2 Chronicles 18:15-22

2 CHRONICLES—NOTE ON 2 Chronicles 18:15 Ahab’s insistence on hearing what Micaiah has really received from Yahweh is answered with a report of two visions. The first concerns the outcome of the battle (v. 2 Chronicles 18:16), while the second makes the remarkable claim that God had put a lying spirit in the mouth of Ahab’s prophets (vv. 2 Chronicles 18:18); see notes on 1 Sam. 16:14 and 1 Kings 22:24. As a follower of false gods (see 1 Kings 16:30), Ahab has been fittingly deceived by their spokesmen, his prophets. The irony of the situation is that Ahab is told the truth (2 Chronicles 18:16, 2 Chronicles 18:18) but does not recognize it as such, even though he had insisted that Micaiah tell him the truth (v. 2 Chronicles 18:15). His repudiation of Micaiah’s message and his treatment of the prophet (v. 2 Chronicles 18:26) indicate his contempt for unwelcome truth.