Training at Home

"Then they brought out the king's son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save the king."

(2 Chronicles 23:11)

There was a time when the people of Judah did not have a king.  It was because Jehoshaphat who was a man of great zeal made a great mistake in getting his eldest son married to the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. That ruined his family.  He brought about the ruin of his own family.  He started his reign by bringing about a great spiritual reformation in his kingdom.  But when he wanted to get his son married, he sought a worldly home.  When the marriage took place, it sealed the fall of his kingdom.  The kings of Israel did not have faith in God but worshipped heathen gods.  Jehoshaphat's son became brother-in-law to the kings of Israel.  There was great damage done to the faith of the people.  God had pronounced judgment on the children of Ahab.  At the time of the fulfillment of the judgment, the princes of Judah were with the children of Ahab.  They also got killed.  Jehoshaphat's daughter-in-law was Jezebel's daughter.  The training in the home, the words and ways of parents get established in the hearts of children for ever.  Jehoshaphat's grand-children got their training from Jezebel's daughter.