In II Kings 1:17 we are told that Jehoram was designated to be the king in the seventeenth year of his father Jehoshaphat's reign; however he was crowned in his father's twenty third year of reign. This is pinpointed by the reign of the other king Jehoram, the son of Ahaz and Jezebel, the son of the king of Israel. These acts of death and rising to the throne were told by God through the lips of Elijah.

II Kings 1:16, 17 "And he said unto him, "Thus saith the Lord, `Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to enquiore of His word? Therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.' " [16] "So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son." [17]

Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat reigned two years with his father, and six years after Jehoshaphat's death. II Kings 8:16; "And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat dying then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign." [16] "Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem." [17]

II Chronicles 21:2 "And he had brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah: all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel."

King Jehoshaphat had seven sons, of which Jehoram was the first in line to the throne. To make sure his first born reached the throne, they reigned jointly for two years before His death. In the statement of Jehoshaphat being "king of Israel", comes from an error in the translation by the translators, whereby Israel was placed there instead of Judah. However in the Severus Codex, Ap 34; it reads Judah. This is also corrected in the first edition of the Hagiographa (Naples, 1480-1487), as well as other versions.

II Chronicles 21:3 "And their father gave them great gifts of silver and of gold, and of precious things, with fenced cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram; because he was the firstborn."

Each of these other sons or princes of Judah received much wealth from their father before his death, while Jehoram was reigning together with Jehoshaphat. These great "gifts" in the Hebrew text is # 4979 in Strong's Hebrew Dictionary. "Mattanah; mat-taw-naw; a present, a bribe, gifts." Jehoshaphat had a problem, for he had seven sons but only one could be the king. Something not stated was happening, for it took cities and much gold and silver to satisfy these sons so that Jehoram could assume the throne. This conflict must have started well before Jehoshaphat's death, for he brought Jehoram to reign with him over Judah two years before his death. After the death of Jehoshaphat, Jehoram had the throne for himself. He had six brothers that also desired the throne of Judah.

II Chronicles 21:4 "Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel."

Remember that alliance between Jehoshaphat and Ahab, where they had their sons and daughters to marry, to seal an relationship between the two nations. Jehoram's wife was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and she had the same cunning ways as her mother Jezebel. When father Jehoshaphat died, the other sons protection was gone also. It took gold and silver and many cities of Judah to satisfy the six brothers, to allow Jehoram to assumed the entire throne over Judah. Now with the advice of his wife Athaliah, he murdered all his brothers, who also were in line to the throne, and thus he "strengthened himself".

This marriage was the enemy Satan's design for breaking into the royal line so as to destroy the promises of Genesis 3:15 and II Samuel 7:15, 16. God is speaking here and making an eternal promise to David.

II Samuel 7:13, 14 "He shall build an house for My name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever." [13] "I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:" [14]

These words from God to David are given from the prophet Nathan. It establishes the fact that there will always be a throne over Israel, that a man from the lineage of David will reside over. This is a fact even to our time today, as we can see through the lineage of the kings and queens of England, the tribe of Ephraim of old. God's promises are real and sure, and the test is in the lineage of the queen of England.

II Samuel 7:15 "But My mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it for Saul, whom I put away before thee."

II Samuel 7:16 "And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.' ' "

Just as the Kenites tried to take over the throne of Judah in these times of old, there was a move also in these latter time to do so again. These are moves just as Ahab and Jezebel tried through the marriage of their children to the pure line of Jehoshaphat. God has his ways of correcting things when they start to stray from the plan of God.

II Chronicles 21:5 "Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem."

II Chronicles 21:6 "And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord."

Why would you think that it would be any other way, for the wicked murderous queen Jezebel controlled Ahab; and Jezebel's daughter is well grounded in the ways of her mother Jezebel. All the evil and wickedness of Athaliah's mother is found in her. Should there be any secret that murder was in the mind to secure the kingdom from her husband Jehoram's sons?

II Chronicles 21:7 "Howbeit the Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that He had made with David, and as He promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever."

This covenant that we read of from II Samuel 7:12-17, was a commitment from God to David, and even though this king Jehoram became evil in the sight of the Lord, God still will not end the blood line for a king over His people.

II Chronicles 21:8 "In his days the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah, and made themselves a king."

Thus is fulfilling Genesis 27:40, and is given in II Kings 8:22. The thing that caused the Edomites to revolt against Judah was Jehoram's attack at Zair on the Edomites, when they least expected it, as they fled from their tents. "Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time." (II Kings 8:22) Remember that Libnah was a city of the priests, and Jehoram with his wife and sons "broke up", or stopped the worship in the Temple. The priests led by Jehoiada started this revolt, and were active in repairing the house of the Lord to continue temple worship.

II Chronicles 21:9 "Then Jehoram went forth with his princes and all his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him in, and the captains of the chariots."

This is recorded in II Kings 8:21.

II Chronicles 21:10 "So the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. The same time also did Libnah revolt from under his hand; because he had forsaken the Lord God of his fathers."

God did not allow Jehoram's evil ways to continue very long and he died six years after Jehoshaphat's death.

II Chronicles 21:11 "Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto."

All of the evil that was in the kingdom before Jehoram's father Jehoshaphat cleaned up the land of wickedness and thought the people in the ways of the Lord, were now back under Jehoram and his wicked wife Athaliah. Not only were the sex orgies of the groves back, but the sodomites, and all the spiritual filth of idolatry that comes with it.

II Chronicles 21:12 "And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, "Thus saith the Lord God of David thy father, `Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah,"

II Chronicles 21:13 "But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father's house, which were better than thyself;"

II Chronicles 21:14 "Behold, with a great plague will the Lord smite thy People, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods:"

Though this states that Elijah the prophet says that this would happen because of Jehoram's great sins; however Elijah had been taken by God. The Word "micetab" is used here in the text, which means it could have been written any time in the past as a warning to those that would turn their backs to the laws and way of our Heavenly Father. This prophetic writing sure applied to what happened to Jehoram, and his kingdom of Judah that took delight in turning their backs towards the ways of the Lord.

II Chronicles 21:15 "And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of thy sickness day by day.' "

II Chronicles 21:16 "Moreover the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that were near the Ethiopians:"

These Philistines were paying tribute or taxes to Judah prior to this.

II Chronicles 21:17 "And they came up into Judah, and brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of the sons."

When the Philistines, Arabians, and Ethiopians came to Jerusalem, they took over the city, and the king's house, and took the wealth of the city. They took all of the sons of the Jehoram, including all his wives except Athaliah, the daughter of Jezebel. With all the sons gone, only this little prince was left behind, which shows how close they were to breaking up the blood line of King David. God had His hand in the protection of this little prince.

II Chronicles 21:18 "And after all this the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease."

With his wealth gone and all of his sons dead, except for this little prince, the kingdom was in complete confusion. God smote the king and most of those in Judah with this incurable disease. Moses warned the people way back in Deuteronomy 28:14-57 of what would happen to the children of Israel when they entered into the promise land, and turned their backs to His ways. It is good to review them from time to time, for they apply to us today just as much as to Moses day, or Jehoram's time. Remember that the Joram of II Kings 8, is the same person as Jehoram here in II Chronicles 21.

II Chronicles 21:19 "And it came to pass, that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness: so he died of sore disease. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers."

When Jehoshaphat died they paid great respect for him and all that he did for Judah and the people. He cleaned up the land of idolatry, and had the priests to go through out the cities teaching the people the Word of God, and turning their minds to the laws and commandments of God. Jehoram did just the opposite, when he tried to reverse everything that his father did. Even the wealth that God gave them when He fought their battles, and it took four days to gather up all the wealth, here these Philistines, Arabians, and Ethiopians came right into their houses and took it form them, as they lay with their sore diseases.

II Chronicles 21:20 "Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. Howbeit they burned him in the city of David, but no in the sepulchres of the kings."

This is the first record of a cremation of a king in the scriptures, for they burned him and got rid of his ashes so there would be no record of his being. His first two years were served under and jointly with his father Jehoshaphat, and after his father's death, he ruled wildly and wickedly for another six years before God caused an end to his reign. Jehoram suffered the last two years of his reign badly before his death came.