1 Kings 22:29-53

Jehoshaphat was a good king. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD as his father Asa had done. But he had one fault:

“Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.” (1 Kings 22:44, NKJV)

This move almost cost him his life when he allied himself with Ahab to go to war against the Syrians. Ahab knew that his enemy Ben-Hadad would seek to take his life, so he told Jehoshaphat to put on royal robes while he disguised himself as a common soldier. If I had been Jehoshaphat, I think I would have gone home at this point! Jehoshaphat did what Ahab said, and the Syrian captains of the chariots pursued Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat cried out, and the captains saw that he wasn’t Ahab, so they broke off their attack.

When Jehoshaphat returned from the battle, a prophet met him, saying:

“Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you. Nevertheless good things are found in you, in that you have removed the wooden images from the land, and have prepared your heart to seek God.” (2 Chronicles 19:2–3, NKJV)

After this, you would think that Jehoshaphat would have stayed away from the house of Ahab, but even after Ahab died, Jehoshaphat made peace with Ahab’s son. Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram, married Ahab’s daughter, and this would ruin him. In fact, when he became king, he killed all his brothers and other princes of Israel (2 Chronicles 21:4).

The moral of the story is that evil alliances will prove to be disastrous. And even if we manage to escape with our lives, our children may not survive. May God help us to love what He loves, and hate what He hates.