The Valley of Jehoshaphat
1 “For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will execute judgment on them there for my people, and for my heritage, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations. They have divided my land, 3 and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a prostitute, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.
The nations are summoned to a valley whose name means Yahweh judges, and the charge is what they did to people treated as merchandise.
In those days, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations. The restoration of chapter 2 and the judgment of chapter 3 are dated to the same period, which is how Scripture usually handles them — the same event seen from two sides.
The place is the valley of Jehoshaphat, and the name is the argument. It means Yahweh judges, and verse 12 will say exactly that: there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. No such valley is located anywhere else in Scripture, and the book seems less interested in a map reference than in a name that states the business being conducted.
The charges are specific. They scattered God's people among the nations and divided his land — and then verse 3 descends to the transaction level. They cast lots for my people, gave a boy for a prostitute, and sold a girl for wine that they might drink. The horror is in the exchange rate. A child is priced against an afternoon's drinking, and the indictment does not need to add anything.
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