seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Chronicles 18:1 Now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor, and he allied himself with Ahabby marriage. 2 Some years later he went down to see Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle for him and the people with him and urged him to attack Ramoth Gilead. 3 Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?”
Jehoshaphat replied, “I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will join you in the war.” 4 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord.”
5 So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I not?”
“Go,” they answered, “for God will give it into the king’s hand.”
6 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?”
7 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
“The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied.
I've read about this guy Ahab. Now he's an inlaw of Jehoshaphat. I am proud of Jehoshaphat, asking Ahab to ask God first. I'm also proud of Jehoshaphat for realizing these weren't priests or Levites.... Israel is where they had the two fake temples with the golden calves to worship.... that way the people wouldn't be taking a trip to Jerusalem every week. So when Jehoshaphat realized that, and called Ahab on it.... Ahab says "Oh that guy.... I don't like him... he never has anything good to say about me" to which Jehoshaphat had to reply "Don't say that". Sounds like the beginning of a good story.... or the wrapping up of an old one. God cannot be happy with Ahab or the Israelites who are worshiping golden calves yet again.
The easy English site has a little different take on commentary for these verses.
Ahab was the king of Israel. And he ruled from the city called Samaria. Ahab married the daughter of Ethbaal the king of Sidon. Her name was Jezebel. Then Ahab began to worship the false god Baal.
Jehoshaphat and Ahab made an agreement together. This was in about 865 BC. These agreements between kings often included a marriage between the two families. So, Jehoshaphat arranged the marriage of his son Jehoram with Ahab’s daughter Athaliah. Athaliah’s mother was Jezebel.
The probable reason for this agreement was that Assyria had become a strong nation. There was a danger that Assyria’s army could come against Israel and Judah.
Jehoshaphat had much wealth and honour because God had been good to him. There was no need for him to help Ahab in this way. He should not have made such an agreement with the wicked King Ahab. And the marriage of his son to Athaliah caused many problems in Judah later (22:10).
In the 17th year of his rule, Jehoshaphat went to Samaria to meet with Ahab (1 Kings 22:51). This was some years after their agreement (1 Kings 22:1). Ahab made a great feast for him and for those that were with him.
Before Jehoshaphat came, Ahab met with his officials. He said to them that Ramoth in Gilead is ours. But he probably thought that his army was not strong enough to fight against the people from Aram. So, Ahab urged Jehoshaphat to help him. Ahab wanted to win back Ramoth in Gilead from the people from Aram. Ramoth in Gilead had belonged to Israel but the people from Aram had captured it.
Ramoth in Gilead was to the east of the Jordan River. It was in the territory of Gad (Joshua 20:8). It was one of the cities of escape for those who had killed someone. The judge had to say whether they were guilty or innocent. They could stay there until then (Joshua 21:38). Also, it was on an important trade route.
Ahab did as Jehoshaphat had said. He called for 400 prophets to come. These were the prophets of the form of religion in Israel. They were not loyal to the God of their ancestors. They were prophets of the gold calf and perhaps of the god Baal. They were Ahab’s prophets and not the LORD’s prophets (1 Kings 22:23). Their words were false. They spoke what would please the king. So, they answered Ahab, ‘Yes, God will give Ramoth in Gilead to the king.’
Jehoshaphat realised that these were not really prophets of the LORD. He did not trust the word of these prophets. So, he asked if there was a prophet of the LORD. If there was one, then they should ask him.
Ahab replied that there was one other prophet. They could ask him what the LORD was saying. This prophet was Micaiah, son of Imlah. He had prophesied to Ahab before. Each time he had given to Ahab bad news. So, Ahab hated him. We have no record of these other prophecies.
I remember a TV Show, "Taxi". There was a character, the Reverend Jim, who played a reverend turned cab driver. Jim was honest. The dispatcher, Louie, didn't like Jim. He thought he was slow or drug addled. The good Reverend Jim is what comes to mind this morning. He would have told Ahab the truth and Ahab wouldn't have liked it much. There were 400 men shaking in their boots.... willing to do or say whatever crazy Ahab wanted.... just to keep their job and their free groceries [fake sacrifices = BBQ]. Then there was one man.... in the whole country.... who would tell the truth.... and "surprise" Ahab doesn't want to hear from him.
Meanwhile, Jezebel would have whispered in his ear.... "daddy has your back".....
