Good King - Bad King

1 Kings 22:1-53

Here we see a good king and bad king meet. Jehoshaphat?s story is told in 2 Chronicles 17 ? 20. It says ?he walked in the earlier ways of his father David.? (2 Chron 17:3). He meets Ahab, the apostate king of the north who has run away from Yahweh as fast and as far as he can, yet still keeping a ?religious? overtone to his reign. The two meet to talk about an important military campaign, and the result, both in how the decision is made, and how it turns out, is instructive when it comes to a relationship with God.

By the way, this account is mirrored very closely in 2 Chronicles 18. Jehoshaphat was generally a good king. He instructed the people in the Word of God, created a system of justice whereby complaints could be settled, and used a time of peace to fortify the land. He made three great mistakes, however. The first was to allow his daughter to marry a son of Ahab. This led to the second mistake, getting involved with Ahab here in 1 Kings 22. The third was when Jehoshaphat got greedy and involved himself in a scheme with Ahab?s son Ahaziah to import foreign goods.

1 ? 5

Back in chapter 20, Ben-hadad, king of Syria, had promised to give back to Israel the cities his father had taken. He didn?t follow through so Ahab suggests taking them by force.

Why would Jehoshaphat even consider going along with anything this ungodly king was up to? Because he was connected to him by the marriage of his son to Ahab and Jezebel?s daughter. We?ll find out how the Lord thought about this at the end of the study.

So Jehoshaphat at first gives the green light, but then adds a little caveat to his support, ?Let?s ask what God thinks.? What a downer to anyone who wants to get their own way!

6 ? 8

Apparently Ahab had surrounded himself with a bunch of ?yes-prophets? who probably belonged to the Jeroboam cult Back in 1 Kings 12:31 Jeroboam had made priests of those who were not Levites, and now had prophets who were not real prophets simply tell him what he wanted to hear. Jehoshaphat saw through this charade pretty easily and wants to know if there is anyone who will speak for Yahweh. You can see how little Ahab cares for his relationship with God by how he characterizes his interactions with Micaiah, ?he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.? I suppose Ahab never stopped to think that was perhaps because God was displeased with his disobedience?

How often do we, when we are sternly walking away from God, ignore the prick of conscience, the conviction of the Spirit, or from the Word of God, until we can justify our actions? I know for me, times when I?ve harbored anger, for instance, I can?t seem to escape verses about forgiveness and humbleness and songs on the radio about the love of God ? it drives me crazy! But hopefully I listen. Ahab did not.

9 ? 13

The four hundred prophets gathered and one guy even has a show-and-tell with the horns of iron. The world and false religions can put on a pretty good show to convince you they are the truth, but it?s like Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:4 ?and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.?

14 ? 16

So not only is poor Micaiah outnumbered 400 to 1, but the guard even tells him exactly what to say. To the guard he says he will only speak God?s truth but when asked by Ahab, Micaiah parrots the words of the other ?prophets.? Dripping with sarcasm, though, Ahab had expected him to speak otherwise. How often is it that we really do now the truth?we simply suppress it when it isn?t convenient for us. Reminds me of what Paul said in Romans 1:18 ?For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.?

17 ? 23

God gives Micaiah two visions. In the first, Israel is seen as a nation without a leader. Jesus used this same vision to talk about the nation without spiritual direction in Matthew 9:36. The fact that they were without a shepherd was the first indication that Ahab would die in battle. The second vision is a bit troubling. It is a scene from heaven where God is actually asking someone to help get Ahab killed. It?s also troubling in that God enlists the assistance of a demon to accomplish this. It shouldn?t surprise, though. God had pronounced judgment on Ahab in chapter 21 after he ?sold yourself to do what is evil? (vs 20). God also uses evil to judge evil?he?ll do it with Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20 and in numerous other places. Ahab was the consummate liar so God simply deals with him according to his character?using Satan as a pawn to judge someone who was God?s enemy.

24 ? 28

The prophet with the show-and-tell doesn?t like Micaiah going against his talking points so he hits Micaiah. Zedekiah gets his own judgment. Ahab sends Micaiah back to prison as if that was going to change God?s judgment against him.

29 ? 36

Don?t you love how Ahab schemed to get around God?s judgment? He put a righteous king in jeopardy (why Jehoshaphat went along is another story), and tried to escape, but no matter how hard we try, we will be accountable to God. It?s only God?s mercy that he waits patiently for us to turn to Him.

37 ? 40

Elijah pronounced the judgment in 21:20.

41 ? 50

Here is a very small summary of Jehoshaphat?s reign. We get the rest in 2 Chronicles 17 ? 21. Thought Jehoshaphat was generally a good king he made some big mistakes, including allowing his son to marry Athalia, Ahab?s daughter. As we?ll see, Athalia becomes quite the chip off Jezebel?s block.

51 ? 53

No lessons learned here. Ahaziah did not turn to the Lord but provoked Him to anger. Though we don?t pass down faith genetically, our example will greatly influence our children. Being an example of faith won?t guarantee a child will turn to Jesus, but mirroring evil is a pretty good precursor to a child that won?t even consider Him.

Conclusions

Don?t get caught up in the schemes of the wicked, even if they sound good or you are connected to them.

That?s what Jehoshaphat did. It was difficult enough for him to maneuver amidst Ahab trying to manipulate God, but when he got back to Jerusalem the Lord had someone waiting for him.

2 Chronicles 19:1-3 Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. 2 But Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, \"Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord. 3 Nevertheless, some good is found in you, for you destroyed the Asherahs out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.\"

When fighting battles, seeking the honest answer from the Lord is the only way to go

We?ll get to this story in 2 Chronicles 20, but Jehoshaphat had a battle himself to face. Instead of finding a way to justify his plans, he had the gall to ask for God?s wisdom and help. Though God?s plan seemed ludicrous from a human stand point, it was exactly the right thing to do?mainly, put worship into the battle and see the enemy destroyed by evil judging evil.

Often the minority opinion will be the Lord?s

Micaiah was up against the voices of 400 others, but he was right. If we simply take a poll or a vote we don?t necessarily get the truth.