A Pilgrimage Fueled by Hope: Jehoshaphat’s Story
By Sharon W. Betters
TODAY’S TREASURE
The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in His commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel. Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor. -2 Chronicles 17:3-5 ESV At thirty-five years of age, Jehoshaphat follows in his father’s footsteps and becomes King of Judah after his father’s death. He also follows his father in the way he immediately takes steps to fortify the country and continues to build a strong spiritual foundation. Jehoshaphat takes stock of the weak spots along Judah’s border and loses no time in sending troops to all the cities of Judah, placing garrisons in Judah and in the towns his father, Asa, had captured.
Jehoshaphat:
Walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in His commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel
In response to the commitment of Jehoshaphat to walk in obedience to the Lord God:
Established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor.
Like so many, Jehoshaphat started a new chapter in his life with a heart “devoted to the ways of the Lord.” He didn’t just “put on” godly behavior, he put off the symbols of rebellion against God when he removed the “high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.” In so doing, Jehoshaphat sent a loud message the people of Judah were to worship only the one true God.
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