Study Desk

O our God, won't you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help."

Then the Levites from the clans of Kohath and Korah stood to praise the Lord , the God of Israel, with a very loud shout.

Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, "Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed."

When all the surrounding kingdoms heard that the Lord himself had fought against the enemies of Israel, the fear of God came over them.

So Jehoshaphat's kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.

During his reign, however, he failed to remove all the pagan shrines, and the people never fully committed themselves to follow the God of their ancestors.

Even so, Edom has been independent from Judah to this day. The town of Libnah also revolted about that same time. All this happened because Jehoram had abandoned the Lord , the God of his ancestors.

Then Elijah the prophet wrote Jehoram this letter: "This is what the Lord , the God of your ancestor David, says: You have not followed the good example of your father, Jehoshaphat, or your grandfather King Asa of Judah.

But God had decided that this visit would be Ahaziah's downfall. While he was there, Ahaziah went out with Joram to meet Jehu grandson of Nimshi, whom the Lord had appointed to destroy the dynasty of Ahab.

Joash remained hidden in the Temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled over the land.

They all gathered at the Temple of God, where they made a solemn pact with Joash, the young king. Jehoiada said to them, "Here is the king's son! The time has come for him to reign! The Lord has promised that a descendant of David will be our king.

Then Jehoiada supplied the commanders with the spears and the large and small shields that had once belonged to King David and were stored in the Temple of God.

He summoned the priests and Levites and gave them these instructions: "Go to all the towns of Judah and collect the required annual offerings, so that we can repair the Temple of your God. Do not delay!" But the Levites did not act immediately.

Over the years the followers of wicked Athaliah had broken into the Temple of God, and they had used all the dedicated things from the Temple of the Lord to worship the images of Baal.

Then a proclamation was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem, telling the people to bring to the Lord the tax that Moses, the servant of God, had required of the Israelites in the wilderness.

The men in charge of the renovation worked hard and made steady progress. They restored the Temple of God according to its original design and strengthened it.

He was buried among the kings in the City of David, because he had done so much good in Israel for God and his Temple.

They decided to abandon the Temple of the Lord , the God of their ancestors, and they worshiped Asherah poles and idols instead! Because of this sin, divine anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem.

Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, "This is what God says: Why do you disobey the Lord 's commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You have abandoned the Lord , and now he has abandoned you!"

Although the Arameans attacked with only a small army, the Lord helped them conquer the much larger army of Judah. The people of Judah had abandoned the Lord , the God of their ancestors, so judgment was carried out against Joash.