2Chronicles
16-18
Sunday Evening Bible Study
Introduction
We are in the reign of good king Asa. He has brought about many reforms in
the southern kingdom of Judah
2Chronicles 16
:1-6 Asa deals with Baasha’s threat
:1 In the six and thirtieth year …Baasha … built Ramah, to the intent …
Ramah – Ramah – “hill”. There were a couple of places called “Ramah”, but this one seems to be the same one that was the hometown of the prophet Samuel, located in the tribe of Benjamin, about five miles north of Jerusalem. See map
The idea is to starve the city of Jerusalem Jerusalem
six and thirtieth year – but probably not of Asa’s reign. Baasha had already been dead for a long time before Asa’s 36th year. It’s probably the 36th year since the division of the kingdom between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.
Why?
The war is with Baasha, who became king of the northern kingdom
of Israel 15:33 ), and
reigned for 24 years. Baasha’s son, Elah, becomes
king in the 26th year of Asa, and reigns for only two years before
he and all the family of Baasha are wiped out (1Ki. 16:10-11).
In other words, Baasha and all his family were wiped out ten years before Asa’s 36th year of reigning.
But in the 36th year after the division of the kingdom, Asa would have been reigning 16 years, and Baasha would have been reigning for 13 years (out of 24).
Another possibility is that the “six and thirtieth” number is a copyist error and should be “sixteenth” year.
:2 Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD
Though Rehoboam had been wiped clean by Pharaoh Shishak, things had prospered under Asa, and he had collected much from his victories.
(2 Chr 15:18 KJV) And he brought
into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he
himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.
:3 There is a league between me and thee
Asa has sent a huge present to Baasha to buy him off and become his ally. He wants Benhadad to attack Baasha from the north so he will leave Asa alone. Pretty smart thinking.
:4 And Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa…against the cities of Israel
Benhadad attacks from the north.
Ijon – ‘Iyown
– “a ruin”. A town north of the Sea of Galilee . See map
Dan – Dan – “a judge”. A
town north of the Sea of Galilee . See map
Abelmaim – ‘Abel Mayim – “meadow of waters”. A town
north of the Sea of Galilee . See map
:5 when Baasha heard it, that he left off building of Ramah …
The plan works. Baasha quits building Ramah and heads back to his palace at
Tirzah, where he tries to figure out what he’s going to do in the northern
territories
Tirzah – See map
:6 carried away the stones of Ramah…he built therewith Geba and Mizpah.
Asa takes the materials that were being used to build the city of Ramah
Geba – Geba‘– “hill”. A city close to Ramah. See map
Mizpah – Mitspah – “watchtower”. A city close to Ramah. See map
:7-10 Hanani’s rebuke
:7 at that time Hanani the seer came …and said unto him, Because thou hast
relied on the king of Syria Syria
Hanani – Chananiy – “gracious”. I wonder if we ought to be careful not to read Hanani’s words with anger, but instead with “grace”.
hast relied – sha‘an – to lean on, trust in, support
The implication is that God wanted to give Asa victory greater than just
the victory over Baasha. God wanted to give Asa victory over the Syrians as
well. But because Asa didn’t ask God what God’s plans were, Asa ended up making
the Syrians stronger by giving them money and having them attack Israel
Lesson
God’s plans may be bigger than yours
All Asa could think about was how to be victorious over the northern kingdom
of Israel
Yet God had intended for Asa to conquer the Syrians as well.
What if God wants to take you far past where your dreams are?
I’m not trying to just encourage you to dream bigger than you’ve ever dreamed just for the sake of dreaming. This is not about your dreams. It’s about God’s plans.
Illustration
“Let’s build a bridge across the Niagara ,” someone
proposed over a century ago. Great idea, it would save miles of travel and
solve many problems. But how were they to begin? The canyon walls were too
steep, and the rapids were too wild to get that first strand across from cliff
to cliff. Then someone got a bright idea. They’d offer a ten dollar prize to
the kid who could fly a kite from one side to the other. That’s how the first
string got across. It was then connected to larger string, and it in turn was
connected to a slender cable. And the slender cable was connected to the strong
cable that made the entire construction possible.
When the project was first announced, the critics laughed at the project.
When they heard that a “kite was going to solve the problem,” the sophisticated
engineers had a field day. Well, history had the last laugh. One young boy,
Homan Walsh, flew the first string across the chasm with his kite in 1848. He
succeeded and the process worked just as it was envisioned. The boy collected
his ten dollars; the great suspension bridge was started with a single string.
I imagine for that young boy, all he had in mind was flying his kite across and collecting the ten dollars. But much bigger things were at stake. Someone bigger than him had a bigger plan.
What if God wants to take you far past where your dreams are?
I know that there are some of us who tend to dream “pipe dreams”. We can get caught up in our own little fantasy worlds, dreaming of “life out there” when we ought to be working on “life in here”.
But there are some of us who don’t ever dare to risk at all. We always play it “safe”.
What if God wants to take you far past where your dreams are?
(Eph 3:20
KJV) Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask
or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Take time to find out where God wants you to go – don’t head out the door without a map.
:8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand.
Lubims – Luwbiy – Libyans – “empty-hearted” or
“afflicted”; an area in northern Africa .
didst rely – sha‘an – to lean on, trust in, support
This was the battle back in 2Chronicles 14, when Asa was outnumbered 2-to-1.
Lesson
There’s danger in strength
When Asa was unable to face the Ethiopians, he was in a great place.
It’s when he could “afford” to handle the situation at Ramah that he got himself into trouble.
Stress testing. In various types of industry, there are tests called “stress tests”. The idea is to see just how strong something is.
Illustration
In a recent issue of “Meat & Poultry” magazine, editors quoted from “Feathers,” the publication of the California Poultry Industry Federation, telling the following story: It seems the US Federal Aviation Administration has a unique device for testing the strength of windshields on airplanes. The device is a gun that launches a dead chicken at a plane’s windshield at approximately the speed the plane flies. The theory is that if the windshield doesn’t crack from the carcass impact, it’ll survive a real collision with a bird during flight. It seems the British were very interested in this and wanted to test a windshield on a brand new, speedy locomotive they’re developing. They borrowed the FAA’s chicken launcher, loaded the chicken and fired. The ballistic chicken shattered the windshield, went through the engineer’s chair, broke an instrument panel and embedded itself in the back wall of the engine cab. The British were stunned and asked the FAA to recheck the test to see if everything was done correctly. The FAA reviewed the test thoroughly and had one recommendation: “Use a thawed chicken.”
I think that sometimes we put ourselves through our own “stress tests”. Sometimes we get a couple of victories under our belts and think we can handle anything – that is – anything without the Lord.
In reality, we ALWAYS need the Lord.
It’s not that we should never become strong.
It’s that we never grow out of needing the Lord.
Paul wrote to the Galatians:
(Gal 3:3 KJV) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye
now made perfect by the flesh?
How are we going to handle our problems?
Have we “grown up” enough to learn to handle our problems all by ourselves?
In reality, I need to be in a place where I trust the Lord all the time.
I know that by myself I can’t do it.
“But I can do
it” I might tell myself. That’s when I start going down some dangerous paths.
:9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.
to show himself strong – chazaq – (Hithpael) to put forth strength, use one’s strength; to hold strongly with
perfect – shalem – complete, safe, perfect, whole, full, at peace; loyal
(2 Chr 16:9 ICB) The Lord searches all the earth for people who have given themselves completely to him. He wants to make them strong.
God is actively looking for people whom He’s going to help. He’s looking
for people who have hearts that are loyal and committed to Him.
Lesson
Three types of “givers”
This is something that Pastor Chuck has taught us over the years…
1) The “Sell me” giver
This is the person that needs to be sold on the reason they should be giving to you.
If you are going to open a ministry to recovering alcoholics, and you are going to ask for some financial help, these are the people that you make the brochures for. These are the people that you need to give all the statistics to, to show how successful your program will be. You might even have a reporter from the Register contact them about their gift so their name can be in the paper. If you do a good enough job of convincing this type of giver, they will get out their checkbook and write you a check.
2) The “Inform me” giver
This is the person who needs to simply be told of your needs. They know they need to be giving, but they need to be informed of just how much you need. They need to be told of the needs for your project. And their checkbook comes out.
3) The Smart Investor
This is the person who might be a recovering alcoholic. He already knows what the need is. He too has a desire to do a work in the community. He’s been looking to find the person that is doing what he already has in mind. When he comes across you and sees that you had the same ideas as him, he writes a check.
Why is this important to know? What kind of a giver do you think God is? It will affect the way you pray. It will affect the way you live your life.
Some people think that God is the “sell me” kind of giver. When they pray, you get the idea that they are trying to convince God to do things their way. This is the person who comes up with their program, their idea, and then tries hard to “sell” God on the idea. “If I can just get God to bless my idea”.
Some people think God is the “inform me” kind of giver. Their prayers are all about filling God in with the current needs. Perhaps if God knew just how bad the problem was, He would respond.
In reality, God is the “Smart Investor”.
He has His own plans about what needs to be done.
He’s looking for people who are doing the things that He’s interested in.
He’s going to “show Himself strong” to the person who doing the things He’s looking for.
God is looking to invest in the person whose heart is in the right place.
Lesson
God is looking at hearts
We might be thinking that we have to come up with a way to get God to answer our prayer.
What we really need to is to get our heart to where we’re the one that God is looking for.
:9 Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
Lesson
What “works” isn’t always right.
Sometimes we have the idea, “Hey, it doesn’t matter how I do it, as long as it gets done!”
The end doesn’t always justify the means.
Relationships – some people cook up ways to make a relationship work - their goal is to get married, and whatever it takes to get there is okay.
Some people compromise their values and have sex before they get married. Other people move in together before they get married. Others will lie about their background or pretend to be something they’re not.
God wants your marriage to be built on the correct foundation. He wants a marriage to be centered around Him. He wants a marriage centered around truth – being real with each other. He wants a marriage centered on unconditional love. He wants a relationship built on the commitment of marriage.
Success in life – some people feel that they ought to be successful in their career. They’ll do whatever it takes.
Some will cheat or backstab people at work to get ahead.
Others might do things like abort a baby because it is inconvenient. A baby might make me change my plans for success. Since when is it okay to kill an unborn child?
What do you do if you’ve done some of these foolish things?
If you are still doing something foolish, stop it and turn your life around. Ask God to make your life different.
(Hosea 6:1 KJV) Come, and let us return unto the
LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind
us up.
Ask God for forgiveness.
(1 John 1:9 KJV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Jesus died on a cross in order to pay for your sins. Come to Him.
:10 Then Asa was wroth with the seer …
At an earlier time, Asa was confronted by another prophet. At that time, this was Asa’s reaction:
(2 Chr 15:8 KJV) And when Asa heard these
words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the
abominable idols out of all the land of Judah
But something has changed in Asa. He doesn’t seem to be willing to listen to what God has to say. He’s just angry.
Lesson
Don’t get angry when you’re the one
at fault
Illustration
Back in the cowboy days, a westbound wagon train was lost and low on food.
No other humans had been seen for days. And then they saw an old Jewish man
sitting beneath a tree. The leader rushed to him and said, “We’re lost and
running out of food. Is there someplace ahead where we can get some food?” “Vell,” the old Jew said, “I wouldn’t go up dat hill und down de udder side. Some vun
told me you’ll run into a big bacon tree.” “A bacon tree?” asked the wagon
leader. “Yah, a bacon tree. Trust me. For nuttin vud I lie.” The leader goes back and tells his people that
if nothing else, they might be able to find food on the other side of the next
ridge. “So why did he say not to go there?” some of the pioneers asked. “Oh,
you know those Jews – they don’t eat bacon!” So the wagon train goes up the
hill and down the other side. Suddenly, Indians attack and massacre everyone
except the leader, who manages to escape back to the old man, who’s enjoying a
glass of tea. The near-dead man starts shouting, “You fool! You sent us to our
deaths! We followed your instructions, but there was no bacon tree – just
hundreds of Indians – who killed everyone!” The old Jewish man hold up his hand
and says, “Oy, vait a
minute.” Then he gets out an English-Yiddish dictionary and begins to thumb
through it. “Gevalt!” he exclaims. “I made my self a
big mistake. It vuz not a bacon tree, it vuz a ham bush!”
Hey, whether it was a bacon tree or a ham bush, the wagon train was warned not to go!
The truth is, Hanani is right. And Asa is having a hard time hearing it.
Perhaps it’s because Asa has grown as a king. Perhaps it’s because he’s gotten to the point where nobody can tell him anything.
Illustration
There was an officer in the navy who had always dreamed of commanding a battleship. He finally achieved that dream and was given commission of the newest and proudest ship in the fleet. One stormy night, as the ship plowed through the seas, the captain was on duty on the bridge when off to the port he spotted a strange light rapidly closing with his own vessel. Immediately he ordered the signalman to flash the message to the unidentified craft, “Alter your course ten degrees to the south.” Only a moment had passed before the reply came: “Alter your course ten degrees to the north.” Determined that his ship would take a backseat to no other, the captain snapped out the order to be sent: “Alter course ten degrees—I am the CAPTAIN!” The response beamed back, “Alter your course ten degrees—I am Seaman Third Class Jones.” Now infuriated, the captain grabbed the signal light with his own hands and fired off: “Alter course, I am a battleship.” The reply came back. “Alter your course, I am a lighthouse.”
No matter how big or important any of us think we are, we need to pay attention to what God says. We should ALWAYS alter our course to match His.
:11-14 Asa’s death
:12 And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet
It has been suggested that Asa and Jehoshaphat ruled together over the kingdom during this period.
:12 in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.
physicians – rapha’ – to heal, make healthful; healer, physician (of men). In those ancient days, it wasn’t like going to a modern doctor. This may have been something more like a magician or a witch doctor.
Illustration
There is the story about the daughter of a fashionable couple from a large
eastern city who went to Africa as a Peace corps
volunteer. She had been to finishing school and her parents had made every
effort to see that she was properly prepared to occupy a place in their social
strata. When the young woman’s term on the field was over she sent a telegram
announcing that she would be bringing her new husband home with her. Her mother
and father waited with excited anticipation at the airport gate. Their daughter
emerged from the plane on the arm of a man about seven feet tall who was
adorned in feathers, beads, skulls, tigers’ teeth, and assorted pouches of
magical potions around his neck. He even had a bone through his nose and rings
in his ears! The mother fainted. As the father held his now unconscious wife,
he shouted to his daughter, “No, no, dear. We said we wanted you to marry a
rich doctor.”
We can see the depth of Asa’s bitterness against the Lord.
Lesson
Seek the Lord first
It seems that often we wait until things are really desperate before we turn to the Lord for help.
God would desire that we seek Him first. After all, He is a Doctor also.
The word for “physicians” is also used of the Lord:
(Exo
It’s not wrong to go to a doctor, but go to the Lord first.
:14 And they buried him in his own sepulchres… made a very great burning for him.
Asa had a grand funeral, one fit for a king. This is not describing cremation, but the burning of spices.
2Chronicles 17
:1-6 Jehoshaphat reigns
:3 And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim;
first – ri’shown – first, primary, former; first, chief (in degree)
ways – derek – way, road, distance, journey, manner
Baalim – plural of “Baal”. There were often different variations of “Baal” according to each city.
Lesson
First love
This reminds me of the phrase in Revelation, where Jesus is addressing the
church in Ephesus
(Rev 2:4-5 KJV) Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because
thou hast left thy first love. {5} Remember therefore from whence thou art
fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee
quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
It seems that Jehoshaphat had seen the things that his father Asa had been doing.
When Asa is gone, Jehoshaphat takes the nation back to the “first ways”.
He takes them back to the Lord.
:5 Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand
stablished – kuwn – (Hiphil) to establish, set up, accomplish, do, make firm; to fix, make ready, prepare, provide, provide for, furnish; to direct toward (moral sense); to arrange, order
Lesson
Strength from seeking the Lord
Our strength comes from clinging to the Lord. If we seek God and His things first, He’ll take care of the rest.
Jesus said,
(Mat 6:33
KJV) But seek ye first the kingdom of God
Augustine said,
God is more anxious to bestow his
blessings on us than we are to receive them.
Illustration
When young William arrived in the city, he found it hard to get work. Now
lonesome and far from home, he remembered his mother’s words and the last words
of the canal boat captain. He was led to “seek first the kingdom
of God
He now resolved to keep his promise to the captain. He made an honest soap, gave a full pound, and instructed his bookkeeper to open an account with the Lord and place one tenth of all company and personal earnings to that account. He prospered, his business prospered, his family was blessed, his soap sold, and he grew richer faster than he had ever hoped. Soon he was giving it all to the Lord’s work. Who was this soapmaker? William Colgate, today a household name.
-- Robert Strand,
Moments for Graduates (New Leaf Press, 1994), p. 10.
I’m not sharing all this to make you get all wide-eyed about becoming rich. God has different priorities than we do. He wants to bless us, but according to what’s best. It comes as we put Him and His priorities first.
He wants to bless us beyond what we can imagine.
Illustration
A Texas
Again – it’s not about money – it’s about God establishing us. I may find myself in the lowest tax bracket, but if God is “stablishing” me, then nothing can shake me – I’ll be truly blessed.
:6 And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD
lifted up – gabahh – to be high, be exalted; to be lofty (of Jehovah’s ways-good sense); to be haughty, be arrogant (bad sense)
Sometimes this word is used in a negative way, as a person that is proud
and haughty. But here it speaks of Jehoshaphat’s “loftiness” coming not in his
own abilities, but in having been with the Lord.
(2 Chr 17:6 NLT) He was committed to the
ways of the LORD.
:7-9 Teachers sent
:9 And they taught in Judah
These priests and Levites were sent to teach God’s Law to the nation.
Lesson
Take the Word to the people.
They brought the teaching to the people.
These priests weren’t supposed to wait for the people to show up at the Temple
They went out to the people.
Lesson
Make the Word understandable
In a way, bringing the Word to the people is a picture of what real teaching is supposed to be about.
You need to take God’s Word to where the people are. You need to make it understandable to the people you are teaching.
I believe J. Vernon McGee used to say, “Put the cookies on the lower shelf so the children can reach them”.
:10-11 Kingdoms bring tribute
:10-11 the fear of the LORD fell upon … Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents …
One commentary I read made me laugh at this point. It said that the reason
why all the nations made peace with Jehoshaphat was because of his awesomely
huge army (2Chron. 17:13 -19). Now
Jehoshaphat did have a huge army, but the flow of the chapter is to show that
this protection from the surrounding nations came because of the teaching that
had gone on with the people.
I think the implication is that when the people began to be taught the Word, the nation prospered and they were protected from their enemies.
(2 Chr 17:9-11 NLT) They took copies of
the Book of the Law of the LORD and traveled around through all the towns of Judah
Lesson
The Word strengthens us
The demons tremble as we learn to put the Word into our lives.
It is a sharp sword (Eph. 6:17 ),
an offensive weapon to the enemy
(Eph
It is one of the tools that keeps us from sin:
(Psa 119:11 KJV) Thy
word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
It is the things that makes us useable to God:
(2 Tim 3:16-17 KJV) All scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness: {17} That the man of God may be
perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Lesson
Learn the Word.
We need to know the Word and live by it.
In Hosea’s day, the people were facing judgment for their sins because they had not been taught what was right.
(Hosea 4:6 KJV) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:
because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt
be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also
forget thy children.
The rebuke was to the priests who had not been teaching the people.
God told Aaron on the day when his sons had been killed by God’s fire in the Tabernacle:
(Lev 10:8-11 KJV) And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying, {9} Do not
drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the
tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever
throughout your generations: {10} And that ye may put difference between holy
and unholy, and between unclean and clean; {11} And that ye may teach the
children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the
hand of Moses.
The priests needed to keep sober so they could teach the
people God’s Laws.
As New Testament believers, we are all priests.
We all need to take hold of this charge to be teaching God’s Word.
We need to be teaching ourselves.
We need to be teaching our children.
:12-19 Jehoshaphat’s army
:12 he built in Judah
castles – biyraniyth – fortress, fortified place
:16 who willingly offered himself unto the LORD
willingly offered – nadab – to incite, impel, make willing; (Hithpael) to volunteer; to offer free-will offerings
Does this mean that he served without pay?
(2 Chr 17:16 ICB) Amasiah son of Zicri had
volunteered to serve the Lord.
:14-19 …These waited on the king
The total size of Jehoshaphat’s army:
300,000 + 280,000 + 200,000 + 200,000 + 180,000 = 1,160,000 men
2Chronicles 18
:1-3 Invitation to Ramothgilead
:1 joined affinity with Ahab.
joined affinity – chathan – to become a son-in-law, make oneself a daughter’s husband
Actually, Jehoshaphat made an alliance by marriage to Ahab. He arranged for Ahab and Jezebel’s daughter to marry his son.
Lesson
Unequally yoked.
If we were to see a problem with Jehoshaphat, this is it.
What he did made sense politically.
If the daughter of your enemy is married to your son, you don’t have to worry about your enemy attacking you.
But this alliance will get Jehoshaphat into trouble – BIG TROUBLE.
Not only will this marriage bring Jehoshaphat into a war where he didn’t belong, but wait … there’s more!
When his son Jehoram becomes king after Jehoshaphat’s death, he kills all his brothers.
His wife, Athaliah, being a daughter of Jezebel, brought Baal worship into
the palace of Judah
After Jehoram’s death, their son Ahaziah ruled for a couple of years, but when he died, Athaliah had all the rest of the family killed so she could rule over the nation.
Just about ALL of the wicked things that will happen in the southern kingdom of Judah from chapter 18 through chapter 23 will all stem from this marriage.
The Bible says,
(2 Cor
6:14 -18
KJV) Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for
what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion
hath light with darkness? {15} And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or
what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? {16} And what agreement hath
the temple of God
Being “yoked” is having a close relationship with a person where they are a great influence upon you.
It usually took two animals to pull a plow. You typically put two similar animals together under the yoke. If you put an ox and a donkey together, the donkey might sit down and as the ox pulls, you just go around in circles.
The prime relationship is that of marriage.
Don’t marry an unbeliever.
:2 And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria
Samaria Jerusalem
down to Ahab to Samaria Jerusalem Mount
Zion Jerusalem
Ramothgilead – “the heights of Gilead ”.
See map
It was one of the “Cities of Refuge”.
(Deu
4:43
KJV) Namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain
country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth
in Gilead , of the Gadites; and Golan
in Bashan , of the Manassites.
It was originally a part of the tribe of Gad.
Even though it was a part of the area belonging to Gad, the actual city itself was populated by Levites of the Merari family.
(1 Chr
6:80 KJV) And out of the tribe of Gad; Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, and Mahanaim
with her suburbs,
It would be fought over many times, being traded back and forth between Israel Syria
:4-5 Jehoshaphat asks for counsel
:4 Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day.
the LORD – Yahweh – When the English text is in all capital letters, this tells us that the underlying Hebrew word is God’s name, Yahweh. Jehoshaphat wants to know what God (Yahweh) thinks about this war.
:5 gathered together of prophets four hundred men
These seem to be generic/multipurpose “prophets”.
I wonder if this group is related to the four hundred prophets of the
“groves” (the goddess Asherah) that had not
been executed by Elijah? (1Ki. 18:19 ,40)
There had been two groups of prophets invited to the showdown on Mt.
Carmel
(1 Ki
18:19
KJV) Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel
Yet Elijah only challenged, and then executed, the 450 prophets of Baal.
(1 Ki
18:40
KJV) And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them
escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
Could these men be the prophets of the “groves”, or, the Asherah?
:5 And they said, Go up; for God will deliver it into the king's hand.
God – ‘elohiym – God
Note: They don’t use the name of Yahweh.
:6-22 Micaiah’s warning
:6 Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides
the LORD – Yahweh – this is God’s name.
There must be something about Ahab’s four hundred prophets that tells Jehoshaphat that they are not prophets of Yahweh.
:7 I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil
Are there people like this in your life?
Lesson
Be willing to listen to hard things
Ahab has had a problem every time someone reminds him he needs to change.
(Eph 4:14-15 KJV)
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about
with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive; {15} But speaking the truth in love, may
grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
We learn to grow up when we speak the truth in love to each other.
I think it helps that we be honest and specific with each other. I don’t think it’s helpful to just say that “you have problems”. Sometimes we can’t see our own problems.
(1 Cor
13:6 KJV) Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
Love isn’t glad to hear about a person stumbling or falling into sin.
Love is glad when it hears the truth. Sometimes the truth is a difficult thing for us to listen to, but if it’s the truth, then we ought to be glad we’re hearing it because that’s how we grow.
I don’t know many people who like to be criticized. We especially don’t like it when there are people like Micaiah in our lives who seem to always say something negative. But be careful to ask yourself the question, “Is there any truth in this?”
For some of us, the lesson isn’t about what you listen to, it’s about what you say. Sometimes we need to be ask ourselves, “Does anything but criticism come from my mouth?”
Illustration
The Secret of a Happy Marriage
There was once a man and woman who had been married for more than 60 years,
they had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no
secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoebox in the
top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her
about. For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day
the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover.
In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoebox
and took it to his wife’s bedside. She agreed that it was time that he should
know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted doilies and
a stack of money totaling $25,000. He asked her about the contents. “When we
were to be married,” she said,” my grandmother told me the secret of a happy
marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you I
should just keep quiet and crochet a doily.” The little old man was so moved,
he had to fight back tears. Only two precious doilies were in the box. She had
only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He
almost burst with happiness. “Honey,” he said, “that explains the doilies, but
what about all of this money? Where did it come from?” “Oh,” she said, “that’s
the money I made from selling the doilies.”
:7 Micaiah the son of Imla
Micaiah – Miykay@huw “who is like God”
:9 either of them on his throne, clothed in their robes, and they sat in a void place
a void place – goren – threshing-floor; barn, barn floor, corn floor, void place; A typical place for the kings to sit with their subjects, with plenty of open space for the people.
It’s a grand scene. A big, open area with lots of pomp and color.
:10 And Zedekiah …made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith the LORD …
Zedekiah – Tsidqiyah – “Yahweh is righteous”
horns of iron – It wasn’t unusual for a prophet to use a prop.
Jeremiah used a wooden, then an iron yoke to signify the servitude to Babylon
the LORD – Yahweh – this is God’s name.
This man is claiming to speak for Yahweh, yet he is one of the false prophets. He is one of the four hundred. Perhaps he wants to be the one that will satisfy Jehoshaphat. He’s heard that Jehoshaphat wants to hear from Yahweh, so he “speaks” for Yahweh.
:11 all the prophets prophesied …prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it
prosper – tsalach – to advance, prosper, make progress, succeed, be profitable
the LORD – Yahweh – this is God’s name. The rest of the prophets also claim to be speaking for Yahweh.
:12 let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good.
The messenger just wants Micaiah to go along with the program and not rock the boat.
:13 And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak.
Micaiah doesn’t want to be told what to say. Yet notice how he seems to go along with the program anyway, at least at first.
:15 And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the LORD?
Somehow Ahab can tell that Micaiah isn’t being sincere. Perhaps it was something in the tone of voice. I kind of get the idea that is Micaiah is being sarcastic, that he’s displayed this attitude before to Ahab.
:16 I did see all Israel
Micaiah shares a vision he’s had. Micaiah is saying that Israel
:18 I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne …
Ahab and Jehosphaphat, who are listening to Micaiah, are also sitting on their thrones right now. They aren’t the only kings sitting on thrones.
:19 Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel
The Lord’s intention is for Ahab to die at Ramothgilead.
:20 Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will entice him
There are two kinds of angels in heaven, good angels and bad angels.
Satan himself still has access to heaven, and presents himself before God.
(Job 1:6-7 KJV) Now there
was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and
Satan came also among them. {7} And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest
thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the
earth, and from walking up and down in it.
He is called the “accuser of the brethren”, and works night and day against us (Rev. 12:10)
:22 the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets …
This is a hard phrase. We need to be careful how we handle this.
Lesson
God is not evil
While this may seem like I'm playing with words, we have to be careful to see the difference between God using evil to accomplish His purposes, and attributing evil directly to God.
The Bible says:
1John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of
him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God
cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any
man:
Lesson
God may allow evil to occur to accomplish His will.
The decree was made that Ahab would fall at Ramoth Gilead. God had run out of patience with Ahab. It was time for his judgment. Judgment is not evil, it’s good.
God is not allowing judgment to come upon someone who doesn’t deserve it. Ahab deserves this. There is NOTHING unfair about this at all.
This is not evil because it is unfair. For Ahab this is “evil” because it means his destruction.
God will be allowing an evil spirit to work in Ahab's life, so the purpose will be accomplished.
Why does God allow evil to exist in the first place?
God allows evil for man to have a choice.
Without evil, there is no possibility of loving from a free will choice.
Without a choice, how can that be love?
God doesn’t create us to be robots that love Him when He pushes a button. He has created us with free will so that we could choose to love Him or not to love Him. And to be able to make a choice, there has to be something to choose from. And so God allows Satan to continue to offer a choice.
If there weren’t a tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the chance that man could disobey, then there wouldn’t have been a chance for man to obey.
Lesson
False prophecy
Jeremiah had a problem in his day. God was about to allow Jerusalem to be destroyed, but there were men who claimed to be prophets who kept telling the people that they were okay and nothing bad was going to happen. As a result, the people weren’t paying attention to Jeremiah’s warnings, which WERE from God.
(Jer 23:28-32 KJV) The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.
Chaff is the husk on the kernel of wheat. It’s not the real deal. God wants us paying attention to the real deal. God’s Word is the real deal. The Bible is the Real Deal.
{29} Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? {30} Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. {31} Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. {32} Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.
I think that sometimes we can use the phrase “God told me” a little too lightly.
Sometimes it’s just our own ideas. They may not be bad ideas, but they’re our ideas, not God’s.
God does not take kindly to people who will claim to speak for Him when He isn’t speaking.
Do I believe God speaks to people today?
I certainly do. But I think we ought to be VERY careful and very cautious about saying that God told us something if it’s just our own ideas.
What if someone says to me that they have a word from God for me?
I will listen to it. I will tell them that I will pray about it. I will read God’s Word. I will trust that if God is speaking to me, that He will speak TO ME as well.
What’s so difficult about this whole situation is that these false prophets were all using God’s holy name.
Just because someone talks about the Lord and uses His name doesn’t mean that they’re correct.
:23-34 The disastrous battle
:23 Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near
This is the guy who already had been in the spotlight, but had now lost the spotlight because Micaiah had shown up.
:23 Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?
(2 Chr 18:23 NASB) "How did
the Spirit of the LORD pass from me to speak to you?"
:24 when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.
chamber – cheder – chamber, room, parlour, innermost or inward part, within. Used for a bedroom chamber and for a bathroom chamber.
There would be a day when Zedekaiah would be looking for a place to hide, like after the battle when the king is killed after following his advice.
:26 feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction
bread … water of affliction – bad bread, foul water, barely enough to survive.
:27 And Micaiah said, If thou certainly return in peace, then hath not the LORD spoken by me
Lesson
Testing prophetic words
One of the tests of prophecy is: Does it come to pass?
(Deu
18:21-22 KJV) And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word
which the LORD hath not spoken? {22} When a prophet speaketh
in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the
thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it
presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
If a person says that something will happen, but it doesn’t, then God wasn’t speaking.
You shouldn’t “be afraid” of that person. Sometimes a person who claims to be speaking for the Lord carries this sense of “awe” about them. You’re afraid to say anything because after all, God is speaking, isn’t He? Don’t be afraid.
:28 So the king of Israel Judah
Ahab decides to go up and fight anyway. Perhaps he figured that 400 in favor and 1 opposed was good enough for him. The problem is that the majority was not correct.
:29 I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes
Perhaps Ahab is thinking that if he doesn’t dress like the King of Israel, then the King of Israel can’t be slain.
Perhaps Ahab presented it to Jehoshaphat as if he was just hungry for a little action, and rather than just sit back in his chariot like a king, he wanted to get down into the battle.
Perhaps it seemed to Jehoshaphat that Ahab is going to give him the honor of being the commanding king in this battle, but he will also be the target of the enemy.
Personally, I have a hard time thinking that Jehoshaphat isn’t being duped to take the fall for Ahab.
With a warning like Micaiah’s, why is Jehoshaphat is going at all!
Maybe Jehoshaphat wasn’t worried since the focus was on Ahab’s death, and not on himself.
:30 Fight ye not with small or great, save only with the king of Israel
It’s interesting that the king of Syria
:31 Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him.
Lesson
You’re never too far away to cry for help.
Here’s Jehoshaphat in an alliance he shouldn’t be in, in a battle he shouldn’t be in, and he calls to God for help.
Illustration
The Atheist and the Bear
An atheist was walking through the woods, admiring all that
the “accidents” that evolution had created. “What majestic trees, What powerful
rivers, What beautiful animals!” he said to himself. As he was walking
alongside the river he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. Turning to
look, he saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charge towards him. He ran as fast as he
could up the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw the grizzly was closing.
Somehow, he ran even faster, so scared that tears came to his eyes. He looked
again and the bear was even closer. His heart was pounding and he tried to run
faster. He tripped and fell to the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up
but the bear was right over him, reaching for him with its left paw and raising
its right paw to strike him. At that instant the atheist cried, “Oh my God!...”
Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. Even the river stopped
moving. As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky, “You
deny my existence for all these years, teach others that I don’t exist and even
credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this
predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?” The atheist looked directly into
the light, “It would be hypocritical to ask to be a Christian after all these
years, but perhaps you could make the bear a Christian. “Very well” said the
voice. The light went out. The river ran. The sounds of the forest resumed.
...and then the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together and
bowed its head and spoke: “Lord, for this food which I am about to receive, I
am truly thankful.
If I were God, I might say to Jehoshaphat, “Well buddy, you made your bed, now lie in it!”
But God is much more gracious than that.
And yes, God would even allow a devout Atheist to become a Christian …
All God is waiting for is for us to call upon Him.
Psalms 34:4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and
delivered me from all my fears.
God doesn’t promise to deliver us from our bad situation necessarily, but He promises to deliver us from our fears.
If we but learn how to seek the Lord.
