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1 Kings Chapter 22
Ahab and the False Prophets
- 1Kings 22:1 And they
continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.
- 2 And it came to
pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came
down to the king of Israel.
- 3 And the king of
Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is
ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the
king of Syria?
- 4 And he said unto
Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And
Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my
people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.
- 5 And Jehoshaphat
said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word
of the LORD to day.
- 6 Then the king of
Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men,
and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle,
or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall
deliver it into the hand of the king.
So much for Ahab's repentance. He
inquires of the false prophets, not the real God of Israel. It is
puzzling to me to see so many choose the false, the pretense, the
deception and such even though it is proved to them who the real God
is. It is sad also for when we die, we die empty. False religions,
idols and false prophets cannot pray us into heaven. Many false
prophets have an agenda, to be followed and in control. There are people that are not
prophets but may have such low esteem they will say what they think
people want to hear in order to be excepted or liked. Those running
for office will try to stir up an issue that would be of interest to
those doing the voting and say what they think will get votes. Being
up front and honest is what we need but sadly it is rare to see in
us humans.
Here we see Ahab wanting to start a war
with Syria when the previous wars were started by Syria. Bad
mistake.
Jehoshaphat had sense enough to desire
to hear a real prophet of the Lord.
-
1Kings 22:8 And 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 doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And
Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
Thank God for those that make their
trust in the Lord of the universe, the creator, the one who gives us
life eternal. Let us not seek to listen to what we want to hear
unless it is truth. The worst way to deceive is to have part of what
is said to actually be a proven truth so that the listener will
assume all they have to say is true. So when we hear truth it may
only be in part in order to catch our attention.
- 1Kings 22:9 Then the
king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither
Micaiah the son of Imlah.
- 10 And 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.
- 11 And Zedekiah the
son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith
the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou
have consumed them.
- 12 And all the
prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and
prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the king's hand.
Sometimes the real prophets of God
prophesy good things but they will also prophesy warnings and bad
tidings also. The real prophet will not prophesy what the listeners
want to hear but will get his word from the Lord. Reminds me of
politicians. Those that say what the people want to hear and those
that will tell it like it really is. God help us to be truthful even
if our words are rejected. The majority are not usually the ones in
the right although that is what people usually trust in.
Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab
- 1Kings 22:13 And the
messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying,
Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king
with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of
one of them, and speak that which is good.
- 14 And Micaiah said,
As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I
speak.
As hard as it may be sometimes, because
truth may be rejected and cause us to be rejected, this is the way
we must strive to be.
-
1Kings 22:15 So he came to
the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go
against Ramothgilead 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.
Looks like Micaiah is just being
sarcastic here and saying what the king wants to hear. It's like
saying. Ok, I know what you want me to say so go ahead and believe
that the battle will be a success.
- 1Kings 22:16 And the
king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou
tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD?
- 17 And he 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.
He was warning Ahab of his own death in
battle.
- 1 Kings 22:18 And
the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee
that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?
- 19 And he said, Hear
thou 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.
- 20 And the LORD
said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at
Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on
that manner.
- 21 And there came
forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will
persuade him.
- 22 And 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,
Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
- 23 Now therefore,
behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all
these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning
thee.
Sometimes the Lord will allow someone
to be deceived if one continually refuses to listen to the truth.
God sees what is in a person's heart and if they desire to go
against the first warning, it actually opens the door to being
deceived.
- 1Kings 22:24 But
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 thee?
- 25 And Micaiah said,
Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an
inner chamber to hide thyself.
- 26 And the king of
Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the
governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son;
- 27 And 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 come
in peace.
- 28 And Micaiah said,
If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me.
And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you.
Micaiah was put in prison for telling
the truth. Sometimes people lie to escape this and say what they
discern those in power want them to say. Micaiah told the truth
after being pressed to do so. He was to stay there until Ahab
returned. Micaiah says to him that if he returns in peace, then he
himself did not speak truth.
Ahab Killed in Battle
- 1Kings 22:29 So the
king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to
Ramothgilead.
- 30 And the king of
Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter
into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of
Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle.
Ahab should never have put a prophet of
God in prison because he didn't like the way he prophesied. There
was no such thing as free speech back then. Even now we see many
trying to suppress opposing opinions. I realize that unity is needed
to win wars and have peace but a false unity built on lies is never
good. This is where a lot of us get confused. We sometimes go along
to get along but God makes us all with different traits and talents.
Working together is good but also work together to share ideas and
solve problems. Demonizing those that disagree is never good.
Jesus gave the best way to overcome and
do right with just two commandments. Love God with all our hearts
and love our neighbors as ourselves. In other words do unto others
as you would want them to do unto you. Care about people rather than
desire absolute control over people.
People in authority have always had a
problem with wanting their way. A better way is to learn to pray and
seek God for His direction. We also have a problem with
troublemakers and those that want to usurp authority that is not
given to them so we have to see have balance and strive to be a
leader that respectfully listens to opponents but with caution. So
this is where wisdom, patience, love and respect comes in with any
leader. He can't be a weak pushover and give into bad advice either.
What a responsibility they have.
- 1King 22:31 But the
king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had
rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor
great, save only with the king of Israel.
- 32 And 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.
- 33 And 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.
- 34 And 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 thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for
I am wounded.
- 35 And the battle
increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot
against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of
the wound into the midst of the chariot.
- 36 And 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.
- 37 So the king died,
and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in
Samaria.
- 38 And 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 spake.
A sad ending that could have been
avoided if he would have had genuine repentance and stayed true to
God instead of following the counsel of false prophets. Dogs licking
his blood is part of the fulfillment of prophecy that was first
given concerning Ahab and Jezebel. Ahab's sin could have been avoided if
he would not have turned back from his previous repentance.
In 1 Kings chapter 21 the Lord used
Elijah to prophesy against Ahab and Jezebel. Ahab repented after
Elijah's prophetic words but we see in Chapter 22 that he sought the
wrong counsel again and put Micaiah in prison after he prophesied
evil against Ahab. So we see Ahab preferring the hear the false
prophets. After this Elijah's prophecy was fulfilled concerning
Ahab. Jezebel's ending came later, but the same thing happened to
her. We will not get away with doing evil especially to those that
believe and trust in God. The book of Revelation shows us that.
- 1Kings 22:39 Now 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?
- 40 So Ahab slept
with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
Jehoshaphat Reigns in
Judah
- 41 And Jehoshaphat
the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of
Ahab king of Israel.
- 42 Jehoshaphat was
thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned
twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was
Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
- 43 And 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.
- 44 And Jehoshaphat
made peace with the king of Israel.
- 45 Now the rest of
the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he shewed, and how
he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of
the kings of Judah?
- 46 And the remnant
of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa,
he took out of the land.
- 47 There was then no
king in Edom: a deputy was king.
- 48 Jehoshaphat made
ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not;
for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.
- 49 Then said Ahaziah
the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy
servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.
- 50 And 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.
Only 9 kings out of Judah and Israel
were righteous out of 41 that were evil. So sad when they knew
better. Joining with the king of Israel was the one mistake
Jehoshaphat made that God was displeased with. He was almost killed
in battle but God spared him. We can treat people good but
identifying with and joining in league with those that do evil
should be avoided. Marriages between those that love God and those
that want nothing to do with God should be avoided also. We can't be
of the same mind and one accord with those that choose idolatry and
evil. We should share the gospel yes, but not join with them in
their evil ways.
Ahaziah Reigns in Israel
- 1Kings 22:51 Ahaziah
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.
- 52 And 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:
- 53 For he served
Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of
Israel, according to all that his father had done.
The kings of Israel fell into continual sin
and soon lost the whole nation with only one tribe left which was
Judah. It didn't have to be. God has a better way. DC
End of First Kings
Kings Index
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