“And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with
Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly: And he joined himself with him to
make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongaber. Then
Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying,
Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works.
And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish” (2
Chronicles 20:35-37).
Introduction
We often spend considerable time preparing for future events such as
holidays, outings and celebrations. We desire new cars, houses, and clothes.
There is nothing wrong with this unless we are not seeking God’s will on the
matter in hand. How devastated we are when we lose what we worked hard for, or
if our plans come to nothing. Do we ever take time to question if God wrecked
our lives in these situations? Few know that the Lord is in the demolition
business. He can destroy our selfish hopes, plans and dreams.
Selfish schemes
“Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they
went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber” (1 Kings 22:48).
Ophir, in Arabia, was famous for the purity of its gold. Jehoshaphat had big
plans if he could only increase the wealth of the nation. He could return Judah
to its former glory … “And king
Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore
of the Red sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent in the navy his servants,
shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and
twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon” (1 Kings 9:26-28).
Jehoshaphat earnestly and steadfastly loved the Lord … “And he walked in all
the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was
right in the eyes of the LORD” (1 Kings 22:43) … “And
the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father
David, and sought not unto Baalim; But sought to the LORD God of his father, and
walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. Therefore the
LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat
presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance. And his heart was lifted up
in the ways of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 17:3-6), but he was about to depart
from the Lord in exactly the same way that Solomon did; he desired to be very
rich! He did not seek God about his plans, he simply went ahead and built ships
to carry the riches. Instead of seeking God he sought the help of wicked Ahaziah.
There was nothing wrong with wanting to increase Judah’s wealth and glory, but
very often selfish schemes hide themselves behind the façade of good
intentions. God knew Jehoshaphat’s true motive and so revealed to him his
secret sin. Anyway this was against a direct command of God in Deuteronomy 17:17
with regards to kings, “Neither shall he
greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.” God will interfere with our
selfish schemes too. If you truly love God, then you won’t mind Him wrecking
your plans! He will use the wreckage to direct us back to the true treasure … “Lay
not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures
in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not
break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
The spanner in the works
“Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against
Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD
hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go
to Tarshish” (2 Chronicles 20:37).
As soon as you announce your big ideas someone is bound to be ‘really
spiritual’ and upset them! Someone always throws a spanner in the works. God
has His ‘needles’ at the ready to deflate our pride. He has the ways and
means to wreck our plans. Eliezar must have been remarkably brave to speak out
against the king’s scheme, especially since he had already built the ships
with great expense to the nation. Why was God going to destroy the ships?
Jehoshaphat had allied himself with Ahaziah instead of the Lord.
How often we lay aside our conviction to comfort the flesh. We trade God for
gold, and spirituality for silver.
Learning from the wreckage
“Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they
went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber” (1 Kings 22:48).
The wreckage caused Jehoshaphat to take account of his foolishness. Notice that
God disciplined His servant, but He did not directly do so with Ahaziah. God
always chastises those whom He loves … “For
whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth”
(Hebrews 12:6).
The ships were wrecked on the jagged rocks of Ezion-Geber, probably by a violent
storm sent by God. He will allow storms to overthrow our plans too. The storms
are designed to destroy our foolish dreams and godless plans. He demolishes the
unholy ambitions of those who serve Him. If you notice flotsam and jetsam in
your life, then it is best to learn from it.
Once bitten, twice shy
“Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants
go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not” (1 Kings
22:49).
Ahaziah wanted to defy God further by rebuilding the ships, but Jehoshaphat had
learned a valuable lesson. “But
Jehoshaphat would not” is a wonderful testimony of the king’s love for
the Lord. Jehoshaphat knew exactly what “Once bitten, twice shy” meant.
Instead of going with wicked Ahaziah, he returned to his “First
love” (Revelation 2:4).
Do we ever learn from the mistakes and wreckage in our own lives? Sometimes that
wreckage might be left on constant display, like a monument to warn others of
the danger of leaving God out of their plans or not seeking His will. His
discipline is not meant to harm us; rather it designed to bring us into a closer
relationship with Him.
Conclusion
God has wrecked many ships over the centuries. He has thwarted plans,
dreams, and schemes. He does not want materialism or selfish ambitions to get in
the way of our service for Christ. Satan will offer to rebuild what God has
destroyed, but like Jehoshahat, we do well to leave well alone. Maybe it’s
time to lay even the wreckage on the altar for total destruction in God’s holy
fire. He wants to be Lord of our lives.
Page created 17 January 2006