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As you can probably imagine, some sermons are more difficult to preach than others because frequently we discover the Bible is not meant to make us feel good about ourselves. Every now and then, however, we come across a text that is a delight to preach because as in our text today we see God has a marvelous sense of humor… and He doesn’t have to tickle our ears to get a very serious point across.
In chapter 20 we find King Ahab at war with Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria. The Syrians have joined forces with 32 other kings, and as such Israel was severely outnumbered. Now on the surface you might expect Syria and her allies to have soundly defeated Ahab, especially since he was such a wicked king, but God in His grace gave Ahab the victory not just once, but twice. Why twice? The Syrians came back the second time and challenged the Israelite army out on the plain rather than the hills of Samaria because they wrongly surmised:
1 Kings 20:22 – Then the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. Therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them in the plain, surely we will be stronger than they.” And even though they were severely outnumbered, God once more showed grace to Ahab, and the Syrians were soundly defeated.
After this second defeat, Ahab captured Ben-Hadad, and rather than killing him, Ahab let him go. While some might look at this as being merciful, God wanted Ahab to kill Ben-Hadad, and Ahab paid a terrible price for his disobedience. Ahab was rebuked for this by one of the prophets:
1 Kings 20:42,43 – Then he said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Because you have let slip out of your hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.’” 43 So the king of Israel went to his house sullen and displeased, and came to Samaria.
1 Kings 21 gives us the account of Ahab and Jezebel killing Naboth for his vineyard. I think you know the story well, so I will just highlight the consequences for killing Naboth:
1 Kings 21:21-25 – ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on you. I will take away your posterity, and will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both bond and free. 22 ‘I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and made Israel sin.’ 23 “And concerning Jezebel the LORD also spoke, saying, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’ 24 “The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field.” 25 But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up.
I think if Ahab and Jezebel could stand here today before you they would tell you even though sin has pleasure for a season, God will not be mocked, “We sowed to the flesh and we paid dearly for it. We thought we were smarter than God… we believed a lie and are paying for that mistake for all eternity because we failed to repent.” It is also important to see that Ahab failed to fulfill his God-ordained leadership in the home and he allowed his wife, Jezebel to rule the home. Whenever anyone reverses the roles that God has assigned, there will always be trouble (Genesis 3:16).
So with this background, let’s read our text for today:
1 Kings 22:1-3 – Now three years passed without war between Syria and Israel. 2 Then it came to pass, in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went down to visit the king of Israel. 3 And the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, but we hesitate to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?“
Jehoshaphat was considered a good king. He followed the Lord, and he brought about a lot of good spiritual reforms in the southern kingdom of Judah. However, the parallel account in 2 Chronicles 18 tells us that Jehoshaphat made an alliance by marriage to wicked king Ahab. He formed this alliance by having his son Joram marry Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Although Jehoshaphat was a good king, because of this unequal yoke he was drawn into war with Syria.
Ramoth in Gilead is about fifty miles east of Samaria on the eastern side of the Jordan River. Back in 1 Kings 20 after his 2nd defeat at the hands of king Ahab, Ben-Hadad promised to return the cities to Ahab that his father had taken, but Ben-Hadad didn’t keep that promise. By the way, Ramoth in Gilead was one of the cities of refuge (Deuteronomy 4:41-43).
Ramoth in Gilead was originally a part of the tribe of Gad, and 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 Chronicles 6:80).
1 Kings 22:4 – So he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight at Ramoth Gilead?” Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”
Because Jehoshaphat feared Ahab more than he feared God, he was caught in a trap. He should have forbidden his son to marry Athaliah, but now he feels he has no choice but to join forces with Ahab.
5 Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire for the word of the LORD today.” 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain?” So they said, “Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.“
Jehoshaphat still has the wisdom to know it would be foolish to go to war w/o checking with God first, so he asks Ahab to ask God whether or not this was a good idea. So Ahab gathers 400 of his prophets together. Does the number 400 sound familiar? Could these be the four hundred prophets of Asherah that had not been executed by Elijah back on Mount Carmel? You might remember that Elijah killed only the 450 prophets of Baal… why he didn’t kill the 400 prophets of Asherah we are not told. Could these 400 prophets be the same ones who escaped with their lives?
These false prophets all said, “Go for it, king Ahab.” Do you think there might be a lesson here for us? I do. Beware of a person who is always telling you what you want to hear.
What is really sad is when men stand in the pulpit in the name of God and do nothing but tell people what they want to hear. They never preach on sin, responsibility, stewardship, or denying oneself. They water things down so that no one will ever get upset with them. Can you say Joel Osteen? Paul warned us:
2 Timothy 4:2-4 – Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
7 And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of Him?” 8 So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say such things!”
Even though 400 false prophets had given the thumbs up to the battle plan, Jehoshaphat somehow knew that these men weren’t speaking for God so he says, “Don’t you have any prophets of the Lord here?” Ahab said, “there’s one man, Micaiah, but I hate him.”
Really Ahab… you hate a man who speaks truth? Do you think there might be another lesson here for us? The world will always hate us for telling the truth.
John 15:18,19 – “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
The world is convicted by the truth, and because they choose to not repent they hate the truth… and according to Romans 1 they suppress the truth. The truth will make us very unpopular with some, but what a great way to enter Heaven. I hope you would rather have people hate you for telling the truth than everyone loving you for telling them what they want to hear. I am sure Micaiah knew exactly how Paul felt when he told the Galatians:
Galatians 4:16 Have I therefore become your enemy by telling you the truth?
Sometimes the truth hurts… it is a difficult thing for us to listen to, but if it’s the truth, then we ought to be glad someone cares enough to rescue us because ultimately the truth will prevail. Do you want to be on the winning side or not?
9 Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, “Bring Micaiah the son of Imlah quickly!” 10 The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, having put on their robes, sat each on his throne, at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. 11 Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made horns of iron for himself; and he said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” 12 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the king’s hand.”
This show (and that’s what it is) reminds me of the shows that the Benny Hinns and the prosperity preachers of the world put on. I detect a whole lot of pomp and circumstance here with the kings dressed to the nines in their regal robes and sitting on their thrones.
13 Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Please, let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.” 14 And Micaiah said, “As the LORD lives, whatever the LORD says to me, that I will speak.” 15 Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king!” 16 So the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?”
I don’t know about you, but if I could go back in one of those imaginary time capsules, this would be one of my top ten selections. I think this is hilarious. One of the king’s “speech-writers” counseled Micaiah to follow the party line: “Whatever you do, don’t make any waves Micaiah. Speak encouragement.” So Micaiah tells the kings to go ahead with their plans and God will prosper them, but he does so in a way that Ahab can tell Micaiah isn’t being sincere.
17 Then he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.’” 18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” 19 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left.
Needless to say, Ahab wasn’t too thrilled to hear (again) what Micaiah had to say. And I want you to notice one little tidbit that is easy to overlook… where are these 2 kings sitting? They are sitting on their thrones (verse 10). What did Micaiah see? He saw the LORD sitting on His throne and the whole host of Heaven standing by. Guess which throne is holding the trump card???
20 “And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. 21 “Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ 22 “The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ 23 “Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you.”
We have to be careful to see the difference between God using evil to accomplish His purposes, and attributing evil directly to God. God did indeed allow a lying spirit (a demon) to speak through the 400 false prophets as a means of bringing Ahab to the grave.
1 John 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 one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
God does allow evil to occur to accomplish His will. God had decreed that Ahab would be killed at Ramoth Gilead… Ahab’s time had expired and it was time for his judgment.
Isaiah 45:7 – I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things.
A lot of people don’t think a God of love should be in the business of creating calamity… but that’s because their God exists only in their imagination. God appointed a lying spirit to deceive Ahab because God said Ahab’s time had expired.
So I think we need to briefly address this question… Why does God allow evil to exist in the first place? God allows evil because in His sovereignty, God has ordained that sinful man is to have a limited amount of freedom (what we call freewill). Evil exists because sinful men are going to make sinful choices. Theologians have always struggled to reconcile man’s freewill with God’s sovereignty. I think A.W. Tozer has explained it better than anyone I have ever heard explain it:
“God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. That’s the toughest problem in theology, I think, tougher than the incarnation… You can fall off either end of a log, brother. You don’t have to pick one end, you can fall off either end; and in my opinion the Calvinist fell off one end, and the Armenians fell off the other end… How do I explain the sovereignty of God and the free will of man? Well, you see, God’s sovereignty is God’s absolute freedom to do whatever He ordains to do… God created man in His own image, and in His sovereign and absolute freedom He ordained that man was to have a limited amount of freedom; and that was God’s sovereign decree; that man should have some freedom. So, when man exercises his freedom, he is fulfilling the sovereignty of God, not canceling it out.”
God didn’t create us to be robots that love Him when He pushes a button. He has created us with freewill so that we have to make a choice. W/O freewill there is no accountability. It is similar to God’s challenge to Cain:
Genesis 4:6,7 – So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
Consider this… was Cain born dead in trespasses and sins? Of course he was. But notice, God is still clearly implying that Cain has the ability to “do well.” And what does Cain have to do to “do well ?” He has to repent and obey God so that he can rule over sin. If he fails to do so, sin will rule over him.
Joshua’s challenge to the children of Israel also emphasizes man’s freewill:
Joshua 24:14,15 – “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! 15 “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Mankind has a choice to make… we either choose to love God or we choose to love ourselves.
24 Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the spirit from the LORD go from me to speak to you?” 25 And Micaiah said, “Indeed, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide!”
False prophets don’t like to be told they are false prophets do they? Micaiah’s response, “Indeed, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide!” simply means Zedekiah would find out who had the true Word from the Lord when he fled to hide in an inner room; i.e., after Ahab had been killed the false prophets would flee in terror.
26 So the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son; 27 “and say, ‘Thus says the king: “Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I come in peace.”‘” 28 But Micaiah said, “If you ever return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Take heed, all you people!”
Ahab’s reaction shows the darkness and delusion that overtakes those who disregard the Word of the Lord. Instead of repenting, Ahab hardens his heart again, and this time it will cost him his life. Even though the odds here were 400 false prophets against 1 true prophet, (400 to 1) the point we want to take note of is this… the majority isn’t always right. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and Ahab continues to demonstrate that he is a fool.
Notice too, there is a cost for standing up for the truth. Micaiah is thrown into prison and fed with the bread of affliction and the water of affliction… I am not sure exactly what that entails, but I do know this… it is not good. Isn’t it amazing how the promoters of the prosperity gospel avoid passages like this when they preach?
29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
Did you notice who is taking the leadership in this relationship between Ahab and Jehoshaphat? Ahab is. Too bad he didn’t take the same leadership in his marriage with Jezebel. I think we need to ask two questions here. First, in light of Micaiah’s prophecy that disaster awaits Israel if they decide to attack Syria, why is Jehoshaphat even going to battle with Ahab?
That makes no sense to me.
And second, doesn’t it seem like Ahab is playing Jehoshaphat for a fool by telling him that he, Jehoshaphat should go to war all dressed up in his kingly robes, while he, Ahab, goes incognito? Isn’t it obvious that the Syrians would want to focus their efforts on killing Israel’s king? Don’t you think wearing kingly robes into a battle which God’s prophet has already predicted the outcome would be a disaster would make you stand out like a neon billboard that says, “Here I am, kill me?”
31 Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” 32 So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “Surely it is the king of Israel!” Therefore they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 And it happened, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.
2 Chronicles 18:31 gives us one more important detail:
So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “It is the king of Israel!” Therefore they surrounded him to attack; but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him, and God diverted them from him.
It was only by God’s grace that Jehoshaphat survived to live another day. Hebrews 1:14 teaches us that God keeps His angels busy ministering to the saints, and in this particular case I think the angels were working overtime!!! Jehoshaphat is in an alliance he shouldn’t be in, he’s in a battle he shouldn’t be in, and now he cries out to God for help. If you were God, would you not be tempted to say, “Hey, you made your bed, now lie in it!” It is true that we reap what we sow, but it is also true that God is a God of grace.
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 the consequences of our bad decisions, but He has also promised He will never leave us nor forsake us. There is a very important lesson that God is driving home here… be careful who influences you. Let’s skip ahead to 2 Chronicles 19 and read the account of God’s message to Jehoshaphat when he returns home the battle:
2 Chronicles 19:1-4 – Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned safely to his house in Jerusalem. 2 And 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? Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you. 3 “Nevertheless good things are found in you, in that you have removed the wooden images from the land, and have prepared your heart to seek God.” 4 So Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim, and brought them back to the LORD God of their fathers.
This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t minister to ungodly people. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t love our enemies. But it does mean we need to be careful, very careful about who we help and why. Jehoshaphat isn’t trying to help Ahab by leading him back to the Lord. He tried to help Ahab with his own little war.
Yes, God wants us to love sinners. Jesus was the friend of sinners, but we need to consider this: are we influencing them, or are they influencing us? We find this principle repeated in the New Testament:
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 – Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” 17 Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” 18 “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.”
34 Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” 35 The battle increased that day; and the king was propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, and died at evening. The blood ran out from the wound onto the floor of the chariot.
One of the Syrian soldiers pulled back his bow and let his arrow fly… he wasn’t even aiming at king Ahab, and notice Ahab was wearing his armor, but this arrow found the tiny opening between the joints of his armor. I like what Dr. J Vernon McGee says about this. He calls it the first guided missile. Ahab probably was thinking, “What bad luck,” but you and I know there is no such think as luck. Every random event is actually foreseen and ordained by the Lord.
36 Then, as the sun was going down, a shout went throughout the army, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his own country!” 37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. 38 Then someone washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood while the harlots bathed, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken. 39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, the ivory house which he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 40 So Ahab rested with his fathers. Then Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.
Ahab propped himself up in the chariot in an effort to keep up the morale of his troops, but he died that night, and his army lost courage and returned home.
Back in 1 Kings 21 God sent a message to Ahab through Elijah after Ahab and Jezebel murdered Naboth:
1 Kings. 21:19 – “You [Elijah] shall speak to him [Ahab], saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Have you murdered and also taken possession?”‘ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours.”‘”
This prophecy was fulfilled literally, as Ahab’s blood pooled in the bottom of his chariot, and the dogs licked it up there next to the pool of Samaria, as the chariot was being washed out.
I believe there are several lessons we need to learn from our text today. Jehoshaphat almost lost his life because of his ungodly alliance with Ahab. We need to please God before we try to please people. We need to please God even if it means other people will be upset with us.
Lesson # 2. Ahab said of Micaiah, “I hate him.” The truth will make us very unpopular with some, but what a great way to enter Heaven. I hope you would rather have people hate you for telling the truth than everyone loving you for telling them what they want to hear.
Lesson # 3. Beware of people who are always telling you what you want to hear.
Lesson # 4. There is frequently a cost for standing up for the truth. Micaiah was put in prison and fed the bread of affliction and the water of affliction. But I believe with all my heart if he could testify before you this morning he would not regret speaking the truth.
Lesson # 5. Don’t think for a second that you can sin and get away with it. Ahab thought he could hide from the consequences that God had prophesied concerning the battle at Ramoth Gilead. God, however, sent a guided missile that appeared to be nothing more than a random shot, and in spite of the armor Ahab was wearing that arrow found the opening in the joints of that armor.
Lesson # 6. We need to heed the Word of God.
Psalm 119:105 – Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
