Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor, and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. 2 After some years he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him, and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. 3 Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.”
4 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” 5 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” 6 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” 7 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” 8 Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.” 9 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes. And they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 10 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” 11 And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph. The Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
12 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.” 13 But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.” 14 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.” 15 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?” 16 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.’” 17 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” 18 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. 19 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.20 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ 21 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.’ 22 Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets. The Lord has declared disaster concerning you.”
23 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?” 24 And Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.” 25 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, 26 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.’” 27 And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!”
The Defeat and Death of Ahab
28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 29 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. 30 Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.” 31 As soon as the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him; God drew them away from him. 32 For as soon as the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 33 But a certain man drew his bow at random[a] and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” 34 And the battle continued that day, and the king of Israel was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening. Then at sunset he died. 2 Chronicles 18 ESV
Jehoshaphat was a good king in that he worshiped the true God, but has here applied a practice of the nations in an alliance sealed by marriage. There is a certain wisdom here in that if you are married to my daughter I should want you to do well, that you provide for my grandchildren and so forth. Likewise, if I have taken your daughter then she may be the token of influence and respect to you, but what if in this you have also become unequally yoked? What if you have married into destruction and against the law unto kings? This could be an influence against you and against the true God. Ahab's kingdom had gone from the apostate practices of Jeroboam to the outright acquisition and adherence to the god and prophets of Jezebel. Unity at any price is not what we are called to ever, but rather that we repent and be saved. That God calls us to love even our enemies, tells much, that they are still yet our enemies, no denying the truth of our position. We are called to tolerate our fellow humans not by adapting their beliefs, but by proclaiming the word of God in love and taking no offense. I think his marriage here is against the law of kings, that he has used the tradition of his fathers, David, Solomon etc.. as an appeal to liberty rather than look at the horrible outcome of their sins. In the end, what we count as liberty, is no liberty at all, for we have become slaves to our sin, refusing to be set free.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2: 15-17
Now your friend calls upon you, your father was warned already that the Syrian army had slipped from his hands, but Ahab wants his new partner to ride with him, against them. Ahab's ego left him slighted by the Syrians and now bruised, he would like an ally to silence the mockers. Jehoshaphat agrees to go with him but ask that they inquire of the Lord. Now 400 prophets testify with craft time and show and tell that this is a good thing, attack your enemies, the battle is yours. 400, and this is after the time of Elijah killing the prophets of Baal, but there is still something wrong here, Jehoshaphat is not satisfied, the drama, iron horns, story time, must have given him a sense of some strange fire. He asks for a second opinion. Ahab reluctantly volunteers Micaiah, but he can't stand him, for he is a prophet unto God, not unto the respect of kings, he will not tickle your ears. When I was young I loved people who accepted my view of God, it was the "yeah, I believe in God, but I don't think He cares about this, or this is not a sin if", but those who could not conform to my view or accept it as at least valid, well, I couldn't stand them. We hate God, but we can only lay hold of His messengers, until Christ came. They pull Micaiah out of jail, he answers with sarcasm but when pressed he tells the king what he does not want to hear, that he is heading down the wrong path. That is a sin, Calvin, you are not right with God because you say you are or because you have found 400 to agree with you. This is why I can't talk to this guy, he is unreasonable, steadfast, unyielding, I told you I like God well enough, but I like Him this way. Well then go up, face the Syrians, but if I said what God is already saying, then you will not return. Macaiah would not yield to this ecumenical movement, unity did not come before the truth, majority was not right or rule in his heart. What is God saying, what has He already said? The leader of the false prophets reacts in violence to him, and this to be expected, tantrums, screaming, rioting and all manner of disrespect. Ahab goes up and though he shouldn't unless he is confident in the words of the 400, but he does and yet still there is a doubt. So he relies yet again on earthly reasoning and sets Jehoshaphat out as the only king, the target in the battle. Jehoshaphat cries out to God for deliverance, but by some strange coincidence, Ahab is found by an uneducated arrow.
“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
Jesus Pronounces Woes
24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets. Luke 6: 22-26
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