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MembersStriking parallels: Jehoshaphat and Israel in 2023

There is nothing new under the sun. What Israel is experiencing today, and over the past year, is a direct echo of biblical times.

Israeli soldiers seen during a morning prayer (Shacharit) in the Golan Heights, northern Israel, on October 29, 2023. Photo by Michael Giladi/Flash90

Events in the country over the past year are reminiscent of the time under King Jehoshaphat of Judah. He had implemented legal reform and established a “Supreme Court” in Jerusalem. And then suddenly the country was invaded. Is it possible that disunity arose among the people back then, but that the people came together again in times of need?

The Hebrew name Jehoshaphat (יְהוֹשָׁפָט) is a combination of “God” and “judgment” – you can read it as “God provides justice.” Jehoshaphat was crowned at the age of 35 and ruled the Kingdom of Judah for 25 years.

Jehoshaphat of Judah was generally a good king, although he could not stop the cult operating from the high places. On these heights the people sacrificed and burned incense, which God forbade, because sacrifices should only be made in the Temple.

Judicial reform

King Jehoshaphat was a descendant of David and did what was right in the sight of God. According to Matthew, as king of the House of David, Jehoshaphat is also one of Jesus’ ancestors. Jehoshaphat wanted...

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About the author

Patrick Callahan

This is an example of author bio/description. Beard fashion axe trust fund, post-ironic listicle scenester. Uniquely mesh maintainable users rather than plug-and-play testing procedures.

4 responses to “Striking parallels: Jehoshaphat and Israel in 2023”

  1. Lindsay Johnston says:

    An interesting article. King Jehoshaphat and Israel defeated their enemies once they had united and turned to God for deliverance. King Bibi quickly formed a unity gov to put aside Israel’s previous disunity also over judicial reform. In a secular society it is difficult to turn to God in any meaningful way but I am sure there has been much prayer for Israel within and abroad. But the deliverance has come from the might of the IDF and the tacit approval of the US. God will not allow Israel to be defeated by a rag tag bunch of misfits from the Gaza Strip. So far Iran and her proxies are showing restraint but wouldn’t it be wonderful if they also turned against one another and were destroyed by Almighty God.

  2. Susan says:

    Amen 🙏 It has amazed me that in several forums I’ve attended lately on antisemitism and the atrocities of October 7th, they discussed what Israel must do, but failed to mention that NO victory comes without God’s intervention. In one particular forum I brought up the God of Israel and was told that it was a political session, not religious. Israel has to quit separating itself from its God (like all of the rest of us)!

  3. Vernon Ryan says:

    Yes, the battle is the Lords. But until Israel is truly united and it will not return to the way things were before the war began, how can the Lord fight for them?
    When the, “full force,” of the enemy is on the field of battle and Israel is truly united, it will be then that the Lord will fight for Israel. Israel has as yet to sing and praise the Lord as, “one.”

  4. Disciple 1978 says:

    Re-establishing your shield of faith, your Magan Avraham, is the priority.
    Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful’” (2 Chronicles 20:20).
    Have faith in the living word of God to uphold you and to give you victory over sin, the world and the dead works of the flesh. This shield quenches the enemy’s fiery darts, be they physical, spiritual or political. The war and the judicial reforms have disturbed the liberal comfort zones that Israel was being led into. The world entertains these comfort zones, and the enemy is exploiting them all he can. Soon, the nations will need to choose their shield of faith, I hope they too put their faith in the Lord your God. After the war the liberal comfort zones will need removed, as the spiritual war against our fallen natures will go on.

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