Consequences of Following Evil Examples

2 Chronicles 21:1-20 

    1 And Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jehoram his son reigned in his place. 2 He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azaryahu, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. 3 Their father gave them great gifts of silver and gold and precious things, with fortified cities in Judah; but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn.  4 Now when Jehoram was established over the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and killed all his brothers with the sword, and also others of the princes of Israel.

    5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he had the daughter of Ahab as a wife; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD. 7 Yet the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.

    8 In his days Edom revolted against Judah's authority, and made a king over themselves. 9 So Jehoram went out with his officers, and all his chariots with him. And he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots. 10 Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah's authority to this day. At that time Libnah revolted against his rule, because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers. 11 Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit harlotry, and led Judah astray.

    12 And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying,

Thus says the LORD God of your father David: Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot like the harlotry of the house of Ahab, and also have killed your brothers, those of your father's household, who were better than yourself, 14 behold, the LORD will strike your people with a serious affliction—your children, your wives, and all your possessions; 15 and you will become very sick with a disease of your intestines, until your intestines come out by reason of the sickness, day by day.

    16 Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabians who were near the Ethiopians. 17 And they came up into Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king's house, and also his sons and his wives, so that there was not a son left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.

    18 After all this the LORD struck him in his intestines with an incurable disease. 19 Then it happened in the course of time, after the end of two years, that his intestines came out because of his sickness; so he died in severe pain. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning for his fathers.

    20 He was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one's sorrow, departed. However they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

Jehoram succeeded his father Jehoshaphat as king because he was the firstborn, but he only ruled for eight years over Judah.  He was so cruel as to kill his own brothers after getting established on his throne, in order to guarantee no opposition or coup due to his evil rule.  He did not stop there, but also killed other princes of Israel who could be contenders to stop him.  Unfortunately, Jehoram imitated the wrong example again, Ahab the evil, even marrying a daughter of that bad man to add to the darkness of his rule.  The grace seen in this time was God’s promise to king David for his descendants to rule until the eternal Ruler would come through his descendants, so the LORD did not immediately smite the wicked rulers of his lineage like Jehoram in order to keep the kingdom intact until all was set in motion for that time in the far future (Galatians 4:4).  Still, Jehoram led God’s people away from following Him, leading them into renewed idolatry and overall wickedness in opposition to the word of the LORD.  Finally Elijah the prophet sent him word of impending judgment for his murder, evil idolatrous actions, and imitating the wrong examples of past rulers.  God would strike down him and his family with a slow and painful sickness until they died, much like the slow spiritual death spread among God’s people by Jehoram.  Furthermore, He brought the Philistines and Arabians to loot and pillage the king’s house in Judah and all but his youngest son, Jehoahaz to succeed Jehoram soon.  It took two years for Jehoram the evil to painfully die, and when he did, nobody mourned his passing as they did for his ancestors.  They were overjoyed to be rid of him.  They did not even bury him alongside the past rulers out of respect for them and disrespect for him.  We learn then that a life of following evil examples only leads the follower and his followers away from God’s favor and into rebellious sin with dire consequences.  How much better to follow godly examples like Paul followed that of Christ (John 13:15, Philippians 3:17, 1 Peter 2:21, 1 Corinthians 4:16, 11:1) and be honored by the Lord in pleasing Him (Deuteronomy 4:40) by trusting obedience out of the love He first showed us (1 John 4:10, 19)?