Jehoshaphat – Part 19
Thy Works Are Broken
And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly: (2 Chronicles 20:35)
And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongeber. (2 Chronicles 20:36)
Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish. (2 Chronicles 20:37)
For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. (Galatians 6:3)
But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. (Galatians 6:4)
For every man shall bear his own burden. (Galatians 6:5)
Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. (Galatians 6:6)
Man fulfills the desires and works of his own flesh. He uses his works to exalt himself and to control others. This is the work of the flesh. The work of the Spirit, however, is one of humility and obedience to the Almighty God. One must operate from a vessel prepared of God in order to put the flesh in subjection, and to give liberty to the Spirit of God. In God’s divine plan those who belong to Him must first be created and brought forth by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God, or Spirit of Christ, reveals Christ in them, and they are born into the family of God through God’s divine work of creation. For any work of God to stand the Spirit of God must be the leader and creator of that work. The Spirit of God is a discerner of what is the work of God, and only those works will stand the test of eternity. Once again I emphasis that the works of God must originate and get their authority from His throne in heaven. Many times the Lord Jesus declared the work that He was doing on earth was given to Him of the Father; therefore, the works that the children of God do today must be done with divine authority from heaven itself.
God’s Work — His Divine Way
This was the error that Jehoshaphat continually made by aligning himself with the evil house of Ahab in that he was denying himself of doing the works of God, for God would not work in those circumstances. Concerning the ships that Jehoshaphat built to go to Tarshish: God revealed His position by breaking the works of Jehoshaphat. God, the Holy Spirit, always does His work in a divine way; therefore, He gives us this last message concerning the works of Jehoshaphat. Three verses to remind us of the broken works in Eziongeber (2 Chronicles 20:35-37). These works were broken and recorded for our learning. We are to see the price of failure when one departs from the living God. If we join with the world, or world religion, God will have no part in our work, and if it brings discredit to Him He will openly (before the whole world) break those works. If one joins with the world, no matter what the circumstances, it will never find approval by the Spirit of God. It will detract from the spiritual well being of the saint. The world will rob you of your proper place with Christ, and this proper place is in the heavenlies. Our total communion with the Lord Jesus Christ is with a heavenly Being in heavenly places. If one departs to join the work of the world the storms will come and break those works. One by one Jehoshaphat’s ships were broken, and they disappeared beneath the waves in the Spirit’s judgment upon those works. This was the 2nd alliance with the house of Ahab. This was his 2nd error in joining with this house of evil. God did not step in and save Jehoshaphat’s ships. They were, I presume, dashed upon the rocks and covered by the tide. This entire enterprise was lost, the affinity with Ahaziah, king of Israel, was brought out as a reminder at the end of Jehoshaphat’s life. The reminder to us is that God remembered. It was written to reveal the work of the Spirit of God in the unrighteousness of man. Both the works of Jehoshaphat: in the ships, and the alliance with Ahaziah relate to us that the physical possessions were destroyed, and that Jehoshaphat suffered great spiritual loss in joining, once again, with the house of this evil king Ahab.
God’s Work — His Direction
The work of God is His work. If we allow Him to do His work we have ceased from our own work, and have entered into His rest. If we apply ourselves to the direction of the Spirit of God the works that will be done will be holy and righteous, and those works will be given by God. It is His right to perform His own works by His Spirit according to His own will. Man truly has a hard time with such a concept; yet, the one man who was completely obedient in all things loved to do His father will. The Lord Jesus submitted Himself to all that the Father gave Him to do. It was His delight to do His Father’s will. If we come into a relationship with God through His beloved Son, would not the mind of Christ desire this new creation possessed by the Spirit of God to be of like mind, and to do His Father’s will. It is for us, in Christ, to apply ourselves to do the work of God according to His perfect will. We should never lose sight of pleasing our Father first in all that He gives us to do, and that all true direction comes from the Holy Spirit and not from man. The Holy Spirit sent and given by the Lord Jesus directs all of God’s true work today. These works come directly from the presence and Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Join with the World — Joined to the World
The character of Ahab’s son, Ahaziah, was very wicked. This is not someone who Jehoshaphat should have hung his hopes on. In our text the Holy Spirit in connection with this evil man uses the word, join (join/joined) three times: the world, the flesh and the devil. This is to drive the point home to us that we should not join with the world, nor to the religion of man in any way.
Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber. (1 Kings 22:48)
Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not. (1 Kings 22:49)
In 1st Kings, Chapter 22, we have the physical application of what we find in the book of James. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (James 1:5)
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. (James 1:6)
For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. (James 1:7)
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:8)
So let us sort out Jehoshaphat’s dilemma. According to 2 Chronicles, Chapter 20, we see his ships or works being broken because of his affinity or league with the house of Ahab. The Holy Spirit desires to give us these facts at the end of Jehoshaphat’s life as a side note of what came from being disobedient to God. In 1st Kings, the Holy Spirit describes the ships being broken first, I believe then we have a reminder that at first mention Jehoshaphat refused the allegiance with Ahaziah, and by the presence of the Scripture in 2nd Chronicles, Chapter 20, he, like the man in the Book of James, was unstable and changed his mind. He did not listen to his first conviction instead he joined hands once again at Eziongeber. Eziongeber, a port city, is located at the northern tip of the Red Sea in the Gulf of Aqaba. It was here where Solomon launched his ships for Ophir, and they returned laden with gold and many other treasures. And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom. (1 Kings 9:26) In Solomon’s case the gold was to be placed in the house that he had built for Jehovah, and all those who were involved were of his command. The world had nothing to do with Solomon’s ships. It seems as if Jehoshaphat was following in the footsteps of Solomon, but in a moment of weakness he caved to world opinion and religious pressure. The world opinion came from the persuasive powers of Ahaziah, and the religious pressure, most likely, came from the house of Baal and not from the house of God; therefore, the Lord broke his ships in Eziongeber. There are two different meanings for Eziongeber: one is ‘man’s backbone’, and the other definition is ‘the devil’s backbone’. Both meanings are suited for the situation that Jehoshaphat had put himself into: first, he aligned himself with man, and relied on man’s strength in the symbol of the backbone; the other meaning, his help and alliance came from the house of Ahab and this house had sold itself to do evil. I am sure that the Lord would declare that Ahaziah was of his father the devil. So this venture of Jehoshaphat was totally destroyed. In this judgment from Jehovah the Lord did not pull Jehoshaphat’s hand out of the fire. The judgment of the ships was not staid, but completed. These words of the Holy Spirit are the last words concerning the works of Jehoshaphat. Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish. In contrast to the works of Jehoshaphat we have the testimony of the last godly king to serve in Judah named Josiah.
Testimonies Compared
Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his goodness, according to that which was written in the law of the LORD, (2 Chronicles 35:26)
And his deeds, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. (2 Chronicles 35:27)
And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.　 (2 Kings 23:25)
This testimony is of the last godly king that reigned in Judah. What is so remarkable about this testimony is that Josiah came to the throne when Judah and Jerusalem was in complete spiritual ruin. And because of his desire to serve God and to walk in the ways of God he brought the people of God back to a point where they celebrated the passover in a greater and holier way than all the kings before him, even greater than the passover that Samuel, the prophet, had with the nation of Israel. The works, walk, and testimonies of both Josiah and Jehoshaphat are given by the Holy Spirit of God as examples. We are to see their failures and their successes in obeying and serving the Almighty God. The Spirit of God warns us or convicts us in our inner spirit to do the will of God according to God’s word. Do we want the addendum that the Spirit of God wrote concerning Jehoshaphat or do we want the addendum that God wrote concerning Josiah, the last godly king of Judah and Jerusalem? Do we want our works to be broken in a spiritual Eziongeber, the devils backbone? Or surely, should we not desire the words from the Lord Jesus, Well done, [thou] good and faithful servant. (Matthew 25:21)
Your Spiritual Responsibility is to God Only
In our comparison text in the New Testament, Galatians 6:3-6, the Spirit of God is looking for humility in a different light. The Spirit of God warns the man of God, the servant of Christ, against a false humility, and an outward appearance of humility to others when the spirit of pride is raging in the heart. This deception has been employed for thousands of years by the devil and his people. This deception is used to lure the saint away from the will of God by manifesting one’s own pride in one’s own heart. Never forget it is how God looks at you, not how man looks at you. Your spiritual responsibility and answer will always be to God and not man.
Verse 3 – The Walk of the Will of Man
For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. (Galatians 6:3) Verse 3 is also and example of a man walking in his own will. He is lifted up in his own pride with himself, and this deceives him in the work of God. God sees us through and through, there is no part of us that we can hide from the Spirit of God. He is within us, and sees all that we are. Many years ago a medical doctor could only examine the patient from the outside, but the Spirit of God has always been able to see within, and examine the very core and heart and soul of man. So when one has this external pride, the Spirit of God says of that man that his works are broken. When one displays pride outwardly in the work of God the Spirit counts that man as nothing. One must always have the correct motivation in serving the living God. That motivation should be for the glory of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle in Galatians is telling us to be careful of self deception; to be aware of it’s subtlety when it comes into the room of your heart. We must be constantly aware of both outward influences, and inward influences that would take us away from the will and purpose of God in our life. The moment pride walks in it must be cast out of the room. This can come in many ways: the desire to be someone, or to be noticed, or to receive the praise of man. When we reflect on Ahab’s life we find that he sold himself to do evil. This, of course, is the prognosis of the current world of politics that they have sold themselves to do evil. For the man of God, world opinion and world praise can only take away the heart of his message, and in the end take his heart for Christ. One’s goal, one’s life desire should always be to glorify the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 4 – The Proof of the Walk
But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. (Galatians 6:4) Verse 4 of Galatians 6 is in proving one’s works. It is not self motivated, but God motivates through His Spirit, and that work will have the witness of the power of the Spirit of God; and that work will be tried by the word of God. The acclamations of men are for men, and not for the servant of God. The authority and the origin of any work of God must come from God’s holy mountain; this is simply a place where the servant of God comes apart from the world to be with His creator. And those who have been at that location know exactly what I mean. It is God’s presence that gives all authority to whatever He will have His servant do. It is faithfulness and obedience to His will that gives the work authority. This causes one to recognize how insufficient one is in the presence of God. It is only what God manifests through a faithful servant that will fill the heart of that servant with joy.
Verse 5 – The Burden in the Walk
For every man shall bear his own burden. (Galatians 6:5) Now the Spirit of God speaks expressly in verse 5 of Chapter 6 of Galatians. Every one (that is every individual) that has past through the washing of blood in the Lord Jesus Christ, and has received the gift of the Spirit of God will bare his own burden. Truly today, it is rare for someone to carry the burden of Christ in this world. Today no one wants to be burdened. The world in it’s socialism surely does not want to be burdened even by material things; and yet, the entire world that is outside of Christ bares the burden of sin. And without Christ there is no escape from their burden. Religion does not want that burden, they do not want to share the burden of their fellow men, and they surely do not want to share the burden of Christ. This would be unbearable for the natural man. It is Christ and His presence that carries that burden within us. We are aware of the burden, and we pass through the burden in our lifetime, and only because we have the love of the truth in Jesus Christ are we burdened for the lost of this world. This is a burden that we share with the Person of the Son of God. This is a burden within us that we share concerning the cross of Christ. We have the rent veil of heaven before us, it is opened for all, and Jesus Christ, the Son of God the son of man is there for you and for me. The closer and the more that we seek out our Savior’s closeness our burden becomes lighter and dimmer in His glorious light. The disciples on the mount of transfiguration were relieved of everything and every thought in the presence of Jesus Christ glorified. It is only when the glory was past that Peter began to speak as a man, and was rebuked. Oh, what blessedness, when we only see Christ.
Verse 6 – The Walk of Communicating
Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. (Galatians 6:6) And if we are taught of Christ as in verse 6, then we communicate the teachings of Christ in all good things. There is something missing today in spirit thought: there is a lack of the place to share the wonders of both the Word that is living and the word that is written. There is a coldness in the pulpit: an empty repetition of what man has declared, and what past men have said. The lack is there is no fire of the Spirit of God. There is no teaching of the Spirit, sometimes I yearn to sit once more with John Marks and listen to the wonders that he had found in the word of God. He was what I called a deep miner; for a few words brought forth great treasures from the word of God. He is in glory now with the Lord, but I miss those times with him. Soon we will be able to sit together in the throne of the Lamb, what a glorious day that will be. When one teaches it should always be in the good things of God.
The Cause and the Effect
Back to 2 Chronicles 20, verse 37. . . And his deeds, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Cause and effect: the cause was that Jehoshaphat joined himself with the evil house of Ahab; and thus, the effect was that his works were broken. When the Moabites were to be destroyed God was the only weapon that the Israelites needed. The fierceness of the battle was only on the part of the enemy for Jehoshaphat and his people stood still and watched their salvation. This was a display of Jehovah’s mercy for both His king and the for the people of Judah and Jerusalem. They had done nothing to deserve His mercy, but He gave it freely, and after all this, the heart of the people was still not right with God for the high places were not taken away. Because of the lack of commitment to Jehovah the ships were allowed to be built in Eziongeber, the alliance with Ahaziah was allowed, and the works were then broken.
Now we have the words of the prophet, once more God sent a prophet to rebuke Jehoshaphat. Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, Eliezer means ‘God of help.’ Even though it was after the fact that the ships were broken the very name of the prophet indicates what could have been if only Jehoshaphat had sought God’s help instead of his joining in an alliance with Ahaziah. Once again while Jehoshaphat was musing, he might have thought like so many today, Why me Lord? God gave the answer, the effect was the condemnation of Jehoshaphat by the prophet. The cause was the joining of Jehoshaphat with unrighteousness in the person of Ahaziah. The result: the ships were destroyed, and the works were broken. This rebuke would be staggering for any who belonged to God. Frailty and weakness come to all men; this is the course of the flesh. It was Adam through his disobedience that death reigned over all men. Death was the sentence for sin, and by Jehoshaphat not trusting in Jehovah, he was committing sin by trusting in the evil king, Ahaziah; a league is a bond of trust between two men or between people. And because this league was with evil, Jehoshaphat’s works were broken. We have no description of the ships, nor how they were destroyed, but only the truth that they were destroyed because of his league with the house of Ahab.
In the days of Paul, when he was upon a ship that was going to be destroyed, the Lord appeared to him and informed Paul that this destruction was of Him, but even though the ship was going to go down there would be no loss of life for all who were on the ship would come under the protection of the Lord because of His servant, Paul. The Spirit of God gives us a complete destruction of the storm called Euroclydon, and He also gives a full account how the men of the ship tried to save the ship even though Paul had told them that the ship would go down. They used everything in their power to save that ship for they could not conceive that their lives were in the hand of the Almighty God. Paul knew and believed the truth because his spirit witnessed with the Spirit of God that God was going to keep them, and deliver them from this tempest Euroclydon. It was quite different in Jehoshaphat’s case, the Spirit of God might be quiet on the ‘how,’ but He was not silent on the ‘why.’
The Many Voices
In everything we do the work must be guided by the Spirit of God. This is so important to the Spirit of God that in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ in Chapters 2 and 3, the Spirit of God gives us this phrase, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. (Revelation 3:6) Seven times, in these two chapters, we have the Spirit of God beseeching man to listen to what the Spirit has to say; yet, man will not listen, he will listen to many voices, but not to the voice of the Spirit of God. It is amazing that religion will sell the Spirit of God through emotional displays while claiming these are the gifts of the Spirit of God; yet, they lie to give substance to their religious beliefs when they cannot hear, or they will not listen to the Spirit of God. The ear and heart of man is tuned for the voice of man. In the garden, the serpent used the voice of man to deceive; with Jehoshaphat it was the voice of his son, Please let me marry Athaliah, Jezebel’s daughter; or the words of Ahab to Jehoshaphat, Go up with me to Ramothgilead; and the voice of Ahaziah was, Please let my servants go with you. From Jehoram, Ahab’s other son, it was, Please go with me to fight the Moabites. None of these voices were directions or the voice of the Spirit of God. When God’s voice through the Spirit of God was heard in Jerusalem and Judah it was the voice of a Levite moved by the Spirit of God through Jahaziel.
Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation; (2 Chronicles 20:14)
And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. (2 Chronicles 20:15)
As the Spirit of God spoke through this Levite, we have the purpose or ‘why’ of God, we have the ‘who,’ being God, and we have the ‘what’ in the salvation of Judah and Jerusalem. This victory over the Moabites would be the greatest victory of Jehoshaphat’s kingdom, and his people and the king only exercised their faith when the Spirit of God declared Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. ( 2 Chronicles 20:17) This is the Spirit of God’s voice and work. We have a similar message to the church of Philadelphia in the Book of the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord through His Spirit tells the Philadelphian church that He has placed an open door before them that no man can shut. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; (Revelation 3:7) This is the open door of God’s truth in the last days of church history. The Lord Jesus has opened this door through His word, and through the voice of the Spirit of God; no one can close this door until the Church is taken from this earth.
Be Still and Hear
In the greatest victory that Jehoshaphat experienced he was standing still and watching the Spirit of God work. We can take a lesson from this victory in the work of God today. Instead of being busy about everything concerning religion those who claim to be of Christ need to come apart, stand still, and listen to what the Spirit of God has to say. Every time Jehoshaphat put self and man into his plan he failed. What does that tell us? In the words of the Lord Jesus, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. I close this history of Jehoshaphat with the wonderful words of the Spirit of God, And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17) May you come to hear the Spirit’s voice and trust Him in all truth. Let us listen for the Spirit’s still small voice. And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. ( 1 Kings 19:12) Amen.
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© Copyright 2016, Michael Haigh
Article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the Authorized King James Bible. (KJV)