Here's something else that impresses me. Jehoshaphat allies himself with Ahab, the bad king of Israel, and almost gets killed in a battle over Ramoth Gilead. Look what happens when he gets rebuked by a prophet.
When Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem, Jehu the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him and said to the king, "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, the wrath of the Lord is upon you. There is, however, some good in you, for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles and have set your heart on seeking God."He doesn't throw the prophet into prison or oppress anyone, but he turns his people back to the Lord.
Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers.2 Chronicles 19.1-4
Now this guy is a great example to follow. He resolves to inquire of the Lord. He leads his people in prayer and worship, and urges them to have faith in the Lord (2 Chronicles 20.18-20). And when he's rebuked by God through a prophet, Jehoshaphat takes it as the word of God, not as an insult from a mere man. He listened to God and kept on track, rather than going off the rails as his father did.
He finished well. May God help us to do so. And may we take the steps necessary to find out what God wants us to do and to become.
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