Jehoshaphat Makes Peace With Ahab

From the time of the rebellion of the Northern Tribes, the divided kingdom had been at war. But in the book of 2 Chronicles, we see that by the third year of Jehoshaphat's reign (c. 869 BC) Judah was at peace with all her neighbors (2 Chronicles 17:10). It is implied in the book of 1 Kings that this period of peace extended to the Northern Kingdom because it was during the reigns of Ahab, King of Israel and Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, that a bit of an alliance was made. 1 Kings 22:1-12 provides the account of the two nations allying against Syria, presumably through the marriage of Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram to Ahab's daughter Athaliah (2 Chronicles 18:1, cf. 2 Kings 8:25-26).

The following chart depicts the result of the marriage of the godly family of Jehoshaphat to the unrighteous family of Ahab:


The following references may be helpful in reconstructing this family tree:

1. Jehoshaphat made an alliance of marriage with Ahab (2 Chronicles 18:1)
2. Jehoram was the son of Jehoshaphat (2 Kings 8:24)
3. Jehoram murdered his six brothers (2 Chronicles 21:4)
4. Athaliah is the granddaughter of Omri (2 Kings 8:26)
5. Athaliah was married to Jehoram (2 Kings 8:25-26; 2 Kings 11:3)
6. Ahaziah was the son of Jehoram (2 Chronicles 22:1)
7. Ahaziah was the grandson of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 22:9)
8. Athaliah was the mother of Ahaziah (2 Kings 11:1; 2 Chronicles 22:2)
9. Upon Ahaziah's death, Athaliah attempted to murder all her grandchildren (2 Kings 11:1)
10. Upon Ahaziah's death, Athaliah claimed the throne of Judah (2 Kings 11:3; 2 Chronicles 22:12)
11. Joash was rescued by his aunt and thus saved the royal line of David (2 Kings 11:2)
12. Athaliah was deposed when Joash was seven years old (2 Chronicles 23:1 - 2 Chronicles 24:1)

Kings of Israel

This past week, I distributed two worksheets listing the kings of Israel and Judah. This is the worksheet for the Kings of Israel (click on the image and it will open in a new window):

Jeroboam I

Beginning in 1 Kings 12, we find the story of civil strife and a succession from the monarchy of Israel the Northern Kingdom (1 Kings 12:16-20; see also Rehoboam); a division that caused greater dissension and apostasy than ever before. Jeroboam was made king over Israel and led that nation into sin through idol worship, illegitimate priests, false sacrifice and replacement feasts (1 Kings 12:25-33). These false feasts were established as alternatives to the seven festivals and holy days specified by God in Leviticus 23 to keep the people away from Jerusalem so as to prevent their re-uniting with Judah.

Although confronted by a prophet from God in regard to his sin (1 Kings 13:1-3), Jeroboam refused to repent and thus the kingdom would be taken from him and his house (1 Kings 14:7-11). These prophecies were fulfilled in 2 Kings 23:15-16 and 1 Kings 15:29, respectively. Jeroboam's evil ways became the measure of the successor kings of the Northern Kingdom until the days of Ahab (1 Kings 15:26; 1 Kings 15:34; 1 Kings 16:18-19; 1 Kings 16:25-26).