And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish ,.... Of which; see Gill on 1 Kings 22:48 , and though it is there said, 1 Kings 22:49 , that Jehoshaphat refused letting the servants of Ahaziah go with his, that was after he had been reproved for joining with him, and after the ships were broken: and they made the ships in Eziongeber ; of which see Gill on 1 Kings 9:26 . read more
To go to Tarshish - "In the great sea." - Targum. By which expression they always meant the Mediterranean Sea. read more
The last chapter in Jehoshaphat's career. The aspects in which the character of Jehoshaphat offers itself to our view, in the last seen of him, are now to be considered. Few men there are who bear themselves well in prosperity, especially if the prosperity be great; and many there are who fail to submit well to the discipline of adversity. Of this latter weakness of human nature it can scarcely be said that Jehoshaphat was an illustration. The punishment that had been foretold, that solemn... read more
At and after the battle: lessons. Armed with a holy trust in God, the king and his people advanced to meet their multitudinous enemies with bounding heart and tuneful lip. Nor were they unwarranted in so doing; the event completely justified their hopes. We learn— I, THAT OUR ENEMIES SOMETIMES DISPOSE OF ONE ANOTHER . ( 2 Chronicles 20:23 .) We sometimes find that the enemy is best "left well alone." Let Shimei "cast stones" at us; even though they be words of false... read more
The biography of Jehoshaphat. I. JEHOSHAPHAT 'S PARENTAGE . 1 . His father. Asa, a good king who enjoyed a long and honoured reign. Though good fathers have sometimes bad sons, as in the case of Jehoshaphat himself, yet there is a presumption in favour of a parent's piety being reproduced in the son. "Lord! I find the genealogy of my Saviour strangely checkered with four remarkable changes in four immediate generations. I see, Lord, from hence that my father's piety cannot be... read more
This verse tells us the object with which Jehoshaphat had joined himself with Ahaziah, and 1 Kings 22:49 tells us how at last, by a point-blank refusal to Ahaziah, he withdrew from the very brief commercial alliance after he had not merely been witnessed against by the Prophet Eliezer spoken of in our next verse, but more decisively witnessed against by the shattering of his ships. To go to Tarshish . This clause, even if the text is not corrupt, yet cannot mean what it seems to say;... read more
The reign of Jehoshaphat (17:1-20:37)Jehoshaphat carried on the reform that Asa began, by destroying all the Baal shrines that remained in Judah (17:1-6; cf. 15:17). Positively, he educated the people in the law of God by forming an official group of instructors whom he sent around Judah’s towns and villages. The group consisted of civil leaders, priests and Levites (7-9). He also fortified Judah’s defences and enlarged its army, so that neighbouring countries feared to attack it... read more
to make ships to go to Tarshish. This was prior to the similar event recorded in 1 Kings 22:48 , 1 Kings 22:49 , where he made (himself) "Tarshish ships to go to Ophir". Ahaziah again sought to implicate Jehoshaphat. But he failed in the attempt, for we there read "Jehoshaphat would not" ( 2Ch 20:49 ). And the ships "did not go", for they were "broken" ( 2Ch 20:48 ). The marginal note in Authorized Version is neither correct nor necessary. read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Chronicles 20:31-37
We are now drawing towards the close of the history of Jehoshaphat's reign, for a further account of which those who lived when this book was published were referred to an authentic history of it, written by Jehu the prophet (2 Chron. 19:2), which was then extant, 2 Chron. 20:34. This was the general character of his reign, that he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, kept close to the worship of God himself and did what he could to keep his people close to it. But two things are... read more