The Ungodly Alliance

King Jehoshaphat was a righteous man who ruled over Judah when the kingdom of Israel was divided. This man’s heart was fully set on God, and he was blessed and honored above all others in his generation. “Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David” (2 Chronicles 17:3, NKJV).

Scripture says that, despite this, Jehoshaphat made an alliance with evil King Ahab who ruled the northern kingdom of Israel. “Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and by marriage he allied himself with Ahab” (2 Chronicles 18:1). The Bible says of Ahab, “[He] did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him” (1 Kings 16:33).

You may wonder how a righteous king like Jehoshaphat ended up joined in alliance with such an ungodly man. I believe there is only one reason; it was part of a satanic plot to destroy the righteous Jehoshaphat.

Jehoshaphat had purged the land, driving out all the idols of Baal and slaying the idolatrous prophets. On the other side, wicked Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, worshiped Baal; and they knew what Jehoshaphat had done to their idols. So they set their sights on bringing down this godly man.

Jezebel probably devised a plot with her wicked daughter Athaliah to infiltrate Jehoshaphat’s godly court. Athaliah would have met Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram, and used all her charms to win his heart. Jehoram chose to marry Athaliah. He asked his father for his blessing; and foolishly, Jehoshaphat granted it.

Because of this marriage, evil entered Jehoshaphat’s inner circle, and the devil must have danced with glee. Jehoshaphat could have warned his son that Athaliah was a rebellious woman who would lead him away from God, but he didn’t. He could have counseled him to drop the relationship right away. Instead, Jehoshaphat said nothing.

Jehoshaphat had the scriptures available to him; David had stated very clearly, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful” (Psalm 1:1). Jehoshaphat knew this, yet he still failed to take a stand, and grief came to his house and future generations. Dear saint, this is the future of any believer who makes ungodly alliances!