Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.
Then Eliezer, the son of Dodavah from Mareshah, spoke God's message against Jehoshaphat, saying, 'Because you partnered with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your plans.' And the ships were wrecked, so they couldn't sail to Tarshish.
The writer is showing that when King Jehoshaphat made an alliance with the wicked king Ahaziah, God destroyed their joint shipping venture as judgment for this ungodly partnership.
📚 Historical Context
This occurred during the reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah (around 870-848 BC), who was generally a godly king but made the mistake of partnering with Ahaziah, the wicked king of Israel. They had planned a joint maritime trading expedition to Tarshish (possibly Spain), but God sent a prophet to condemn this alliance and supernaturally destroyed their fleet before it could sail.
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