Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Successors of Ahab and Jehoshaphat

If you take the time to plot out the timeline of these regencies, it's a mess. Fortunately, there is a good explanation. The Bible spells out several instances of co-regencies ( ex. Jehoram and Jehoshaphat and later UzzIah and Azariah while one was incapacitated due to leprosy) which accounts for the discrepancies in dates. I read an article that stated that when co-regencies were taken into account, the dates of Israel and Judah's kings align perfectly with the reigns of other historical figures recorded both in the Bible and other sources.

One thing worth noting is the character of Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat. The Bible says that he "followed the example of the kings of Israel and was as wicked as King Ahab for he had married one of his daughters". Remember that this marriage had brought about the alliance between Ahab and Jehoshaphat that twice displeased the Lord. That poor decision of Jehoshphat's had immediate consequences but also long-standing effects in the downfall of his son. We'll read later that the Lord rose up many adversaries in Jehoram's time because of his disobedience.

Tomorrow's reading: 2Kings 2:1-25, 4:1-44

No comments:

Post a Comment