2 Chronicles 17 - Summary

Jehoshaphat succeeded Asa and strengthened himself against Israel, placing forces in the fortified cities of Judah and in the Ephraimite cities his father had captured. The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David, not seeking the Baals but seeking his father's God and walking in His commandments rather than the practices of Israel. In his third year, Jehoshaphat sent officials and Levites throughout Judah with the book of the law of the Lord to teach the people, and the fear of the Lord fell upon surrounding kingdoms so that none made war; Philistines and Arabs brought tribute, and Jehoshaphat built fortresses and store cities, commanding an army of 1,160,000 valiant warriors besides those in the fortified cities.