Revolt against Judah
8 In his days Edom revolted [d]against the rule of Judah and set up a king over themselves. 9 Then Jehoram crossed over with his commanders and all his chariots with him. And he arose by night and struck down the Edomites who were surrounding him and the commanders of the chariots. 10 So Edom revolted [e]against Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time [f]against his rule, because he had forsaken the Lord God of his fathers. 11 Moreover, he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot and led Judah astray.
12 Then a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet saying, “Thus says the Lord God of your father David, ‘Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father and the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot as the house of Ahab played the harlot, and you have also killed your brothers, [g]your own family, who were better than you, 14 behold, the Lord is going to strike your people, your sons, your wives and all your possessions with a great [h]calamity; 15 and you will suffer [i]severe sickness, a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the sickness, day by day.’”
16 Then the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabs who [j]bordered the Ethiopians; 17 and they came against Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions found in the king’s house together with his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except [k]Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
18 So after all this the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable sickness. 19 Now it came about in the course of time, at the end of two years, that his bowels came out because of his sickness and he died in great pain. And his people made no fire for him like the fire for his fathers. 20 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years; and he departed [l]with no one’s regret, and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
What can one say after all this? There are so many things Jehoahaz could/should have done (and didn’t). While his father’s example wasn’t perfect, it was far better than the one he chose to follow. He shunned the ways of God, and embraced the folly of his wife’s family, Ahab and Jezebel. I think God’s judgment is potentially more severe on Jehoahaz because he had the plain choice: follow his father who served God, or follow Ahab who did abominable things. And all this after God had already pronounced judgment on the house of Ahab.
He chose open rebellion, and paid a huge price for his actions. There is another passage that reads something like “to him who knows what to do, and does not do it”, it is sin. Lately I’ve heard multiple times that there are things in the Bible where God is not judging the world (which will come eventually), but the Church and Christians… because they should know better.
Even Hollywood can figure out, “with great power comes great responsibility”, echoing Jesus who said, “to whom much is given, much is required.” God has poured out incredible blessing on many in this day, not just in America, but across the world. Use it for His glory, and do not covet what is not yours. Be content, be thankful, and most importantly, seek God’s wisdom to use what you’ve been given for His kingdom.