1 Kings 22:41 – 53 “In the fourth year of Ahab’s reign over Israel, Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah. Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.
And Jehoshaphat walked in all the ways of his father Asa; he did not turn away from them, but did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. The high places, however, were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.
As for the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, along with the might he exercised and how he waged war, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? He banished from the land the male shrine prostitutes who remained from the days of his father Asa. And there was no king in Edom; a deputy served as king.
Jehoshaphat built ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail, because they were wrecked at Ezion-geber. At that time Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants sail with your servants,” but Jehoshaphat refused. And Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David. And his son Jehoram reigned in his place.
In the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria two years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father and mother and of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin. Ahaziah served and worshiped Baal, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done.”
Consider Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat did a great deal of good, following in the ways of his father King Asa, and banishing the male shrine prostitutes, something Asa had failed to do. But….the high places still remained, and people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. Jehoshaphat also made peace with King Ahab, even going to war with him and attempting a joint sea venture to secure gold from Ophir.
What were these “high places?” The citizens of Judah and Israel had adapted all the pagan religions forbidden to them by the Lord and had established shrines on the tops of mountains and hills and in places where there were unusually large trees. Even though Jehoshaphat succeeded in getting rid of the male shrine prostitutes, he did not tackle these high places. Why didn’t Jehoshaphat eliminate the high places while he was at it? Perhaps Jehoshaphat feared that if he attempted to close down all these shrines, the people of Judah would rebel and join the people of Israel, the Northern Kingdom.
Did Jehoshaphat ever really make those shrines a matter of earnest prayer? Doubtful! Those shrines were not God’s will for Israel, and God would certainly have helped Jehoshaphat to get rid of them, had Jehoshaphat asked. Jehoshaphat himself worshiped the Lord; however, he failed to encourage others to do so as he might have. JEHOSHAPHAT NEVER TOOK A STAND AGAINST THE HIGH PLACES, AND HIS KINGDOM SUFFERED AS A RESULT.
What was the point of Jehoshaphat making peace with Ahab and even going to war with him and attempting a cooperative venture with him? While it was true that the Northern Kingdom was larger than Judah, it is equally true that Judah did quite well for itself. Perhaps Jehoshaphat wanted to consider himself as a diplomat and therefore made a peace treaty with Ahab. But when Jehoshaphat failed to heed the warnings of the prophet Micaiah, he nearly paid for that mistake with his life. The picture we get of King Jehoshaphat is of someone with good intentions who accomplished quite a lot but who ultimately failed to dedicate his life to the Lord completely.
Oswald Chambers in his book My Utmost for His Highest describes many of us as having spiritual measles – we look great if you look at the right spots, but our commitment is spotty at best.
Why did God wreck those ships before they could ever set sail? Well, consider what might have happened had that venture succeeded, bringing back gold. Gold didn’t help Solomon and Jehoshaphat might have been drawn completely away from God, had he gotten lots of gold.
APPLICATION: How many high places do we have in our lives? Do we exercise self – control in some areas, only to fail completely in others? Do we fail to exercise, over – eat, watch programs online or on TV that will drag us down spiritually? One problem with bad habits is that they are very easy to form and very tough to break. And we all have pet sins that we overlook by making excuses for ourselves. But all of these things are “high places” and do not lead us closer to God.
May God help us to search our hearts and confess these pet sins. When we do so, God will help us get rid of those high places.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, open our eyes to see our pet sins that are dragging us away from you. Help us to recognize these things and to confess them so that You can help us get rid of them forever. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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