Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king and strengthened himself against Israel. – 2 Chronicles 17:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (February 20, 2026): 2 Chronicles 17

Currently, forty nations are at war worldwide. That number does not include any countries other than Ukraine and Russia involved in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and does not include the United States, which currently seems to be on the verge of a civil war. In the past 3,421 years, there have been only 268 years of global peace. That would mean there are about eight years of peace in every century. Maybe more importantly, since the end of World War II, there have been only twenty-six days of global peace. The most extended period of peace in the last 3500 years is 10 years, from 1816 to 1826, known as the Pax Britannica. But even during that time, there were conflicts in the world, including the First Seminole War, when the U.S. forces fought against the Seminole tribe of Florida between 1816 and 1818, and the Arikara War near the Missouri River between the Arikara and U.S. forces, which marked early plains Indian resistance in the United States. 

Jehoshaphat was the son of Asa, and he came to the throne of Judah after the death of his father, Asa, at the age of thirty-five. Asa was considered to be a peaceful King, but Jehoshaphat was a strong King. And the first thing he did was prepare Judah to defend itself from the threat from the northern Kingdom of Israel. Jehoshaphat was a good king, in part because he seemed to recognize that the threat from Israel was not just a military one, although that may have been the threat easiest to defend against. The danger was also political: the Judeans might have been tempted to emulate the Kings of Israel, whom the Bible declares were all bad kings. Israel and its false worship practices also remained a spiritual threat. In each of these areas, Jehoshaphat guarded his nation against decline, just as David had, especially in the beginning days of David’s reign.  

David Guzik makes this observation about the author of Chronicles.

In his presentation of the history of the kings of Judah, the Chronicler constantly brings the contrast and the challenge before the readers of his day and ours: “Your destiny, as an individual and as a nation, can either be like that of Judah or Israel. You should follow the example of those who walked…not according to the acts of Israel” (David Guzik, based on 1 Chronicles 17:1-4).

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 17