Reading: 2 Chronicles 21-24, Psalm 76

There are some stories that get repeated over and over, especially in well intention intended children’s entertainment media. One of these is the story of the “little white lie.” I think think of at least three television shows I watched when I was grade school aged that told a story of a little lie getting more and more out of control until it causes a massive catastrophe for the person who first told it. Add to that several books, short stories, and even a radio drama, and the idea that there are no small lies became rather firmly fixed in my brain. Even now I’m pretty obsessed with personal honesty, though there are other reasons for that. The story we come to today is not the result of a lie exactly, but it is a story of unintended consequences from seemingly minor missteps. The story of Jehoshaphat and his partial obedience, and particularly his joining of his family to that of Ahab, will wreck havoc for four generations.

First up is his son Jehoram, who was married to the daughter of Ahab. He starts off his reign by slaughtering his own brothers, and some of his cousins. Nice guy. He brings idol worship that his father had removed right back to Judah, and gets involved in unsuccessful wars against Edom, Libnah, the Philistines, and the Arabians. He is so bad that the Chronicler lets us know that the only reason God did not wipe out him and his royal line entirely was because of his promise to David. It certainly had nothing to do with Jehoram, who comes down with one of the ickiest sounding diseases in the Scripture, involving bowels coming out, and he dies to no one’s regret. He isn’t even buried with the other kings in Jerusalem. It seems he was not the most popular king.

After Jehoram expires his youngest son Ahaziah ends up on the throne. The youngest because Jehoram’s conflict with the Arabians has cost the lives of all the older ones. Ahaziah does pretty much what his mom tells him. Which wouldn’t be so bad if she weren’t Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and the only woman in Scripture to give her mother a run for her money as the most villainous female of all time. He goes to war against Syria, whose king Hazael, if we remember the book of Kings, had been anointed by Elijah. This little war does not go well, and Ahaziah’s cousin, the king of Israel, is wounded. While Ahaziah is visiting his recuperating cousin, Jehu the son of Nimshi shows up and kills both of them. Again recalling Kings, we know Jehu has just been anointed king by Elisha, and charged with wiping out the family of Ahab. He is taking his job seriously.

Meanwhile, back in Jerusalem, Athaliah hears that her son has been killed. So of course she decides to eradicate all her own relatives. She has the entire royal family of Judah put to death, apparently including her own children. Nice lady. The one child who survives, an infant named Joash, is hidden in the Temple by Jehoshabeath, one of Ahaziah’s sisters who was married to a priest named Jehoiada. They secret him away in the Temple for seven years while Athaliah reigns. We don’t get further details of Athaliah’s reign, but given how easily she was overthrown, I’m guessing she was no more popular than her husband Jehoram.

The story of Joash’s ascent is one of brighter moments in the history of Judah. The little boy king is supported by the people and the guards, he is crowned in the Temple and attains to the throne in a largely bloodless revolution. While Jehoiada is alive he is one of Judah’s better kings, repairing the Temple and reestablishing some of the Mosaic law. Then Jehoiada dies and it all goes to pieces. Joash starts worshiping foreign gods, and a prophet, Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, calls him out on it. So Joash has him stoned to death. Then the Syrians show up and in a massive raid despoil Jerusalem. Joash is wounded in this encounter and his servants decided they’ve had enough of him and kill him. Like his grandfather Jehoram, he is not buried in the tombs of the kings, indicating he was perhaps not very well liked at all by the people of Jerusalem.

Let’s stop for a minute and look at the what the Chronicler is telling us. These stories all stem from the actions of Jehoshaphat, a king who did a bunch of good stuff, but was in the end a mixed bag. The times he calls on the God of Israel he does well. When he makes his own decisions things go poorly. Today’s reading is a long spiral of how poorly the consequences of one king’s decisions can go. By the end of the reading, the house of David has been reduced to a single child. He is raised in the Temple by some really great people, but even so by the end of his life he is worshiping idols and having prophets stoned to death. The Chronicler is under no pretense that the human problem does not fully infect the family of David. As we go forward, this will be the theme. Kings who are sort of righteous, but not quite. The book will culminate in two great kings who are almost what the King should be, but not quite.