Patriotism
Patriotism feels good to yours truly and, I believe, to most of the citizens of our great country—the United States of America. We have so much to be thankful for—our Christian founding fathers, our Constitution, our ability to worship freely, and much more. Last week, we celebrated our nation’s 250th Independence Day. It was a very big deal. We enjoyed a cookout with our classic car club, fireworks and a late-night dinner out. How did you celebrate? Let me hear from you.
I hope you enjoy the patriotic and small-town photos scattered through today’s post.
From part 2:
In this group of posts, we’re digging into important Bible events, plus the Before Event and the After Event—what happened before and after The Main Event. What do we learn from all three events?
In part 3, we explored the remarkable time when the Lord fought for the nation of Judah against three armies. We learned about the deep faith of King Jehoshaphat. What happened before chapter 20 of Second Chronicles? What happened afterwards? Today we’ll cover the back-story and the Before Event. Were war and peace involved? Let’s find out.
The back-story
In chapter 17 of Second Chronicles, we get an overview of King Jehoshaphat—the new king of Judah, the southern kingdom.
A strong start
Jehoshaphat [Asa’s] son reigned in his place, and strengthened himself against Israel. He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken. The LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father, and did not seek the Baals, but sought to the God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. Therefore the LORD established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat tribute; and he had riches and honor in abundance. His heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: and furthermore he took away the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.
2 Chronicles 17:1-6, New Heart English Bible
We see clearly in this passage the conflict between the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel. They’d been battling one another to some extent, and King Jehoshaphat put military forces in appropriate places.
Compare and contrast
King Jehoshaphat honored the Lord; Israel didn’t. King Jehoshaphat removed pagan worship sites; Israel didn’t. Who was the king of Israel? King Ahab, married to Jezebel. They were a seriously wicked pair.
“…Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.”
1 Kings 16:33b, King James Version
Spiritually-speaking, King Jehoshaphat and King Ahab were opposites—one serving God Almighty and the other steeped in the occult. They were enemies, politically and spiritually.
We see this in families today, don’t we? Jesus spoke about this reality in Matthew 10:34-36.
Teaching the people
In the third year of King Jehoshaphat’s reign, he sent government officials, Levites and priests to all the cities to teach the people from the Book of the Law of the Lord. I love that. Did the people listen? Did they care? Did they respond to this teaching? Time would tell.
Impacting the nations
The fear of the LORD fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.
2 Chronicles 17:10, New Heart English Bible
Because “the fear of the Lord fell on” Judah’s enemies, the Philistines and Arabians sent tribute and gifts to King Jehoshaphat. Needless to say, this was unusual. With the wealth provided by the Lord, the king strengthened the nation—building fortresses, store cities and a strong army.
The Lord blessed the nation of Judah with peace and prosperity.
Dangerous alliance
Israel and Judah—the northern and southern kingdoms—were extended family, descended from the 12 tribes of Israel. For more of the back-story, read this GotQuestions article: “Why was Israel divided into the Southern Kingdom and Northern Kingdom?” The short answer is sin—specifically, idolatry. Kings like Ahab chose false, pagan gods. They basically worshiped Satan. Kings like Jehoshaphat worshiped the one true God—Yahweh.
Are you sitting down? This is where the back-story gets surprising.
King Jehoshaphat entered into a marriage alliance with evil King Ahab. Jehoshaphat’s son married Ahab and Jezebel’s daughter, Athaliah. An exceedingly evil woman came into King Jehoshaphat’s family—a woman who would later murder her own grandchildren. I suspect King Jehoshaphat entered into this marriage alliance to eliminate future wars with Israel—to solidify Judah’s current state of peace. But it came at an exceedingly heavy price—beyond what he could’ve ever imagined.
Aligning with a spiritual enemy weakens the people of God—
making them extremely vulnerable to sin and all types of injuries.
The danger and the damage impact multiple generations.
In part 3, we unpacked The Main Event, when the Lord fought for Judah. It’s time to explore the Before Event. What transpired in preparation for the epic miracle in 2 Chronicles 20?
The before event—war
Several years after the royal wedding, Jehoshaphat went to see Ahab in Samaria. King Ahab threw a big feast for King Jehoshaphat and his entourage, and asked Jehoshaphat to align with him in war against the Syrians, who had taken the city of Ramoth in Gilead. Ahab wanted it back.
[Jehoshaphat] answered him, “I am as you are, and my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.” Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for the word of the LORD.”
2 Chronicles 18:3b-4, New Heart English Bible
Four hundred of Ahab’s prophets basically said: “Go! It’ll be great.” Four hundred prophets. That sounds a mite overwhelming. Jehoshaphat wisely asked if there was another prophet they could ask.
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah….”
2 Chronicles 18:7a-b, New Heart English Bible
Projection
Ahab, the evilest king of Israel ever basically called the prophet of the Lord “evil.” We modern types call that projection. Through the ages, evil people call good people evil and accuse the innocent of doing what the evil people are doing. Evil people claim to be the victims. The Bible paints this vivid picture:
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.
Isaiah 5:20, New Heart English Bible
Translation: “Evil people are liars. They flip everything upside down.” Beware. To read about the difference between family and relative, explore this post. It includes a very disturbing sneak attack, when an evil person we’d never met showed up on our doorstep, plus an important addendum about evil.
Your turn
Get out your journal or a piece of paper and reflect on these things. Can you remember a time when someone lied about you? Can you remember a time when someone created chaos in your life? Can you remember a time when someone projected their sin onto you—accusing you of something you weren’t doing—but they were doing? What other difficult behaviors did you experience from this person or these persons? How did he/she/they impact you? Did you feel sorry for them? Did you make excuses for their bad behavior? What boundaries did you put in place? What did your boundaries achieve? If this person or these persons are still present in your life, have you prayed and asked God what you need to do next? Have you asked him to help you?
If a difficult person is in your life right now, close your eyes and pray to God. He is your helper. If a difficult person is not in your life right now, close your eyes and thank God—profusely.
The word of the Lord
Let’s consider the prophet Micaiah, who was falsely accused by the evil King Ahab. How was Micaiah falsely accused? King Ahab called Micaiah’s truthful prophesies evil. The truth is never evil. It may be disappointing, disturbing or hurtful, but it’s never evil. Truth is a high virtue—essential for spiritual, emotional and relational healing. But there’s more.
When Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…,”
he declared in simple words the most profound eternal truth.
(“I am…” quote from John 14:6, World English Bible)
People like King Ahab hate the truth. That’s why King Ahab said about the prophet Micaiah: “I hate him.”
The prophesy
The prophet of the Lord spoke to the two kings.
Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. The LORD said, ‘Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ One spoke saying in this way, and another saying in that way. A spirit came out, stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ The LORD said to him, ‘How?’ He said, ‘I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ He said, ‘You will entice him, and will prevail also. Go forth, and do so.’ Now therefore, look, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets; and the LORD has pronounced disaster concerning you.”
2 Chronicles 18:18-22, New Heart English Bible
The king’s response
Now that is a fascinating passage. I had to read it more than once to get it in my head. Needless to say, King Ahab was most unhappy with this prophesy. He wanted what he wanted when he wanted it. And Micaiah was dissing his plan. After his top prophet struck Micaiah on the face, King Ahab imprisoned Micaiah, with meager rations of bread and water. Charming.
True to character, Ahab totally ignored Micaiah’s prophesy—willfully rejecting the word of the Lord. Of course he rejected the word of the Lord. Ahab was satanic. Besides, Ahab was king. He was the boss. He ran the show. And he got what he wanted.
Until he didn’t.
The justice of the Lord
Ahab went to war at Ramoth Gilead and was killed. Interestingly, he insisted that King Jehoshaphat dress like a king, while he himself dressed like a regular soldier. Even with King Ahab’s disguise and even though he set up King Jehoshaphat as a decoy to be casually eliminated, the Lord took King Ahab out and protected King Jehoshaphat. Almighty God was not tricked—and none of this came as a surprise.
Justice came for the evil King Ahab.
Proper inquiry
The turn of events in chapter 18 of Second Chronicles begs some questions. Did King Jehoshaphat inquire of the Lord before the royal wedding? Before visiting King Ahab? Before going to war with Ahab even though God said Ahab would be killed?
We find some of the answers in chapter 19.
Returning home
The rebuke
Lest King Jehoshaphat view his recent escapade wrongly, God sent a messenger to him pronto.
Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked, and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, wrath is on you from before the LORD….”
2 Chronicles 19:1-2, New Heart English Bible
Jehoshaphat helped the wicked. He loved and aligned himself with someone who hated the Lord. Yes, that person was a relative; but, more importantly, that person was evil. Relative schmelative.
Denial
Did Jehoshaphat fail to see King Ahab rightly? Did he make excuses, like “We’re family,” “He needs a favor,” or “It’s not a big deal”? Did he minimize what he saw, heard and knew? Was he plagued with denial? (For a deep dive into denial, start reading here.)
I’ve certainly been guilty of not seeing people rightly—many times. (And that includes myself.) We all desperately need discernment and courage. It’s a good time for a short prayer. From the final post about Queen Esther:
A prayer for discernment
God, show me the truth. What is good here? What is evil here? And give me the courage to do the right thing right now. Amen.
The seriousness of war
The passage above from 2 Chronicles 19—when King Jehoshaphat was rebuked—makes it clear that he did not inquire of the Lord before going to see King Ahab. Also, he participated in the war with Syria despite the prophet Micaiah’s warning. Jehoshaphat said yes to King Ahab without waiting to hear from the prophet of the Lord first. These were big failings that resulted in loss of life for the people of Judah, Israel and Syria. Parents lost their sons. Wives lost their husbands. Children lost their fathers. Other warriors were crippled or maimed, and suffered physically for the rest of their lives.
War is a violent, serious, deadly thing—necessary at times, but often not. (See the World War 2 sections in this post and this post.)
Report cards
At this pivotal time in King Jehoshaphat’s life, God gave him the report card he earned—the good, the bad and the ugly.
“Should you help the wicked, and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, wrath is on you from before the LORD. Nevertheless there are good things found in you, in that you have put away the Asheroth out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.”
2 Chronicles 19:2b-3, New Heart English Bible
Jehoshaphat got an F in two subjects: (1) Checking with God First, and (2) Avoiding Evil. He got an A in (1) Removing Pagan Asherah Poles, and (2) A Heart Committed to Seeking God. Apparently, the war with Syria was a major wake-up call for King Jehoshaphat, since God saved his life there. According to his report card, Jehoshaphat recommitted his “heart to seek God.”
With two F’s and two A’s this semester, King Jehoshaphat sat as a C student. King Ahab would’ve gotten an F-.
Reflecting
Peaceful Reader, how are you doing at checking with God first—before you make a decision? How are you doing at removing idols from your life? How are you doing at setting your heart to seek God? How are you doing at avoiding evil?
You who love the LORD, hate evil.
He preserves the souls of his faithful ones.
He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
Psalm 97:10, New Heart English Bible
Reflect on Romans 16:17-19 too. Remember to ask God for help in all these areas.
Spiritual leadership and justice
Now that King Jehoshaphat’s heart was right with God, he did two very important things.
Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem: and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers. He set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, and said to the judges, “Consider what you do: for you do not judge for man, but for the LORD; and he is with you in the judgment.”
2 Chronicles 19:4-6, New Heart English Bible
First, the king brought his people back to the Lord. Hallelujah! Where had they gone? Remember, the evil Athaliah was married to the king’s son. It’s difficult for us to comprehend how much influence one evil person can have, but I can testify that it is extreme. As the evil person chooses, infects and controls her posse—I mean accomplices—they’re empowered to do her bidding, and the cancerous evil spreads far and wide. Think of Athaliah as a mob boss with many layers of underlings. She was trained daily by her parents—King Ahab and Queen Jezebel—so she was a pro at domination, evil and mayhem. (That reminds me of my sociopathic mother-in-law Delia, also known as Her Majesty, the Sadistic Control Freak. I digress.)
Secondly, King Jehoshaphat worked diligently to provide the people with justice. We long for justice in our nation, don’t we? Where justice is concerned, we have a long way to go. A very long way. Lord, help us!
Summary
The Before Event—war with Syria—led to King Jehoshaphat’s recommitment to the Lord, bringing the people back to the Lord, and a time of justice in Judah. Next came The Main Event when the Lord fought for Judah—displaying his mighty power and abundant provision for the nation. That miraculous event ended with these two verses:
The fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; for his God gave him rest all around.
2 Chronicles 20:29-30, New Heart English Bible
Patriotism
As we celebrated our nation’s 250th Independence Day last week, we too felt strong, with God’s favor resting on us. Let’s keep celebrating! I hope these podcasts, news clips and videos bring you confidence, smiles and deep peace. God placed us here for such a time as this.
A podcast for my Peaceful Readers
If you’d be blessed by some perspective and encouragement about our country, I highly recommend this Hillsdale audio podcast. If you only listen to one item in this Patriotism list, make it this one.
“America 250 Independence Day Special”
The Radio Free Hillsdale Hour podcast, Episode 370; July 2, 2026 (44 minutes)
Hosted by Scot Bertram, with guests Dr. Khalil Habib and Dr. Wilfred McClay
Dr. Habib
♦ The pursuit of happiness and its connection to moral virtue
♦ Liberty vs. license
♦ The relationship between rights and duties
♦ John Quincy Adams’ speeches on Independence Day—1821 and 1837
♦ The importance of reading the Declaration of Independence aloud
♦ The relationship between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
♦ The three pillars: devotion to God, family and country
Dr. Habib recommends reading “Thoughts on Government” by John Adams regarding the pursuit of happiness and its connection to moral virtue.
Dr. McClay
♦ The 4th of July: an act of remembrance—who we are and our country’s ideals
♦ The importance of shared memories
♦ Comparing America to the rest of the world at given times in our history—seeing the big picture
♦ The arc of the story of America
♦ Our reuniting after the Civil War as encouragement for reuniting as a country today
The lead-up
Other events, like UFC Freedom 250 and the World Cup soccer tournament, ramped up our focus on patriotism in preparation for July 4, 2026. It was amazing—not just for us, but for the world. I highly recommend these four fairly-short podcasts.
“Trump’s UFC White House Event HUMILIATES the Left and CELEBRATES God & Country!!!”
Dr. Steve Turley (15 minutes)
The June 14, 2026 Flag Day event—also President Trump’s 80th birthday
♦ Biden White House lawn event vs. Trump White House lawn event
♦ The left’s attack on masculinity and patriotism
♦ The rise of patriotism; the saving of America
“Why America’s National Anthem Feels So Different to Europeans”
British Dad Reacts (7 minutes)
♦ A must-see
♦ “Not every country has what you have.”
“Liberal MELTDOWN as Europeans FALL IN LOVE with America!!!”
Dr. Steve Turley (13 minutes)
♦ Scots singing our national anthem in a Boston bar
♦ The U.S. World Cup soccer team praying after their victory
♦ “Freedom is fun!”
“Glenn Beck REACTS to Foreigners LOVING Their Visit to America!”
BlazeTV and Glenn Beck Clips (9 minutes; brief language)
We love our country!
Without further ado
The Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.—America’s mirror
Fox News: Jesse Watters with guest Kelsey Grammer (7 minutes)
♦ Monuments repaired; fountains restored
♦ Grand public spaces
♦ Reverence and love for our country
America’s Fourth of July City
Fox News Clip (3 minutes)
The Freedom 250 Train
KMPH Fox6 News (1 minute)
Museum Celebrating George Washington
Fox News (7 minutes)
A joyful red, white and blue day to you and yours!
Tell me about your Independence Day 250
in the comments below or use the Contact page.
Coming next
As we wrap up the life of King Jehoshaphat, we’ll explore the remnant, relatives, current events and much more. Until then, thanks for reading and for Choosing Peace.
Closing word and song
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance…. Let your loving kindness be on us, LORD, since we have hoped in you.
Psalm 33:12 and 22, New Heart English Bible
“God Bless America” by The Petersens
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