Jesus, the True and Better Jehoshaphat

2 Chronicles 18 concerns Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and his alliance with Ahab, king of Israel, through the marriage of his son, Jehoram, to Ahab’s daughter, Athaliah. This was a foolish thing for Jehoshaphat to do, since God's people were not to be married with the ungodly. Matthew Henry says, "This was the worst match that ever was made by any of the house of David."

A few years after this alliance, Ahab prepared a large feast for Jehoshaphat, and asked him if he would go with him against Ramoth Gilead. To this request, Jehoshaphat said that his people would join Ahab's, but that Ahab should "First seek the counsel of the LORD." (v. 4)

The king of Israel complied with the request, and brought four hundred prophets together to ask them if Judah and Israel should battle Ramoth Gilead. All four hundred prophets replied by saying, "Go, for God will give it into the king's hand." (v. 5)

However, there was one prophet who inquired "of the LORD," (v. 7) and his name was Micaiah. He had a reputation of never saying anything good about Ahab, and he upheld this reputation when he was brought before the king of Israel concerning this issue.

Unlike all the other prophets, who "as one man" predicted success for the war (v. 12), Micaiah recounted a vision he saw of "all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd," (v. 16) and went on to say that a lying spirit was put in the mouths of all the other prophets to entice Ahab to go forth against Ramoth Gilead. In addition to all this, Micaiah said, "The LORD has decreed disaster for you." (v. 22)

Ahab was not pleased with this prophecy, and ordered Micaiah to be put in prison with nothing but bread and water until he had returned safely, to which Micaiah replied, "If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me." (v. 27)

In spite of Micaiah's words, Ahab, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, went to war against Ramoth Gilead. However, Ahab requested that he go into battle in disguise, while Jehoshaphat go into battle wearing all of his royal garments, to which Jehoshaphat agreed to.

30 Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, "Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel." 31 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, "This is the king of Israel." So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him. God drew them away from him, 32 for when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him.

33 But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king told the chariot driver, "Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I've been wounded." 34 All day long the battle raged, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then at sunset he died.

And here is where we see that Jesus is the true and better Jehoshaphat.

Christ was clothed with royal garments once: a robe, a crown, and even a staff. And this king was also targeted by the enemy as the keystone to his evil victory, for who can stand after the king has been murdered? However, unlike Jehoshaphat, Christ did not avoid the wrath directed at him, for though the LORD helped Jehoshaphat when he "cried out," Jesus' cries in Gethsemane and on the cross were left unheard. Jesus was our ready and willing decoy and substitute, our ally who had every right to distance Himself from us and deny us any association, and He paid our price while we were set free.

The wrath poured out on Him was meant for us. Ahab was unable to avoid his cruel fate, despite Jehoshaphat's willingness to shield him from it. But we, playing the part of Ahab in this divinely revised story, are fully shielded from our rightful fate by Jesus Christ, who became sin for us, taking all of the pain, death, and separation that should have been wholly ours.

Jesus is the true and better Jehoshaphat, and for that, I am enormously grateful.

"Somebody put this together some years ago...

"'Consider this: Jesus is the true and better Adam, who passed the test in the garden, and whose obedience is imputed to us.

"'Jesus is the true and better Abel, who though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.

"'Jesus is the true and better Abraham, who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void, not knowing whither he went to create a new people of God.

"'Jesus is the true and better Isaac, who was not just offered up by his father on the mount, but was truly sacrificed for us. And when God said to Abraham, "Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love, from me." Now we can look at God taking his Son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, "Now we know that you love us, because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love, from us."

"'Jesus is the true and better Jacob, who wrestled and took the blow just as we deserved, so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.

"'Jesus is the true and better Joseph, who at the right hand of the king forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.

"'Jesus is the true and better Moses, who stands in the gap between the people and the LORD and mediates a new covenant.

"'Jesus is the true and better rock of Moses, who, struck with the rod of God's justice, now gives us water in the desert.

"'Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends.

"'Jesus is the true and better David, whose victory becomes his people's victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.

"'Jesus is the true and better Esther, who didn't just risk losing an earthly palace, but lost the ultimate and heavenly one, who didn't just risk his life but gave his life to save his people.

"'Jesus is the true and better Jonah, who was cast out into the storm so we could be brought in.

"'Jesus is the real rock of Moses, he's the real Passover lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us.

"'He's the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread...'

"The Bible's not really about you; it's about him. And, you see, when you find the thread through every single passage or theme that leads you to Jesus, then you can preach against the sin underneath every sin, show people the Gospel every single week in a new and fresh way, bring Jesus in because you are able to do it, because you follow the thread, and that's preaching the Gospel." - Tim Keller