CHOOSE YOUR COMPANIONS WISELY

The kings of Israel and Judah are fascinating, representing a large part of Israel’s history and taking up most of the books in the Old Testament. Most of them were bad kings, especially in the case of Israel - But in this article, I want to focus on a good king, King Jehoshaphat.

Jehoshaphat was the son of Asa, and like his father, he did what was right in the sight of God. He purged idols from the land, sent his leaders, the Levites, and priests throughout the land, all of them having the book of the Law with them, and they went around teaching the people the Law (2 Chronicles 17:6-9). In addition to that, he also made sure the Law was properly executed and enforced, so that everyone would be aligned with God (2 Chronicles 19:4-11). Jehoshaphat’s acts were pleasing to the Lord, and so He blessed him richly - He was said to have honour and riches in abundance (2 Chronicles 17:5). When he called upon the Lord, He listened and helped him, once when he went against the Syrians at Ramoth Gilead (2 Chronicles 18:31-32), and another time when he went to battle against Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir (2 Chronicles 20:1-30). We can see from all of this that Jehoshaphat was indeed a very faithful and good man - But being a human, he also had his flaws which became a thorn in his side.

Jehoshaphat’s major flaw was that he liked to ally himself with bad kings, maybe because of his good nature, such that he was so trusting. He allied himself with Israel’s kings, namely Ahab and his sons Ahaziah and Jehoram. None of Israel’s kings were good, but I think we all know that Ahab was one of their worst, his sons were not any better, and Jehoshaphat’s alliances with them only became a snare to him. His alliance with Ahab got him almost killed, when he went up with him to Ramoth Gilead to fight the Syrians, and was made to look like the king of Israel, of which the Syrians immediately started targeting. But we know, as I mentioned earlier, that he cried out to the Lord, and God caused them to turn away from him. His alliance with the next king of Israel, Ahab’s son Ahaziah, caused him to lose his ships he had sent to collect gold (1 Kings 22:48-49; 2 Chronicles 20:37). His alliances with these kings didn’t just affect him during his lifetime, it also affected his descendants and the future of his kingdom, Judah. In 2 Chronicles 21:6, we see that Jehoram his son was influenced by his wife, the daughter of Ahab, which was most likely the result (or cause) of their alliance, a political marriage. If you continue reading about the reign of Jehoram, you will find that he turned out to be so evil that no one mourned his death.

Jehoshaphat’s story sends a very important message - choose our allies, companions, and friends wisely. We see that the Bible also mentions this directly multiple times. Proverbs 27:17, “Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend”. Psalm 1:1, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful”, among many. We can see both the negative example and the positive example in these two verses - one says to avoid the ungodly, and the other tells us to make good friends that will sharpen our countenance, that will make us wiser. Even secular wisdom tells you, “You are the average of your 5 closest friends”.  We must be careful in selecting the ones we want to be close with, because it is very easy to say “I won’t be influenced by my friends”, but peer pressure is a very powerful force. You can have the strongest belief in your values, but all it takes is a gathering with your friends and it can be very easily blown away. The best solution to avoiding such situations is really to stay away from such friends. Sometimes, you don’t even have to commit sin, as just being associated with these bad people could cause trouble. Jehoshaphat was never led into sin by his alliances, yet his alliances only caused him misfortune. The same could happen in real life. Maybe you are associated with some bad friends who happen to commit a serious crime, and then you get dragged into questioning just based on that relation. Let us learn from the example of Jehoshaphat, and strive to seek better companions and friends so that it will be for us to live rightly according to Him. We must refrain from being friends with those who are bad influences, and instead we are to lead them on the right path first, before being on good and close terms with them.

Ask Yourself:

1. What lessons can we learn from Jehoshaphat’s reign?

2. We are supposed to evangelise, but we are also supposed to not make friends with those who are evil - Are these not in contradiction with each other?

3. Jehoshaphat was never led into sin and the Bible says he walked right in the sight of the Lord, this means that this thing wasn’t very serious right?

Suggested Answers:

1. We must be faithful and also have good friends.

2. It is possible to convert people while not being their “friend”. You can talk with them and hang out with them, but you cannot follow them into sinful situations and actions. It also has to be noted that you should try to talk to them about Christianity from time to time if you intend to continue maintaining a relationship with them because the ideal situation is that you bring your loved ones to Christ.

3. God clearly disapproved of his alliances. In 2 Chronicles 20:37, God condemns Jehoshaphat through a prophet because of his alliance with Ahaziah. Of course, him almost dying was another way in which God was trying to warn him of his poor choice in alliances. By allying yourself with evildoers, it represents that you validate their actions, keeping them in sin, which is sin itself. (Ezekiel 33:8-9)