Giving Aid to the Wicked and the Wrath of God

 Jeff, one of my fellow elders, pointed out a really significant verse to me today that I had just read over and never noticed before. 2 Chronicles 19:2 states:

Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. But 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 has gone out against you from the LORD. Nevertheless, some good is found in you, for you destroyed the Asheroth out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.” (2 Chron 19:1-3)

The context of this passage is that Jehoshaphat had made an alliance with Ahab through marriage and by giving both financial and physical aid to Ahab to defend his kingdom in battle. Jehu, a prophet, goes out the text says and opposes him (lit. against/to his face). Now, Hebrew is a very verbal language. The verbs are usually fronted. In this sentence, however, the verb appears last in an effort to highlight the words "should, to the wicked to give aid and to those who hate YHWH, you love? In other words, the highlight is on the fact that the recipient of Jehoshaphat's help and love is the wicked and those who reject YHWH. The text states that the object of the righteous king's aid and love should not be anyone who is wicked or rejects YHWH.

This passage is interesting as it not only asks the rhetorical question whether someone who is righteous should help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord, but it also conveys that such is not a practice that is benign but rather brings about the wrath of God. What saves Jehoshaphat from God's wrath in the battle in which Ahab is killed is the fact that he destroyed the cult images in Jerusalem. 

However, Jehoshaphat actually does this again with Ahaziah who takes the throne after Ahab is killed.

 After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly. He joined him in building ships to go to Tarshish, and they built the ships in Ezion-geber. Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the LORD will destroy what you have made.” And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish. (2 Chron 20:35–37)

The Chronicler then records the death of Jehoshaphat as a righteous king but then continues to talk about what happens to his sons. They are all killed by Jehoram his eldest who not only takes the throne but then installs all of the wicked practices in Jerusalem that Ahab had advocated in northern Israel. 

Authors of narrative often select their information and place things together because they want the reader to connect what came before as logically producing the events that come after. In this case, I don't think it is a stretch to suggest that the Chronicler wants the reader to understand that the wrath of God is evident in that He gives Jehoshaphat's family over to the consequences of giving aid to the wicked and loving those who hate the Lord (2 Chron 21).

So even though Jehoshaphat was a righteous king in some respects, the wickedness of giving help and love to the wicked not only caused him to lose the battle he fought with Ahab but destroyed both his family after him (saving only one son because God did not want to wipe out David's line) and the spiritual faithfulness of Judah to God.

The implications of this passage are quite profound and warrant the question, "Should Christians give aid to the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? 

Now, one could argue that Ahab is an apostate and should represent the so-called brethren in the church who should be excommunicated, given no aid or physical care. However, the statement made by the prophet seems to be generic. Is it right to help a wicked person when he is under the judgment of God and working against God in his ideas and practices? Is it right to love those who hate God?

Another verse Jeff mentioned was 139:21-22, "Do I not hate those who hate You, O YHWH; and do I not loathe those who rise up against You? With absolute hatred I hate them. I count them as my enemies."

Does not the New Testament also state that being a friend to the world is to make an enemy of God? James 4:4 implies that finding one's identity with the world, seeking to be accepted by them in one's status, as no doubt was the goal of Jehoshaphat with Ahab and Ahaziah, is to betray God. It is to join in their hateful activity against God. 

Instead, Jehoshaphat's place was to call the kings of the north out of their idolatry and to repent of their rebellion against God but he was the weaker king so he joined with them, and even though he was generally a righteous king for the time, the wrath of God went out against him as an enemy, caused him to lose a battle, led to the murder of his sons, and ultimately destroyed all of the good work he had done in his lifetime of ministry to God's people in removing these major idols from among them.

Ahab and Ahaziah, although they were Jehoshaphat's physical neighbors, they were not a neighbor in the sense of covenant members any longer. Hence, they should not have been supported by Jehoshaphat in any way, shape, or form. Those who have set their lives against the Lord must be, in love for God and His people, called to repentance, not given comfort and support in their rebellion.

Let us not support the ministries of the devil by giving aid to the wicked but rather call them out of their hatred toward God; and whatever we do, let us not share in their judgment by giving ourselves a share in the wrath reserved for their rebellion by contributing in some way, financially or otherwise, to it.