Study Desk

Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to gather the plunder. They found among them an abundance of goods on the bodies and valuable items. So they stripped them until nobody could carry any more. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much.

Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you formed an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord has broken up what you have made.” So the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.

Their father had given them many gifts of silver, gold, and valuable things, along with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.

And now Edom is still in rebellion against Judah’s control today. Libnah also rebelled at that time against his control because he had abandoned the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

You yourself will be struck with many illnesses, including a disease of the intestines, until your intestines come out day after day because of the disease.”

This continued day after day until two full years passed. Then his intestines came out because of his disease, and he died from severe illnesses. But his people did not hold a fire in his honor like the fire in honor of his fathers.

Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, because the troops that had come with the Arabs to the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah.

No one is to enter the Lord’s temple but the priests and those Levites who serve; they may enter because they are holy, but all the people are to obey the requirement of the Lord.

He was buried in the city of David with the kings because he had done what was good in Israel with respect to God and his temple.

The Spirit of God enveloped Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood above the people and said to them, “This is what God says, ‘Why are you transgressing the Lord’s commands so that you do not prosper? Because you have abandoned the Lord, he has abandoned you.’”

Although the Aramean army came with only a few men, the Lord handed over a vast army to them because the people of Judah had abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors. So they executed judgment on Joash.

When the Arameans saw that Joash had many wounds, they left him. His servants conspired against him, and killed him on his bed, because he had shed the blood of the sons of the priest Jehoiada. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.

However, he did not put their children to death, because—as it is written in the Law, in the book of Moses, where the Lord commanded—“Fathers are not to die because of children, and children are not to die because of fathers, but each one will die for his own sin.”

But Amaziah would not listen, for this turn of events was from God in order to hand them over to their enemies because they went after the gods of Edom.

Then Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him and saw that he was diseased on his forehead. They rushed him out of there. He himself also hurried to get out because the Lord had afflicted him.

So Jotham strengthened his position because he did not waver in obeying the Lord his God.

Pekah son of Remaliah killed one hundred twenty thousand in Judah in one day—all brave men—because they had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors.

A prophet of the Lord named Oded was there. He went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Look, the Lord God of your ancestors handed them over to you because of his wrath against Judah, but you slaughtered them in a rage that has reached heaven.

For the Lord humbled Judah because of King Ahaz of Judah, who threw off restraint in Judah and was unfaithful to the Lord.

Our fathers fell by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity because of this.