7/26/13

7/26/13

Jehoshaphat enjoyed great riches and high esteem, and he made an alliance with Ahab of Israel by having his son marry Ahab's daughter. A few years later he went to Samaria to visit Ahab, who prepared a great banquet for him and his officials. They butchered great numbers of sheep, goats, and cattle for the feast. Then Ahab enticed Jehoshaphat to join forces with him to recover Ramoth-gilead. "Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?" King Ahab of Israel asked King Jehoshaphat of Judah. Jehoshaphat replied, "Why, of course! You and I are as one, and my troops are your troops. We will certainly join you in battle." Then Jehoshaphat added, "But first let's find out what the Lord says." (2 Chronicles 18:1-4 NLT)

Jehoshaphat was a reconciler. However we might feel about Ahab, I'm sure Jehoshaphat felt the same. But, Jehoshaphat made an effort to reconcile Judah with Israel. He wanted them to be one, as is very clear in this passage. But why would he care? Was not this the same Ahab who did not care about the Lord? Isn't this the husband of Jezebel? Isn't this Ahab, who made God more angry than any other king of Israel? Jehoshaphat clearly cared. He clearly understood that God is a God of reconciliation. And I believe that he probably saw some good in Ahab that others did not. Maybe he saw Ahab when Jezebel was not around being controlling and evil? (some of you reading this might be saying a quiet "amen" thinking about your spouse....JK!) Whatever the reason, Jehoshaphat wanted to reconcile with Ahab. We can learn a few things from this story. We should try to reconcile with even people that we don't necessarily like, or get along with. And when we are under their influence, we need to seek out the Lord's guidance.

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