II Chronicles
Chapter 15
Lessons from the Reign of King Ahaziah
II Chronicles 22:1-9
Like Father Like Son
II Chronicles 22 gives the short reign of Jehoram’s youngest son, Ahaziah. His reign is just a continuation of his father’s reign. Nothing has changed and bad leadership continues. One thing that we can note is that in the space of less than 10 years the kingdom of Judah has deteriorated to a great degree. One leadership principle to learn is that the decline of organizations is rapid when good leadership is abandoned. I don’t fully understand why, but bad leadership seems to multiply and bad decisions lead to worst decisions. An important principle to learn is “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely!” One of the sayings I hear often is “Everything rises and falls on leadership!” The way I state it is “All success depends on good leadership!” I think what happens is that bad leadership decisions make things so bad that a crisis occurs. Bad leadership continues and the decisions to handle the crisis create greater problems! Things go rapidly from bad to worse! The decline of the nation of Judah was greatly based upon several bad decisions of a great leader, King Jehoshaphat. What makes a great leader? Why the ability to keep making good decisions. What makes a bad leader? It just takes one bad decision to cause a catastrophe!
One of the greatest mistakes of leaders is that refusal to make a decision because they are afraid to make a bad decision. The longer that a leader delays in fixing the problems correctly will eventually lead to the collapse of the organization! Not making a decision is a bad decision!
The lessons of leadership taught here are easily understood and simple to practice. However, they are not utilized because they are not exciting enough! Crises management produces heroes! Unfortunately, success management produces stability which is boring! Faithfulness is an extremely desired quality in a leader. To keep the success going good leadership is needed to continue.
However, people respond to flashiness, which many times produces failure. Remember that Jesus taught the great leadership principle of servant leadership. The boss actually works for the employees! The purpose of the shepherd is to take care of the sheep! See Ezekiel 34!
2 Chronicles 22:1 “And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead: for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned.”
It is always sad to watch sons repeat the bad mistakes of their fathers. One of the great lessons the Bible teaches is to learn the lessons of your father so that you don’t repeat his mistakes. In Ahaziah’s case it was his mother who gave him bad advice. It is so hard for a child to achieve greatness when he is being influenced by two bad parents. When you add bad companions, it is extremely rare to see them succeed. Ahaziah’s life and bad leadership skills were greatly influenced this way.
2 Chronicles 22:3,4 “He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly.
Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab: for they were his counsellors after the death of his father to his destruction.”
One the great blessings that comes from knowing God and having access to an infallible Bible is the advantages these Holy things will produce in a child’s life. When you add a good church, the victories and good leadership attributes will result in a life that pleases God, and the individual will make many good leadership decisions.
One of the important things to learn from the leadership of Ahaziah is the destructive influence a wicked mother and wicked companions will have on a person. Because of his friendship with the wicked king of Israel, When God was judging Israel, he got caught up in the judgement and was killed. See 2 Chronicles 22:7-9
“And the destruction of Ahaziah was of God by coming to Joram: for when he was come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.
And it came to pass, that, when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah, and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah, that ministered to Ahaziah, he slew them.
And he sought Ahaziah: and they caught him, (for he was hid in Samaria,) and brought him to Jehu: and when they had slain him, they buried him: Because, said they, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no power to keep still the kingdom.”
Jehu is prominent in the Books of Kings, but here is the only mention of him in II Chronicles. There is another Jehu, who is a prophet that counsels Jehoshaphat in II Chronicles 19 and 20, but this is a different one. His son is mentioned in II Chronicles 25:17.
Here he is the way God judges the wicked decisions Ahaziah makes! Many times, bad decisions will lead to the judgement of God and the death of the leader. Many times a bad leader can change into a good leader by making small good decisions. The decision to seek God in the Bible, or to start attending church, for example can change a whole lot of things. God is a very merciful God and will give those that are looking to pleas Him answers to unsolvable problems. The decision to trust Christ as Savior has a long term (eternal) consequence! Notice James 5:20:
“Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”
Ahaziah is still part of the wicked family of Ahab and as a result these loyalties to earthly men lead to bad leadership. The main downfall of Ahaziah was again, bad companions, resulting in bad counsel, leading to bad decisions, causing his death. The only good thing about him was that he had a son. That son became a better king but it was just because of the influence of the high priest.
Often a child will see the mistakes and flaws of their parents and will attempt to not make the same stupid mistakes. Unfortunately, I have seen sons that smoke and drink because daddy smoked and drank! The same can be said of any leader. The Christian leader should be attempting to do what God wants based upon what is right. His focus should be on doing God’s will. Sadly, many children keep making the same mistakes their parents and teachers make. The wisdom of God is available in the Bible, and when a leader uses It instead of the teaching of others, success and prosperity follow.
Sadly, this is the case with Ahaziah.
As a young man, he co-reigned with his father as his father was very sick. Durning this time he must have learned and developed the bad leadership style that destroyed him and brought the kingdom further away from God!
God’s estimation of him is in II Chronicles 22:3,4
“He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly.
Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab: for they were his counsellors after the death of his father to his destruction.”
The age of Ahaziah when he began to reign is often quoted as a mistake in the King James Bible. I have heard several people try to explain it and have mostly been confused as to the explanation.
Ahaziah: Twenty-two or Forty-two?
One of the greatest “mistakes” in the King James Bible is the age of Ahaziah! Look at these two verses of Scripture:
II Kings 8:26 “Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.”
II Chronicles 22:2 “Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.”
Just reading these two verses together presents an obvious mistake! Before the Bible explanation is given that both verses are correct, it is important to understand how to handle “contradictions” in the King James Bible.
How to Handle “Apparent” Contradictions in the King James Bible
The “Back Burner” Method
There are many reasons people see contradictions in the Bible, especially the King James Bible!
Jesus gives one reason in two passages. Often, God will give the same example twice in the Bible for emphasis and further examination:
Matthew 11:28 “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.”
Luke 10:21 “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.”
People often see contradictions because they are looking for them! If you are looking for mistakes, God has written and preserved the Bible to allow you to find them!
A person that comes to the Bible for answers must keep in mind that God is smarter than them! It is extremely dangerous to not believe God’s word as revealed in the King James Bible. Understanding what God is saying is not a question of intelligence or IQ. God must “open” the heart of the person believing the Scriptures, or they will not get them. God must reveal them!
One of the purposes of God’s word, and the reason it is so powerful, is that God uses it to examine a person’s heart, as well as improve the person’s mind!
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
The supposed contradictions in the Bible are there so that you can examine your own heart attitude.
Do you believe what is written or not!
Believe what you understand. Pray over what you don’t understand, Live for God based upon what you understand. Wait on God to reveal the solution.
When mom was cooking on the stove, she would cook things on the front burners. Since we had such a big family, she would take what she made and “put it on one of the back burners” to keep it warm, so she could still use the front burners. That is what you do with the things in the Bible you don’t understand. Concentrate on the things that are revealed to you. What you don’t understand keep handy because God just might show you something few ever experience: God revealing a great truth to you because you believe Him and love Him!
As you understand the story of Ahaziah, it is important to understand this verse in Isaiah:
Isaiah 29:24 “They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.”
No one, including me, understands everything in the Bible. When we get to Heaven, God will be correcting us all!
The Two One-year Reigns of Ahaziah
(A good explanation of this can be found on the following YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JPz2_Vj_Mw
It is more detailed. I have no idea who this person is but am grateful that God revealed these things to him!)
As a King James Bible believer, it is important to believe what is written and then examine the context to explain the apparent contradictions.
The only way that Ahaziah could be different ages when he reigned was that he reigned twice with a gap of 20 years between the reigns. Is this possible?
Yes. It also explains the contradiction that he was older than his father at the time of the death of his father.
As was examined in the life of Jehoram, he only reigned eight years. For the last two years, he was extremely sick. During this time his youngest son, Ahaziah, reigned with him. This explains how he could be twenty-two when he began to reign.
Ahaziah reigned for a year and then the land was invaded.
II Chronicles 21:16, 17 “Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that were near the Ethiopians:
And they came up into Judah, and brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.”
He was still king but was not in Jerusalem. He was in exile for twenty years, then the people of the land made him king again, in Jerusalem, when he was forty-two.
II Chronicles 22:1 “And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead: for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned.”
Not having learned from his mistakes, he was still a wicked king, Jehu ended up killing him when Ahaziah went to war with Jehoram, king of Israel.
This explains the simple misunderstanding of these two verses!
Grover Cleveland was elected president of the United States twice with the presidency of Benjamin Harrison between his first term and second term. He was a different age each time he was president. How old was he when he became president? The first time he was 48, the second time he was 56. If Donald Trump becomes president again, his age the first time was 70. If he wins again, he will start at 77.
There is no mistake in the Bible, only one in the understanding of the person reading the Bible!
These short two one-year reigns of Ahaziah give another great lesson in leadership that should be learned. It is the same mistake that Jehoshaphat made of not taking the mercy of God for another chance to change and do what is right. In fact, it was Jehoshaphat’s only great mistake. Both Jehosaphat and Ahaziah went to help the backslidden nation of Israel! This “blind spot” of leaders leads to their downfall! Leaders of America need to not make allies with nations that hate God and are out to destroy our country!
The reign and death of Jehoram and then the reign and death of Ahaziah continue the reaping of bad leadership mistakes as the worst woman leader of all time assumes the throne!
