Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord. – 2 Chronicles 19:2, AMP

In 2 Chronicles 18 we find Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, the righteous king of Judah, fighting together against the people of Ramoth-gilead. By the end of chapter 18, Ramoth-gilead was victorious, and Ahab was dead. At the very beginning of chapter 19 the Bible records that Jehoshaphat returned safely to his home in Jerusalem, but he did not return home in total peace. The reason? God was angry with him for being unequally yoked with the wicked Ahab.

Christians around the globe have taught a myriad of sermons on 2 Corinthians 6:14, which states, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers (AMP)”. Usually, such sermons focus on the most cited reason for avoiding partnerships with unbelievers: it is more likely that the unbelievers will corrupt the righteous than that the righteous will purify the unbelievers. This is true, and Jehoshaphat himself is a great example of this truth. In 2 Chronicles 18 Jehoshaphat did nothing to defend the prophet Micaiah from false imprisonment, and he followed Ahab into a war that he knew, through Micaiah’s prophecy, was not of God. But in chapter 19 verse 2, God doesn’t rebuke Jehoshaphat for being influenced negatively by his association with unrighteousness. Rather, He rebukes Jehoshaphat for aiding unrighteousness.

As the Bible reports:

Jehu son of Hanani, the seer, went out to meet him and said to Jehoshaphat, Should you help the ungodly and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord.

By joining forces with Ahab in his campaign against Ramoth-gilead, Jehoshaphat was aiding and abetting a sworn enemy of God Himself. This didn’t sit well with God, and God let Jehoshaphat know it in no uncertain terms.

Unfortunately, Jehoshaphat was a little dense, and he made the same mistake again later in life. In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat allied with another wicked king of Israel, King Ahaziah. As verses 35-37 record:

35 After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly.

36 He joined him in building ships to go to Tarshish, building them in Ezion-geber.

37 Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because you have joined Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy your works. So the ships were wrecked and unable to go to Tarshish.

Bottom line? God not only dislikes it when we ally ourselves with unbelievers; He may very well choose to oppose us in our efforts.

Don’t get me wrong. The Bible doesn’t advocate that Christians become hermits, totally cutting ourselves off from the rest of the world. Jesus Himself feasted with publicans and sinners so that He might convince them of the truth. We have to be in contact with unbelievers in order to have a chance to win them for Christ. But Jesus never entered into alliances or partnerships with unbelievers. He never “yoked” Himself with them. He was in contact with sinners so that He could influence them, but He did not join Himself to their way of life or to their belief system in order to try to convert them.

Be mindful of who you join forces with. God has no interest in seeing His children help the children of Satan reach their goals.