I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 19-22.

    Jehoshaphat is possibly my favorite king from the Old Testament. He sent teachers throughout his kingdom to teach his people. In particular, he sent his officials to do the teaching. However, he not only sent his officials out among the people, he himself went out among the people encouraging them to worship and obey God. There are two sides to this, by doing so, Jehoshaphat and his officials gained an understanding of what the people they ruled over were experiencing. Having learned what was going on throughout the land he ruled over, Jehoshaphat appointed judges to dispense justice. When he spoke to the judges he appointed he emphasized that they would answer to God for their judgments. He, also, emphasized that they remind the people that, whether they answered to human authority or not, they would answer to God for their crimes.

    Unfortunately, for as good of a ruler Jehoshaphat was, he was not a good father, nor did he choose his friends well. As a result his son failed to follow in his footsteps. Instead his son was influenced by the wife Jehoshaphat chose for him (or, at the very least, arranged for him to marry) and followed the lead of Jehoshaphat’s friend, King Ahab of Israel (the Northern Kingdom). Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram, killed his brothers, and some of the other leaders of the kingdom, as soon as he was established as king. Rather than follow his father’s example and worship and serve God, Jehoram followed Ahab’s example and encouraged the worship of the various gods of the region.