21:1 Jehoshaphat passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Jehoram replaced him as king.
Jehoshaphat died and was succeeded by his son Jehoram. Judah had experienced and been blessed by two good kings. Now, they were about to receive the reign of an evil king and be cursed.
21:2 His brothers, Jehoshaphat’s sons, were Azariah, Jechiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. All of these were sons of King Jehoshaphat of Israel.
The good King Jehoshaphat had a total of seven sons.
21:3 Their father gave them many presents, including silver, gold, and other precious items, along with fortified cities in Judah. But he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.
King Jehoshaphat gave his sons many valuable presents, but the monarchy was passed on to his oldest son. The monarchy should have been passed on to the son who possessed the strongest biblical doctrine. Nepotism is often used by Satan to keep godly leaders out of office or business. The Bible never commends nepotism. For example, Isaac was chosen over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Joseph over his other ten brothers, Moses over Aaron, David over his other brothers, etc. It seems as though nepotism was the method of the pagan kings, but it was not God’s way.
Many times, parents will leave the majority of their inheritance to the oldest son. Instead, parents should leave the largest inheritance to the child who possesses the strongest Bible doctrine. In this way, there is a better chance that the money will be used for the Lord's service.
21:4 Jehoram took control of his father’s kingdom and became powerful. Then he killed all his brothers, as well as some of the officials of Israel.
Jehoram married Athaliah. Athaliah was the daughter of the evil King Ahab and Jezebel. Jezebel was a Phoenician queen and a Baal high priestess. Jezebel introduced Baalism into Israel. Athaliah introduced Baalism into Judah. Athaliah may have encouraged her husband to kill his six younger brothers so that they would not be a threat to the throne. All of these brothers were part of the Davidic messianic line. Satan has always attempted to end the Davidic line, because the Messiah was predicted to be born into this line. This Messianic King would one day crush the head of Satan.
21:5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem.
Jehoram was so evil, that God only allowed him to rule for eight years.
21:6 He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel, just as Ahab’s dynasty had done, for he married Ahab’s daughter. He did evil in the sight of the Lord.
King Jehoram was an evil king who led Judah into Baalism.
21:7 But the Lord was unwilling to destroy David’s dynasty because of the promise he had made to give David a perpetual dynasty.
The Lord made a promise to David. The Messianic King would come from his line and rule Israel forever. Therefore, God had to keep this seed line active, even though all of the brothers were killed and Jehoram was the last of the Davidic line. God keeps His promises, even if his human recipients of the Davidic seed line do not.
21:8 During Jehoram’s reign Edom freed themselves from Judah’s control and set up their own king.
Jehoram was violating the Mosaic Covenant. Therefore, his kingdom would start to receive the curses of the covenant. The first curse was that Edom freed themselves from Judah’s tribute. Judah lost much of her natural resource wealth which she had received from Edom.
21:9 Jehoram crossed over to Zair with his officers and all his chariots. The Edomites, who had surrounded him, attacked at night and defeated him and his chariot officers.
The second curse was defeat from the Edomites.
21:10 So Edom has remained free from Judah’s control to this very day. At that same time Libnah also rebelled and freed themselves from Judah’s control because Jehoram rejected the Lord God of his ancestors.
The third curse was Judah losing the tribute city and natural resources of Libnah.
21:11 He also built high places on the hills of Judah; he encouraged the residents of Jerusalem to be unfaithful to the Lord and led Judah away from the Lord.
Jehoram built back up the high places which his fathers tore down. He began to worship pagan gods on the tops of the hills of Judah. He led Judah and encouraged the residents to worship foreign gods.
When political leaders turn to same-sex marriage, then they encourage the high school students to do the same. Homosexuality was a capital offense in Israel. Paul stated that it was a judgment from God upon nations who reject the Creator God. Homosexuality is not a genetic problem. It is a sin problem. Look for the pseudo-science of the satanic world system to jumble up some numbers in order to deceive the biblically ignorant world population about homosexuality.
21:12 Jehoram received this letter from Elijah the prophet: “This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: ‘You have not followed in the footsteps of your father Jehoshaphat and of King Asa of Judah,
Elijah and Elisha’s ministries are hardly mentioned in Chronicles, because both of these prophets mostly prophesied to the northern kingdoms. Either this letter was written and delivered before Elijah’s translation, or it was written before his translation and later delivered to Jehoram after his translation. It is very possible that Elijah wrote this letter as prophecy before his translation and had it delivered at just the right moment to Jehoram.
This letter condemned Jehoram for not following in the footsteps of David, Asa, and Jehoshaphat. Jehoram forsook his godly family heritage for Athaliah’s Baalism. Baalism was just another form of satanism. Liberals and skeptics do not like the second option, because they are too biased to accept biblical prophecy.
21:13 but have instead followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel. You encouraged the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem to be unfaithful to the Lord, just as the family of Ahab does in Israel. You also killed your brothers, members of your father’s family, who were better than you.
Elijah’s letter condemned Jehoram for killing his brothers and establishing Baal worship in Judah.
21:14 So look, the Lord is about to severely afflict your people, your sons, your wives, and all you own.
This letter of Elijah warned Jehoram that Jehovah was coming after the king’s family.
21:15 And you will get a serious, chronic intestinal disease which will cause your intestines to come out.”
Jehoram will die a painful intestinal disease. This pain will remind him of Elijah’s prophecy. Sometimes pain and suffering will send hard-headed people to the Lord. Sometimes man is so totally depraved and evil, that pain and suffering will not even send him to the Great Physician. Many men would rather die in their pain and suffering than turn to the cross of Christ.
21:16 The Lord stirred up against Jehoram the Philistines and the Arabs who lived beside the Cushites.
Jehoram was evil, so he was inheriting the curses of the Mosaic Law. As a result, the Philistines and Arabs brought more war upon Judah.
21:17 They attacked Judah and swept through it. They carried off everything they found in the royal palace, including his sons and wives. None of his sons was left, except for his youngest, Ahaziah.
Asa and Jehoshaphat were obedient to God. For two generations, Judah was blessed because of her obedience to the Mosaic Covenant. Now, Judah lost all of her material blessings in one generation.
21:18 After all this happened, the Lord afflicted him with an incurable intestinal disease.
After Jehoram lost all of his material blessings, then he contacted the painful and incurable intestinal disease which God had promised him through Elijah’s letter.
21:19 After about two years his intestines came out because of the disease, so that he died a very painful death. His people did not make a bonfire to honor him, as they had done for his ancestors.
Jehoram violated the Mosaic Covenant, so he died a very painful death. The people of Judah hated him, so they did not light a bonfire or incense for him. They were glad that he was dead. He caused many problems for Israel.
21:20 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. No one regretted his death; he was buried in the City of David, but not in the royal tombs.
Jehoram was so evil and brought so much calamity on Judah, that he did not receive a royal funeral. Judah was glad that God removed him off of this world.
When the Millennial Kingdom begins, those entering the kingdom will be glad that God purged all of the evil men off of the earth. When a person rejects the Lord Jesus Christ, then he becomes a cancer to society. The best thing that God can do is purge him out of this world so that he will not continue his destructive patterns upon innocent victims. These kinds of people are thrown into heaven’s garbage dump where they cannot negatively effect society any more. Heaven’s garbage dump is hell. Hell will be emptied into another larger garbage dump called “the Lake of Fire.” Liberals do not like this kind of teaching, but it is the truth of the Word of God. God is a God of love, but He is also a judge of sin. He will not allow any evil to exist and stink up His perfect universe.
This chapter ends as an example to future generations of how a rebellious son with a godly heritage can rebel against his father’s instruction and example. Jehoram lost his kingdom, his wives, his family, and his health. He died a very painful death. He was an example of what kings were not to do. A godly heritage cannot overcome man’s totally depraved mind.The Holy Spirit must be involved in the salvation process, or even those raised in the most godly families are lost. Still, parents are commanded to bring up their child in the way of the Lord. Parents must trust the Lord to bring their child to salvation.