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Chapter 21 records information about the successor to Jehoshaphat. When Jehoshaphat died, he was buried in the Cemetery of the Kings in Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat had 7 sons, any one of them would have been better qualified to be King than Jehoram (849-841), but he was the oldest and thus heir to the throne. The law provided (Deut. 21) that if any King appeared to be utterly unfit for the throne, he could be set aside. So to keep this from happening, Jehoram killed all of his brothers. He was 32 years old when he began to reign and he reigned 8 years. He married on of the daughters of Ahab, who was one of Judah's most wicked kings. Jehoram's reign consisted of constantly doing that which was evil, but the Lord was unwilling to end the dynasty of David because of His promise to David.
At this time the King of Edom revolted declaring their independence from Judah, Jehoram attacked but was unable to put down the revolt because he had turned away from the God of his fathers.
Then he established all the pagan idols of Ahab for which Elijah condemned him and prophesied that all that he had would be taken away from him. Then the Lord stirred up the Philistines and the Arabs and they marched against Judah, his wives and children were carried away by the plunderers. All but one son was killed. Then Jehoram contacted an illness from which he died. The people has so little respect for him that they buried him without honors and would not place him in the Cemetery of the Kings.
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