II Chronicles Chapter 18
Please read: II Chronicles 18 –
Political leaders often form an alliance with those who we think would never do such a thing, but in this instance, this was a very bad choice of judgement. We know from I Kings 16 that the king of the northern kingdom, Ahab and his wife Jezebel were particularly evil and worshipped the god of Baal. You may hear of people even today worshipping Baal. That is because Baal is satanic. Ahab had one agenda and that was to gain more. He had his eyes on Ramoth-Gilead and wanted the military strength of Judah to help him obtain it.
I Kings 16:32-33 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
King Jehoshaphat of Judah had not lost his faith in God, but he did make a poor judgement call by forming an alliance with Ahab. We can find ourselves in such a situation when we compromise to get what we want. It is those times of compromise that we are vulnerable to making bad decisions that will forever mar our life.
Let's Reflect
1. The alliance struck between the two kings of Israel and Judah is not completely explained, but we know from verse 1 that part of the alliance was forged with what?
2. King Jehoshaphat’s response to King Ahab’s request is interesting. We know from the previous chapter that Jehoshaphat led his people to worship God with all their heart, but Ahab led his people in the opposite direction. Yet, he was correct in what he stated because they were all descendants of Jacob. According to verse 3 what was the response to Ahab’s request to help him fight for Ramoth-Gilead?
3. What did the king of the southern kingdom say they should do first before going to war?
4. The answer came much too quickly and too easily from the lips of the prophets who served Ahab. Jehoshaphat realized that these prophets did not take time to ask of the LORD what was the right thing to do. What did Jehoshaphat ask for?
5. While they waited for Micaiah to come the other prophets tried to shine in front of their king. One even picked up something from the threshing floor to try to prove that what they said was true. What did this prophet “create” to mimic strength?
6. The prophet Micaiah was told what he should when he arrived before the two kings. But what did Micaiah say about that?
7. We can understand why Ahab disguised himself in regular soldier attire rather than his kingly robes, when we read what the prophet Micaiah said would happen to him. God allowed spirits to put lies in the mouth of the prophets. What did Micaiah say would happen to Ahab?
8. They did not like what Micaiah had to say, and he was beaten for it. And then what happened to him?
9. The sad part of the story is that despite the words of the prophet Micaiah, Jehoshaphat still did what?
10. Just as Micaiah had said would happen, King Ahab was killed in the battle. But he did not die right away. What happened to him?
