent goodness in the people. Not because Jehoram had a few redeeming qualities. God's reason was entirely backward-looking and grace-based: "for the sake of David His servant."
This is the Davidic Covenant in action (2 Samuel 7). God had made an unconditional promise to David. He promised that David's throne, his house, and his kingdom would be established forever. He promised him a "lamp." A lamp in the ancient world was a symbol of life, presence, and continuity. To have your lamp go out was to have your family line extinguished, your name forgotten. God promised that the lamp of David's house would never go out. No matter how much the sons of David blew and spit and tried to extinguish it, God would cup His hands around the flame.
This promise is not about the personal salvation of every king in David's line. Many of them, like Jehoram, were reprobate. This is about the preservation of the covenant line through which the Messiah, the great Son of David, would come. God was preserving Judah not for Judah's sake, but for Christ's sake. The lamp was the promise of the Light of the World. Every act of divine preservation, every stay of execution, every moment of longsuffering God showed to wicked Judah was because Jesus was coming.
This is how God deals with us as well. He is not willing that we who are in Christ should be made a ruin. Why? For our sake? Because we are so charming? No. It is for the sake of David's greater Son, the Lord Jesus. Our security does not rest in our grip on Him, but in His grip on us, and that grip is guaranteed by the covenant faithfulness of God the Father.
The Political Consequences of Apostasy (vv. 20-22)
God preserves the lamp, but that does not mean He withholds discipline. Sin has consequences, and national sin has national consequences. When a nation turns its back on God, things begin to fall apart.
"In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah and made a king over themselves... So Edom revolted against Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time." (2 Kings 8:20, 22)
Edom had been a vassal state of Judah since the days of David. They were a source of revenue and a strategic buffer zone. Their revolt was a significant political and economic blow. Notice the timing: "In his days." This is not a coincidence. Jehoram's spiritual rebellion against Yahweh is immediately met with political rebellion from his subjects. When you dishonor your king in heaven, do not be surprised when your subjects on earth dishonor you.
The narrative tells us that Joram mustered his chariots and went to put down the rebellion. He has a minor tactical victory at night, but the result is a strategic rout. His army "fled to their tents." The campaign was a failure. Edom's independence was secured. This is a direct fulfillment of the prophecy given to Rebekah, that two nations were in her womb, and the older (Esau, or Edom) would serve the younger (Jacob, or Israel), but that he would eventually break the yoke from his neck (Gen. 27:40).
And the unraveling continues. "Then Libnah revolted at the same time." Libnah was not a foreign vassal; it was a Levitical city within Judah's own borders. This was an internal rebellion. The fabric of the kingdom is coming apart at the seams. When the center does not hold, when the king abandons the covenant with Yahweh, the periphery begins to fray and break away. Political stability is a fruit of covenant faithfulness. When a nation embraces idolatry and wickedness, it is sowing the seeds of its own dissolution.
An Unlamented End (vv. 23-24)
The summary of Jehoram's reign is brief and dismissive.
"Now the rest of the acts of Joram and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? So Joram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son became king in his place." (2 Kings 8:23-24)
The historian points us to the official records for more details, but the inspired summary is all we need. He reigned, he sinned, he died. The book of Chronicles adds the final, damning details. He died of a horrific disease of the bowels, a painful and disgusting end. And when he died, "no one regretted him" (2 Chron. 21:20). They buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. He was a disgrace. He had the name of a king, the lineage of a king, and the burial plot of a king, but he was an outcast.
And who takes his place? Ahaziah his son. And as we will see, Ahaziah is another chip off the old block, another student of the house of Ahab. The poison continues to work its way through the system. The consequences of Jehoshaphat's compromise will continue to unfold, leading to even greater disaster.
Conclusion: The Enduring Lamp
So what do we take from this sorry tale? First, we must see the devastating consequences of unequal yokes. Jehoshaphat's political pragmatism bore the fruit of spiritual devastation for generations. We cannot make peace with the world's idols and expect to maintain our peace with God. Whether in marriage, in business, or in politics, we are called to be separate. To compromise with the spirit of the age, to marry our children to the world in the hopes of a truce, is to invite the Trojan horse into our citadel.
Second, we see that sin is a disintegrating force. Jehoram's rebellion against God led directly to the rebellion of his vassals and his own people. When a people forsake God's law, which is the ultimate source of all order, they cannot be surprised when their society begins to fly apart. Lawlessness in the pulpit and the palace will always breed lawlessness in the streets.
But last, and most importantly, we see the glorious, stubborn faithfulness of God. In the midst of this human train wreck, the lamp of the Davidic covenant flickers, but it is not extinguished. God's purposes are not thwarted by our foolishness. His plan of redemption marches on, right through the middle of the messes we make. Jehoram's evil reign could not stop it. Athaliah's murderous ambition could not stop it. The apostasy of Judah could not stop it. God's promise held firm.
That lamp, that promise, found its ultimate fulfillment in the one who said, "I am the light of the world." Jesus Christ is the final and perfect king from David's line. He is the lamp that will never go out. And because of God's covenant with Him, a covenant sealed in His own blood, God is not willing to make a ruin of us. Though our sins are as wicked as Jehoram's, though we deserve judgment and disintegration, God looks upon us and spares us for the sake of another. He spares us for the sake of His beloved Son. Our hope is not in our own faithfulness, but in the unbreakable promise of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ our Lord.