2 Chronicles 18:8-19:38And the king of Israel called for one of his officers, and said, Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imla. 9And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah sat either of them on his throne, clothed in their robes, and they sat in a void place at the entering in of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. 10And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith the Lord, With these thou shalt push Syria until they be consumed. 11And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. 12And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one assent; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good. 13And Micaiah said, As the Lord liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak. 14And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand. 15And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the Lord? 16Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master; let them return therefore every man to his house in peace. 17And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good unto me, but evil? 18Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the Lord; I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. 19And the Lord said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner. 20Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will entice him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? 21And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so. 22Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee. 23Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee? 24And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. 25Then the king of Israel said, Take ye Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son; 26And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace. 27And Micaiah said, If thou certainly return in peace, then hath not the Lord spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, all ye people. 28So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 29And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle. 30Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots that were with him, saying, Fight ye not with small or great, save only with the king of Israel. 31And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him; and God moved them to depart from him. 32For it came to pass, that, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back again from pursuing him. 33And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. 34And the battle increased that day: howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the even: and about the time of the sun going down he died. 1And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. 2And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord. 3Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God. (2 Chronicles 18:8‑19:3).
AHAB king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were both sitting on their thrones clothed in royal robes, in the gate of Samaria, while the messenger went to bring Micaiah. The messenger sought to influence Micaiah to speak only as the other prophets had done, saying, "let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be as one of theirs, and speak thou good." But Micaiah replied, "As the Lord liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak." Brave answer of faith; may we seek grace to be faithful to Him who has bought us with His own precious blood, in spite of all that may be arraigned against us. At first Micaiah told king Ahab to go up and prosper, but when he pressed him to tell the truth, then he said: "I did see all Israel, scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master; let them return every man to his house in peace." Furthermore, he declared that the LORD had put a lying spirit in the mouth of all Ahab's prophets and that He had spoken evil against the king.
Ahab fully understood the meaning of Micaiah's words, and in his anger, he ordered the prophet put in prison, to be fed with only the bread and water of affliction until he should return in peace. Then the two kings went off to battle.
The Lord allowed Satan to deceive the prophets of Ahab because He had made it known earlier what the wicked king's end would be. It was Elijah who had told Ahab that the dogs would lick his blood in the place where Naboth was killed; it was God's judgment on him for the slaying of Naboth. No doubt this was what was in Ahab's mind when he suggested to Jehoshaphat that he, the king of Judah, should put on his royal robes while he disguised himself as a common warrior and entered the battle, hoping inwardly that the Syrians would mistake Jehoshaphat for the king of Israel and kill him instead. And this nearly happened for the king of Syria had given orders to the men in his chariots to fight with no one but the king of Israel. When the chariot men saw Jehoshaphat they thought it was the king of Israel and sought to surround him. In his extremity "Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him." God caused the battle to depart from him and he escaped. Though he was in the place where he ought not to have been, still the Lord was merciful and helped him because of his past faithfulness. Yet the Lord was displeased with his servant as we shall see later.
It fared differently with Ahab, however; for "the way of transgressors is hard." Prov. 13:1515Good understanding giveth favor: but the way of transgressors is hard. (Proverbs 13:15). How foolish he was to think he could escape the pronounced judgment of God! One of the warriors drew a bow at a venture and it struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. Mortally wounded, he died at the going down of the sun, as Micaiah had foretold.
Jehoshaphat returned to Jerusalem in peace, but the Lord sent him a rebuke by the prophet Jehu who met him saying, "Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD. Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God." Jehoshaphat's fall had taught him a salutary lesson: he walked more in the fear of the Lord and sought to impress this on others also. May it be so with us.
Messages of the Love of God 8/10/1958