Back to 2 Chronicles, Jehoshaphat, chapters 17 – 20, makes three good kings in a row for Judah! I don’t think I’ve noticed that before. Chapter 17 records a very good start:

Asa’s son Jehoshaphat was the next king…GOD was on Jehoshaphat’s side because he stuck to the ways of his father Asa’s early years. He didn’t fool around with the popular Baal religion—he was a seeker and follower of the God of his father and was obedient to him; he wasn’t like Israel. And GOD secured the kingdom under his rule, gave him a firm grip on it…He was single-minded in following GOD; and he got rid of the local sex-and-religion shrines. (2 Chronicles 17.1 – 6, MSG)

And then something I haven’t seen done by any of the kings – teaching!

In the third year of his reign he sent his officials—excellent men, every one of them…on a teaching mission to the cities of Judah. They were accompanied by Levites…They made a circuit of the towns of Judah, teaching the people and using the Book of The Revelation of GOD as their text. (2 Chronicles 17.7 – 9, MSG)

Chapter 18 records a little hiccup with Jehoshaphat attempting to help Ahab. It’s a repeat of 1 Kings 22, which I wrote about back in June. 2 Chronicles 19 opens with a rebuke of that episode but an affirmation as well:

Jehoshaphat king of Judah got home safe and sound. Jehu, son of Hanani the seer, confronted King Jehoshaphat: “You have no business helping evil, cozying up to GOD-haters. Because you did this, GOD is good and angry with you. But you’re not all bad—you made a clean sweep of the polluting sex-and-religion shrines; and you were single-minded in seeking God.” (2 Chronicles 19.1 – 3, MSG)

But rather than “shoot the messenger” as his father Asa did when confronted, Jehoshaphat kept doing the right thing, continuing the teaching ministry:

Jehoshaphat kept his residence in Jerusalem but made a regular round of visits among the people, from Beer-sheba in the south to Mount Ephraim in the north, urging them to return to GOD, the God of their ancestors. (2 Chronicles 19.4, MSG)

Jehoshaphat has a good start AND a good finish as we’ll see tomorrow when we look at chapter 20. Stay tuned.

Make sure you get yourself a king whom GOD, your God, chooses. Choose your king from among your kinsmen…This is what must be done: When he sits down on the throne of his kingdom, the first thing he must do is make himself a copy of this Revelation on a scroll, copied under the supervision of the Levitical priests. That scroll is to remain at his side at all times; he is to study it every day so that he may learn what it means to fear his GOD, living in reverent obedience before these rules and regulations by following them. He must not become proud and arrogant, changing the commands at whim to suit himself or making up his own versions. If he reads and learns, he will have a long reign as king in Israel, he and his sons. (Deuteronomy 17.16 – 20, MSG)