How? Trans Britain: are the numbers really adding up. We also should not go about longing for what the world has. The prayer was answered. God's people needed three days to carry off the plunder. Wait a minute! We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Click to enable/disable _gid - Google Analytics Cookie. This was a city which Ben-hadad An enormous army of Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites gathered at En Gedi, near the Dead Sea. "Who Is Jehoshaphat in the Bible?" Last week I said Jehoshaphat was Ahab's son-in-law, that is wrong. . Jehoshaphat did so because he did not want to offend Ahab. The prophet Elijah had previously prophesied evil concerning Ahab. He made an alliance by marriage with Ahab, 18:2 and after several years went down to visit Ahab in Samaria. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Meet King Pharaoh: Arrogant Egyptian Ruler, Biography of King Solomon: The Wisest Man Who Ever Lived, Battle of Jericho Bible Story Study Guide, Scripture Readings for the Fourth Week of Lent, Crossing of the Jordan River Bible Study Guide, M.A., English Composition, Illinois State University, B.S., English Literature, Illinois State University. Jehoshaphat starts the process by getting rid of Asherah poles. The Bible presents to us various rulers and persons of authority, and all of them serve as examples of what Godly and ungodly leadership produces. On His right hand and His left: Since the right hand was the place of favor, this may indicate that God spoke to the combined host of heaven, both faithful and fallen angelic beings. He went out with Ahab in battle, and was rebuked by Jehu the son of Hanani. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. i. Because this king had God's interests at heart, for the most part, his reign was prosperous. 17:10-13 ). Daniel 3, The Parable of the Vineyard Tenants. Check to enable permanent hiding of message bar and refuse all cookies if you do not opt in. . Jehu says, Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? 19:2. It is less easy to understand why King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to this battle with Ahab. (NIV). Ramoth Gilead belonged to Israel by the word of God but Ahab was out of the will of God. Despite his earlier experience with Ahab, Jehoshaphat entered into another alliance with Israel, through Ahab's son, evil King Ahaziah. Although Jehoshaphat didnt die from the friendship, he made a massive mistake by trusting the wrong person. It was certainly persuasive to have 400 prophets speak in agreement on one issue. No-one did more to educate the people of God than this man and that's why he's often known as Judah's great teacher, or Judah's teacher-king. Some other examples include a recorder for both king David and Solomon (2 Samuel 8:16) and a purveyor for Solomon (1 Kings 4:17). b. Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel: Ahabs previous mercy to Ben-Hadad (1 Kings 20:31-34) did not win any lasting favor with the rulers of Syria. Jehosaphat being a spiritual man wanted to know the will of God, concerning their going to Ramoth Gilead. (1 Chronicles 17: 1-6, 10) However, although he could have relied totally on God to protect him, Jehoshaphat allied himself with the evil king of Israel, Ahab. We are first introduced to him in 1 Kings 15:24 but are told nothing more than that he succeeded Asa. 2 Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, " Go, inquire of c Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, d whether I shall recover from this sickness. The Lord will give you victory., 15 But Ahab replied, When you speak to me in the name of the Lord, tell the truth! i. God did it, says the man of faith. (Morgan), iii. We will join you. 4 Then he added, But first let's consult the Lord., 5 So Ahab called in the prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked them, Should I go and attack Ramoth, or not?, Attack it, they answered. And sure enough, the enemy all came after Jehoshaphat thinking he was Ahab and he barely escaped death. and it begins well in chapter 17. The partnership between godly Jehoshaphat and wicked Ahab was repulsive to God. This strategy of the Syrian army made Ahabs counterstrategy of disguising himself in battle seem very wise. This is what the LORD says to you: Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. The world will not be a true partner to you. A more apparent weakness of Jehoshaphat can be seen in the compromising nature of his allying himself with evil rulers, a fault that became evident again near the end of his life when he allied himself with Israel's wicked King Ahaziah, son of Ahab (1 Kings 22:51-53). Jehoshaphat solidified peace between Israel and Judah. Mindful of the fact that Judah was bordered by Moab, Ammon, and Israelall hostilehe knew he needed a strong and well-positioned military. King Jehoshaphat comes to Samaria to visit with Ahab. To be sure, this is a case of misguided judgment. This show of friendship to Ahab was in reality hatred towards God (2 . So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead: It is easy to understand why King Ahab of Israel went to this battle; he didnt want to believe that Micaiahs prophecy was true and wanted to courageously oppose it. This makes sense given Jehoshaphats very name has judgment in the definition. He sometimes followed the world's ways, such as making alliances with questionable neighbors. Jehoshaphat immediately agreed to go, but asked that they first inquire of the Lord. Through which remaining prophet did Ahab say they could inquire of the Lord. (see 2 Chronicles 19). God brought Judgement on Pharaoh by outright hardening his heart, so that God could multiply His miracles and signs throughout Egypt. He had amassed "riches and honor in abundance" ( 2Chronicles 18 . 2 Kings 18:6He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. God set Judah's enemies upon each other, and by the time the Hebrews arrived, they saw only dead bodies on the ground. Despite the riches, fame, and military might that he possessed, Jehoshaphat had a humble heart that kept inquiring of the Lord for any detail of his life and that's what makes him a really great king (see 2 Chronicles 17:3-6). 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. c. I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil: Ahab hated the messenger because of the message. But Ahab devises what he thinks is a clever plan to avoid the fate prophesied by Micaiah. We need to learn this. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. When battle is joined, Ahab's plan seems to work. It forced him to comprise his faithfulness to God being away from his job of leading Judah, helping the wicked; participating in the persecution of a true prophet Micaiah. 2 Chronicles 18 tells the story of an unlikely partnership: Jehoshaphat, the godly king of Judah, and Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, joined together to make war against Syria.Before going to battle, Jehoshaphat was intent on asking God's will. When his death became known the battle was over. . But he also received a word of judgment: Jehu says, Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord 19:2. He ruled for 25 years. Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near and struck Micaiah on the cheek: Zedekiah responded the way some do when they are defeated in an argument he responded with violence. Hatred of the messenger of God is clear evidence of willful wickedness. (Morgan), 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. Jehoshaphat established for his kingdom a very strong fighting force, reaching astounding numbers of fighting men. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. According to 1 Kings 16:30, 33, Ahab was worse than all of the kings of Israel that . Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. 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?. (see 2 Chronicles 19). May their lives and walks with God strengthen your faith and encourage your soul. Jehoshaphat also established a strong justice system. It is more difficult to explain why Jehoshaphat agreed to go into the battle as the only clearly identified king. 30 The king of Syria had ordered his chariot commanders to attack no one else except the king of Israel. All rights reserved. This article is part of our People from the Bible Series featuring the most well-known historical names and figures from Scripture. i. When Micaiah said this, his tone was probably mocking and sarcastic. It may be that Jehoshaphat had a fatalistic attitude towards the will of God, figuring that if it all was Gods will then there was nothing he or anyone else could do about it. To honor Jehoshaphat and those with him, Ahab had a large number of sheep and cattle slaughtered for a feast. This must have been a vivid and entertaining presentation. Turn around and pull out of the battle! 34 While the battle raged on, King Ahab remained propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians. More importantly, he undid the pagan rituals and monuments other kings who came before him had practiced and worshipped. They go to battle, but Ahab tries to be deceitful. He was the son of Ahab and Jezebel, who were among the most wicked rulers Israel ever had. 9 He gave them the following instructions: You must perform your duties in reverence for the Lord, faithfully obeying him in everything you do. We may request cookies to be set on your device. To enjoy our website, you'll need to enable JavaScript in your web browser. Why did Ahab hate Micaiah? King Ahab said that he wanted the truth but he couldnt handle the truth. In this article, well explore the life of Jehoshaphat (the good and the bad), well lightly touch on a place known as the valley of Jehoshaphat, and discuss what lessons we can learn from the fourth monarch from the kingdom of Judah. He concluded with a foot disease instead of a bang on the throne. God orchestrated the unintended actions of man to result in an exercise of His judgment. You compromise your faithfulness to God, but you will get nothing from it. 3. Although Asa didnt worship the idols placed throughout Judah, he didnt do a whole lot to tear them down. Perhaps he felt as many do today that he should not judge, or perhaps he felt that the end justified the . He said, "I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will join you in the war.". Jehoshaphat made a bad alliance with King Ahab, one of the most wicked kings in Israel's history. For all the good that Jehoshaphat did, one sore thumb that stands out is his alliances with the house of Ahab in Israel. King Jehoshaphat led a mostly prosperous life. Unsurprisingly, Ahab throws Micaiah in prison on bread and water rations. 26 Tell them to throw him in prison and to put him on bread and water until I return safely., 27 If you return safely, Micaiah exclaimed, then the Lord has not spoken through me! And he added, Listen, everyone, to what I have said!. The people's hearts were turned from the false worship of Baal that was present in the land during his time in power. i. Even then, King Ahaziah did not humble himself and repent, as his father Ahab had done at least temporarily (1 Kings 21:17-29). Ahaziah became sick, and rather than establishing a relationship with the true God and placing his trust in Him, he attempted to inquire of the pagan god Baal-Zebub whether he would live or die. William Higgins. For God had previously caused the "fear of the Lord [to fall] over all the surrounding kingdoms so that none of them wanted to declare war on Jehoshaphat" (2 Chron. Despite Jehoshaphat's errors in this regard, it appears that he later recognized that he should not have allied himself with Ahaziah (compare 1 Kings 22:49). What may come as a surprise to readers is we run into Jehoshaphats name more than once in the Bible, and the instances dont always refer to the king of Judah. These partnerships pressure us to sacrifice our faithfulness to God. Consistent dependence on God is the only way to succeed. Unfortunately, Jehoram did not follow in the paths of . Week 39. He certainly did not walk in Gods ways. Many died in battle, or as is the case with King Asa, due to a painful foot disease. Israel and Judah had not been on good terms with each other in the years following their divide. Apparently this was a city that Ben-Hadad never returned to Israel and it was in a strategically important location. 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! 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?. The joint forces of the invaders are no match for God almighty. Asa, his father, followed in the footsteps of God until the end of his reign. Jehoshaphat still wanted to hear from a prophet of Yahweh, the LORD (Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of Him?). These passages show that God can allow evil in His presence, though He can have no fellowship with evil and one day all evil will be removed from His presence (Revelation 20:14-15). Yet they clearly prophesied in the name of the LORD. 2 Chronicles 17:1. He left Jerusalem, his proper responsibilities as Gods regent and went to be with Ahab. B. 28 Then King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to attack the city of Ramoth in Gilead. Matthew 11:28-30, The church struggles with prejudice. An Unholy Alliance. Although Jehoshaphat didn't die from the friendship, he made a massive mistake by trusting the . 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 kings hand. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of Him? 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. 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. Ahab was killed by an enemy arrow.

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