Israel made an alliance with Syria which lasted for three years, 1 Kings 22:1 / 1 Kings 20:26-29 / 1 Kings 20:34. However, at the end of those three years, Ahab made an alliance with Jehoshaphat and Judah, 1 Kings 22:2-4, so that he could secure himself from the threat of Syria and Assyria in the north, 1 Kings 22:1-38 / 2 Chronicles 18:1-27 / 2 Chronicles 17:12-19.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘From this time until the displacement of Ahab’s dynasty by Jehu, very intimate relations subsisted between the two kingdoms, 1 Kings 22:49 / 2 Kings 3:7 / 2 Kings 8:28-29 / 2 Chronicles 20:36, etc.’
Jehoshaphat allied himself with Ahab by marriage, 2 Chronicles 18:1, which tells us he is trying to unite the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. However, this was the wrong way of going about it. It was to be a huge mistake for Jehoshaphat to go to Ahab because this alliance, or any marital alliance, was never given approval from God, 2 Chronicles 19:2.
Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, was given in marriage to Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat. Sadly, the evil influence of Ahab and Jezebel came into the life of Jehoram, and so, when he came to the throne, wickedness once again came into the royal family of Judah.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘We find that there was a good understanding between Jehoshaphat and Ahab, which no doubt was the consequence of a matrimonial alliance between the son of the former, Jehoram, and the daughter of the latter, Athaliah, 2 Chronicles 18:1 / 2 Kings 8:18. This coalition did not please God, and Jehoshaphat is severely reproved for it by Jehu the seer, 2 Chronicles 19:1-3.’
Jehoshaphat also tells Ahab that he needs to consult God for advice,1 Kings 22:5 / 2 Chronicles 18:4. It was to be a huge mistake for Jehoshaphat to go to Ahab because this alliance or any marital alliance was never given approval from God, 2 Chronicles 19:2.
He also ignored the huge differences which were happening between the two kingdoms. This was the first time that a king of Judah, of the house of David, had visited one of the kings who had revolted from that dynasty.
It appears that even though four hundred and fifty false prophets of Baal were killed at Mount Carmel, 1 Kings 18:19 / 1 Kings 18:19 / 1 Kings 18:40, there were still other false prophets around, 1 Kings 22:6 / 2 Chronicles 18:5 / Isaiah 9:15 / Jeremiah 5:13 / Jeremiah 5:31 / Jeremiah 23:11 / Jeremiah 23:15-16 / Hosea 4:5 / Micah 3:5-7.
The king of Israel brought four hundred prophets, 1 Kings 22:4-39; however, they were being paid by Ahab, which would mean they would be biased in their political judgments. Jehoshaphat’s asking for a prophet of God dramatically states that the four hundred prophets of Ahab were not prophets of God.
Ahab’s god was Baal, and his prophets were automatically prophets of Baal, not of God, 1 Kings 22:53. In other words, what they said couldn’t be trusted, and so, it’s not surprising that Jehoshaphat was sceptical about what they said.
After consulting the prophets, it’s clear they were ‘ear-tickling’ prophets who told Ahab what Ahab wanted to hear, 1 Kings 22:6 / 2 Chronicles 18:6 / 2 Timothy 4:3.
It’s also clear that the false prophets of Ahab were very confident in what they were saying because Jehoshaphat was present. They obviously assumed that because the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel were united at this point in time, victory in the battle with the Syrians was certain.
He wanted a second opinion, and so he went to a true prophet of God, Micaiah. The good news is that Jehoshaphat wasn’t like Ahab; he still relied on God for guidance, hence why he asks, ‘Is there no longer a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?’ 1 Kings 22:7 / 2 Chronicles 18:6.
Ahab tells Jehoshaphat that he knows about the prophet Micaiah, but he hates him, 1 Kings 20:35, because he never prophesies anything good about him, but Jehoshaphat tells Ahab he shouldn’t say such a thing, 1 Kings 22:8 / 2 Chronicles 18:7.
Ahab now calls for Micaiah, 1 Kings 22:9 / 2 Chronicles 18:8, because he knows that Micaiah will only speak the truth, no matter who he is being supported by. Since Ahab was living in wickedness, Micaiah could only say that which was contrary to the wicked wishes of Ahab.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘We may be certain that Ahab called Micaiah reluctantly, and that while Micaiah was being summoned, the false prophets redoubled their efforts in the hope of convincing Jehoshaphat. The occasion was a spectacular display of the kings on their thrones dressed in all their royal regalia at the gate of Samaria, and those four hundred false prophets putting on a vigorous display of their false prophecies. It seems very likely that Micaiah was in prison when Ahab sent for him; this is indicated by the fact of his ready availability to Ahab and his being sent for by a eunuch, the type of officer usually in charge of the harem and of the prison, and likewise by the fact of Zedekiah’s arrogant slap of the defenceless Micaiah.’
We are told Ahab and Jehoshaphat were dressed in their royal robes and were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them, 1 Kings 22:10 / 2 Chronicles 18:9.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following, concerning 1 Kings 22:10 / 2 Chronicles 18:9.
‘They had removed from the banquet, 2 Chronicles 18:2, to the void place, or empty space at the entrance of the gate, Ruth 4:1 / 2 Samuel 15:2, where Ahab daily sat to hear complaints and decide causes. Each was seated upon his throne, the Oriental kings having portable thrones, which they took with them upon their journeys.’
Zedekiah had made iron horns, which symbolise power, Deuteronomy 33:17 / Psalms 44:5 / Daniel 8:4, and he declares that God says with these he will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed and all the other prophets were prophesying the same thing, attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious, because God will give them the victory, 1 Kings 22:11-12 / 2 Chronicles 18:10-11.
The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king, and so, let your word agree with theirs, and speak favourably, 1 Kings 22:13 / 2 Chronicles 18:12 / Isaiah 30:10.
Micaiah, however, tells the messenger that he can only say what God tells him to say, 1 Kings 22:14 / 2 Chronicles 18:13. Ahab now asks Micaiah, if he should go to war or not and Micaiah tells him to go to war because God will give him the victory, 1 Kings 22:15 / 2 Chronicles 18:14.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘These were the precise words of the false prophets, 1 Kings 22:6 / 1 Kings 22:12, and were spoken by Micaiah in such a tone and manner as at once showed to Ahab that he did not believe them; hence the king adjures him, 1 Kings 22:16, that he would speak to him nothing but truth; and on this the prophet immediately relates to him the prophetic vision which pointed out the disasters which ensued.’
It’s clear that Ahab was very familiar with Micaiah because he asks, ‘how many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?’ 1 Kings 22:16 / 2 Chronicles 18:15. Ahab was also very familiar with other prophecies which Micaiah had made, 1 Kings 20:13 / 1 Kings 20:35.
After asking that question, Micaiah replies by saying, ‘I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the LORD said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace,’ 1 Kings 22:17 / 2 Chronicles 18:16. These words are the same words which God told Moses concerning Israel, Numbers 27:17.
Notice that Ahab said that Micaiah never prophesied anything good for him, 1 Kings 22:18 / 2 Chronicles 18:17, but this isn’t the case, 1 Kings 20:13-34. Micaiah tells Ahab that he saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left, 1 Kings 22:19 / 2 Chronicles 18:18.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘David’s Psalms had familiarised the Israelites with Yahweh sitting upon a throne in the heavens, Psalms 9:7 / Psalms 11:4 / Psalms 45:6 / Psalms 103:19, etc, but to be allowed to see in vision the ineffable glory of the Almighty thus seated was a rare favour. It was granted to Isaiah, to Daniel, to Ezekiel, Ezekiel 1:26, and in Christian times to Stephen, Acts 7:56, and John, Revelation 4:2.’
God asked the question, ‘who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there? 2 Chronicles 18:19, one suggested this, and another that, 1 Kings 22:20.
Finally, a spirit comes forward and volunteers to entice Ahab, 1 Kings 22:21 / 2 Chronicles 18:20. God asks how the spirit will do this and the spirit says he will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets, and God says that the spirit will succeed, 1 Kings 22:22 / 2 Chronicles 18:20-21.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The difficulties which attach to this passage are considerable. On the one hand, it is hard to suppose one of the holy Angels a ‘lying spirit’, on the other, hard to find Satan, or an evil spirit, included among ‘the host of heaven’, 1 Kings 22:19, and acting as the minister of God. Still, Job 1:6 / Job 2:1, lend countenance to the latter point, and 2 Thessalonians 2:11, to the former. But it may be doubted whether we ought to take literally, and seek to interpret exactly, each statement of the present narrative.’
So now God has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of Ahab’s and decreed disaster for him, 1 Kings 22:23 / 2 Chronicles 18:22. Everyone was well aware of the judgment which God brought upon Ahab and Jezebel because of the way they dealt with Naboth in order to steal his inherited vineyard, 1 Kings 21:17-29. And so, failure to win this battle would provide the perfect opportunity for God to fulfil his judgment on Ahab, 1 Kings 22:23.
Micaiah exposed the false prophecies of the false prophets whom Ahab had asked to help him with his desires, and at the same time, he also revealed the judgment which was now coming upon Ahab, 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.
When we go back and look at the attitude of Ahab, 1 Kings 21:25-26 / 1 Kings 22:8 / 1 Kings 22:19-23, it becomes evident that God didn’t in reality command that the false prophets lie to Ahab.
He simply permitted them to do so, as they had already been doing. Micaiah’s vision simply related in figurative language how God would use Ahab’s own false prophets to bring about his downfall.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Is it requisite again to remind the reader that the Scriptures repeatedly represent God as doing what, in the course of his providence, he only permits or suffers to be done? Nothing can be done in heaven, in earth, or hell, but either by his immediate energy or permission.’
The fact that Ahab was punished shows that Ahab himself was held responsible for rejecting the truth and believing the lie. God didn’t lie to Ahab, nor did He put lies in the mouth of Ahab’s prophets.
God simply made use of them in a providential way for those who were already lying to Ahab. The false prophets lied because they chose to lie, and Ahab believed them because he chose to believe them, Romans 1:24-25.
Zedekiah slapped Micaiah in the face and demanded to know which way the spirit from the LORD goes when he went from me to speak to you? Micaiah tells him he will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room, 1 Kings 22:24-25 / 2 Chronicles 18:23-24.
The people were frightened to death of Ahab, and because of men like Zedekiah, no one would say anything bad against him. However, when the truth is spoken against what most people believed, the fulfilment of the prophecy was actually proof that the prophecy was from God Himself, Deuteronomy 18:18-22.
Micaiah is taken and sent back to Amon and to Joash the king’s son, 1 Kings 22:26 / 2 Chronicles 18:25 / 2 Chronicles 28:7. The command is that Micaiah be placed in prison and will only be given bread and water, 1 Kings 22:27 / 2 Chronicles 18:26. Having Micaiah thrown in prison is usually what happens when people speak the truth and others don’t like it, Acts 14:22 / 2 Timothy 2:8-13 / 1 Peter 4:16.
The prophecy was very clear, and everyone present would have heard the words that Ahab would die at Ramoth Gilead. Micaiah accepted the test of all true prophecy, namely, that it will come to pass, 1 Kings 22:28 / 2 Chronicles 18:27 / Jeremiah 28:9.
Ahab and Jehoshaphat go up to Ramoth Gilead, 1 Kings 22:29 / 2 Chronicles 18:28. When we read these verses, it appears that Ahab to a degree anyway, believed what Micaiah has said, because he wants to go into battle in disguise, 1 Kings 22:30 / 2 Chronicles 18:29.
Because of this, he asks Jehoshaphat to wear his royal robes, 1 Kings 22:30 / 2 Chronicles 18:29, so that the Syrians wouldn’t be able to identify him asking of Israel in the battle.
It appears that Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram, wants his soldiers to focus on the king of the northern kingdom, not Jehoshaphat. Ben-Hadad commands his men not to fight with anyone, except Ahab, the king of Israel, 1 Kings 22:31 / 2 Chronicles 18:30.
The reason behind this is simple enough to understand. If any king of any nation was captured or killed in battle, then the opposing side would automatically claim the victory.
When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought he was Ahab, and so, they turned to attack him, but when Jehoshaphat cried out, the chariot commanders saw that he was not Ahab and stopped pursuing him, 1 Kings 22:32-33 / 2 Chronicles 18:31-32.
Notice that someone drew their bow at ‘random’ and killed Ahab, 1 Kings 22:34 / 2 Chronicles 18:33. It’s surely possible that this arrow didn’t randomly hit Ahab but was guided by God Himself.
The bloody battle lasted all day long, Isaiah 8:7-8, and Ahab was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans, 1 Kings 22:35 / 2 Chronicles 18:34. The blood from his wound ran onto the floor of the chariot, and that evening Ahab died, 1 Kings 22:35 / 2 Chronicles 18:34.
Remember this was God’s judgment upon Ahab, and although he disguised himself, he couldn’t escape the judgment of God. After the news got around that the Israelite army had learned that Ahab was dead, every man dispersed and returned to his home, 1 Kings 22:36.
Because Ahab died, 1 Kings 22:37 / 2 Chronicles 18:34, this was the fulfilment of God’s judgment upon him because of his sinfulness and the way he treated Naboth and in the taking of his vineyard.
They washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria where the prostitutes bathed, and the dogs licked up his blood, just as God said they would, 1 Kings 22:38 / 1 Kings 21:19 / 1 Kings 20:42.
Josephus, in his writings, says the following.
‘The ‘pool of Samaria,’ which was stained with Ahab’s blood by the washing of his chariot in it, was the usual bathing-place of the Samaritan harlots. A large tank or reservoir, probably identical with this pool, still remains on the slope of the hill of Samaria, immediately outside the walls.’
The other events of Ahab’s reign, including all he did, the palace he built and adorned with ivory, Amos 3:15, and the cities he fortified, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel, 1 Kings 22:39 / 1 Kings 14:19 / 1 Kings 15:31 / 1 Kings 16:5 / 1 Kings 16:14 / 1 Kings 16:20 / 1 Kings 16:27. Ahaziah his son now succeeded him as king, 1 Kings 22:40.
Jehoshaphat now becomes king of Judah, 1 Kings 22:41, and he was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem, 2 Chronicles 20:31 / 1 Kings 22:44 / 2 Chronicles 17-20. His mother’s name was Azubah; she was the daughter of Shilhi, 1 Kings 22:42 / 2 Chronicles 20:31.
Unlike the idolatrous practices of the northern kingdom, Jehoshaphat refused to get involved in, or even promote any kind of idolatrous practices at this time in the history of the southern kingdom, 2 Chronicles 17:1-20:37.
He walked in all the way of Asa his father, doing that which was right in the eyes of God, 1 Kings 22:43 / 2 Chronicles 20:32 / 2 Chronicles 16:2-12. Jehoshaphat is credited with being a godly and righteous king, doing that which was right in the eyes of the Lord.
However, because Asa, his father, tolerated the sodomites and allowed the high places of the Canaanite sacrifices to remain, 1 Kings 14:21-24, he didn’t remove the high places, and so, the people still sacrificed and burnt incense there, 1 Kings 22:43 / 2 Chronicles 20:33.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In 2 Chronicles 17:6, it is expressly said that he did take away the high places. Allowing that the text is right in 2 Chronicles, the two places may be easily reconciled. There were two kinds of high places in the land.
1. Those used for idolatrous purposes.
2. Those that were consecrated to God, and were used before the temple was built. The former he did take away, the latter he did not.’
He shouldn’t have made peace with Ahab, 1 Kings 22:44. The other events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, the things he achieved and his military exploits, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah, 1 Kings 22:45 / 2 Chronicles 20:34.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The biographer of Jehoshaphat appears to have been Jehu, the son of Hanani, 2 Chronicles 20:34.’
It’s obvious that the king’s removal from the land of Judah of all of the practitioners of ‘male shrine prostitutes’, 1 Kings 22:46, was a God-approved act of Jehoshaphat, 1 Corinthians 6:10. We are told that there was then no king in Edom, but a provincial governor ruled, 1 Kings 22:47 / 2 Kings 8:22.
Just as Solomon had done before him, 1 Kings 9:26-28, Jehoshaphat starts the big rebuilding process in the southern kingdom of Israel by sending trading ships to Ophir, 1 Kings 22:48 / 2 Chronicles 20:36.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In the parallel place, 2 Chronicles 20:36, it is said that Jehoshaphat joined himself to Ahaziah, to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-Geber, 1 Kings 9:26-28 / 1 Kings 10:11 / 1 Kings 10:22.’
It appears that Ahaziah of the northern kingdom wants to join in; however, Jehoshaphat didn’t think this was a good idea because he knew Ahaziah’s men would influence his sailors into idolatry, 1 Kings 22:49 / 2 Chronicles 20:35-37.
He was very much aware that Ahaziah would want to get involved in his affairs as king. The account in 1 Kings 22:49-50 speaks of Ahaziah’s attempt to continue as a partner with Jehoshaphat in that ship-building venture, but it is to the great credit of Jehoshaphat that, acting upon the warning of the prophet, he refused to allow it.
God’s punishment of Jehoshaphat for this alliance was the destruction of the ships, 1 Kings 22:48 / 2 Chronicles 20:37 / 2 Chronicles 8:18, that he had built to go to Tarshish, a city somewhere in Spain.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Although, in the general sense, Jehoshaphat did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, there were nevertheless some failures on his part. His failure to remove the high places, which had been removed, of course, but had been rebuilt by the people, again and again, and his alliance with Ahaziah, mentioned in the final paragraph here, were two examples. A third, which we should mention, was his choice of a wife for his son and heir Jehoram. Jehoshaphat evidently hoped to promote peace between Israel and Judah by arranging for the marriage of Jehoram to the daughter of Jezebel and Ahab. This might not have been considered a sin by some, but it was an unqualified disaster, nevertheless, and it resulted in great sorrows for God’s people.’
Jehoshaphat dies, and his son, Jehoram, succeeds him as king of Judah, 1 Kings 22:49-50 / 2 Chronicles 21:1.
We don’t know much about Ahaziah, but we do know that he became king of Israel and he reigned for two years, 1 Kings 22:51. Notice that he ‘followed the ways of his mother’, 1 Kings 22:52 / 1 Kings 16:31. This is the only place in the Scriptures where we find this phrase, but this tells us that he continued in the ways of Jezebel, even after Ahab had died.
He continued to encourage sacrifices to be made at the altars that Jeroboam set up in Bethel and Dan, 1 Kings 12:29, and he continued to encourage sacrifices to Baal, 1 Kings 22:53.
It was because of these actions that the northern kingdom would eventually be led into captivity by the Assyrians in 722/21 B.C. When we read 2 Kings 1, we see that these final verses of 1 Kings 22 are very closely related.