Ahab dies. Jehoshaphat while foolish, receives mercy
Jehoshaphat like his dad started well, but then later in his reign, again like his dad aligned himself with those that were against the God of Israel. Many lessons here for us all.
2 Chronicles 18: Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab
1 Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honour, 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 favourable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favourably."
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 and struck the king of Israel between the scale armour 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.
Things to think about…
1. 2Chr18:1 says it all really. “Jehoshaphat had great riches and honour”. Isn’t this what happened to his father Asa. It is so easy to trust in these things when they are near you and observable, 24 hours a day. But they are perishing with the use. What happens next? Jehoshaphat aligns himself, through marriage, with Ahab. A man whose testimony was clearly anti YHWH. Are there any alliances are in your life that are not honouring Christ? Time to cut them off. This alliance almost cost Jehoshaphat his life, but for the grace of God.
2. Jehoshaphat has his doubts as to the integrity of the 400 prophets, 2Chr18:6. He asks for a prophet of the Lord. It’s as if he knows in his spirit that these guys are all a bit dodgy and fear the king rather than the Lord. Beware when a preacher tickles your ears and tells you things you want to hear but never tells you the things you need to hear. Please pray for me, that my fear of God is greater than my love for your comfort. Man-pleasing is a terrible snare for any preacher of the gospel. Ahab confirms in his statement regarding Micaiah in vs 7 the words of Isaiah, “who call evil good and good evil,” Isa 5:20.
3. Micaiah the prophet is called to speak, 2Chr 18:8, and is clearly not going with the flow of public opinion. Even the messenger tells Micaiah to have a favourable word, vs 12. Beware of these people they are not friends but gentle instruments of Satan. Micaiah rebukes him appropriately, vs 13. I love the sarcasm Micaiah uses vs 14. Elijah had also used sarcasm to get his message across during Ahab’s reign, 1Kings 18:27. Even Ahab knows Micaiah is being sarcastic as he has heard Micaiah’s sarcasm many times before, vs 15. Micaiah then speaks his true heart, 2Chr 18:16-22. Ahab knew what he would prophesy because he has heard Micaiah tell him plenty of times to seek God rather than his own foolish ambitions. God had confronted Ahab’s sin many times through this prophet, but Ahab would not listen. What truths have you heard plenty of times before and have ignored, but now the Lord is finally motivating you to do something about it?
4. Micaiah gets a view of heaven and the Lord’s throne and the discussion among the angels. Some angels are sent out to deceive, we know this is the work of demons and I believe that is exactly who offer themselves to deceive Ahab’s 400 prophets, in a similar way that Satan offered himself before the Lord’s throne to harm Job in Job 1 and 2. Even Satan and the demons are used for the Lord’s ultimate purpose of either instruction or punishment. We of course know that a messenger of Satan was also given to Paul to keep him humble, 2Cor 12:7.
5. Micaiah has a word for Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah, a leader among the false 400 prophets when Zedekiah makes a sarcastic comment to Micaiah after striking him on the face, 2Chr 18:23,24. We don’t hear directly what happened to him, but you can imagine when the king dies and the army of Israel return defeated that this man fears and hides for his life after prophesying such an obvious lie that others would have sought his life.
6. What a fool Jehoshaphat was to listen to Ahab, to put on royal robes in battle while Ahab disguised himself, 2Chr 18:29. Jehoshaphat was in danger as the King of Syria would have sought out the robed king to kill on the battle field, vs 30. Fortunately, we serve a sovereign God, and every arrow is directed by him. A stray arrow ordered by the Lord strikes Ahab, “between the scale armour and the breastplate”, vs 33, fulfilling the words of the prophet Micaiah, “If you return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me", vs 27. “Be sure your sin will find you out”, Num 32:23. Ahab dies fulfilling another prophet’s words, those of Elijah. This chapter is given word for word in 1Kings 18, but there are further details of what happened to Ahab in 1Kings 18 when he returned badly injured and subsequently died. Ahab had heard the Word of God many times and yet ignored it over many years to his peril. Pray for the younger generation who were raised in Christian homes who have heard the Word of God from their infancy and yet as adults have rejected it. Such a fearful state to be in, Mt 7:22,23; Lk 12:47,48.
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the school holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Title was “The presence of the Lord” from Chronicles 6:40-7:3
1. Fire fell on the altar because the Lord heard the prayer of Solomon. What has been the most significant time in your life where your heart was engaged with the Lord in worship and you experienced His presence via His Spirit?
2. When we consider the Sun, moon and stars, the works of His hands this should evoke an understanding of the immensity of God. What about the Lord’s creation do you find compelling with respect to who God is and why He is to be worshipped.
3. Christ is the creator of heaven and earth and all things seen and unseen. Jesus the Creator came to earth to be born, live, suffer, die and rise again. Describe what being saved in Christ means for you.
4. Pray for prayer points and for each other.
Prayer Points
1. Peace to rest over Ukraine.
2. Pray for new people as they settle into life at CBC.
3. Upcoming Australian elections – pray for the Lord’s choice of MP’s.
4. Continue to pray for the flood clean-up as well as the money donated to help.
5. Folk sick with Covid – relief and healing.
6. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
7. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. The peace and safety of Australia.
2. Visitors to CBC over the weekend – new people added to the church.
3. God’s word affecting people for Christ
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
5. Flood cleanup is restoring communities around Ipswich and Brisbane.
Announcements
1. Members meeting 22nd May after the service.
2. Remember to check your duty rosters.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for May...
Q. 3. Will Christ come again? A. Yes; at the last day Christ will come to judge the world.
