The Valley of Jehoshaphat

 •  5 min. read  •  grade level: 13
 
The word “Jehoshaphat” in Hebrew means “God has judged,” and the expression “valley of Jehoshaphat” occurs twice in the Word of God in connection with judgment. We read of it only in the Book of Joel, as follows:
“I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted My land” (Joel 3:22I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. (Joel 3:2)).
“Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about” (Joel 3:1212Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. (Joel 3:12)).
This is evidently a prophecy that is yet to be fulfilled, and it will take place when the Lord comes back in judgment, to take His rightful place, to judge the nations, and to set Israel up in their land once again, in peace and rest. The name Jehoshaphat is applied to a valley in which the Lord will bring all nations for judgment, and it is also called the “valley of decision” in Joel 3:1414Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. (Joel 3:14). The word “decision” is one meaning of the Hebrew word used; it can also mean “what is determined,” or “a threshing instrument with sharp teeth.” The thought of judgment is definitely connected with the meaning.
The Kidron Valley
The valley mentioned is almost surely the Kidron valley, which runs north and south between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives, and it has always been associated with judgment and rejection. It was over the brook Kidron that David passed when he fled from Absalom, and it is this valley that Shimei, who cursed David on that occasion, was forbidden by King Solomon to cross, on pain of death. It was into the brook Kidron that King Asa threw the remains of the idol of his grandmother Maachah, after he had destroyed it, and many years later, King Josiah disposed of all the filth and idolatry connected with the temple of the Lord in the same way. Finally, our blessed Lord passed over this valley to the Garden of Gethsemane, prior to going to the cross. The valley of Jehoshaphat is almost surely this same valley, in which judgment will be carried out in a coming day.
A Place of Judgment
It will be the time when the Lord will “bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,” and bring down righteous judgment on all nations, “for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted My land” (Joel 3:1-21For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. (Joel 3:1‑2)). It is fitting that the judgment should take place here, in the land of Israel, where the Lord will have already appeared on behalf of His beloved earthly people. It is indeed true that they had been scattered among the nations under the government of God, because of their rejection of God’s claims and their crucifixion of their Messiah, but now, having put them through the awfulness of the tribulation, the Lord will show favor to them and will punish those who delighted in scattering them. Various judgments will take place here, but perhaps not all at the same time. Joel 3:1212Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. (Joel 3:12) tells us that the Lord will “sit to judge all the heathen round about,” bringing before us the sessional judgment referred to in Matthew 25:31-4631When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matthew 25:31‑46) — the judgment of the sheep and the goats. In Joel 3:1616The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. (Joel 3:16), however, we read of a warrior judgment, when “the Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” This judgment is called the vintage or winepress judgment, and it will occur when the last enemy, Gog (Russia), comes down against Israel and when Russia and all her allies are destroyed by the Lord.
As in the case of the valley of Achor, the judgment will be most awful, not only in its character, but in this case also in the numbers involved. Indeed, in speaking of this in the Book of Revelation, the Spirit of God says that “blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs” (Rev. 14:2020And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. (Revelation 14:20)). The distance of 1600 furlongs is 200 miles, the approximate north-south length of the land of Israel, and this gives us some idea of the carnage that will take place.
Rest and Peace
Again, the judgment is severe, for man’s arrogance and rebellion will have reached a zenith, where he dares even to fight against God. But then the way will be open for the millennium to be a time of rest and peace, where righteousness reigns. In that day, after the judgments are over, the blessing will flow. “Behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying” (Isa. 65:18-1918But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 19And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. (Isaiah 65:18‑19)). The judgment may be harsh, but it will be done quickly, for “a short work will the Lord make upon the earth” (Rom. 9:2828For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. (Romans 9:28)). Then the blessing will flow for 1000 years, but even more important, our Lord Jesus Christ will have His rightful place and be honored where He was once cast out.
W. J. Prost