Jehoram Succeeds Jehoshaphat in Judah
21 Then Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Jehoram his son became king in his place. 2 He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, [a]Azaryahu, Michael and Shephatiah. All these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. 3 Their father gave them many gifts of silver, gold and precious things, with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.
4 Now when Jehoram had [b]taken over the kingdom of his father and made himself [c]secure, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and some of the rulers of Israel also. 5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 6 He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab did (for Ahab’s daughter was his wife), and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. 7 Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David because of the covenant which He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and his sons forever.
Well, one thing we can say for sure, this is a lesson in how NOT to do life. Now it is hinted that it wasn’t 100% his doing, because he married the daughter of Ahab, one of the worst kings who ever ruled Israel. And that was his father’s doing, since it was the “alliance” that Jehoshaphat and Ahab had secured with the marriage of their children.
So while Jehoram didn’t have the greatest example, and had an idolatrous wife (and in-laws) to lead him down a path of destruction, he could have chosen different. We might feel like the deck is stacked against us, but if we are brave enough to choose God, we can change the trajectory of our lives and those around us.
The decisions we make don’t just affect us, and while we may not influence an entire kingdom like Jehoram, we often are unaware of just how wide our sphere of influence goes. Besides following idols though, one thing that really shows his lack of trust was when he killed his brothers and (presumably) anyone who didn’t agree with him.
Had he trusted God, the kingdom would likely have been secure, but he didn’t, and we already know he is destined for a short reign. Trust God and don’t let your own fear short-circuit your future.