Verses 1-6, “Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and by marriage he allied himself with Ahab. After some years he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria; and Ahab killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people who were with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth Gilead. So Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, 'Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?' And he answered him, 'I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will be with you in the war.' Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, 'Please inquire for the word of the Lord today.' Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, 'Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?' So they said, 'Go up, for God will deliver it into the king’s hand.' But Jehoshaphat said, 'Is there not still a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of Him?' ”
Ben-Hadad, former king of Syria, had made a treaty with Ahab and promised to restore cities that his father had taken from Isreal. Ramoth Gilead was one of those cities that was not restored as agreed upon. Therefore, Ahab asked Jehoshaphat the join him in battle to take the city back by force. Jehoshaphat agreed to accompany him in battle, but asked to seek for a word from the Lord before proceeding. Unfortunately, the only prophets that Ahab inquired of were false prophets, that did not hear from the Lord.
Ahab and his wife Jezebel had persecuted the real prophets of God because they did not like what they spoke concerning them. Instead, they surrounded themselves by those who would only speak what they wanted to hear. It may have made them feel better in the short term, but it would not change the fact that they were in trouble with a God who impacts their eternity. Likewise, you can surround yourself with only people who will tell you what you want to hear, allowing you to continue down your sinful path with the blessing from a supposed "man of God". However, it will not change God's requirement of you, and you will be judged accordingly. II Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”
Verses 7-14, “So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, 'There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord; but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla.' And Jehoshaphat said, 'Let not the king say such things!' Then the king of Israel called one of his officers and said, 'Bring Micaiah the son of Imla quickly!' The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, clothed in their robes, sat each on his throne; and they sat at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made horns of iron for himself; and he said, 'Thus says the Lord: “With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.” ' And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, 'Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king’s hand.' Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, 'Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Therefore please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.' And Micaiah said, 'As the Lord lives, whatever my God says, that I will speak.' Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, 'Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?' And he said, 'Go and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand!' ”
It was somehow evident to Jehoshaphat that Ahab was not seeking counsel from a true prophet of God, and asked if there were any left. It seems that they were far and few between, but Micaiah was brought to them to inquire of the Lord on their behalf. But Ahab hated Micaiah because he spoke the truth. Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Ahab really had a problem with God, but he took out his anger on the messengers. At first Micaiah tells the king what he wants to hear, but that did not please him either. Ahab insisted that he speak the truth, but when he does, the truth is quickly rejected.
Verses 15-24, “So the king said to him, 'How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?' Then he said, 'I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, “These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.” ' And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, 'Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?' Then Micaiah said, 'Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand and His left. And the Lord said, “Who will persuade Ahab king of Israel to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?” So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, “I will persuade him.” The Lord said to him, “In what way?” So he said, “I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.” And the Lord said, “You shall persuade him and also prevail; go out and do so.” Therefore look! The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you.' Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the spirit from the Lord go from me to speak to you?” And Micaiah said, 'Indeed you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide!' ”
Micaiah then proceeded to go into detail as to why his message contradicted the message of the other 400 prophets. Satan and his ministers have access to heaven, and one of them volunteered to be a lying spirit in the mouths of the false prophets. We cannot underestimate the power of our enemy, who is seeking to destroy us. I Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
Verses 25-34, “Then the king of Israel said, 'Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son; and say, ‘Thus says the king: “Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I return in peace.” ’ ” But Micaiah said, “If you ever return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Take heed, all you people!” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots who were with him, saying, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “It is the king of Israel!” Therefore they surrounded him to attack; but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him, and God diverted them from him. For so it was, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” The battle increased that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening; and about the time of sunset he died.”
Micaiah is ordered to be taken to the governor to be put in prison for speaking the truth, until Ahab returned in peace after the battle was over. But Micaiah rightly declares that if Ahab does return in peace, that he is not a true prophet of God. Then Ahab foolishly thought that he could disguise himself to avoid the prophecy of Micaiah from coming to pass. However, you cannot hide from God. Jeremiah 23:24, “ 'Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?' says the Lord; 'Do I not fill heaven and earth?' says the Lord.” Ahab would get hit by a random arrow, between the joints of his armor, showing that he could not escape God's sovereign will. The reverse is true as well. If we seek righteousness through the blood of Jesus Christ, no one can lay a hand on us, that God does not allow. Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
In this chapter, Jehoshaphat allied with king Ahab of Israel through a marriage. Ahab was a wicked, evil king, and was married to Jezebel. He completely forsook the Lord and worshiped pagan gods. Jehoshaphat agreed to go into battle with him, but he did want to seek the Lord first on this matter. Ahab had no intention to seek God first, but from Jehoshaphat's request, he gathered prophets who would tell them what he wanted to hear. There were over 400 prophets who all agreed in telling them they should go into battle, but they were all false prophets!
ReplyDeleteAs Christians, we can fall into that trap of finding someone who will tell us what we want to hear, but that doesn't mean they are truly of the Lord. Many times, men stop heeding the word of the Lord and start telling other men what they want to hear. This makes people like you, and is very appealing in the flesh. We can't fall into that trap. The truth is the most loving thing we can tell someone, and we need to please God and not man! Matthew 5:11-12- “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Jehoshaphat still wanted to hear from a true prophet of God. There was still one, Micaiah, who was in prison because Ahab did not like what he had to say. He hated Micaiah, but he really had a problem with God, not this man. Unlike the other 400 prophets, Micaiah truly spoke the word of the Lord and told them not to go up and fight. He was prophesying that Ahab would die in battle, and Ahab didn't want to hear this. Instead of heeding the voice of the Lord, he disregarded it and continued to battle anyway.
There really is a small remnant if true believers today. There are many people who may claim to be Christians, but they do not have a true relationship with the true God. Especially today, claiming to be a Christian is pretty popular, but they aren't worshiping the true God of the bible! May we have boldness as Micaiah did when speaking the truth! He was the only one of 400 to stand up and speak the truth, and may that be said of us! Pleasing God should be our number one priority!
Ahab came up with this plan to hide in battle so no one would notice he was there, and it may have seemed clever at the moment. Jehoshaphat agreed to dress in his normal kingly wardrobe and go out to battle. Ahab only cared about himself, and wanted to protect himself from dying. Even with this plan in motion, God still had a random arrow strike him in just the right place, and he died. Jehoshaphat on the other hand, cried out to the Lord and He protected him.
This just shows how sovereign God is!! Even if we try to come up with a plan ourselves, we can never thwart God's plan! For those who are truly saved, God will protect us until our time on earth is done. We can find comfort in that! We aren't going to die before God is finished with us. He is ultimately in control. Similarly, people can't escape God's judgement no matter how hard they try. If God is going to judge someone for their wickedness, they will receive that judgement, unless they repent and fall flat on their face before God.