•Jehoshaphat became a powerful king because he was submissive to God
•The Lord established Judah under his control because he was obedient
Image: MATHEWS NDANYI
I had a revelation this week while reading and meditating on the book of 2 Chronicles 17:1-19: the starting point of becoming a great leader is to obey God and follow His commands and decrees.
In this scripture, we are introduced to King Jehoshaphat of Judah whose father, Asa, had just died of a severe foot illness not because it was incurable but due to stubbornness.
Asa's last days on earth were quite pitiable considering he started off as a leader who was dedicated to following God's ways and even destroyed all forms of idol worship in the country.
However, in the 36th year of his reign, he sought help from King Ben-Hadad of Syria to ward off attacks from Baasha king of Israel. God was not amused that Asa had digressed by not enquiring of Him and so decreed that the land would not enjoy peace.
This irked Asa who instead of repenting jailed God's messenger, Hanani, and turned into an oppressive ruler. Even while suffering from the foot infection, the Bible records that he would not pray to God's healing but put his trust in mere human beings.
Back to Jehoshaphat, 2 Chronicles 17 states that he was a leader whose heart was devoted to the Lord's ways just like King David. He removed all the places of idol worship in the country and cut down the Asherah poles.
God, being a debtor of no one, subsequently established the kingdom firmly under his control. Herein lies our first lesson: as a leader, when we submit to God wholeheartedly, He establishes us and gives us authority such that those under us will naturally submit unto us.
This was the case for Jehoshaphat. With the authority granted to him by the Lord, he sent his officials and a group of Levites around Judah to teach the people about the commands of God as contained in the Book of Law (2 Chronicles 17:8-9).
Furthermore, Judah became one of the most feared kingdoms in Jehoshaphat as many of the neighbouring countries knew that warring against them would be akin to fighting God — a fruitless venture.
When we obey and submit unto Him, God strengthens us and builds us up such that nothing can ever move us. His weakness is stronger than human strength and his foolishness is wiser than human wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:25).
In light of this, as Paul poses in Romans 8:31-32, if God is for us then who can be against us? In Jehoshaphat's case, the surrounding kingdoms knew they would be better off submitting to him rather than going to war.
Verse 11 records that various kingdoms, such as the Philistines and the Arabs, brought gifts and livestock to Jehoshaphat as tribute, which only added to his wealth and honour.
In contemporary times, many leaders are grappling with rebellion within and without their borders. Every one of their decree is met with opposition and as is the case for Africa, coup d'états are ever looming large.
Such leaders should learn from Jehoshaphat and start by submitting and obeying God so that they will be established. Blessed Sunday everyone.