2 Chronicles 18:1-34

2 Chronicles: God desires loyal people

The *Kingdom called Judah

2 Chronicles Chapter s 10 to 36

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 18

Jehoshaphat and Ahab – 2 Chronicles 18:1-4

v1 Jehoshaphat had much wealth and honour. He made an agreement with Ahab because his son married Ahab’s daughter. v2 Some years later, he went to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab killed many sheep and *cattle for him and for the people with him. And Ahab persuaded him to go up with him to attack the city called Ramoth in Gilead. v3 Ahab, king of *Israel asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, ‘Will you go with me to attack Ramoth in Gilead?’ Jehoshaphat answered, ‘I will go with you. My soldiers are yours. We will join your army.’ v4 However, Jehoshaphat said to the king of *Israel, ‘First we should ask the *LORD about it.’

Verse 1 Ahab was the king of *Israel. And he ruled from the city called Samaria. Ahab married the daughter of Ethbaal the king of Sidon. Her name was Jezebel. Then Ahab began to *worship the false god Baal.

Jehoshaphat and Ahab made an agreement together. This was in about 865 *BC. These agreements between kings often included a marriage between the two families. So, Jehoshaphat arranged the marriage of his son Jehoram with Ahab’s daughter Athaliah. Athaliah’s mother was Jezebel.

The probable reason for this agreement was that Assyria had become a strong nation. There was a danger that Assyria’s army could come against *Israel and Judah.

Jehoshaphat had much wealth and honour because God had been good to him. There was no need for him to help Ahab in this way. He should not have made such an agreement with the wicked King Ahab. And the marriage of his son to Athaliah caused many problems in Judah later (22:10).

Verses 2-4 In the 17th year of his rule, Jehoshaphat went to Samaria to meet with Ahab (1 Kings 22:51). This was some years after their agreement (1 Kings 22:1). Ahab made a great *feast for him and for those that were with him.

Before Jehoshaphat came, Ahab met with his officials. He said to them that Ramoth in Gilead is ours. But he probably thought that his army was not strong enough to fight against the people from Aram. So, Ahab urged Jehoshaphat to help him. Ahab wanted to win back Ramoth in Gilead from the people from Aram. Ramoth in Gilead had belonged to *Israel but the people from Aram had *captured it.

Ramoth in Gilead was to the east of the Jordan River. It was in the territory of Gad (Joshua 20:8). It was one of the cities of escape for those who had killed someone. The judge had to say whether they were guilty or innocent. They could stay there until then (Joshua 21:38). Also, it was on an important trade route.

Jehoshaphat agreed to go with Ahab to attack Ramoth in Gilead. Then he said that they should ask the *LORD. He should have asked the *LORD about it first.

The *prophets and the war – 2 Chronicles 18:5-27

v5 So, the king of *Israel brought together 400 *prophets. He asked them, ‘Should we go to war against Ramoth in Gilead or not?’ They answered, ‘Go. God will give it to the king.’

v6 However, Jehoshaphat asked, ‘Is there not a *prophet of the *LORD here? If so, we should ask him what we should do.’

v7 Then the king of *Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘There is one other *prophet. We could ask him what the *LORD says. He is Micaiah, son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never *prophesies good things for me. He always gives me bad news.’ Jehoshaphat answered, ‘The king should not say that.’

v8 So, the king of *Israel told one of his officers to bring Micaiah to him at once.

v9 The king of *Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah wore their royal clothes. They sat on their *thrones. They were in the place where people separated grain. It was near the entrance gate to Samaria. In front of the kings, all the *prophets spoke their messages. v10 Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah had made some iron *horns. He spoke to the kings. ‘The *LORD says that you will use these *horns to fight and to destroy the army from Aram.’

v11 All the other *prophets said the same thing. ‘If you attack Ramoth in Gilead, you will win. The *LORD will give you success.’

v12 The officer who had gone to get Micaiah spoke to him. ‘All the other *prophets are saying that the king will win. You should agree with them and you should give to the king a good answer.’

v13 But Micaiah answered him. ‘The *LORD lives. And I can tell the king only what my God says.’

v14 Then Micaiah came to Ahab. And the king asked him, ‘Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth in Gilead or not?’ He answered, ‘Attack. You will win. The *LORD will give them to you.’

v15 But the king said to him, ‘I have to say this to you too many times. Tell me the truth in the name of the *LORD.’

v16 Then Micaiah answered him. ‘I saw *Israel’s army scatter over the hills like sheep without a *shepherd. The *LORD said to me, “These people have no leader. They should go home and they should not fight.” ’

v17 Then the king of *Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘I told you so. He never *prophesies anything good for me, but only bad things.’

v18 And Micaiah said, ‘Hear this message from the *LORD. I saw the *LORD and he was sitting on his *throne. The entire army of heaven stood on his right and on his left. v19 The *LORD said, “Who will cause King Ahab of *Israel to attack Ramoth in Gilead? There he will die in battle.” Some of them said one thing and some of them said another thing. v20 Then one *spirit came and he stood in front of the *LORD. He said, “I will cause him to go.” The *LORD asked him, “How will you do it?” v21 The *spirit answered, “I will go to his *prophets. I will make them tell lies.” So, the *LORD said, “You will succeed. Go and do it.”

v22 So now, the *LORD has allowed that *spirit to lie to your *prophets. The *LORD has said that *disaster should happen to you.’

v23 Then Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah went to Micaiah and he slapped Micaiah’s face. He asked Micaiah this question. ‘Which way did the *LORD’s Spirit go when he left me to talk to you?’

v24 Micaiah gave to him this answer. ‘You will know that on the day that you go to hide in an inside room.’

v25 The king of *Israel ordered, ‘Take Micaiah. Send him back to Amon, the ruler of the city, and to Joash, the king’s son. v26 Give to them this order from the king. “Put this man in prison. Give him only bread and water until I return in peace.” ’

v27 Micaiah replied, ‘If you really return in peace, the *LORD has not spoken by me.’ And he said, ‘Remember my words, all you people.’

Verses 5-6 Ahab did as Jehoshaphat had said. He called for 400 *prophets to come. These were the *prophets of the form of religion in *Israel. They were not loyal to the God of their *ancestors. They were *prophets of the gold *calf and perhaps of the god Baal. They were Ahab’s *prophets and not the *LORD’s *prophets (1 Kings 22:23). Their words were false. They spoke what would please the king. So, they answered Ahab, ‘Yes, God will give Ramoth in Gilead to the king.’

Jehoshaphat realised that these were not really *prophets of the *LORD. He did not trust the word of these *prophets. So, he asked if there was a *prophet of the *LORD. If there was one, then they should ask him.

Verses 7-8 Ahab replied that there was one other *prophet. They could ask him what the *LORD was saying. This *prophet was Micaiah, son of Imlah. He had *prophesied to Ahab before. Each time he had given to Ahab bad news. So, Ahab hated him. We have no record of these other *prophecies.

Then Ahab sent for Micaiah.

Verses 9-11 The two kings sat on their *thrones. All the *prophets started to *prophesy. Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah had made some iron *horns. *Horns were a sign of strength and iron *horns were even stronger. So, he said that, as with these *horns, Ahab would defeat the people from Aram. Zedekiah said that this was the word of the *LORD. And he probably believed that it was from the Spirit of the *LORD. All the other *prophets agreed that Ahab should fight. They all said that the *LORD would cause him to win.

Verses 12-15 The officer advised Micaiah to agree with the other *prophets. Micaiah answered that he could not do that. He had to speak what the *LORD told him. Then, when Ahab asked him, he agreed with the other *prophets. But by the manner of his answer, Ahab knew that this was not the truth. Micaiah did not say that this was the word of the *LORD. Ahab then told him to tell the truth. He wanted to hear what the *LORD had said to Micaiah.

Verses 16-22 Then Micaiah gave the true *prophecy from the *LORD. The attack on Ramoth in Gilead would fail. King Ahab would die in the battle. The armies of *Israel and Judah would run away. They ought not to go to war.

Ahab thought that Micaiah spoke against him. He did not believe that he would die in this battle. It also seems that Jehoshaphat did not believe it. If he had believed it, he probably would not have gone to the battle.

Micaiah had a *vision. In it, he saw the *LORD on his *throne. He saw the army of heaven each side of the *throne. God had intended the death of Ahab in the battle at Ramoth in Gilead. But someone had to convince Ahab to go to Ramoth in Gilead. Then a *spirit said that he would convince Ahab. He would make all the *prophets speak a lie. And God allowed that *spirit to do it.

No *spirit from God would lie like this. The *spirit was an evil spirit. But the *LORD allowed it to come. God is in control over all things. But for a time he allows Satan (God’s chief enemy) to do evil things.

Verses 23-24 An evil *spirit had lied to all the *prophets. And they all gave false *prophecies. That is, all except Micaiah. Zedekiah could not believe that an evil *spirit had put a lie in him. Such a statement made him angry. So, he hit Micaiah on the face.

Zedekiah believed that the Spirit of the *LORD had spoken to him. In his anger, he asked Micaiah a question. He did not believe that Micaiah had spoken words from the *LORD.

Micaiah answered the question. One day, Zedekiah will try to hide in shame. Then he will know that the Spirit of God was not in him. Probably this would be when his *prophecy had failed.

Verses 25-27 Ahab sent Micaiah back to the ruler of the city and to the king’s son Joash. It seems that Micaiah had been in prison. And now he went back to prison. There he would have only bread and water until Ahab returned in peace. But Micaiah knew that Ahab would not return in peace. We do not know what happened to Micaiah.

The death of Ahab – 2 Chronicles 18:28-34

v28 So, the king of *Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah went to Ramoth in Gilead. v29 The king of *Israel spoke to Jehoshaphat. ‘I will go into battle, but I will wear other clothes. So, nobody will know who I am. But you wear your royal clothes.’ So, the king of *Israel wore ordinary clothes, and they went into battle.

v30 The king of Aram gave orders to his *chariot officers. He said, ‘Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of *Israel.’ v31 These officers saw Jehoshaphat. They thought that he was the king of *Israel. Therefore, they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out, and the *LORD helped him. God caused the officers to turn away from him. v32 They saw that he was not the king of *Israel. Then they did not pursue him.

v33 By chance, a soldier shot an arrow. It hit the king of *Israel between the pieces of his *armour. The king said to his *chariot driver, ‘Turn round. Get me out of the battle because the arrow has hurt me.’ v34 The battle continued all that day. The king of *Israel held himself up in his *chariot. And he looked toward the people from Aram until evening. Then he died at sunset.

Verses 28-29 The two kings did not listen when Micaiah warned them. They believed the 400 false *prophets rather than the one *prophet who told them the truth. But, just in case Micaiah was right, Ahab decided to hide himself. He took off his royal clothes and he put on other clothes. But he told Jehoshaphat to wear his royal clothes. Perhaps he thought that the enemy would then attack Jehoshaphat. He would let Jehoshaphat die to keep himself alive.

Jehoshaphat probably knew that Micaiah was the true *prophet. But still he went with Ahab. Maybe he thought that Micaiah spoke only about Ahab’s death. And he believed that he would be safe. Maybe he went because he had promised to go (18:3).

They went to Ramoth in Gilead.

Verses 30-32 Ben-Hadad was the king of Aram. In a previous battle, Ahab had defeated the army of Ben-Hadad. Ahab should have killed Ben-Hadad but he let him go. Because of this, the *LORD said that Ahab would die (1 Kings 20:42).

Ben-Hadad’s plan was to kill Ahab. If Ahab died, he would win the battle. He told his army to concentrate on nobody else except the king of *Israel. So, they directed their fight against the king in royal clothes. But Jehoshaphat cried out. Then they realised that he was not the king of *Israel. So, they turned from Jehoshaphat.

Jehoshaphat cried out to the enemy, to his own men or to the *LORD. It was probably to the *LORD and the *LORD answered him. Jehoshaphat had put himself in this dangerous situation. But the *LORD was kind to him and he rescued him. The *LORD caused the enemy to turn from Jehoshaphat.

Verses 33-34 A soldier shot an arrow, which by chance struck Ahab.

The arrow struck King Ahab in a place between the bits of his *armour. He told his driver to take him out of the battle.

Ahab managed to lift himself up in his *chariot. He did not turn away from the enemy until the evening. In this, he showed a lot of courage. He did not want his army to know that the arrow had hurt him. If they had known, they would have run away from the enemy. But at sunset, he died.

They took the dead body to Samaria and they buried him there.

kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.
cattle ~ bulls and cows.
bull ~ the male animal that mates with a cow.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It means that God has always been.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
feast ~ a large meal; but in this book a feast is often a special time when the people came together to worship God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
capture ~ to fight for something and to make it yours as a result; or, to make somebody a prisoner.
prophet ~ person who speaks on behalf of God. He or she can sometimes say what will happen in the future. Some prophets worshipped false gods. So, not all prophets spoke words from God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
prophesy ~ to speak a prophecy.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit. But sometimes false prophets tried to speak a prophecy.
prophet ~ person who speaks on behalf of God. He or she can sometimes say what will happen in the future. Some prophets worshipped false gods. So, not all prophets spoke words from God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
throne ~ the special chair for the king.
horn ~ a thing like a pointed stick that grows on an animal’s head; or, a musical instrument.
shepherd ~ a sheep farmer.
spirit ~ spirits are alive, but we cannot see them. There are good spirits that are usually called angels. Bad spirits (also called evil spirits, or demons) live in the air round us. Satan (God’s chief enemy) is their leader.
disaster ~ when something very bad happens.
ancestors ~ people in history that your family has come from.
calf ~ a calf is a young bull or a young cow; the plural is calves.
bull ~ the male animal that mates with a cow.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit. But sometimes false prophets tried to speak a prophecy.
prophet ~ person who speaks on behalf of God. He or she can sometimes say what will happen in the future. Some prophets worshipped false gods. So, not all prophets spoke words from God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
horn ~ a thing like a pointed stick that grows on an animal’s head; or, a musical instrument.
vision ~ a dream that God gives.
chariot ~ a kind of cart that soldiers use to fight. Horses pulled it.
armour ~ what a soldier wears to protect himself in battle.