The Terrible Effects of One Bad Decision The Reign of King Jehoram in Judah

Asa and Jehoshaphat The Kingdom of Judah had some very good Kings. Two of these good Kings were Asa and his son Jehoshaphat Neither of these men were perfect but in most things they were pleasing to God.

Asa and Jehoshaphat Asa’s reign is summed up like this: 1Ki 15:11 Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did his father David. 12 And he banished the perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

Asa and Jehoshaphat 13 Also he removed Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene image and burned it by the Brook Kidron. 14 But the high places were not removed. Nevertheless Asa's heart was loyal to the LORD all his days.

Asa and Jehoshaphat Jehoshaphat’s reigned is summed up in this way: 2Ch 17:3 Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals, 4 but sought the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not according to the acts of Israel.

Asa and Jehoshaphat One of Jehoshaphat’s problems was those he chose to befriend. In particular Ahab, King of Israel. 2Ch 18:1 ¶ Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and by marriage he allied himself with Ahab. This friendship almost cost Jehoshaphat his life in battle

Asa and Jehoshaphat God scolded him for allying himself with such a man 2Ch 19:2 And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you. There is a lesson here for us to learn, we really need to be careful who our friends are.

Asa and Jehoshaphat Even though Jehoshaphat was a good man, the decision to ally himself with Ahab thru marriage had some long lasting effects. He allied himself with Ahab by arranging a marriage between his son and Ahab’s daughter. Why would such a God fearing man give his son to marry the daughter of such a wicked man? It must have seemed like a good idea at the time!

Jehoram King of Judah Lets take a look at how it turned out. 2Ch 21:1 ¶ And Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jehoram his son reigned in his place. 2 He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azaryahu, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.

Jehoram King of Judah 3 Their father gave them great gifts of silver and 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 was established over the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and killed all his brothers with the sword, and also others of the princes of Israel.

Jehoram King of Judah 5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he had the daughter of Ahab as a wife; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.

Jehoram King of Judah 7 Yet the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever. 8 In his days the Edomites revolted against Judah's authority, and made a king over themselves.

Jehoram King of Judah 9 So Jehoram went out with his officers, and all his chariots with him. And he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots. 10 Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah's authority to this day. At that time Libnah revolted against his rule, because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers.

Jehoram King of Judah 11 Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit harlotry, and led Judah astray. 12 ¶ And 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, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah,

Jehoram King of Judah 13 but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot like the harlotry of the house of Ahab, and also have killed your brothers, those of your father's household, who were better than yourself, 14 behold, the LORD will strike your people with a serious affliction-your children, your wives, and all your possessions;

Jehoram King of Judah 15 and you will become very sick with a disease of your intestines, until your intestines come out by reason of the sickness, day by day. 16 Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabians who were near the Ethiopians.

Jehoram King of Judah 17 And they came up into Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king's house, and also his sons and his wives, so that there was not a son left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. 18 After all this the LORD struck him in his intestines with an incurable disease.

Jehoram King of Judah 19 Then it happened in the course of time, after the end of two years, that his intestines came out because of his sickness; so he died in severe pain. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning for his fathers.

Jehoram King of Judah 20 He was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one's sorrow, departed. However they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

Jehoram King of Judah What a sad legacy to leave behind. Nothing but death, destruction and disobedience! We may ask ourselves with a Father and a Grandfather like Jehoram had, how did he turn out this way? I believe we find a big part of the answer to this question in vs 6

Jehoram King of Judah 6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he had the daughter of Ahab as a wife; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD. His father Jehoshaphat had made a decision years before to arrange a marriage between him and the daughter of Ahab and that decision had long lasting consequences.

Jehoram King of Judah The fact that he married a woman who did not care anything about God was a major part of his downfall. Did he have other character flaws that helped him down this road? Probably so But the Bible says the reason he walked like Ahab walked was because he married Ahab’s daughter.

Lessons from Jehoram Now there are a couple of lessons we can learn from this. The first one is: We need to be careful about who our close relationships and friends are. Our friends and family who don’t care anything about God can lead us astray.

Lessons from Jehoram 1Ki 11:4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David. 1Co 15:33 Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits."

Lessons from Jehoram The second lesson is: My bad choices hurt more than just me. The bad decisions we make can affect us and those we love for many years down the road. If Jehoshaphat had lived to see how his son turned out, he would have regretted his decision to ally himself with Ahab thru marriage over and over again.

Lessons from Jehoram Jehoshaphat’s decision not only contributed to his son being a bad person but more importantly to his son losing his soul It is bad enough when our bad decisions affect us but when they adversely affect those that we love it can be almost unbearable. It is a good thing Jehoshaphat did not have to see how his son turned out.

Lessons from Jehoram As we make decisions in this life we need to approach them from the standpoint of “What would God want me to do?” And then go to the Word of God for the answer. Col 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Lessons from Jehoram If Jehoshaphat would have only asked for the counsel of God, his son may not have turned out like he did. Pr 19:21 ¶ There are many plans in a man's heart, Nevertheless the LORD'S counsel-that will stand. One bad decision can ruin our entire life and the life of those we love. It happens every day! It may have seemed like a good idea at the time!

One Bad Decision Decision to drive to fast Serious injury, death Decision to drink and drive Serious injury or death Decision to try drugs for the first time Disease, addiction, life of crime and death

One Bad Decision Decision to engage in sexual activity before marriage Illegitimate children, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases Decision to not obey God Affect our physical relationships, We will lose our souls How will this decision affect those we love?

One Bad Decision If I make a bad decision and choose to not be at worship services, how will that affect my children’s eternal soul? If I make the bad decision of not praying with my family, how will that affect them later on? If I make the bad decision of not putting God first in my life, what do you think the chances are that my children will?

Conclusion We must make the decisions in our life based on what God wants. Will this guarantee those we love will obey God as well? No. But what chance do they have if we don’t set that good example in front of them?