4 And Jehoshaphat was living in Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people, from Beer-sheba to the hill-country of Ephraim, guiding them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers.
5 And he put judges through all the land, in every walled town of Judah,
6 And said to the judges, Take care what you do, for you are judging not for man but for the Lord, and he is with you in the decisions you give.
7 So now let the fear of the Lord be in you; do your work with care; for in the Lord our God there is no evil, or respect for high position, or taking of payment to do wrong.
8 Then in Jerusalem he gave authority to certain of the Levites and the priests and the heads of families of Israel to give decisions for the Lord, and in the causes of those living in Jerusalem.
9 And he gave them their orders, saying, You are to do your work in the fear of the Lord, in good faith and with a true heart.
10 And if any cause comes before you from your brothers living in their towns, where the death punishment is in question, or where there are questions of law or order, or rules or decisions, make them take care that they are not in the wrong before the Lord, so that wrath may not come on you and on your brothers; do this and you yourselves will not be in the wrong.
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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.