1 Kings 22 is a veritable cornucopia of circumstances and situations, examples and thoughts.
Ahab a bad man and Jehoshaphat a good man have gotten together.
So of course the first thought is why is Jehoshaphat even associating with this guy?
Then you have God talking to the Spirits in heaven that Ahab might die at Ramoth Gilead. God has a Will and a Purpose and it is done regardless of our scheming.
Then you have the whole lying spirit thing going on.
Then there is the true prophet being imprisoned for speaking the truth.
Then you have Ahab telling Jehoshaphat that he (Ahab) would disguise himself whilst Jehoshaphat would be in full kingly attire. That should have scared Jehoshaphat.
Then you have the king of Syria telling his captains to only go after the king of Israel hence the disguise Ahab wore.
Then lastly you have the archer letting fly an arrow and it strikes Ahab and he dies.
And this is just some of the thoughts not all!
Never have I read a chapter and had so much jump out at me at one time. You could spend a full week here on this chapter and not fully plumb the depths.
But I have already addressed the lying Spirits in "yes men" and today we are going to look at the Good guy hanging with the bad guy.
1Ki 22:2 And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.
1Ki 22:3 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?
Ahab can not take the city of Ramoth gilead without the might of Jehoshaphat's army. He knows this.
So he asks Jehoshaphat if he will go with him.
Now Jehoshaphat being a Godly king wanted to inquire of the Lord so Ahab calls prophets yet not prophets of Jehovah. First red flag.
Ahab has the whole ordeal with Micaiah. Second red flag.
Then Ahab wants to disguise himself while Jehoshaphat goes out in full regalia. 3rd red flag.
Now at this point you would assume Jehoshaphat would start questioning the wisdom of his choice to back Ahab in this war.
What bugs me about Jehoshaphat was, he had a Godly father in Asa who reigned for a good while in Judah. Also Jehoshaphat was Solomon's Great grandson. He was the fourth king after Solomon.
The very Solomon who wrote
:Pro 1:10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
Pro 1:11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
Pro 1:12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
Pro 6:1 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
Pro 6:2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
Think about this. Jehoshaphat had good influences in his life, He had money, he had a mighty army, he had a good heritage and yet he was in council with Ahab who all knew was a wicked man.
Jehoshaphat had every advantage a man could possibly have and yet he was throwing his lot in with Ahab.
There is trouble when you align yourself with deceitful men.
When you are in the company of dishonest people you are now a part of their dishonesty.
Guilt by association as it were.
Even by going to a meeting with Ahab he looks bad, for Ahab was a truly wicked man.
Now, just a few chapters later God tells 3 kings by Elisha that He would not hear from the 3 kings if Jehoshaphat was not among them.
So Jehoshaphat is a Godly king, one who fears God and walks uprightly in his way.
So why has he agreed to be in compact with Ahab? Why has he agreed to Ahab's subterfuge whilst in full kingly attire himself?
I don't have the answer for that.
In fact it boggles the mind that the great grandson of Solomon could possibly be this naive, or this indifferent, or this unaware of the reputation of Ahab. Now Ahab was his elder maybe he thought Ahab was smarter, maybe he was being nice as they were distant family.
What ever the reason Jehoshaphat made a poor choice and almost died for it.
For he had all the Syrians chasing him, since he seemed to be the only king on the battlefield. He was sore pressed and cried out. Then they perceived he was not the king of Israel and gave up the chase.
It seems that once again listening to bad advice even for a good man can have severe consequences.
Make no mistake Jehoshaphat was a good man, a good king. He reigned for 25 years and Judah prospered under him and was blessed of God.
It remains a lesson for all today still, be sure that those you follow, you walk with, you talk with are truly good people with your best interests at heart.
In this chapter there are many deep theological points, but there are none greater than this lesson here. You are only as good as your friends, you are only as good as your advisers, you are only as good as the company you keep.
Jehoshaphat while he made a foolish choice did make a wise choice, he inquired of the Lord during the whole thing.
So he was aware that something wasn't quite right and he heeded that feeling and asked God.
IPro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Pro 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Ahab a bad man and Jehoshaphat a good man have gotten together.
So of course the first thought is why is Jehoshaphat even associating with this guy?
Then you have God talking to the Spirits in heaven that Ahab might die at Ramoth Gilead. God has a Will and a Purpose and it is done regardless of our scheming.
Then you have the whole lying spirit thing going on.
Then there is the true prophet being imprisoned for speaking the truth.
Then you have Ahab telling Jehoshaphat that he (Ahab) would disguise himself whilst Jehoshaphat would be in full kingly attire. That should have scared Jehoshaphat.
Then you have the king of Syria telling his captains to only go after the king of Israel hence the disguise Ahab wore.
Then lastly you have the archer letting fly an arrow and it strikes Ahab and he dies.
And this is just some of the thoughts not all!
Never have I read a chapter and had so much jump out at me at one time. You could spend a full week here on this chapter and not fully plumb the depths.
But I have already addressed the lying Spirits in "yes men" and today we are going to look at the Good guy hanging with the bad guy.
1Ki 22:2 And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.
1Ki 22:3 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?
Ahab can not take the city of Ramoth gilead without the might of Jehoshaphat's army. He knows this.
So he asks Jehoshaphat if he will go with him.
Now Jehoshaphat being a Godly king wanted to inquire of the Lord so Ahab calls prophets yet not prophets of Jehovah. First red flag.
Ahab has the whole ordeal with Micaiah. Second red flag.
Then Ahab wants to disguise himself while Jehoshaphat goes out in full regalia. 3rd red flag.
Now at this point you would assume Jehoshaphat would start questioning the wisdom of his choice to back Ahab in this war.
What bugs me about Jehoshaphat was, he had a Godly father in Asa who reigned for a good while in Judah. Also Jehoshaphat was Solomon's Great grandson. He was the fourth king after Solomon.
The very Solomon who wrote
:Pro 1:10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
Pro 1:11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
Pro 1:12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
Pro 6:1 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
Pro 6:2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
Think about this. Jehoshaphat had good influences in his life, He had money, he had a mighty army, he had a good heritage and yet he was in council with Ahab who all knew was a wicked man.
Jehoshaphat had every advantage a man could possibly have and yet he was throwing his lot in with Ahab.
There is trouble when you align yourself with deceitful men.
When you are in the company of dishonest people you are now a part of their dishonesty.
Guilt by association as it were.
Even by going to a meeting with Ahab he looks bad, for Ahab was a truly wicked man.
Now, just a few chapters later God tells 3 kings by Elisha that He would not hear from the 3 kings if Jehoshaphat was not among them.
So Jehoshaphat is a Godly king, one who fears God and walks uprightly in his way.
So why has he agreed to be in compact with Ahab? Why has he agreed to Ahab's subterfuge whilst in full kingly attire himself?
I don't have the answer for that.
In fact it boggles the mind that the great grandson of Solomon could possibly be this naive, or this indifferent, or this unaware of the reputation of Ahab. Now Ahab was his elder maybe he thought Ahab was smarter, maybe he was being nice as they were distant family.
What ever the reason Jehoshaphat made a poor choice and almost died for it.
For he had all the Syrians chasing him, since he seemed to be the only king on the battlefield. He was sore pressed and cried out. Then they perceived he was not the king of Israel and gave up the chase.
It seems that once again listening to bad advice even for a good man can have severe consequences.
Make no mistake Jehoshaphat was a good man, a good king. He reigned for 25 years and Judah prospered under him and was blessed of God.
It remains a lesson for all today still, be sure that those you follow, you walk with, you talk with are truly good people with your best interests at heart.
In this chapter there are many deep theological points, but there are none greater than this lesson here. You are only as good as your friends, you are only as good as your advisers, you are only as good as the company you keep.
Jehoshaphat while he made a foolish choice did make a wise choice, he inquired of the Lord during the whole thing.
So he was aware that something wasn't quite right and he heeded that feeling and asked God.
IPro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Pro 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
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