The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. At least we can say this about Jehoram (sometimes called Joram), the son of King Ahab—one of the worst kings in Israel’s history. But we can also say that sometimes the apple falls far, far away from the tree, as is the case of Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat.
Sadly, the results led to the same conclusion: both men named Jehoram completed wicked deeds during their reigns over their respective kingdoms. We’ll explore the two kings—one from the Southern Kingdom and one from the Northern Kingdom—and see where they went wrong in their rules.
To understand Jehoram/Joram, we need first to understand Ahab. Ahab was by far the wickedest king to rule the Northern Kingdom. He often acquiesced to his bloodthirsty wife: together, they stole land, murdered people, and worshipped other gods. Eventually, Ahab died, showing cowardice on the battlefield.
So, we wouldn’t expect much out of a son like his? We’d be right.
Jehoram reigns for 12 years, stepping in after his brother Ahaziah had a crippling accident. By this point, the kingdom of Israel had long since split in half. Both kingdoms had problematic rulers, but the evilest kings reigned in the north. Ahab had been so evil that Elijah prophesied that his entire household would die, leaving no relatives to reign in Israel. Ahab repented and was at least spared from having to see his family line die.
But from this prophecy, we know that Jehoram won’t make it to the end.
We get a mixed report in 2 Kings 3. He’s evil but not quite as evil as his parents—he gets rid of a sacred stone of Baal, for instance. But he doesn’t completely turn his citizens away from idolatry.
When he takes the throne, trouble starts. The Moabites, a historic enemy that the northern kingdom controlled, rebelled against Israelite control. Jehoshaphat, the good king of the Southern Kingdom, agrees to help Jehoram squash this rebellion.
The kings want advice, so they find Elisha in the desert. Although Elisha hates Jehoram, he prophesies for Jehoshaphat’s sake. He says they’ll have victory over the Moabites—in quite a unique way. God causes water to flow, and it looks like blood to the Moabites. They freak out, and their enemies slaughter them.
Victories continue, but Jehoram gets cocky. He gets in trouble when the Syrians invade in 2 Kings 7. Things go downhill for him. He’s wounded in battle in 2 Kings 8. Later, a man named Jehu, who God appointed to replace Ahab’s line, shoots Jehoram with an arrow. To add poetic justice, Jehu throws Jehoram’s body into the field of Naboth: a blood-money field that Ahab stole by killing its owner.
Jehoram’s mother, Jezebel, and his nephew Ahaziah (same name as his brother) died soon after. As predicted, the house of Ahab ceased to exist.
Although Jehoshaphat lent aid to evil people like Jehoram (Ahab’s son), he is overall a very good king of Judah. One of the only good ones, in fact.
So, when his son Jehoram steps onto the scene in 2 Kings 8, we hope he continues his father’s legacy. Sadly, he marries Ahab’s daughter—a big “no-no” since they didn’t want to cross streams with the very evil kingdom of Northern Israel. The passage tells us that he follows Ahab’s ways. We can imagine this ranges from idolatry to murder.
His wife proves to be more dangerous than predicted. After Jehoram’s death, she attempts to kill all of their descendants so she can rule herself. Fortunately, someone hides her grandson Joash, and he eventually becomes king. Athaliah dies for her crimes.
Joash’s salvation shows how God kept his promises. He had promised that he would continue David’s line forever. This means that most of the rulers who ruled over Judah (except for a coup here or there) came from David’s line. So, despite Jehoram’s mistakes and the terrible carnage that his wife caused, the family line didn’t die off like Ahab’s line did.
Unfortunately, Jehoram himself paid the penalty for his sins. He experienced great strife during his reign when the Edomites (another historic enemy) revolted. He ultimately died a painful death: 2 Chronicles 21 says that “his bowels fell out.” Some people have suggested a medical explanation, such as Crohn’s disease or dysentery. Others argue for a supernatural cause. Either way, it wasn’t fun.
We do see strange deaths that appear God-ordained several times in biblical history. The best examples that come to mind are Asa getting foot disease and Herod being eaten by worms.
Occasionally, we even have reports in church history of people who dishonored God dying in strange ways. For example, the early church heretic Arius (known for Arianism and for legends about one of his followers getting slapped by St. Nicholas) died shortly before he was going to be given a church leadership post. Some interesting but perhaps not reliable reports say that he died from severe bowel problems.
Whatever view we take of Jehoram’s death, we remember one thing: God doesn’t take heresy or idolatry lightly. He will give warnings—Jehoram had people like Elisha who provided warnings and pointed him back to God while he had time to change. Records like when his father Ahab repented after killing Naboth show that God showed mercy when people showed genuine regret. Instead, Jehoram chose evil.
We certainly don’t want to be like either of these men, but we can learn from their actions’ consequences. Let’s consider some life lessons we can gain from their mistakes.
What Can We Learn from Jehoram, son of Ahab?
First, just because God gives someone a “good word” doesn’t mean God favors them. Elisha is not interested in prophesying for Jehoram but makes an exception because he came with good company (Jehoshaphat). While Jehoram wins a victory over the Moabites, he doesn’t win every victory. He eventually gets killed for his crimes.
Second, partial idolatry is still idolatry. Jehoram probably felt good that he improved on the situation his parents left—removing a shrine to Baal. But he still led Israel in idolatry rather than wiping it out and bringing the nation back to God. Some idolatry is still idolatry. God doesn’t want us to meet him halfway.
What Can We Learn from Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat?
First, God remembers his promises. No matter how bad the kings of Judah got—and they did get bad—God remembered that Jesus would be in the line of David. So, he preserved that line, even if evil people like Athaliah tried to wipe them out.
Second, leadership comes with a great weight of responsibility and consequences. While diseases are not indicative of sinful behavior, the covenant relationship that God had with his people in the Old Testament meant that leaders died in dramatic ways when they strayed from God. In Jehoram’s case, the death was unusually painful.
Lastly, we can look at both kings and see they were given chances to change. Both had good influences in their lives (Jehosophat, Elisha). They either received warnings (prophecies of coming doom) or had access to stories about their predecessors suffering when they ignored God. They had every opportunity to turn their kingdoms around and pursue Yahweh.
In the same way, we are without excuses. We have so many resources to be regularly in the word and weed out idolatry in our lives. May we learn from the cautionary tales of both kings and choose to live our lives differently.
Photo Credit:©GettyImages/Aleksandr Koltyrin
Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.
This article is part of our People of Christianity catalog that features the stories, meaning, and significance of well-known people from the Bible and history. Here are some of the most popular articles for knowing important figures in Christianity:
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