Chapter Twenty-Two

 Ki 22:1  And they continued three years; there was no war between Syria and Israel. 

1Ki 22:2  And it happened in the third year, Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 

1Ki 22:3  And the king of Israel said to his servants, Have you known that Ramoth-gilead is ours? And we remain still from taking it from the king of Syria's hand. 

1Ki 22:4  And he said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go to battle with me, to Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you, my people as your people; my horses as your horses. 

1Ki 22:5  And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Please inquire at the Word of Jehovah today. 

1Ki 22:6  And the king of Israel gathered the prophets, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up, that the Lord may give it into the hand of the king. 

1Ki 22:7  And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah besides, that we might inquire of him? 

1Ki 22:8  And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Yet one man, to seek Jehovah by him. But I hate him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil, Micaiah the son of Imlah. And Jehoshaphat said, let not the king say so. 

1Ki 22:9  And the king of Israel called to a certain eunuch and said, Cause Micaiah the son of Imlah to hurry. 

1Ki 22:10  And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah each was sitting on his throne having put on their robes, in a grain-floor in the entrance of the gate of Samaria. And all the prophets prophesied before them. 

1Ki 22:11  And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself. And he said, So says Jehovah, With these you shall push the Syrians until you have consumed them. 

1Ki 22:12  And all the prophets were prophesying so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper. For Jehovah shall give it into the king's hand. 

1Ki 22:13  And the messenger that had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets with one mouth are good to the king. Please let your word be as the word of one of them, and speak good. 

1Ki 22:14  And Micaiah said, As Jehovah lives, Surely that which Jehovah says to me, that I will speak. 

1Ki 22:15  And he came in to the king. And the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to battle to Ramoth-gilead, or shall we forbear? And he said to him, Go up, and prosper, and Jehovah shall give it into the king's hand. 

1Ki 22:16  And the king said to him, How many times have I adjured you that you shall speak nothing to me but truth in the name of Jehovah? 

1Ki 22:17  And he said, I have seen all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep that have no shepherd. And Jehovah said, These have no ruler; they shall each return to his house in peace. 

1Ki 22:18  And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not say to you, He will not prophesy good of me, but evil? 

1Ki 22:19  And he said, Therefore, hear the Word of Jehovah: I saw Jehovah sitting on His throne, and all the host of Heaven were standing by Him, on His right and on His left. 

1Ki 22:20  And Jehovah said, Who shall entice Ahab, and he shall go up and fall in Ramoth-gilead? And this one said this, and this one said that. 

1Ki 22:21  And a spirit came forth and stood before Jehovah, and said, I surely will entice him. 

1Ki 22:22  And Jehovah said to him, By what means? And he said, I will go out and shall be a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said, You shall entice him, and also you are able. Go out and do so. 

1Ki 22:23  And now, behold, Jehovah has put a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of all these prophets of yours; and Jehovah has spoken evil as to you! 

1Ki 22:24  And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Where did the Spirit of Jehovah pass over from me to speak with you? 

1Ki 22:25  And Micaiah said, Behold, You shall see on that day when you go into the innermost room to be hidden. 

1Ki 22:26  And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the ruler of the city, and to Joash the king's son, 

1Ki 22:27  and say, So says the king, Put this one in the house of restraint, and cause him to eat the bread of oppression, and the water of oppression, until I come in peace. 

1Ki 22:28  And Micaiah said, If you at all return in peace, Jehovah has not spoken by me. And he said, Hear, O people, all of them. 

1Ki 22:29  And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 

1Ki 22:30  And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and enter into the battle. But you put on your robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle. 

1Ki 22:31  And the king of Syria commanded the thirty two commanders of the chariots, saying, You shall not fight with small or great, but with the king of Israel. 

1Ki 22:32  And it happened when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, Surely he is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight with him. And Jehoshaphat cried out. 

1Ki 22:33  And it happened when the commanders of the chariots saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from following him. 

1Ki 22:34  And a man drew a bow in his simplicity, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints and the breastplate. And he said to his charioteer, Turn your hand and take me out from the host, for I have been wounded. 

1Ki 22:35  And on that day the battle went on, and the king was caused to stand up in the chariot against Syria. And he died in the evening, and the blood of the wound poured out into the middle of the chariot. 

1Ki 22:36  And the cry passed through the camp when the sun went, saying, Each to his city, and each to his land. 

1Ki 22:37  And the king died, and came to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. 

1Ki 22:38  And they rinsed the chariot by the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood when they had washed the armor, according to the Word of Jehovah that He spoke. 

1Ki 22:39  And the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the house of ivory that he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Israel? 

1Ki 22:40  And Ahab lay with his fathers. And his son Ahaziah reigned in his place. 

1Ki 22:41  And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa reigned over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab the king of Israel. 

1Ki 22:42  He was a son of thirty five years when he began to reign. And he reigned twenty five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 

1Ki 22:43  And he walked in all the ways of his father Asa. He did not turn aside from it, doing right in the eyes of Jehovah. But the high places were not taken away; the people offered and burned incense yet in the high places. 

1Ki 22:44  And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. 

1Ki 22:45  And the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Judah? 

1Ki 22:46  And he took out of the land the rest of the sodomites which remained in the days of his father Asa. 

1Ki 22:47  No king was in Edom; a deputy was king. 

1Ki 22:48  Jehoshaphat had ten ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold. But they did not go, for the ships were broken at Eziongeber. 

1Ki 22:49  Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with your servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat was not willing. 

1Ki 22:50  And Jehoshaphat lay with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David. And his son Jehoram reigned in his place. 

1Ki 22:51  Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. 

1Ki 22:52  And he did evil in the eyes of Jehovah, 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. 

1Ki 22:53  For he served Baal, and bowed to it, and provoked to anger Jehovah the God of Israel, according to all his father had done. 

Verses 1-12 Summary: Jehoshaphat visits Ahab. Ahab asks Jehoshaphat if he would fight with him to take Ramoth-gilead. Jehoshaphat tells Ahab to inquire of God. Ahab inquires of his priests, they encourage him to go. Jehoshaphat realizes these "prophets" are phony and tells Ahab to get a real prophet. Ahab says there is one "Micaiah" "but I hate him." (Micaiah speaks God's harsh words against Ahab). Micaiah is sent for and the false prophets continue to tell Ahab to go to war.

3. Though Jehoshaphat was a good king, his relationship with Ahab was obviously a mistake. Look up *2Chron. 18:1 and 2 Kings 8:16-18 to see how he established his friendship with Ahab:

*Jehoshaphat's son married a daughter of Ahab. 
2Ki 8:18  Jehoram disobeyed the LORD by doing wrong. He married Ahab's daughter and was as sinful as Ahab's family and the kings of Israel. 

Verses 13-23 Summary: The king's messenger finds Micaiah and tells him to go prophesy and that everyone else is encouraging the king for war and he should do the same. Micaiah promises to speak what God tells him to say. Before Ahab, Micaiah tells Ahab to go to war and win. Ahab tells him to speak only the truth, so Micaiah prophesies Ahab's defeat. Micaiah explains that God has sent a spirit of false influence to Ahab's prophets to lie to him.

4. What are some of the things that we learn about the heavenly realm from the story told by Micaiah? God discusses things. He looks for volunteers. He will use an evil spirit to accomplish His will (of judgement). Does this mean we are void of free will? How does Paul address this in Romans 9? If you look at Romans chapter nine, he addresses the accusation against God judging something He made. If He made it for evil purposes, how can He justify judging it? 
In his answer, he first remands the accuser saying "who are you to accuse God." Which we know as a true observation. More to the point, he continues on to show how all things, even evil, will come around to glorifying Him. In each instance, the actions by humans are by choice and character. Paul's main argument is to smash the bigotry against Gentiles.   

5. What New Testament passage would indicate that God would do a similar thing today as He did through the false prophets?

Mar 4:10  And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 

Mar 4:11  And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 

Mar 4:12  so that “‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’” 

This is a reference to Isaiah 6 which is a judgement call by God. It got to this point BECAUSE of the hearts and actions of people.

6. What are the similarities and differences between the false prophets and Micaiah? How could a person know the difference? If Micaiah was a Levite priest, he would have dressed the part, although the others may have worn similar clothes. In this incident, it was apparent to Ahab that Micaiah was being sarcastic when he told the king to go to war. Was it his delivery? Not sure, but he said it in a way that Ahab knew what was up. In the end, Micaiah was the only one with God's truth. He didn't care what anyone thought. Nor did he even care for his own life. When it comes to God's word, you just don't mess with it. THAT is what separated him from the rest of these characters.

Verses 24-28 Summary: Zedekiah smacks Micaiah out of rage (since his prophesy has been implicated as false). Ahab has Micaiah arrested until Ahab "returns in peace." Micaiah states that if Ahab returns, Micaiah's prophesy is false. (Confirming Ahab will die in battle - see 17)

7. What does Zedekiah mean by his statement to Micaiah in verse 24? "I'm the real prophet, why would God talk to you neener neener neener." Yeah, Zedekiah was saying he was more important, he would know if God spoke with Micaiah but He did not, and was obviously embarrassed for losing face in front of the king and the other four hundred wrong guys. 

Verses 29-40 Summary: Ahab and Jehoshaphat go to battle?! Ahab tells Jehoshaphat to put on his robes and Ahab will disguise himself. The Syrian king ordered the chariots to seek out the king of Israel only (Ahab). They mistook Jehoshaphat as Israel's king and charged him. Once they realized he was not Ahab, they broke off the attack. A bowman shot Ahab and Ahab ended up bleeding out and died. He is buried in Samaria and his son Ahaziah takes over. (God's prophecy of dogs licking up Ahab's blood comes to pass).

8. Look at 2Chron. 19:2 and discover God's words to Jehoshaphat after returning from the battle with the Syrians: By helping that wicked Ahab, you have made friends with someone who hates the LORD. Now the LORD God is angry at you! Uh oh, what does this say about how we should choose important relationships?
2Cor. 16:4 Unequally yoked with unbelievers. (See Deut.22:10) - Fortunately for Jehoshaphat this was not the overall case. He was a good king that sought after God, had a good heart toward his people, and truly respected Jehovah. This incident was a slip. 

Verses 41-50 Summary: Jehoshaphat was king for 25 years. He was a good king like Asa, continuing to NOT commit idolatry. He removed what was left of the sodomites for his realm. The high places were still intact. Jehoram reigns after Jehoshaphat. 

2Cron. 17, 19-20: Read these chapters and jot down some of the other works of Jehoshaphat that tell of the greatness of his reign:
17) Strengthens defenses against Israel. Remains faithful to Jehovah. The people like him. HE sends Levite teachers throughout the land to teach them God's laws. Surrounding nations fear God/peace. Enemies send him gifts. Builds fortresses/cities. Over 1mil. soldiers. 
18) Rich, famous. Chapter is similar to 1Kings 22.

19) God is angry with the alliance with Ahab, but pleased the he removed Asherah. Jehoshphat encourages his people to worship God. Assigns judges, tells them "be careful, these are God's people." The judicial system is per God's pattern. Tells his people, "Faithfully serve the Lord." 

20) Edom/Ammon/Meunites war with Judah. Jehoshaphat prays a fervent public prayer to God. Jahaziel prophecies victory without any battle. Judah moves out to the desert singing a song led by Jehoshaphat, "Praise the Lord, His love never ends." When they crest the hill, they see that the enemy became confused by the song and killed each other. Judah takes the spoils. They stop in a valley to sing to God (Praise Valley). Go directly to the temple.

Verses 51-53 Summary: Ahaziah is an evil king over Israel (after his father Ahab).