CHAPTER 22

(897 B.C.)

JEHOSHAPHAT AGREES TO HELP AHAB

¹And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. (This was because of the two great defeats that Syria had suffered at the hands of Israel, and because of Ahabs Repentance. But now, Ahab resorts to his old ways.)

²And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel (he not only came down topographically, but spiritually as well).

³And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know you that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? (This great frontier fortress was, in the hands of Syria, even after many reverses, a constant menace against Israel.)

⁴And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses (in reality, Jehoshaphat was totally unlike Ahab).

AHAB LISTENS TO FALSE PROPHETS

⁵And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray you, at the Word of the LORD today (remembering how Ahabs late victories had been foretold by a Prophet, and had been won by the help of Jehovah, Jehoshaphat might well suppose that his new ally would be eager to know the Word of the Lord).

⁶Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. (These prophets claimed to be of the Lord, but were not. They characterize the myriad of those who call themselves Prophets in Christendom today. In fact, there were precious few true Prophets of God then; there are precious few true Prophets of God now.)

⁷And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a Prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him? (The falsity of these prophets was evident to Jehoshaphat. The tragedy is: the Church presently hardly knows the difference in the prophets who prophesy out of their own minds, and those who speak, Thus says the Lord.)

⁸And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. (Elijah was also alive at this time, and had already given several messages to Ahab, but was now ignored, or perhaps he was elsewhere in the kingdom.

The truth is, the true Prophets task is a thankless task. He is seldom sent to bring good news, but mostly bad. By and large, he is hated, not only by the world, but by a carnal Church as well!)

⁹Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah.

¹⁰And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.

¹¹And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus says the LORD, With these shall you push the Syrians, until you have consumed them.

¹²And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the kings hand. (The major words in modern Christendom today are, as then, prosperity and success. These messages, as delivered then by false prophets, are delivered today by false prophets. The word should be Repentance and Repentance.)

MICAIAHS TRUE PROPHESY

¹³And the messenger who was gone to call Micaiah spoke unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let your word, I pray you, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good (true Prophets seldom speak that which is good, at least about the present time!).

¹⁴And Micaiah said, As the LORD lives, what the LORD says unto me, that will I speak (God give us men, as Micaiah, that money cannot buy, who will not compromise their message, who will hear only what thus says the Lord, and who will not be fearful of delivering that Word to a lost and dying world!).

¹⁵So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. (No doubt Micaiahs mocking tone showed that his words were ironical; but Ahabs hollow tone had already proved to Micaiah that he was insincere, that he did not care to know the Will of the Lord, and that he wanted prophets who would speak to him smooth things and prophesy deceits [Isa. 30:10].)

¹⁶And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure you that you tell me nothing but that which is true in the Name of the LORD? (Ahabs feigned desire to hear the truth is spoken for the benefit of Jehoshaphat. In reality, he has no desire to hear the truth.)

¹⁷And he (Micaiah) said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace (Ahab was a false shepherd and, whether he believes it or not, he is about to die).

¹⁸And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? (It is clear that Ahab had understood perfectly the purport of Micaiahs words Pulpit.)

¹⁹And he (Micaiah) said, Hear you therefore the Word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His Throne, and all the Host of Heaven standing by Him on His right Hand and on His left (Micaiah is given a vision of the Throne of God and its happenings there, which he now relates to both Ahab and Jehoshaphat).

²⁰And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner (the meaning is that Ahabs death in battle had been decreed in the counsels of God, and that the Divine Wisdom had devised means for accomplishing Gods purpose Spence).

²¹And there came forth a spirit (an evil spirit), and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. (We learn from this, as well as from Job, Chpt. 1, that spirits of darkness, as well as Satan, at times have access to the Throne of God. During the coming Great Tribulation, Satan and all such will be cast out of Heaven, allowed no more access [Rev. 12:7-9].)

²²And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said, You shall persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. (This lying spirit would inspire these false prophets to prophesy the evil that was desired. All of this reveals that God and His Heavenly Hosts, including demons on certain occasions, have conferences concerning the affairs of men on Earth.

The idea is that God permitted such deception to take the place of the rejected truth. If men will not have the truth, they will automatically have a substitute that will be more in harmony with their wicked ways for the time being. Ahab would not have the truth, and would not listen to Jehovah, despite all the attempts made by the Lord to reach this man, but he would believe lies and listen to his false prophets.

This Passage simply gives an insight into the spirit realm, showing that behind all human acts there are good and bad spirits seeking to carry out the respective wills of their masters. The Lord protects as long as He can and, when there is nothing else He can do to turn men from their wicked ways, error, and harm, at least by righteous means, He then permits demon spirits to deceive. This causes the individual in question to go further astray and, in this case with Ahab, even unto death.)

²³Now therefore, behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets, and the LORD has spoken evil concerning you (true enough, it was not what Ahab wanted to hear).

²⁴But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto you? (The prophesy of Zedekiah and the prophecy of Micaiah were totally different. The first spoke of blessing, while the latter spoke of doom. Both could not be right. In essence, it is the same presently.

Thousands of false prophets are prophesying blessings and victory upon an apostate Church, while the few true Prophets are attempting to call the Church to Repentance. As with Ahab, both cannot be right.)

²⁵And Micaiah said, Behold, you shall see in that day, when you shall go into an inner chamber to hide yourself (which no doubt happened when news came of Ahabs death).

²⁶And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the kings son;

²⁷And say, Thus says the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.

²⁸And Micaiah said, If you return at all in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you. (The bravery of Micaiah condemns the cowardice of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat should have stepped down from his throne, thrown his mantle around the courageous Prophet, and valiantly taken his stand at his side.

There is no one more cowardly and contemptible than a Christian who walks with the religious world. Micaiah is led away to prison and to torture, and Jehoshaphat raises neither a hand nor a voice on his behalf.)

THE DEATH OF AHAB

²⁹So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.

³⁰And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but you put on your robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle. (Two royal fools at once meet in these Verses. Jehoshaphat was a fool to go into battle, at Ahabs suggestion, in his royal robes, or at all, for that matter. Ahab was a greater fool to propose to escape the Divine doom pronounced upon him by going into battle without his royal robes.)

³¹But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains who had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel (the Syrians intended to kill Ahab!).

³²And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out (it was a cry for Divine help, and the Lord heard and answered).

³³And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him (they wanted Ahab, not Jehoshaphat).

³⁴And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn your hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded (Ahabs attempt to disguise himself served no purpose; a Syrian archer shot, not even knowing where he was shooting, and the Lord had the arrow and Ahab to meet in the same place).

³⁵And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at evening: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot (the servants of Ahab propped him up in the chariot until he died).

³⁶And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country (it does not appear that Israel had been utterly defeated, or had suffered great loss; but their king was dead, so they now retreated).

³⁷So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria (exactly as the Prophet Micaiah said would happen!).

³⁸And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the Word of the LORD which He spoke (this prediction was given by Elijah [I Ki. 21:19]).

³⁹Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? (The Lord loved Ahab, and sought to save him again and again, but all in vain.)

⁴⁰So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead (the name Ahaziah means whom Jehovah upholds; Ahab giving his son this name suggests that, notwithstanding his idolatries, Ahab had knowledge of the Lord; however, despite the constant spiritual tug, he wouldnt serve the Lord).

JEHOSHAPHATS REIGN OVER JUDAH

⁴¹And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. (In this Book, Jehoshaphats reign is disposed of in 10 Verses, but 102 Verses are devoted to it in II Chronicles. The meaning is this:

To the unspiritual eye, Jehoshaphat would have been uninteresting beside the glitter of Ahab. But, to the spiritual eye, which is given in II Chronicles, Ahab is of no interest at all, with Jehoshaphat demanding Gods attention. Both Books of Kings portray events as men saw them, with both Books of the Chronicles portraying events as God saw them.)

⁴²Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mothers name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.

⁴³And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places. (There was to be only one place of Sacrifice, and that was to be at the Temple in Jerusalem. So, it seems that the Holy Spirit was displeased with Jehoshaphats actions in not taking away the high places.)

⁴⁴And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. (For some 70 years, from the date of their separation to the time of Asas death, there had been little peace between Judah and Israel. Jehoshaphat seeks to remedy this situation, but, at times, as we have seen, by using methods that were displeasing to the Lord.)

⁴⁵Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?

⁴⁶And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land. (There seemed to have been only a few sodomites left; however, the Holy Spirit is quick to proclaim the fact that Jehoshaphat removed even these few. Too often the Child of God is willing to allow the remnant of evil to remain. The Holy Spirit demands that everything that is evil be taken out, which can only be done by the Believer placing his Faith exclusively in Christ and the Cross, which then gives the Holy Spirit latitude to work within our lives, thereby bringing about the desired victory [Rom. 6:3-14; 8:1-2, 11; I Cor. 1:17-18, 21, 23; 2:2; Gal. 6:14].)

⁴⁷There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king (implies that this officer was appointed by the king of Judah; in other words, Judah controlled Edom).

⁴⁸Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber.

⁴⁹Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with your servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not. (Jehoshaphat formed an alliance with Ahabs son, Ahaziah; however, the Lord was not pleased with this alliance and, thereby, destroyed the ships. Jehoshaphat would not permit Ahaziah to join him after that.)

JEHOSHAPHATS DEATH

⁵⁰And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead (all of this is important regarding the kings of Judah, because they were in the lineage of David, from which would come Christ the Redeemer [II Sam. 7:16]).

AHAZIAH REIGNS OVER ISRAEL

⁵¹Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel.

⁵²And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin:

⁵³For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done. (This was at least one of the reasons and, in fact, the primary reason, that the Lord was sorely displeased with Jehoshaphat forming an alliance with Ahaziah.)