2 Chronicles 17:1-19
1 And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel.
2 And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken.
3 And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim;
4 But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.
5 Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah broughta to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance.
6 And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah.
7 Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Benhail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah.
8 And with them he sent Levites, even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests.
9 And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.
10 And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.
11 Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and tribute silver; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he goats.
12 And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles,b and cities of store.
13 And he had much business in the cities of Judah: and the men of war, mighty men of valour, were in Jerusalem.
14 And these are the numbers of them according to the house of their fathers: Of Judah, the captains of thousands; Adnah the chief, and with him mighty men of valour three hundred thousand.
15 And nextc to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand.
16 And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the LORD; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour.
17 And of Benjamin; Eliada a mighty man of valour, and with him armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand.
18 And next him was Jehozabad, and with him an hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for the war.
19 These waited on the king, beside those whom the king put in the fenced cities throughout all Judah.
2 Chronicles: God desires loyal people
The *Kingdom called Judah
2 Chronicles Chapter s 10 to 36
Ian Mackervoy
Chapter 17
Jehoshaphat makes a good start – 2 Chronicles 17:1-11
v1 Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, replaced Asa as king of Judah. He made Judah strong against *Israel. v2 He put forces in all the strong cities in Judah. He put army camps in the country of Judah. And he put soldiers in the towns in Ephraim that Asa had *captured.
v3 In his early years, Jehoshaphat lived as his *ancestor David had done. He did not *turn to the false gods of Baal. So, the *LORD was with Jehoshaphat. v4 He trusted in his father’s God. He obeyed God’s rules. And he did not live as the people in *Israel lived. v5 The *LORD made Jehoshaphat a strong king over Judah. All the people in Judah brought gifts to him. So, he had much wealth and honour. v6 He wanted very much to obey the *LORD. He removed from Judah the places where people *worshipped false gods. And he cut down the images of *Asherah.
v7 In the third year of his rule, Jehoshaphat sent his officers to teach in the towns of Judah. These officers were Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah. v8 He sent these *Levites with them:
• Shemaiah,
• Nethaniah,
• Zebadiah,
• Asahel,
• Shemiramoth,
• Jehonathan,
• Adonijah,
• Tobijah,
• and Tob-Adonijah.
Also, the priests Elishama and Jehoram went with the *Levites. v9 These officers, *Levites and priests taught the people in Judah. They went to all the towns in Judah. And they taught the people from the book of the *LORD’s law.
v10 The *kingdoms of the countries round Judah were afraid of the *LORD. So, they did not start a war against Jehoshaphat. v11 Some of the *Philistines brought gifts and silver to Jehoshaphat, as he demanded. The Arabs brought to him 7700 male sheep and 7700 male goats.
Verses 1-2 Jehoshaphat was the 4th king of Judah. He was the son of Asa and Azubah. He was 35 years of age when he became king. This was the 4th year of the rule of Ahab in *Israel. Jehoshaphat ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years (1 Kings 22:41-42). He started to rule in 873 *BC and he died in 849 *BC.
Jehoshaphat was aware of possible attacks from *Israel. So, he made the cities in Judah strong to defeat any attacks. He made his army strong and he put soldiers in the cities to defend them. This included the cities that his father had *captured in Ephraim (15:8). Also, he made army camps with the soldiers ready for war.
Verses 3-5 Some translations have, ‘he lived as his father David did at first’. This suggests that David was not loyal to God later in his life. But David was loyal to God for all of his life. But it seems that the name David was probably not in the original book. So, the verse probably means this: Jehoshaphat lived as Asa did in his early years. Asa was loyal to the *LORD at first but later he was not so loyal.
Jehoshaphat was loyal to the *LORD and he did not *worship false gods. Because of this, the *LORD was with him.
King Ahab and the people in *Israel did *worship the false gods. They did not obey the God of their *ancestors. But Jehoshaphat did not live as they did. He obeyed the *LORD’s commands and he was loyal to his God. As he depended on the *LORD, so the *LORD made him a strong king over Judah.
It was the custom to give gifts to the king when he started to rule. Then, each year the leaders of the people would give gifts to the king. But Jehoshaphat was such a good king that all the people in Judah brought gifts to him. So, he became wealthy and his people respected him.
Verse 6 Asa had removed the high places for *worship. And he had cut down the *Asherah poles (14:2-3). But the people seemed to have made them again. Then Asa did not remove those places (15:17) but at that time, he was loyal to the *LORD. Now Jehoshaphat removed the high places for *worship. And he cut down the poles and the images of the false god *Asherah. But at the end of his rule, there were still high places where the people *worshipped false gods. Jehoshaphat desired to obey the *LORD but the people *turned from the *LORD (20:33).
Verses 7-9 During the last two years of Asa’s rule, he was too ill to rule well. Jehoshaphat shared the rule with his father. So, the third year may mean the first year after Asa’s death.
Usually the priests were the teachers of the people. But in his third year, Jehoshaphat sent 5 officials to teach in the towns of Judah. He sent two priests and 9 *Levites with these officials. They taught the people from the book of the law of the *LORD. Jehoshaphat realised that this was important. God’s people must know how God wants them to live.
The book of the *LORD’s law probably included the 5 books of Moses. They are the first 5 books that we have in our Bible. Some students call them the Pentateuch.
Verses 10-11 They were afraid of the *LORD in all the countries round Judah. So, no countries were prepared to attack Judah. It seems that the nations were afraid of Judah. They were afraid that Judah might attack them. So, they gave to Jehoshaphat gifts to make peace with him. Even the *Philistines, who had always been enemies of *Israel, brought gifts and silver to Jehoshaphat. The Arab people who lived to the south and west of Judah sent sheep and goats to him.
Jehoshaphat’s military power – 2 Chronicles 17:12-19
v12 Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful. He built castles and towns in Judah. He stored supplies in those towns. v13 He had large stores in the towns of Judah. And he had strong and brave soldiers in Jerusalem. v14 This is a list of the soldiers by families. From Judah there were officers over groups of 1000 men. Adnah was the officer over 300 000 soldiers. v15 Next to him was Johanan. He was the officer over 280 000 soldiers. v16 Then there was Amasiah, Zichri’s son. He chose to serve the *LORD. He had 200 000 men. v17 Then there were officers from the families of Benjamin. Eliada was a brave soldier. He was the officer over 200 000 men. Their *weapons were bows and *shields. v18 And Jehozabad had 180 000 men ready for war.
v19 All these soldiers served the king. In addition to these men, the king put soldiers in the strong cities through all Judah.
Verses 12-19 Jehoshaphat became rich and powerful. He built castles for the defence of his *kingdom. And he stored provisions in his towns in case there was an attack.
Also, he organised his army in or near Jerusalem. He arranged the soldiers in the army in groups of 1000 men and by their families. He had 5 main officers over the officers of 1000 men. From Judah there were Adnah, Johanan and Amasiah. And from Benjamin there were Eliada and Jehozabad.
Other soldiers were in the strong cities through all Judah.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.
capture ~ to fight for something and to make it yours as a result; or, to make somebody a prisoner.
ancestors ~ people in history that your family has come from.
turn ~ to decide to support someone. Or, to decide to oppose someone. If a person ‘turns away from God’, that person decides not to be loyal to God. If a person ‘turns to God’, that person decides to be loyal to God.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It means that God has always been.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Asherah ~ a female god.
Levite ~ a person who belongs to the tribe of Levi.
tribe ~ the *Israelites were divided into the 12 families of the sons of Jacob. These families are the 12 tribes of *Israel.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.
Philistines ~ people who lived to the south and west of Judah. They were a nation that fought with the *Israelites.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
weapon ~ a tool of war; people use it in attack or in defence when in a fight (like a sword or a gun).
shield ~ soldiers carried shields in their hands for protection in battle; they were like covers to protect the body from swords or from other weapons. Solomon’s shields of gold were probably not for use in war.
weapon ~ a tool of war; people use it in attack or in defence when in a fight (like a sword or a gun).