Introduction
What happened in last week’s chapter made clear to us that Ahab was a wicked king and an unfaithful shepherd, because instead of caring for God’s people and protecting them from all harm — as a faithful shepherd and good king should do — he let his wife take Naboth’s life so that he could take his vineyard and take away his inheritance in the Promised Land. When Israel asked for a king many years earlier, Samuel warned them that a human king will only take and take and take from them. And that’s what Ahab and his wife did to Naboth.
And so, Ahab was the exact opposite of our King, Jesus Christ, who does not take and take and take from us. Instead he gave up his life for us on the cross, so that we could be justified: pardoned and accepted by God. And he promises to give us an inheritance in the Promised Land to come in the new heavens and earth. He promises to give his people eternal life in the new creation, where we will be with God in glory forever and forever.
At the end of last week’s chapter, the Lord sent the prophet Elijah to Ahab to warn him of the judgment which was about to fall on him and his family because of his wicked ways. And Ahab was moved by what he heard; and he humbled himself before the Lord. However, today’s chapter makes clear to us that any feelings he had of sorrow and penitence did not last, because in today’s chapter he did not pay attention to the Lord’s warning of impending judgment which came to him through another prophet. He stubbornly refused to believe God’s word to him. God tells us in his word that he opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. And God tells us in his word that though he lives in a high and holy place, he is also with all those who are contrite and lowly in spirit. And since this is true, then we know that if Ahab had humbled himself before the Lord, if he possessed a contrite and lowly spirit, he would have received God’s forgiveness. But since he proudly refused to believe God’s word, then God was against him; and so, he died on the battle field despite disguising himself.
And so, let’s turn to this chapter which tells us about the death of Ahab and which also tells us briefly about the reigns of Jehoshaphat in the southern kingdom of Judah; and of Ahaziah in the northern kingdom of Israel.
Verses 1 to 28
We’re told at the beginning of the chapter that there had been no war between Aram and Israel for three years. This was because of the treaty which Ahab king of Israel and Ben-Hadad king of Aram made with each other and which we read about in chapter 20. However, as part of the treaty, Ben-Hadad agreed to return to Israel any Israelite city which they had taken from Israel. But it now seems that Ben-Hadad had not returned Ramoth Gilead to Israel. Ahab raised this matter with Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, and asked for his help. And you can see from verse 4 that Jehoshaphat was willing to go into battle with him against Ben-Hadad: ‘I am as you are, my people are as your people, my horses are as your horses.’ So, yes, we’ll help you fight against Aram.
However, Jehoshaphat wanted to seek the Lord’s guidance. He did not want to do anything which the Lord forbade. And so, verse 6 tells us that Ahab brought together the prophets. And look: there were about four hundred of them. However, we don’t really know who these four hundred prophets were; and it’s not at all certain that there were prophets of the Lord. It’s unlikely that they were prophets of Baal, because all of Baal prophets were killed after the trial on Mount Carmel. But while they may not have been prophets of Baal, it doesn’t seem that they’re prophets of the Lord. After all, when Ahab asked them whether he should go to war, the prophets replied: ‘Go, for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.’ Notice that they did not use the Lord’s proper name, which appears in our English Bibles as LORD in capital letters. It’s the Hebrew name, Yahweh. They didn’t use that name. They used the Hebrew word adonay, which can refer to Israel’s God, but it can also refer to any lord or master or false god. The fact that they don’t use God’s proper name suggests that these are not true prophets of the Lord.
And Jehoshaphat seems to think the same about them, because he asks in verse 7 whether or not there’s a prophet of the Lord for them to ask. And it seems that there is a prophet of the Lord whom they could call on. But Ahab hates him. And Ahab hates him because, according to verse 8, he never prophesies anything good about Ahab; he only ever prophesies bad things about him. Since Ahab was a wicked king and an unfaithful shepherd of God’s people, then we’re not surprised to hear that the Lord’s prophet only ever prophesied bad things about him. Presumably the prophet kept telling Ahab that what he was doing was wicked and he needed to repent, otherwise he would suffer the punishment of God. But since Ahab was wicked, he didn’t want to hear God’s word; and he wasn’t willing to turn from his wicked ways.
And so, who is this prophet of the Lord? We’re perhaps expecting it to be Elijah. But it’s not. It’s another prophet named Micaiah. And this prophet is available and they can call on him because it seems he was being kept in prison at that time. How do we know he was being kept in prison? If you glance forward briefly to verses 26 and 27, you’ll see that Ahab tells his men to send Micaiah back to his officials to be put in prison. Sending him back suggests that’s where he had come from. So, he was being sent back to prison after being released briefly so that he could come before the king.
Years later King Herod would imprison John the Baptist for telling him the word of the Lord plainly. And it seems that Ahab had imprisoned Micaiah for telling him the word of the Lord plainly. And their refusal to listen to God’s word is a reminder to us that — because we’re sinners who are sinfully inclined to suppress the truth about God — then by nature we don’t want to hear God’s word. Because we’re sinners, we don’t want to hear the truth. Because we’re sinners, we prefer lies to the truth; and all we want to hear is what we already believe. And we would remain that way throughout our lives if it were not for the Lord himself who graciously and freely comes to us by his Spirit to give us a new heart to love him and to love his word and to acknowledge the truth about God and about ourselves. If it were not for God, then none of us would ever believe God’s word.
However, since we remain sinners throughout our lives, then we have to watch out for those occasions when our old sinful nature gets the better of us and we close our ears to the truth of God’s word. We need to watch out for those occasions; and when we come to church on Sundays, we need to pray to God to enable us to receive his word with faith and humility so that we don’t end up like Ahab.
In any case, Jehoshaphat wants to hear what Micaiah has to say and they send for the prophet. While they wait for him, one of the other prophets, a man named Zedekiah — not to be confused with King Zedekiah who would become king of Judah later — put some horns on his head to represent the two kings of Israel and Judah and how they will surely gore the Arameans just as a bull might gore its victim. And all the other prophets join in and say the same thing. Attack Ramoth Gilead, they said, and the LORD will give it into the king’s hand. This time they use the Lord’s proper name — Yahweh or LORD in capital letters — but it’s likely they’re only doing so because Jehoshaphat mentioned his name earlier.
And in verse 13 I think we’re to imagine that Micaiah is standing at the entrance to where the kings and the other prophets are gathered; and the messenger with Micaiah is leaning over and whispering some advice into his ear: Everyone else is predicting success for the king; and so it will go well for you if you fall in with them and say the same thing to the king. Don’t make trouble for yourself.
But Micaiah is a man of principle, isn’t he? He’s a man of principle. He will not be swayed by what others think and say. He will not conform his message to what everyone wants to hear. He will not meddle with the truth or change it in any way. All he will do is proclaim what the Lord has said. And since that’s the case, I think we’re to take it that he’s being sarcastic or flippant when he initially tells the king that they will be victorious. He saying: ‘Yeah, sure. God will help you. That’s what everyone is saying. And that’s what you want to hear. So, sure. God will help you.’
And it seems Micaiah has spoken to the king like this before, because the king says to him in verse 16: ‘How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?’ And so, this time Micaiah tells him the word of the Lord. And it’s a word of impending judgment, isn’t it? All Israel will be scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And they will be like sheep without a shepherd, because their shepherd, their king, will be dead. And once he is dead, the people can go home in peace. And then Micaiah went on to describe in verses 19 to 23 a vision he received of God’s throne-room in heaven. And all of God’s angels are assembled before him. And the Lord asks who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and into going to his death there? And the angels discussed it among themselves and then one came forward and offered to entice him. ‘And how will you do it?’ the Lord asks. And the angel replied that he will put a lying spirit in the mouths of all the prophets. And the king will believe the prophets and be enticed into attacking the city and into going to his death.
Some people, when they hear about this vision, worry because it seems to be saying that the Lord was using deception to entice Ahab. God was making the prophets lie to the king. How can that be right? How can God use lies? But some of the commentators point out that the Lord was not deceiving anyone, because he revealed to Ahab through the prophet Micaiah that this is what he had done. He’s telling Ahab the truth: that what the other prophets are saying is false. So don’t listen to them. Instead listen to me, because if you go into war against the Arameans, you will surely die.
Zedekiah cannot stand to hear the word of the Lord. And so, he slapped Micaiah in the face and mocked him. And the king ordered that Micaiah should be sent back to prison; and he should be given only bread and water until the king returns. But the king is not going to return, is he? He’s not going to return, because instead of receiving God’s word with faith and humility, he stubbornly refused to believe it. Instead of humbling himself before the Lord, and seeking God’s forgiveness for his wickedness, he disregarded the word of the Lord. And so, he ignored the Lord’s warning and brought judgment on himself.
Verses 29 to 40
And so, in verses 29 to 40 we have the battle. We wonder what Jehoshaphat is still doing there. Why did he not turn around and go home? But despite Micaiah’s warning, Jehoshaphat is there with Ahab. And Ahab announces that he’s going to wear a disguise. Perhaps he got wind of what we read in verse 31 that Ben-Hadad told his men to aim for Ahab. And so, he put on a disguise so that they wouldn’t be aiming for him. And when the Arameans saw Jehoshaphat, dressed like a king, they assumed he was Ahab and they turned and attacked him. And then some unnamed soldier drew his bow and fired at random, it says. And his arrow found its way through Ahab’s armour and hit his flesh. When it says he fired at random, it means the soldier did not know that he was firing at the king, because the king was in disguise. As far as the soldier was concerned, it was a lucky shot. But, of course, nothing happens by chance, because everything happens according to God’s most holy and perfect will. And it was God’s will for Ahab to die in the battle that day, because Ahab had refused to listen to God’s warning. And so, the Lord caused the soldier to fire at Ahab and he caused the arrow to find its way through the king’s armour and into his flesh.
Ahab cried out and wanted his chariot driver to get him away from the battle field. But it seems that he was unable to get away and the king was propped up in his chariot. That sounds as if someone propped him up, so that it would seem he was still alive and capable of fighting. But it’s also possible that he was just stuck and couldn’t move. And the blood from his wound ran down into the floor of the chariot and collected there. And by evening he was dead.
And when the chariot was taken back to Samaria to be washed, dogs licked up his blood, as the word of the Lord said they would back in chapter 21. And in this way, the word of the Lord was fulfilled.
Application
What we all need is a contrite and lowly spirit so that we’re able to receive God’s word with faith and humility. If Ahab had had a contrite and lowly spirit — if he was truly sorry for his wicked ways and if he was humble instead of proud — then he would have listened to Micaiah. And if he had listened to Micaiah, then he wouldn’t have died in that battle that day. God would have directed the arrow away from him instead of into him.
And we all need a contrite and lowly spirit, so that we’re able to receive God’s word with faith and humility. The proud person sits above God’s word and judges it. He thinks: I’m willing to believe this bit, but not that bit. She thinks: I’m willing to accept this bit, but not that bit. But the humble person sits under God’s word and lets the word judge him or her. And whereas the proud person refuses to believe God’s word, the humble person believes what God’s word says and especially what he has said about the coming judgment and how we all deserve to be condemened and punished for all the things we have done wrong and for all the ways we have fallen short of doing God’s will. If only Ahab had listened to Micaiah’s warning of impending judgment, then he wouldn’t have died that day. And if only people everywhere would listen to the word of the Lord, then they too would be rescued from the coming judgment and they could look forward to eternal life in the presence of God, because God’s word not only speaks to us of impending judgment, but it also speaks to us of salvation. And God is able to save us from impending judgment because of Christ his Son, who came into the world as one of us and who took the blame for what we have done wrong when he died on the cross. It’s as if he stepped in front of us so that the arrow of God’s judgment hit him instead of us. And so, whoever trusts in him as the only Saviour of the world is pardoned and accepted by God. And so, if you trust in him, then even if you have done everything wrong, God is able to treat you as if you’ve done everything right, because of Christ the Saviour, who paid for our sins with his life and who shares his perfect goodness with all who believe.
And so, when we come here to church to hear God’s word, we should be praying for God to give each one of us a contrite and lowly spirit so that we will receive his word with faith and humility.
Verses 41 to 53
And in his word God tells us about the perfect King. Ahab was not the perfect king. He was a wicked king. And in verses 41 to 50 of today’s chapter, we read about the reign of Jehoshaphat, who was king of the southern kingdom of Judah. And he was a far, far better king than Ahab. It says in verse 43 that in everything he walked in the ways of his father, King Asa. And we know from chapter 15 that Asa was a good king who was fully committed to the Lord. And Jehoshaphat followed in his ways. According to verse 43 he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. And according to verse 46 he rid the land of the last of the shrine prostitutes. And I think we’re to take verse 47 to mean that he ruled over Edom. And so, those things are all good things.
And yet, we also read that he was unable to remove the high places from the land. Instead of going to the temple to worship the Lord, which is what they were supposed to do, the people would worship at this man-made shrines. And according to verse 44, Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. That is to say, he made peace with Ahab. That sounds like a good thing, until we remember that Ahab was such a wicked king. Making peace with him was not good. And then we read of his unsuccessful attempts to build a fleet of ships to bring back gold from Ophir. This recalls what Solomon once did, but whereas Solomon was successful, Jehoshaphat’s ships were destroyed even before they set sail. And, of course, in due course, Jehoshaphat died. And so, Jehoshaphat’s reign was a mixture of good and bad. He was a good king; and far, far, far better than Ahab ever was. But he was not a great king.
And verses 51 to 53 tell us briefly about Ahab’s son, Ahaziah, who succeeded his father as king over the northern kingdom of Israel. And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, because he walked in the ways of his wicked parents, Ahab and Jezebel. And so, he served Baal and he provoked the Lord to anger. He was not a good king.
Application
Some of the kings of Israel and Judah were good. Most were wicked. Even the best kings like David and Solomon had their weaknesses and failures. None of them was perfect. But throughout the pages of the Old Testament, God revealed that he would one day send into the world a great king who will reign forever. And in the gospels, God revealed that the great king has come, because Jesus Christ is the great King. Unlike the other kings of Israel and Judah, the Lord Jesus never did anything wrong, and he always did what was right in the eyes of God. And when he died, it was in obedience to God, because it was God’s will for him to die for the sins of his people. And after he died, he was raised from the dead and he was exalted to heaven to sit at God’s right hand, from where he rules over all. And his kingdom is growing throughout the world through the reading and preaching of God’s word by which he summons sinners to repentance and faith. And his kingdom, which is growing throughout the world, will never ever end. All other kingdoms come and go, but his kingdom is forever.
And so, he’s our great King. He’s our perfect King. And he promises to protect his people from all his enemies; and to work all things together for our good; and to give us what we need so that we don’t need be worried with Christ our King to look after us. And in the end, he’ll bring us into his presence in the new heavens and earth where we will reign with him forever.
Sermons and Stuff 