Dependence upon God is a constant theme throughout the Bible. Another word for dependence upon God is having "faith" which means to trust God rather than leaning on human understanding.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

The believer is called to live by faith and to trust in the Lord in all circumstances rather than leaning upon their own human understanding. Those who trust the Lord are those who acknowledge him in everything that they do. Those who depend on the Lord will receive God's guidance and he will direct their paths and give them the wisdom they need to do what is right.

Arm of the Flesh

2 Chronicles 32:8 (NKJV)

⁸ With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles." And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

The arm of the flesh refers to natural human strength or natural human wisdom. This is in direct opposition to dependence upon the Lord and relying upon the wisdom that comes from God rather than from humans.

Deuteronomy 17:16-17 (NIV)

¹⁶ The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, "You are not to go back that way again."

¹⁷ He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

The prohibition for Jewish Kings to acquire great numbers of horses and wives and silver and gold is related to these kings depending upon natural human self-effort rather than having faith in God. They used horses for military strength and having many wives was done in hopes of multiplying many potential heirs to their throne in hope of having a lasting dynasty after them. The large amounts of silver and gold were typically used by kings to hire outside help of foreign armies in time of war.

But whenever they depended on their natural efforts rather than depending on God then they would cut themselves off from God's help!

There is a perverted saying that says, "The good Lord helps those who help themselves!" But there is also a big piece of error involved with this statement. While it is true that we have to do our part as believers we also do not want to end up trusting in our own human strength or our own cleverness because then God will abandon us to our own devices and let us help ourselves! That would spell disaster because if God ever leaves the believer then they would doomed to failure. The believers must rely upon the Lord and not lean on their own human understanding or depend on their own human strength.

Horses Used for Natural Strength

Horses and chariots were military weapons of that time and era and depending on horses for military strength could cause a king to display a lack of faith in his God.

Psalm 147:10-11 (NIV)

¹⁰ His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man;

¹¹ the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

God does not take pleasure in people who rely on the strength of a horse to win a battle nor does God delight in those who depend on their own physical human strength. Instead the Lord delights in those who fear him and put their hope in his unfailing love!

This is illustrated in the lives of the Jewish kings who ruled over both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. The good kings depended on God for help and bad kings depended upon military alliances and their own armies and horses and multiplying heirs with many wives and buying their help in time of war and making outside alliances by marriage and depending on their own human strength and natural wisdom rather than depending upon God alone.

Jeremiah 17:5-8 (NIV)

⁵ This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

⁶ He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

⁷ "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

⁸ He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

The man who trusts in humans instead of God is cursed and this can also include trusting in his own human strength rather than trusting in God. Depending on self-effort or his own labor or education or inheritance or anything other than God will bring a curse. Those who trust in anything besides God are cursed by being abandoned by God to their own human devices.

But the man who trusts in the Lord will be like a tree planted by the water whose leaves are always green and never fails to bear fruit. Those whose confidence is in God alone will receive God's help and direction and wisdom for their lives.

2 Chronicles 1:14-15 (NIV)

¹⁴ Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.

¹⁵ The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills.

King Solomon accumulated chariots and horses by the thousands and had enormous amounts of silver and gold so that it was as common as gravel.

2 Samuel 12:24-25 (NIV)

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him;

²⁵ and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.

Solomon the son of David was loved by the Lord and called Jedidiah meaning (Beloved of the Lord). But despite the fact that Solomon was loved by God and started off well, he did not follow God's commands later in adult life and he multiplied horses and chariots and had numerous pagan wives and huge amounts of gold and silver and even made marriage alliances with pagan kings.

1 Kings 3:1 (NIV)

¹ Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem.

Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh to form a marriage alliance with the king of Egypt. However, this type of marriage alliance with an pagan king was forbidden by God.

1 Kings 11:1-4 (NIV)

¹ King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter--Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.

² They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.

³ He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.

⁴ As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.

Besides marrying the daughter of the king of Egypt Solomon also had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. So, the marriage alliances with many pagan nations resulted in these idol worshipping women turning the heart of Solomon away from the God of Israel and into idolatry which brings a curse to any nation.

See the link "Idolatry Curse of a Nation" for more details.

It is evident that Solomon did not remain loyal to God in later years (as his father David had been). Breaking God's commands with the multiplication of horses and wives and gold and silver resulted in Solomon drifting away from God and falling into idolatry.

2 Samuel 8:4 (NIV)

⁴ David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

In contrast to Solomon, David was not depending on horses and chariots for winning battles but depended on the Lord for his success. David defeated his enemies who had large numbers of chariots and horses for battle but he destroyed the chariots and hamstrung their horses reducing the number of horses to that which was needed for only a hundred chariots. This shows that David was depending on the Lord and this is the reason he destroyed captured enemy weaponry like chariots and disabled their horses.

The enemies of Israel depended on natural weapons like horses and chariots in battle but they were defeated by David who depended on God alone. David did not assume to use the same captured weapons that were unable to help his enemies in war. David determined to trust in God for his help rather than natural means. Reducing the thousands of captured horses and chariots down to only a 100, shows that David was not depending on these natural things for victory instead of depending on God.

1 Kings 11:9-13 (NIV)

⁹ The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.

¹⁰ Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD's command.

¹¹ So the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.

¹² Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son.

¹³ Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen."

Solomon was rebuked by God for falling into idolatry after his pagan wives led him astray. Therefore, his kingdom was to be removed because of his idolatry but this judgment occurred after his death when his son lost 10 of the tribes of Israel and had only two left to keep a lamp going for the dynasty of David until the Messiah could be born of the lineage of David.

Solomon serves as a warning to all believers because he started off well and God appeared to him twice and even named him Jedidiah (Beloved of the Lord). But his heart changed and he drifted away from God in his later years.

Hebrews 3:12 (7KB)

¹² Be attentive, brethren, that there not be found in any one of you an evil and unbelieving heart, which could lead you to apostatize from the living God!

Every believer must guard their heart because even if they start off good with God (like Solomon did) there is yet a danger that they could fall away in later years. This can happen if they begin to depend on their own human strength and fail to involve God in their personal lives and make their own decisions in the same manner that a godless pagan would do!

Sin of Numbering Troops

1 Chronicles 27:24 (NIV)

²⁴ Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. Wrath came on Israel on account of this numbering, and the number was not entered in the book of the annals of King David.

This thing about David numbering the military men of Israel reflected that he drifted into self-effort and relying on human strength rather than relying totally on God.

1 Chronicles 21:7-14 (NIV)

⁷ This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.

⁸ Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing."

⁹ The LORD said to Gad, David's seer,

¹⁰ "Go and tell David, 'This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.'"

¹¹ So Gad went to David and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Take your choice:

¹² three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the LORD--days of plague in the land, with the angel of the LORD ravaging every part of Israel.' Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me."

¹³ David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men."

¹⁴ So the LORD sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead.

It was because of this numbering that judgment fell upon the nation of Israel and over 70,000 men died in God's judgment! The point to emphasize here is that the sin committed by David in numbering the troops was the sin of self-sufficiency. David walked with God in the past but on this occasion, David slipped into human self-sufficiency when he numbered his military troops. This shows that he was relying on natural military strength as a king rather than relying on God!

King Asa Depends on God

2 Chronicles 14:9-13 (NIV)

⁹ Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with a vast army and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah.

¹⁰ Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

¹¹ Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, "LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O LORD, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you."

¹² The LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled,

¹³ and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the LORD and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder.

King Asa humbled himself before God when a massive military invasion was headed toward his nation to plunder and destroy his country! Asa called to the Lord and said that they had no power against such a vast invading army! Asa relied totally upon the Lord and cried out for God's help! It was because of his faith that God answered the prayer of King Asa and God struck down the invading forces before Asa and gave him a smashing military victory! Although Asa was vastly outnumbered God granted him victory because Asa relied upon the Lord by faith!

2 Chronicles 15:2 (NIV)

² He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

A prophet encouraged Asa that if he would seek the Lord then God would be found by him but if he forsook God then God would forsake King Asa. One way to forsake God is to depend on natural human self-effort only without asking God for any help at all!

King Asa Falls from Faith

2 Chronicles 16:1-9 (NIV)

¹ In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.

² Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the LORD's temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus.

³ "Let there be a treaty between me and you," he said, "as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me."

⁴ Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim and all the store cities of Naphtali.

⁵ When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and abandoned his work.

⁶ Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using. With them he built up Geba and Mizpah.

⁷ At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: "Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.

⁸ Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand.

⁹ For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war."

Asa did good in the beginning when he relied totally on the Lord and God granted him success against a large invading army that vastly outnumbered him! But in later years when Asa was attacked by Baasha the ungodly king of Israel then Asa did a foolish thing. Instead of depending on God (as he had done before) Asa instead tried to hire his help by sending gold and silver to the pagan king of Aram. Asa was rebuked by the prophet for relying upon the pagan king of Aram and hiring his help with gold and silver instead of depending upon God for help (as he had done so faithfully in the past).

It is evident that even good people can fall away from God in later years and end up trusting in humans rather than trusting in God. Anytime a person depends on human strength (either by self-effort or by looking for outside human help) then this is a curse to them and causes them to be abandoned by God. Asa was to have continual wars for the rest of his life because God abandoned him and then he had to fight his own wars without God's help!

Reversal of Fate

2 Chronicles 25:6-12 (NIV)

⁶ He also hired a hundred thousand fighting men from Israel for a hundred talents of silver.

⁷ But a man of God came to him and said, "O king, these troops from Israel must not march with you, for the LORD is not with Israel--not with any of the people of Ephraim.

⁸ Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow."

⁹ Amaziah asked the man of God, "But what about the hundred talents I paid for these Israelite troops?" The man of God replied, "The LORD can give you much more than that."

¹⁰ So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. They were furious with Judah and left for home in a great rage.

¹¹ Amaziah then marshaled his strength and led his army to the Valley of Salt, where he killed ten thousand men of Seir.

¹² The army of Judah also captured ten thousand men alive, took them to the top of a cliff and threw them down so that all were dashed to pieces.

King Amaziah was faced with a large military invasion from Seir so he paid a hundred talents of silver to hire help from the northern Israelite confederacy. This was a huge amount of silver (amounting to over three and one-third tons) and would be worth many millions in today's currency! But the prophet spoke God's word to Amaziah and warned him that the troops of Israel were cursed (as idol worshipers) and if they joined him in the battle then Amaziah would be defeated before his enemies. Therefore, Amaziah made a wise decision to dismiss the hired Israelite troops and he marshaled his own troops and went out in faith and defeated his enemy destroying 10,000 enemy soldiers in the valley of salt! Amaziah won because he trusted in God for victory rather than hiring his help from the troops of Israel. In this case Amaziah was facing certain defeat and would probably have lost his life if he had continued with the plan of taking hired troops with him. He sacrificed the 7,5000 lbs. of silver and went to battle without the troops of Israel and obtained the victory! Amaziah reversed his fate in this situation because he would certainly have been defeated in battle if he was not warned by the prophet to send the hired troops back home again!

Guarding the Heart

2 Chronicles 25:14-15 (NIV)

¹⁴ When Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them.

¹⁵ The anger of the LORD burned against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to him, who said, "Why do you consult this people's gods, which could not save their own people from your hand?"

It is strange that after God had granted victory to Amaziah allowing him to defeat and destroy 10,000 enemy troops from Seir, then this same king took the gods of the people of Seir and bowed down to them as his own gods and burned sacrifices to them! This caused the anger of God to burn against him and judgment came.

2 Chronicles 25:22-24 (NIV)

²² Judah was routed by Israel, and every man fled to his home.

²³ Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate--a section about six hundred feet long.

²⁴ He took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the temple of God that had been in the care of Obed-Edom, together with the palace treasures and the hostages, and returned to Samaria.

Amaziah the king of Judah was then defeated by Jehoash the king of Israel who tore down the wall of Jerusalem plundered their treasury and took hostages.

2 Chronicles 25:27 (NIV)

²⁷ From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD, they conspired against him in Jerusalem and he fled to Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there.

Amaziah had victory when he depended on God then when he was victorious he became proud and then he began to worship idols. This shows how a human heart can change and turn away from the living God.

Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV)-M

²³ Keep your heart with all diligence, and watch over it, for out of it spring the issues of life.

It is important for the believer that they guard their heart with all diligence because human hearts can drift away from the living God. Often people may start off in faith and be right with God in the beginning only to drift away from God after they have been given success. It is after a success that the believers need to return to the Lord and consecrate their hearts to God again. If they do not do this, they are in great danger of drifting away from God and falling into destruction.

Joshua 10:42-43 (NIV)

⁴² All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.

⁴³ Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

After Joshua had great success in battle then he always would return to Gilgal. Gilgal was a place of consecration to God as symbolized as the place where the troops of Israel were circumcised. Circumcision speaks of separation to God and having covenant with God and for the believer this refers to renewing their commitment to walk in faith with God (after every victory). Historically it was after a victory when God's people fell away from God so that is why it is important to have separation and renewed consecration to the Lord after every victory God gives.

Joshua 10:14-15 (NIV2011)

¹⁴ There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a human being. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!

¹⁵ Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

After God supernaturally fought for Israel and gave the victory in battle then Joshua would again return to the place of consecration to God at Gilgal. In this manner Joshua never fell away from God after his victories because he always renewed his consecration to God after every victory God granted him.

Ungodly Alliance by Marriage

2 Chronicles 18:1 (NIV)

¹ Now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor, and he allied himself with Ahab by marriage.

Jehoshaphat was a godly king who was prospered by God and was given success. But he foolishly made a marriage alliance with Ahab the wicked king of Israel who did not serve God but was an idol worshipper.

2 Chronicles 21:5-6 (NIV2011)

⁵ Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years.

⁶ He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD.

Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram had married Athaliah the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. This marriage alliance had far-reaching effects after the death of the godly king Jehoshaphat.

2 Chronicles 22:2-3 (NIV2011)

² Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri.

³ He too followed the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother encouraged him to act wickedly.

Athaliah was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel and she was more wicked than her evil mother Jezebel. She sought to abolish the worship of God in Judah and replace it with Baal worship as was promoted by her mother Jezebel in Israel. Her son Ahaziah became king of Judah.

2 Chronicles 22:10-12 (NIV)

¹⁰ When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah.

¹¹ But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, was Ahaziah's sister, she hid the child from Athaliah so she could not kill him.

¹² He remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.

When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead then she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah and nearly exterminated the lineage of David. Only one infant royal heir was spared from the cull of Athaliah when he was hidden in the temple.

This is an example of how making an ungodly marriage alliance resulted in the near extermination of the entire lineage of David and nearly put out the lamp with only one surviving heir in the time of Athaliah the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel who seized the throne for herself and killed the entire royal family of Judah who were potential heirs to the throne.

This was a great disaster that resulted from the passive behavior of King Jehoshaphat who flippantly arranged for his own son to marry the wicked daughter of Ahab and Jezebel! Such a marriage alliance was done in the "arm-of-the-flesh" of human self-effort to join forces together. It is a sin against God because when kings do this they are showing that they are not depending on God for their help but only making alliances as they depend on humans for their strength instead of God.

Jehoshaphat was a godly king but several times he got involved with ungodly alliances that displeased God.

2 Chronicles 19:1-2 (NIV)

¹ When Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem,

² Jehu the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him and said to the king, "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, the wrath of the LORD is upon you.

Jehoshaphat was blessed by God but then he joined in a military alliance with the wicked king of Israel and joined Ahab in a war against the king of Aram. Ahab perished in this battle and Jehoshaphat barely escaped with is life. A prophet rebuked Jehoshaphat when he returned from this battle declaring that he was helping the wicked (King Ahab) and loving those who hate the Lord! The wrath of God was upon Jehoshaphat because of this ungodly alliance in helping the wicked.

The blessing of the Lord was upon Jehoshaphat king of Judah but this blessing was not to be united with the evil and wicked Ahab who worshiped idols. God cannot give the blessing of Jehoshaphat to the wicked king Ahab by alliance. If God blessed one in such an alliance then the other wicked partner would also partake of the blessings of the Lord. This can also be seen in the maritime business venture Jehoshaphat attempted to engage in.

1 Kings 22:48-49 (NIV2011)

⁴⁸ Now Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail—they were wrecked at Ezion Geber.

⁴⁹ At that time Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my men sail with yours,” but Jehoshaphat refused.

The wicked dynasty of Ahab was continued by Ahaziah (the son of Ahab) who also sought to partake of the blessing of the Lord that was upon the godly King Jehoshaphat. It seems that Jehoshaphat initially refused to include the wicked son of Ahab in the business venture but possibly he changed his mind because his entire fleet of ships were later destroyed by a natural disaster!

2 Chronicles 20:35-37 (NIV)

³⁵ Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, who was guilty of wickedness.

³⁶ He agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships. After these were built at Ezion Geber,

³⁷ Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, "Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the LORD will destroy what you have made." The ships were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade.

Jehoshaphat must have attempted to enter into a business venture together with the Ahaziah the king of Israel because he was rebuked by a prophet for this ungodly alliance. It was for this reason that these trading ships were wrecked (possibly by a typhoon destroying them before they could be launched). These ships never set sail to trade because God destroyed the venture before it could get started.

The thing to see here is that God will not permit the wicked to partake of the blessing of the righteous. If a righteous person like Jehoshaphat should make an alliance with a wicked person like Ahab (or his wicked son) then God will destroy the works of their hands! God cannot permit the blessing of the righteous to be shared by the wicked. It is for this reason that those who are godly must keep their separation from the world and not enter into alliances with the wicked or have business ventures together with them or they can have their business destroyed by God!

2 Corinthians 6:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

This scripture applies equally to a believer not marrying an unbeliever as well as a believer not entering into a business partnership with an unbeliever. They cannot be unequally yoked with those who are wicked. One partner would be serving God and one would be serving the devil and this cannot be. Light and darkness cannot go together and the same was true with Jehoshaphat and Ahab who were unequally yoked as a godly and a wicked king and God could not bless such a perverse union!

Defeated by Enemies

2 Chronicles 24:17-21 (NIV)-M

¹⁷ After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to king Joash, and he listened to them.

¹⁸ They abandoned the temple of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God's anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁹ Although the LORD sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen.

²⁰ Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, "This is what God says: 'Why do you disobey the LORD's commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you.'"

²¹ But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the LORD's temple.

Those who worship idols ascribe the things given by God as being help granted by the idols they worship. This enrages the jealous God and brings a curse upon them!

2 Chronicles 24:23-24 (NIV)

²³ At the turn of the year, the army of Aram marched against Joash; it invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people. They sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus.

²⁴ Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the LORD delivered into their hands a much larger army. Because Judah had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers, judgment was executed on Joash.

Joash King of Judah was defeated by a small number of invaders because of the sin of forsaking God and engaging in idolatry. God allowed a small number of invaders to defeat the larger army of the nation of Judah because they had forsaken the Lord their God and gone after idols.

Praying to idols for help rather than praying to God is a grievous sin in the sight of God that provokes the jealous God to anger. Idolatry will bring a curse to anyone who is foolish enough to engage in idol worship. Idols are nothing and have no power to help anyone and depending on idols is complete futility!

Idolatry therefore is another means of forsaking God's help as someone foolishly seeks help from something as useless as an idol! But idols do not require compliance with God's laws so the idol worshipper engages in the self-deception that they can do whatever they want and can engage in unrepentant sin and at the same time can ask their idols for help!

God however does not answer the prayers of those living in unrepentant sin and so these unrepentant sinners often turn to idolatry in a vain hope of getting help from something other than God.

Anytime humans forsake God and depend on anything else for help then they have cut themselves off from divine help. They cannot rely on other humans for help or rely on their own human strength or natural wisdom. The believer must honor God as first place in their lives and so not see anything or anyone for help other than God himself.

As long as the believer relies solely on God for his strength then they can continue to enjoy God's blessing and help. But if they rely on natural things or look to humans or self-effort they will cut themselves off from God's help and he will abandon them to their own devices. This is one way of making themselves as enemies of God by provoking the jealous God to anger by looking to other sources of help besides God as their strength and provider and help in time of need.

This is really a "heart-issue" because if human motives of the heart look to anything other than God then that is like the sin of idolatry. If however a believer keeps their heart motives pure then they will not cause offense to the jealous God and will continue to enjoy his full blessing.