4 And Jehoshaphat dwelleth in Jerusalem, and he turneth back and goeth out among the people from Beer-Sheba unto the hill-country of Ephraim, and bringeth them back unto Jehovah, God of their fathers.
5 And he establisheth judges in the land, in all the fenced cities of Judah, for every city,
6 and saith unto the judges, `See what ye are doing -- for not for man do ye judge, but for Jehovah, who `is' with you in the matter of judgment;
7 and now, let fear of Jehovah be upon you, observe and do, for there is not with Jehovah our God perverseness, and acceptance of faces, and taking of a bribe.'
8 And also in Jerusalem hath Jehoshaphat appointed of the Levites, and of the priests, and of the heads of the fathers of Israel, for the judgment of Jehovah, and for strife; and they turn back to Jerusalem,
9 and he layeth a charge upon them, saying, `Thus do ye do in the fear of Jehovah, in faithfulness, and with a perfect heart,
10 and any strife that cometh in unto you of your brethren who are dwelling in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and command, statutes, and judgments, then ye have warned them and they become not guilty before Jehovah, and wrath hath not been on you and on your brethren; thus do ye do, and ye are not guilty.
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Commentary on 2 Chronicles 19 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 19
2Ch 19:1-4. Jehoshaphat Visits His Kingdom.
1-4. Jehoshaphat … returned to his house in peace—(See 2Ch 18:16). Not long after he had resumed the ordinary functions of royalty in Jerusalem, he was one day disturbed by an unexpected and ominous visit from a prophet of the Lord [2Ch 19:2]. This was Jehu, of whose father we read in 2Ch 16:7. He himself had been called to discharge the prophetic office in Israel. But probably for his bold rebuke to Baasha (1Ki 16:1), he had been driven by that arbitrary monarch within the territory of Judah, where we now find him with the privileged license of his order, taking the same religious supervision of Jehoshaphat's proceedings as he had formerly done of Baasha's. At the interview here described, he condemned, in the strongest terms, the king of Judah's imprudent and incongruous league with Ahab—God's open enemy (1Ki 22:2)—as an unholy alliance that would be conducive neither to the honor and comfort of his house nor to the best interests of his kingdom. He apprised Jehoshaphat that, on account of that grave offense, "wrath was upon him from before the Lord," a judgment that was inflicted soon after (see on 2Ch 20:1-37). The prophet's rebuke, however, was administered in a mingled strain of severity and mildness; for he interposed "a nevertheless" (2Ch 19:3), which implied that the threatened storm would be averted, in token of the divine approval of his public efforts for the promotion of the true religion, as well as of the sincere piety of his personal character and life.
4. he went out again through the people—This means his reappointing the commissioners of public instruction (2Ch 17:7-9), perhaps with new powers and a larger staff of assistants to overtake every part of the land. The complement of teachers required for that purpose would be easily obtained because the whole tribe of Levites was now concentrated within the kingdom of Judah.
2Ch 19:5-7. His Instructions to the Judges.
5-7. he set judges in the land—There had been judicial courts established at an early period. But Jehoshaphat was the first king who modified these institutions according to the circumstances of the now fragmentary kingdom of Judah. He fixed local courts in each of the fortified cities, these being the provincial capitals of every district (see on De 16:18).
2Ch 19:8-11. To the Priests and Levites.
8. set of the Levites … priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Israel—A certain number of these three classes constituted a supreme court, which sat in Jerusalem to review appellate cases from the inferior courts. It consisted of two divisions: the first of which had jurisdiction in ecclesiastical matters; the second, in civil, fiscal, and criminal cases. According to others, the two divisions of the supreme court adjudicated: the one according to the law contained in the sacred books; the other according to the law of custom and equity. As in Eastern countries at the present day, the written and unwritten law are objects of separate jurisdiction.