Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab

 

2 Chronicles 18:12-27

 

July 15, 2023

 

Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab

And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.”  But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.”  And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And he answered, “Go up and triumph; they will be given into your hand.”  But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”  And 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 home in peace.’”  And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”  And 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 on his left.  And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another.  Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’  And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’  Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets. The Lord has declared disaster concerning you.”

Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “Which way did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?”  And Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.”  And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and take him back 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 meager rations of bread and water until I return in peace.’”  And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!”

Let me be very clear it is a very dangerous thing to take light the counsel of God’s spokesman.   We have this instruction in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, ^“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.”   And Romans 16:17,” I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.”

When your pastor teaches and instructs you from the Scriptures, and rightly handles the word of God, it is a sign of wisdom to do as instructed.  Now Ahab the King of Israel did evil in the eyes of God and was not a person Jehoshaphat should have been in alliance with.  Proverbs 12:26, “One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”  Tomorrow, we will discover how Proverbs 13;20, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice