2 CHRONICLES 21


1 Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.

...All we have to do,‭ ‬therefore,‭ ‬is simply to surrender to the belief of what we read.‭ ‬This will produce faith and all the other excellent fruits of the spirit-love,‭ ‬joy and peace in the mind,‭ ‬and righteousness in the life in preparation for the kingdom.

One thing which the apostles declare is that the things written were‭ "‬written for our learning.‭" ‬It was of the Old Testament this was said‭; ‬and of course,‭ ‬if true of the Old,‭ ‬it is true of the New.‭ ‬This being the case,‭ ‬let us spend a little time in getting out of the portions that have been read the‭ "‬learning‭" ‬they were intended to afford.

It might not seem at first sight that we could get much out of the first reading concerning the reign of Jehoram,‭ ‬the son of Jehoshaphat.‭ ‬It is a story of murder and wickedness:‭ ‬what good can it do us‭? ‬He,‭ ‬Jehoram,‭ ‬came to the throne when Jehoshaphat died.‭ ‬Jehoshaphat had many sons,‭ ‬and had made a good settlement for them all.‭ ‬He left a handsome fortune to each,‭ ‬and had distributed them among various cities of the realm,‭ ‬so that each was a prince in his own district.‭ ‬To Jehoram he had given the headship over all as king.‭

This wise arrangement ought to have worked well for all,‭ ‬but the very first thing that Jehoram did was to kill all his brothers,‭ ‬and to put also to death their friends and sympathisers-filling the land with mourning and woe.‭ ‬Not only so,‭ ‬but he established idolatry throughout the land,‭ ‬and led the nation away from the right ways of God.

What is the explanation of this extraordinary sequel to a reign so excellent as Jehoshaphat's‭? ‬Why did the son of a good king turn out such a monster‭? ‬Is it not true that if you‭ "‬train up a child in the way in which he should go,‭ ‬when he is old he will not depart from it‭?" ‬Yes,‭ ‬it is true.‭ ‬Wherein was Jehoshaphat lacking then‭? ‬Here is the point,‭ ‬and here is where we shall find our‭ "‬learning.‭"

Jehoshaphat did not take a firm attitude with those who were in a wrong position.‭ ‬He was friendly with the ten tribes who,‭ ‬though Israelites,‭ ‬had departed from the right way.‭ ‬He granted co-operation with Ahab,‭ ‬which he ought to have declined.‭ ‬He allowed his son,‭ ‬Jehoram,‭ ‬to marry a daughter of Ahab,‭ ‬which he ought to have forbidden.‭ ‬A prophet of God reproved him on the subject:‭ "‬Shouldest thou help the ungodly and love them that hate the Lord‭?" (‬2‭ ‬Chron.‭ xix. ‬2‭)‬.

‭ ‬Jehoshaphat was a good man,‭ ‬but lacking in the firmness towards evil-doers.‭ ‬He could not refuse their friendly advances.‭ ‬He consented to matrimonial alliance with the family of Ahab.‭ ‬His son‭ "‬had the daughter of Ahab to wife.‭" ‬The consequence was‭ "‬Jehoram walked in the way of the‭ (‬wicked‭) ‬kings of Israel,‭ ‬to whom his wife belonged,‭ ‬and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord.‭"

Here is a bit of‭ "‬learning‭" ‬through which we get from this as from many other parts of scripture:‭ ‬it is our duty to decline religious co-operation with those who are not in full submission to the way of the Lord.‭ ‬Above all,‭ ‬we ought not in marriage to be‭ "‬unequally yoked with the unbeliever.‭" ‬Any other line of conduct is not only displeasing to the Lord,‭ ‬but most hurtful to those who pursue it.‭

From the days of the flood down to the corruptions of the captivity in the times of Ezra,‭ ‬the scriptural narrative affords many illustrations of the evil that comes from‭ "‬the sons of God‭" ‬marrying‭ "‬the daughters of men.‭" ‬It is our duty to marry‭ "‬only in the Lord,‭" ‬that in the fusion of two lives,‭ ‬equally dedicated to wisdom,‭ ‬there may be mutual help in the way of holiness,‭ ‬and family life based on the fear of the Lord and submission to his word.

Sunday Morning No. 260

‭The Christadelphian Dec 1894.



THERE are many sordid and unlovely chapters of Israel's history recorded for our guidance, and as illustrations of the depths of which unlicensed human nature is capable, but there are few more miserable and uselessly evil than the career of Jehoram recorded in 2 Ch. 21.

His first act was the murder of his own brothers in order to remove any possible rivals for his throne. He then set himself purposely to work evil, after the example of Ahab whose daughter he had married.

Soon Edom revolted against him and broke away, and then Libnah. He compelled Judah to practice the abominations of idolatry, and brought thereby a great plague upon the people. The Philistines and Arabians broke in upon him and took away his wives and his sons and all his treasures.

Before he was 40, God smote him with a loathsome and incurable disease which 2 years later brought him to a miserable death. The customary memorial rites of respect were pointedly omitted in his burial, and the final words recorded of him are that he

"departed without being desired."

An eloquent commentary upon the hopelessness and purposelessness of fighting against God and of laying out a course in opposition to Him.

Such a career can lead to nothing but final unhappiness and frustration. This is so well illustrated by this short life-sketch of Jehoram. A picture without a single bright or wholesome ray. A dismal, meaningless life, and nothing to mark his departure but relief.

Bro Growcott 4.10.



4 Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel.

What an appalling introduction is this to the new King of Judah! Though a son brought up in the way he should go, of what advantage was it when a serpent was placed in his bosom?

This sanguinary character would not be hereditary from his father; we look to the other side and we see the leaven of Jezebel working the old animus. Those "princes of Israel" slain by Jehoram were not men according to his murderous heart, otherwise they would not have been slain. There was a wholesale clearing away of those obstacles to the purpose he ultimately attained.

The revolution that has now taken place in Judah makes the prospect for the future dark for the Lord's people. The probable reason for exterminating his brethren was to obtain

"the gold, silver, and fenced cities"

Jehoshaphat had given them, and this seems the reason for its being recorded. No doubt such gifts were not uncommon, though unrecorded, in the history of other kings.

The act shows its author; the Jezebel instinct in murdering Naboth for his possession finds its expression in Athaliah's moving her husband to do likewise. Again, these "brethren and princes" would be faithful men, worshipping the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. *



5 Jehoram was 32 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 8 years in Jerusalem.

His marriage with Athaliah must have taken place at a very early age, his youngest son, who succeeded him, being twenty-two (2 Kgs. 8:26) when he began to reign.

It is necessary to note this in order to account for the great difference between the character of Jehoram and that of his father. Immediately the latter died, we look for the uprightness of the father in the son with a faithful adherence to the law of the Lord, having been in his early days brought up in that fear which is the beginning of wisdom - but we find it not; the days of peace and prosperity ended with Jehoshaphat. No longer could Judah rejoice in the blessing God gave through a righteous reign.

The direct operation of Deity for good or evil is the spirit of these records of His people. How could they be His people apart from this? Thus it is that their history is equally for God as the doer, and of Israel as the instrument. The divine character of the events recorded is imprinted upon the text recording them in the rigid, concise, yet all-embracing style.

In the histories we have a mass of facts, with little or no comment capable of indefinite expansion, this makes their study so interesting and absorbing, things new and old continually arising from this storehouse of the Spirit. *




6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of Yahweh.

Whatever Jehoram's disposition was, we are sure his wife, as a worshipper of Baal, was filled with all the deadly hatred that Jezebel exhibited against the people of the Lord. Having the power now in her hands in the authority she exercised over the king, we see it at once taking effect when Jehoram reigns.

That the influence of the wife was over the husband, and was the cause of these evils *





Jehoram and Athaliah

The influence of a woman over a man may be tremendous, either for good or evil. It is a power that is unique. Applied in the right direction it can work wonders of transformation, and the quiet, patient operation of this power for good may be many a woman's crown of salvation. But it is a 2-edged sword, and Athaliah portrays the other edge. How important, then, is marriage "in the Lord!"

They were a well-matched pair--miserable, vicious and inhuman. Athaliah comes into unsavory prominence after her husband Jehoram's death--

"42 years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem.

"His mother's name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.

"He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly" (2 Ch. 22:2-3).

The miserable and untimely end of Jehoram had no sobering effect upon Athaliah. She had gone too far.

Bro Growcott - BYT 4.10.




What is the explanation of this extraordinary sequel to a reign so excellent as Jehoshaphat's‭? ‬Why did the son of a good king turn out such a monster‭? ‬Is it not true that if you‭ "‬train up a child in the way in which he should go,‭ ‬when he is old he will not depart from it‭?" ‬Yes,‭ ‬it is true.‭ ‬Wherein was Jehoshaphat lacking then‭? ‬Here is the point,‭ ‬and here is where we shall find our‭ "‬learning.‭"

Jehoshaphat did not take a firm attitude with those who were in a wrong position.‭ ‬He was friendly with the ten tribes who,‭ ‬though Israelites,‭ ‬had departed from the right way.‭ ‬He granted co-operation with Ahab,‭ ‬which he ought to have declined.‭ ‬He allowed his son,‭ ‬Jehoram,‭ ‬to marry a daughter of Ahab,‭ ‬which he ought to have forbidden.‭ ‬A prophet of God reproved him on the subject:‭ 

"‬Shouldest thou help the ungodly and love them that hate the Lord‭?" (‬2‭ ‬Chron.‭ xix. ‬2‭)‬.

‭ ‬Jehoshaphat was a good man,‭ ‬but lacking in the firmness towards evil-doers.‭ ‬He could not refuse their friendly advances.‭ ‬He consented to matrimonial alliance with the family of Ahab.‭ ‬His son‭

 "‬had the daughter of Ahab to wife.‭" ‬

The consequence was‭ "‬Jehoram walked in the way of the‭ (‬wicked‭) ‬kings of Israel,‭ ‬to whom his wife belonged,‭ ‬and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord.‭"

Here is a bit of‭ "‬learning‭" ‬through which we get from this as from many other parts of scripture:‭ ‬it is our duty to decline religious co-operation with those who are not in full submission to the way of the Lord.

Bro Roberts - ‭The Christadelphian Dec 1894.



11 Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto.

Jehoram and Athaliah, are not recorded because they are exceptional, but because they are typical. They are ordinary human nature operating without restraint and in positions of power. They illustrate the results of the reactions of the flesh if allowed to dominate the life.

Little sins logically demand bigger ones.

If the course of life is in the direction of the flesh, then the degree of evil is but a matter of opportunity and circumstance. If we deceive, we might just as well murder, and we would if we were not afraid of the consequences.

Unkindness, selfishness, inconsiderateness, ill-temper, irritableness are merely undeveloped buds on the selfsame tree that brings forth murders and adulteries and all manner of violence. The one points logically to the other, and only fear draws the line. Paul says:

"Look diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

"For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears" (Heb. 12:15-17).

That is the point. If any "root of bitterness" be permitted to spring up and grow unchecked, we may, like Esau, come to a time when it is found to be too late to change, though we seek it carefully with tears.

We have several examples of God stepping in at a certain point and hardening a man's heart in a course of evil so that he can no longer return, and chastening him with a whip fabricated out of his own sins. Very often it is those forbidden morsels of meat which men toy with which are found, strangely but quite logically, to be made the very means of punishment.

Israel tempted God and murmured for meat, and they were surfeited with meat until it nauseated them and created a plague that slew them. And the name of the place was called, The Graves of Lust.

In all this, 2 lessons are clear. The 1st, that we are free agents, and masters of our own destiny--up to a point. And it is God Who determines that point. He sets the time when it is decreed: Too Late.

And the 2nd lesson: Sin is not a matter of degree but of principle. That is why God demands all or nothing. Not of course that He requires perfection, but He requires an uncompromising hostility and distrust of the flesh throughout.

If the principle is sacrificed in even the smallest matters, the whole position is given away. As James reminds us, He that gave the commandment against murder gave also the commandment against respect of persons. To condone any offense is to condone all.

Absolute perfection can never be humanly attained but must

always be aimed at. To make the standard any less is to destroy the standard altogether. To plead weakness is to give the lie to God, Who said, through Christ--

"My Strength Is Sufficient For Thee."

Bro Growcott - BYT 4.10



17 And they came up into Judah, and brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.


When Jehoiada restored true worship

Date: Circa 835 BC - Since Asaph's appointment: 165 years

ALAS, that the better aspects of Jehoshaphat's spirit were not found in Jehoram, his firstborn son and heir. It was as well that Jehoshaphat did not live to see the evil actions of his successor, for Jehoram, without compunction or remorse, slew his six brothers in a brutal display of force that must have shocked the faithful and caused their hearts to despair.

It was a custom of the pagans to murder royal rivals, but unheard of, until this moment, in the kingdom of Judah. It was not difficult to discern the Source of this cruel and savage action, for Jehoram had married Athaliah, the unregenerate and dissolute daughter of Ahab and Jezebel from the kingdom of Israel.

It would not have seemed possible for the wickedness of Jezebel to be exceeded, but if it was, then her daughter Athaliah would encompass it. 1 The outcome of this dreadful marriage out of the Truth, and in defiance of its best principles, was to set the kingdom on a pathway to depravity and decline, as all Judah was caught up in the terrible apostasy of the king and queen. 2

For the next fifteen years, the Truth was set aside in Jerusalem by the determined actions of this woman. The system of temple worship was left in abeyance, since Athaliah had encouraged her sons to break into the temple, plunder and ransack its sacred things, and devote them instead to the worship of Baal. 3

Jehoram was, at the least, complicit in these matters, but so disgraceful were his sons that all but the youngest perished before him, in a judgment from God. 4 Just as they had broken into the house of God to carry away treasured things, so God permitted the enemies of Israel to break into the king's house and take away his precious offspring. Here was divine retribution indeed for conduct which had caused incalculable harm to the worship of the kingdom.

The suddenness of this change showed how quickly the Truth could be lost and apostasy triumph, and how shallow was the foundation of faith in the congregation. The history of God's people would so often reveal an immediate decline when the influence of the faithful was removed, and it did so now.

Jehoram was an evil king, and eventually the hand of God removed him also from the scene, smiting him with a malady that caused his bowels to fall out. He departed without being desired, and without lamentation, for his reign greatly dishonoured the name of his father, who had walked before God. 5

1 Her subsequent action to retain power, by ruthlessly slaying her own grandchildren, provides the clue to Jehoram's otherwise inexplicable behaviour in murdering his brothers (2 Chronicles 22:10).

2 2 Chronicles 21:11.

3 This was a terrible offence against the sanctuary, and brought upon her the dreadful epithet of divine condemnation: "Athaliah, that wicked woman" (2 Chronicles 24:7). The subsequent action of Joash, who sought to "repair the house" (verse 4), suggests that during this period (before Jehoiada acted) the temple system of worship had indeed been interrupted.

4 2 Chronicles 21:16,17.

5 2 Chronicles 21:18-20.



19 And it came to pass, that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness: so he died of sore diseases. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers.

No language can describe the horror of such a death, the merited reward of an iniquitous life; an example of the apostolic teaching that the Lord is not mocked, and that he that soweth to the flesh shall reap corruption.

Had the commandments of Moses been observed, no such cause would have been possible. Strange marriages constituted the fruitful source of idolatry in Jacob, which ultimately enveloped them in the darkness that altogether obscured for them

"the Light that came into the world."

Jehoram's fatal marriage was the cause of all.

By the death of Jehoram, Athaliah is left a widow; the throne vacant by her husband's death is filled by his youngest son, the only one who escaped death at the hands of the

"band that came with the Arabians."

We recognize the hand of Yahweh in thus preserving one of the house of David to fulfill God's promise to him. *

*Bro Growcott - A woman on David's throne