The Fear of the Lord Causes Us to Act

"The Fear of the Lord Causes Us to Act" - 2 Chronicles 19:1-9 In 2 Kings 3:14, he speaks of Jehoshaphat according to Elisha's thought of him: "As surely as the Lord Almighty, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you." Well, they won the battle because God favored Jehoshaphat. Which was not the place where he had not been.

I. Jehoshaphat gave Ahab help.

A. He had been related to Ahab and relatives.

1. The kinship was due to military reasons.

2. (1 Kings 22:44) And Jehoshaphat made peace with the wicked and unrighteous king of Israel, King Ahab.

3. He then made room to ruin all that God had blessed him with, and such a blessing was only for him, not to share it with someone God did not accept.

4. Elisha tells Ahab, "I will not look at you, nor see you."

5. Elisha says to him, "If I had not respected the face of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, I think I would not have spoken or looked at you.

6. At this point Jehoshaphat exposed himself to be killed with the sword of Ahab's enemies.

7. It was known that these enemies were not battling with Jehoshaphat.

8. (2 Chronicles 18:31) When they saw Jehoshaphat they said, "This is the king of Israel”, and they were going to kill him (32) for when the captains of the chariots saw that he was not the king of Israel, they desisted from harassing him.

9. (2 Chronicles 19:1) He returned home in peace.

10. The great favor God showed Jehoshaphat in bringing him safely from the perilous expedition (journey) with Ahab, which nearly cost him his life.

11. Jehoshaphat fared better than he deserved.

12. To send him a rebuke for his union with Ahab.

13. It is a blessing to receive a reproach in time (lecturing, rebuking, harshness and severity) so that we can repent and make amends for the mistake before it is too late.

14. The prophet rebukes him and clearly tells him what he had done very wrong in uniting with Ahab: Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord?

15. He says to him, "Because of this, the wrath of the Lord is upon you.”

16. (3) It is noteworthy that Jehu rightly mentions the good things of Jehoshaphat, as we should do whenever we are "forced" to rebuke someone, when you see that attitude of changing so as not to be destroyed.

17. (4) Jehoshaphat received the rebuke well, unlike his father (16:10).

18. He lived in Jerusalem, did his duty, and visited his people as if to atone for Ahab's evil visit and lead them to Jehovah the God of their fathers, that is, to all in his power to "turn to God."

19. His recent friendship with the idolatrous family of Ahab must have had "a bad influence on his own kingdom."

20. Many would dare to turn to idols when they saw their reformed king so intimately linked to idolaters.

21. So, he now felt doubly obligated to do everything he could to obtain from them the return of Jehovah the God of their fathers.

22. (5) After doing everything possible to bring his people back to the right path, Jehoshaphat is now seeing to it that they continue to be under the influence of good magistrates (judges).

23. Now he thought it expedient to appoint judges who would enforce the laws and "frighten evildoers."

24. He instituted courts of first instance in different cities of the kingdom.

25. The judges of these courts were to maintain in the people the worship of the true God, to punish violations of the law, and to express personal controversies.

26. (6) "Take heed what you do, for you do not judge in the place of man, but in the place of the Lord." Who is with you when you judge (wow, if anything is judged, it is not in the place of men, but of God).

27. Serious is the responsibility of the judges, for they depend a lot on their giving a just sentence!

28. He instituted a supreme court in Jerusalem of "last resort," to which appeals were to be made in the most difficult cases.

29. There it would be under the king's inspection.

30. The judges of this court were chosen from among the most experienced Levites and priests, doctors of the Law, eminent for their prudence and proven integrity, and from among the leaders of the house of Judah, persons of age and experience.

31. (9) They should strive to act on sound principles: "The fear of Jehovah with truth and with a whole heart."

32. They are to act with all determination and again without fear of men: "Be strong, for to do so and Jehovah will be with the good one." Amen.