2 Chronicles 19 explained: A Rebuke and a Fairer Court System

A prophet's rebuke (vv. 1-3)

Jehoshaphat has just come home alive from a battle he fought alongside Ahab, the king of northern Israel, who was killed in it (chapter 18). The prophet Jehu says that teaming up with a king who rejected the LORD has brought God's anger, but he also credits Jehoshaphat for removing the Asherah poles, wooden posts used to worship a goddess.

Turning the people back (v. 4)

With Jerusalem as his home base, Jehoshaphat travels out among his people, from Beersheba in the far south to the hills of Ephraim in the north. He urges them to return to the God of their ancestors, likely renewing the teaching mission he started in chapter 17.

Judges in every city (vv. 5-7)

He places judges in the walled cities that served as the main towns of each district. He tells them they judge on God's behalf, so like God they must not play favorites or take bribes.

A high court in Jerusalem (vv. 8-10)

Priests, Levites (the tribe that served at the temple) and family leaders form a central court for cases brought from the towns. "Bloodshed" cases probably meant deciding whether a killing was murder or an accident, as the older law in Deuteronomy describes.

Two heads, two kinds of cases (v. 11)

The chief priest oversees religious matters and a leader of Judah oversees the king's affairs, a split between sacred law and civil matters. Scholars are not certain exactly where the line between the two fell.

Key verse: 2 Chronicles 19:7

Something to think about

When someone points out a real mistake you have made, what makes it possible to actually hear it instead of just defending yourself?