Deeper Commentary
1Ki 22:1 They continued three years without war between Syria and
Israel-
I suggested on 1 Kings 20:1; 21:1 that 1 Kings 20 and 21 should be the
other way around, as they are in the LXX. In this case, 1 Kings 22 continues
straight on from 1 Kings 20. That concluded with Ahab making a treaty with
Benhadad of Syria, allowing him to go free if he renamed streets in Damascus
after Ahab's God, and restored the cities his father had captured from
Israel. Had Ahab done what he was told to and slain Benhadad, the events in
this chapter which led to his death may not have happened. And all the
treaty achieved was three years without war. Ahab is represented as a weak
minded fool in making that agreement, caught up in the pride and glory of
the moment. And it ends up that the man and people Ahab lets go from
Divine judgment is the one who slays him.
1Ki 22:2 It happened in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah
came down to the king of Israel-
One sin and weakness led to another. We learn from Chronicles that
Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram had wrongly married Ahab’s daughter, Athaliah;
probably under some false mantra of 'unity amongst God's people'. The visit
was likely in connection with this. Had Jehoshaphat not fraternized with
wicked Ahab, the possibility of the doomed venture which follows wouldn't
have arisen. And if Ahab had slain Benhadad as commanded, Ramoth Gilead
would have been returned to Israel. And indeed if Benhadad kept his
covenant, it should have been returned anyway (1 Kings 20:34).
1Ki 22:3 The king of Israel said to his servants, You know that Ramoth
Gilead is ours, and we are sitting still, and don’t take it out of the hand
of the king of Syria?-
"Ours" suggests he was playing on the false mantra of "unity amongst
God's people" noted on :2. Ahab clearly intended the city to remain under
his control and not that of Judah. So much foolishness, unwisdom and
sacrifice of basic Godly principle has gone on under this mantra of
"unity". In the context, we have just read of Ahab's desiring and
taking of Naboth's vineyard in 1 Kings 21. Ahab presents as simply not
ever learning from anything. His conscience ought to have prodded him over
that matter; but now he again embarks upon grabbing a piece of territory
that he fancies. "We are sitting still and don't take it..." is the
essence of what Jezebel says to Ahab about Naboth's vineyard. He was
willing to kill the righteous Naboth through lies to get the vineyard, and
now he is willing to slay Micaiah, again through getting a crowd to lie.
1Ki 22:4 He said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to battle to Ramoth
Gilead? Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my people
as your people, my horses as your horses-
Chronicles says "Ahab persuaded Jehoshaphat to go up with him to
Ramoth-gilead", just as Jezebel persuaded Ahab to do wickedness (1 Kings
21:25 Heb.). It is a story of sin leading to sin, and sinful attitudes and
behaviour spreading through wrong and unwise associations. We note they
both have "horses", which were forbidden for the kings of Israel under the
law of Moses. Jehoshaphat likely reasoned that a weak Syria on the east
bank of Jordan was good for Judah, but he was also caught up in the false
mantra of "unity" which had led his son to marry Ahab's daughter.
1Ki 22:5 Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Please inquire first for
the word of Yahweh-
Ahab responded to the request for a word from Yahweh by summoning the
group of 400 false prophets (:5). He had so mixed Yahweh worship with
paganism that he considered their word to be that of Yahweh. And he
gathered such a huge group in order to argue that the majority must surely
be right. And the Bible consistently teaches that in these situations, the
majority is usually wrong.
1Ki 22:6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about
four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to
battle, or shall I forbear?-
Ahab had 400 false prophets earlier in his reign (1 Kings 18:19), who
were slain on Carmel. So it seems that he didn't learn his lesson, and
raised up another such group. This fits with the common theme of purges and
repentances at the time of the kings needing to be repeated. For the purges
were only surface level, despite all the evidence for them at the time.
"Forbear" means 'to cease'. Ahab, like us at times, had already started
the project without asking God's guidance, and his request for guidance in
the project was compromised in integrity by the fact he had already begun
it.
They said, Go up; for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the
king-
This recalls the instant answer of Nathan when David enquired about
building a temple for Yahweh. Too easily we assume we know the will of
God, and speak and act as if we have His blessing on our endeavours
already.
1Ki 22:7 But Jehoshaphat said, Isn’t there here a prophet of Yahweh, that we
may inquire of Him?-
Ahab had provided the 400 prophets of Baal in response to the request
for a word from Yahweh. Jehoshaphat realized this; and ought to have
immediately pulled out of working with someone who was presenting Baal
worship as Yahweh worship. He means of course 'an old time, old school
prophet of Yahweh who is not also a prophet of Baal and repudiates Baal'.
1Ki 22:8 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man-
The idea is, "one more man". He considered that the 400 prophets of
Baal were also in touch with Yahweh (see on :5), and Micaiah was just one
more who could do that, although he repudiated Baal worship. We
wonder why Ahab would immediately think of Micaiah, rather than Elijah or
Elisha, who were surely around at this time. We have read of Elijah
rebuking Ahab in the preceding chapter. We again reflect that the Biblical
narrative focuses upon just a few characters, and yet there were many
others faithful to the Lord at their time. Of course it could be that
Micaiah was the only known prophet of Yahweh in the immediate locality.
But we again see how wrong and arrogant Elijah was to claim that he was
the sole remaining faithful prophet of Yahweh (1 Kings 19:14). "There is
yet one man" seems to allude to [and deconstruct] Elijah's claim that "I
alone am left" faithful.
By whom we may inquire of Yahweh, Micaiah the son of Imlah-
Again we are introduced to a true prophet of Yahweh who existed at the
time of Elijah. His claim to be the only prophet of Yahweh is continually
demonstrated to be false. Presumably Elijah knew these other prophets, but
considered that they had all gone wrong on this or that point of doctrine
or practice. And perhaps they had, but God still counted them as His
prophets, and used them as such. And it was Elijah who was removed from
the prophetic ministry because of his arrogance in considering none of
them genuine, and he alone being the true representative of Yahweh.
Micaiah had previously spoken critical things to Ahab in Yahweh's Name,
hence Ahab says that this prophet only says "evil" about him and he
doesn't want to consult him. Elijah was quite wrong to discount all these
brave prophets as somehow not genuine.
But I hate him; for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but
evil. Jehoshaphat said, Don’t let the king say so-
Again we sense the pouting, spoilt kid characteristics of Ahab. His
characterization in the records is absolutely consistent and credible, as
we would expect of a Divinely inspired history. We have here a parade
example of how men come to God's word having already decided what they
want to hear. Indeed there is a tendency to have "itching ears", heaping
up teachers to confirm us in our own desires, lusts and hunches (2 Tim.
4:3; maybe a reference to Ahab heaping up 400 such teachers to tell him
what he wanted to hear). This is why there are so many different
interpretations of the Bible. Because readers / hearers like to hear only
what confirms that which they already had a hunch about. To achieve a
second naivety as we come to God's word, to be a born again virgin, is
hard indeed. Jehoshaphat realized what Ahab was doing, and asked him not
to talk like that- but to accept Yahweh's word. The fact Jehoshaphat
himself still went into battle shows how he himself perceived the truth of
all this, but didn't do accordingly. The "evil" prophesied was presumably
of Ahab's condemnation, confirming Elijah's words.
1Ki 22:9 Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Quickly get
Micaiah the son of Imlah-
"Who is like Yah?" was a direct challenge to the idea that Yahweh could
be worshipped through Baal worship (see on :5). According to :26, Micaiah
was imprisoned at this time. The 'quick' summoning from prison by an
officer to speak God's word would have recalled to Micaiah the example of
faithful Joseph.
1Ki 22:10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were
sitting each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, in an open place at the
entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying
before them-
This was an impressive sight, and the area had clearly been especially
prepared so that so many prophets could prophesy together. It was designed
to sway Jehoshaphat according to the false maxim that the majority must be
right, and how could so many be wrong. See on Ez. 10:5.
This mention of the kings sitting on their thrones in the place of judgment [the city gate, "the threshing floor" as some versions offer, the symbol of judgment] is not for random interest. It connects directly with the upcoming declaration of the vision of Yahweh enthroned in judgment in Heaven, with His "spirits" before Him, just as the kings had the prophets before them. The situation on earth was reflected in Heaven, as we often see in the Bible. Ahab and Micaiah were in awe of the court sitting on earth, the court of public opinion. Even religious opinion. But they were to be shown that they in fact stood before the Heavenly court, right at one and the same time.
1Ki 22:11 Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron and said,
Thus says Yahweh, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians, until they are
consumed’-
Zedekiah, like a typical apostate, is mixing the truth of God out of
context with wrong ideas. He alludes to Moses' blessing of Joseph in
Dt. 33:17 to the northern tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh: “Buffalo horns
are his (Joseph's) horns, with them he thrusts down nations”. But of
course he overlooked the fact that the blessings of Moses were predicated
upon obedience to the covenant. He probably made the horns and held them
on his forehead. Micaiah's response is to also quote from the law of
Moses, but about the judgment for disobedience to the covenant (:17).
1Ki 22:12 All the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth Gilead,
and prosper; for Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of the king-
These 400 prophets of Baal [for they were the equivalent of the 400
executed on Mount Carmel] still used the name of Yahweh. Their position
was that they conducted Yahweh worship through Baal worship. Perhaps their
usage of the Hebrew word for "prosper" alluded to how the word is four
times used of the prospering of Abraham's servant on his journey and
mission (Gen. 24:21,40,42,56). And this is probably our most common
temptation as believers; to mix the flesh and the spirit, to justify sin in
the name of serving God. But Ahab had broken the covenant, and would not
prosper (s.w. Dt. 28:29). Jehoshaphat later learnt this lesson, for he
uses the word in saying that only those who hear Yahweh's prophets will
"prosper" (2 Chron. 20:20).
The background is that a victory for a king was seen as a victory for his gods. The most powerful god won the victory; the king and his god[s] were closely associated. But the Biblical record inverts all this. The God of Israel caused the enemy to win and to kill Israel's king. So often the Biblical, Godly worldview is at total variance with that of currounding society.
1Ki 22:13 The messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him saying, See
now, the prophets declare good to the king with one mouth. Please let your
word be like the word of one of them, and speak good-
We sense the build up of pressure upon Micaiah. He was imprisoned for
having spoken God's word against Ahab (see on :9,26), and would be under
huge pressure from the presence of the 400 prophets and the audience
watching (:28 "all you people"). And as the officer led him from prison
towards the huge crowd of people gathered before the two kings, he too
added his pressure. The request of the officer was perhaps because he
actually liked Micaiah and could foresee the death sentence being given if
he again "spoke evil" and not "good" to Ahab, and he didn't want to have
to carry that out. But he still totally fails to perceive that God's word
cannot be changed or controlled by man.
1Ki 22:14 Micaiah said, As Yahweh lives, what Yahweh says to me, that I
will speak-
If Micaiah was at that time imprisoned for prophesying evil against
Ahab (see on :9,26), bearing in mind Naboth had been slain for allegedly
cursing the king, he would have been sorely tempted to now buy his freedom
by saying what Ahab wanted to hear. And despite his determination not to
do so, I suggest on :15 that he did temporarily fail. The pressure on him
was intense. Micaiah uses the words and ideas of Balaam when pressured to
not say Yahweh's word. He was clearly a spiritually minded man who was
deeply aware of Biblical precedent for his situation, as we ought to be.
1Ki 22:15 When he had come to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah,
shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? He answered
him, Go up and prosper; and Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of the
king-
It could be argued that by repeating the very words of the false
prophets, Micaiah was just repeating them sarcastically, with the tone of
his voice indicating that. But I prefer to conclude that this faithful
man, who had gone to prison for his witness of God's word to Ahab, now
faltered under the pressure of the presence of the 400 false prophets.
He
acted like Nathan when David enquired about building a temple for Yahweh,
who gave the answer that his enquirer wanted to hear. Such failure of a
moment would be absolutely true to human experience and would be
psychologically and spiritually credible. See on :14. For
we all have a strong human tendency to perceive what others want us to
say, and to say it.
1Ki 22:16 The king said to him, How many times do I have to adjure you
that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?-
See on :15. We are left to speculate which singular "king" it was who
said this, Ahab or Jehoshaphat. The Biblical record is intentionally open
ended at some points, to encourage us to think ourselves into the
situation. The king sensed that Micaiah was cowed by the situation, and
really wanted to know what Yahweh thought. So we sense "the king" in view
was Jehoshaphat.
1Ki 22:17 He said, I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep
that have no shepherd. Yahweh said, ‘These have no master. Let them each
return to his house in peace’-
As explained on :11, Zedekiah had quoted Moses' blessings of the
tribes as justification for a successful battle- which were conditional
upon obedience to the covenant.
Zedekiah like many today, glories in the promises of the Spirit whilst
ignoring the conditions. Micaiah responds by quoting the curses for
disobedience to the covenant (Num. 27:16,17). The removal of the master /
shepherd implies that the shepherd or king of Israel is to be slain, and
the sheep would return to their homes once the shepherd was slain. And
that is just what happened when it was recognized that Ahab had been
slain.
1Ki 22:18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Didn’t I tell you that
he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?-
Ahab intuitively sensed what Yahweh's true word was even before
Micaiah pronounced it. His insistence on going ahead was therefore the
more culpable. And God's word is often intuitively recognized as "truth"
even by those who reject it, which is why they tend towards anger and
other psychological reactions appropriate to denial.
1Ki 22:19 Micaiah said, Therefore hear the word of Yahweh-
There does not follow a "Thus says the Lord", but rather a
description of the vision Micaiah had seen, a peek into the heavenly
throne room, the court of heaven. Discerning the vision was perhaps the
essential "word of Yahweh" which the kings were to "hear".
I saw Yahweh
sitting on His throne, and all the army of heaven standing by Him on His
right hand and on His left-
Note "Standing by Him" rather than "before" Him. The Angels
in the Divine council are not merely servants, awaiting words of command,
but the advisors / decision makers who work with the King towards policy
and operations in practice. "The army [host] of heaven" is a term used for
the planets etc. (Dt. 4:19; 17:3). Possibly the connection is because
these are the Angels who control all the universe. The context here is of
the need to remove Ahab from being king. Such councils are described in
the contemporary literature, and it has been observed "A significant
function of the divine council is the removal of kingship in the
Mesopotamian and Ugaritic sources". The parallel is to show that in fact
human kings and their councils are not at all omnipotent; there is a
higher King and Council.
The visions of 1 Kings 22:19-23, Isaiah 6 and Rev. 4 show God seated on a throne with Angels before Him, bringing information and requests to Him and departing with commands to obey; the idea of a council in Heaven is clearly hinted at in Job 1; Gen. 1:26; Ps. 89:7. God sitting on a throne implies that each request or piece of information presented is 'judged' and an appropriate decision made. The 'case' of the adversaries to God is presented by a 'satan' Angel in Job.
1 Kings 22:19-23 gives perhaps the most detailed picture of the Heavenly
council. God told them His desire- for Ahab to die at Ramoth-Gilead. He then asked which Angel wanted to effect this- "Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead? And one (Angel) said on this manner, and another said on that manner". We thus learn that like us, on hearing God's desire the
elohim all have different ways of trying to fulfil it. One "Spirit" (Angel) suggested that He would put a lying spirit in the mouth of Ahab's prophets, and this was the suggestion chosen and enabled by God.
This shows that the Angels do not all automatically know the best way of bringing about God's purpose, and therefore they need to seek His advice and perhaps discuss things amongst themselves first before acting.
Note that "all the host of Heaven" were there around the throne of God participating in this decision. And so all the Angels are involved in the decisions God and the Angels make about us. Lk. 15:6
implies the same.
The division of the Angels into groups on His right and left is interesting. Why would it be mentioned, if it were insignificant? All the Angels are of God's nature and obedient to Him, there are no sinful Angels. But there are Angels of evil, Angels specifically tasked with bringing evil (see on Ps. 78:49). We think of the Angel called "the destroyer" at Passover time, who was restrained by the Passover Angel from destroying the Israelite firstborn. And so one wonders whether "the destroyer" was one of those on the left hand side, and the Passover Angel one of those on the right hand.
We have here one of several insights into the Divine council, presided over by Yahweh (consider Is. 6:1-3; 40:1-8; Ps. 82; Ps. 89:5-8; Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Jer. 23:16-22; Zech. 3:1-10). But there is discussion amonst the Angels- some have ideas which aren't "used". We have here a profound insight into what it is like to have Divine nature, into how we shall eternally be.
1Ki 22:20 Yahweh said, ‘Who shall entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall
at Ramoth Gilead?’ One said one thing; and another said another-
"Entice" is the word elsewhere translated 'deceive'. Clearly God does
deceive; for He confirms men in the mental path in which they themselves
wish to go. Ez. 14:9 uses the word very clearly in this connection (see
commentary there); and the teaching is confirmed in 2 Thess. 2:11. The
Hebrew for "entice" or "deceive / lure" is in fact from the root 'to be
foolish' (s.w. 2 Sam. 3:25; Hos. 7:11 "a silly bird"). As discussed on
:10, to go to this battle, to bow to the court of public opinion, was in
fact the foolish thing to do.
In Revelation we see the incense of human prayers arising into Heaven, resulting in Angels coming to earth, pouring out bowls, blowing trumpets, and major events happening on earth (Rev. 5:8; 8:3). Prayer is noticed; it brings forth quite out of proportion responses. The Angels discuss their plans for us in the court of Heaven, coming up with various possibilities of how to act in our lives, discussing them with God (1 Kings 22:20-22). They play some part in the whole process of our prayers. When we read that “Surely the Lord does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets” (Am. 3:7), we might tend to take that as a statement of absolute principle that is obvious to all the Angels. But we find an Angel discussing with others: “Shall I hide from Abraham [who was a prophet] what I am about to do?” (Gen. 18:17). The Angels have more debate, expend more mental and physical energy than we surely realize, in order to operationalize things which we might consider to be standard and automatic in God’s work with men. In our context, what this means is that when men reject the machinations and schemings of God’s love, they reject an awful lot; and it grieves and disappoints Him, and appears tragic to those like the prophets who see things from His viewpoint.
1Ki 22:21 A spirit-
God makes His Angels "spirits" (Ps. 104:4), and Angels are in view
here. But the word 'spirit' has a wide range of meaning. It can refer to
power, but also to the thought which is then expressed through the power
of action. The Angel is here called a "spirit" because the idea was to
place a thought in the mind or spirit of the false prophets, and thereby
Ahab.
Came out-
This is the same word as in :22 "I will go out". The Angel was as it
were demonstrating how he intended acting.
And stood before Yahweh-
It was the true prophets who stood before Yahweh (1 Kings 17:1). The
connection is to show that the true prophets were represented by the
Angels in the court of heaven, and this Angel was as it were on their
side. But the Spirit / Angel whose idea was chosen was in control
of the false prophets and was going to judge them for persecuting Micaiah
the true prophet. In Jer. 23:18,22 we have another connection between
prophets and the Divine council: "For who has stood in the council of
Yahweh, that he should perceive and hear His word? Who has noted My word,
and heard it? ... I sent not these prophets, yet they ran: I didn’t speak
to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My council, then
had they caused My people to hear My words".
And said, ‘I will entice him’-
Ahab had been persuaded or enticed to do evil by Jezebel, and had
enticed or persuaded Jehoshaphat to go to battle. But this was because he
had himself been persuaded or enticed by God. He was being treated
according to how he had treated others- enticing to do evil.
1Ki 22:22 Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’ He said, ‘I will go out and will be a
lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets’. He said, ‘You will entice
him, and will also prevail-
God deceived prophets to speak things in His Name which were actually
false (1 Kings 22:20-22; Ez. 14:9
"If the prophet is deceived when he speaks a
word, I, Yahweh, have deceived that prophet").
He sends strong delusion, so that those who don't love the truth will
believe a lie. He chose Israel's delusions by making
their idols answer them (Is. 66:3,4). Jeremiah feared God had deceived
him (Jer. 20:7)- showing he knew such a thing was possible. Dt.
13:1-3 warns Israel not to believe prophets whose prophecies came true
although they taught false doctrines, because they may have been raised up
to test their obedience. God deceived Israel by telling them about the
peace which would come on Jerusalem in the future Kingdom; they didn't
consider the other prophecies which were given at the same time
concerning their imminent judgment, and therefore they thought that God
was pleased with them and was about to establish the Messianic Kingdom;
when actually the very opposite was about to happen (Jer. 4:10).
This is why the Bible is confusing to those who aren’t humble to God’s
word.
Go out and do so’-
This describes the Angels being sent out from the court of Heaven to do God’s word. So when we read of God sending lions (2 Kings 17:25,26), sending wild beasts and famine (Lev. 26:22; Ez. 5:17; Dt. 32:24), sending locusts (Joel 2:25), it would seem that Angels are sent forth from God’s throne in order to command animals to obey God’s word. And moreover,
He sends an evil spirit between men (Jud. 9:23
"God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, and the
men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech") and stubborn hearts are also sent from God (Ps. 81:13). The same Angels who are sent to control the animals can also therefore work to give men certain attitudes of mind.
1Ki 22:23 Now therefore, behold, Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the
mouth of all these your prophets; and Yahweh has spoken evil concerning
you-
This was exactly what Micaiah had said before about Ahab, and Ahab
intuitively knew that this was coming. Ahab had lied in order to
take Naboth's vineyard, and he is being punished appropriately- by his
prophets lying to him, and leading him to his death. We naturally enquire
what the point was of telling Ahab that he had been deceived because God
had planned that he die in the upcoming battle. "Evil" or "disaster had
been decreed, and the execution of it arranged by the Angels. But even at
this late stage, outcomes could be changed. For the purpose of sharing the
vision was surely was that even at this late stage, Ahab could have
repented- and so the earlier prophecy that he would "die in peace" would
have come true- and likewise 1 Kings 21:25-29: “Have you seen how Ahab has
humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I
will not bring the disaster in his days". We see how open God is to
change, and how desperate He is for human repentance. We also note that
Micaiah initially spoke as the false prophets did. By sharing this vision,
he is confessing his own weakness- that he had been open to the "lying
spirit" and had accepted it and spoken according to it. That "spirit" was
his own mind or spirit wanting to say what was acceptable and popular. His
spirit was confirmed by a Divine spirit. Just as Saul's was. But then he
had the humility to realize what had happened, and to speak the truth and
thus refuse the lying spirit confirming his own wrong spirit.
1Ki 22:24 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah
on the cheek, and said, Which way did the Spirit of Yahweh go from me to
speak to you?-
"Cheek" can be "ear". The idea was that Zedekiah implied Micaiah was
saying that the spirit had left him and entered Micaiah through his ear.
And so he smote that ear. To strike on the cheek was the punishment for a
heretic, and was applied to the Lord Jesus (Mic. 5:1).
1Ki 22:25 Micaiah said, Behold, you will see on that day when you go into
an inner room to hide yourself-
The idea of going into an inner room is to pray- the idea may
be that when Zedekiah would in future be hiding from catastrophe, brought
down small and desperately praying to God, he would find God silent. And
that is the greatest condemnation. We think of king Saul.
When Ahab was defeated and slain, everyone in Samaria would be
looking for the false prophets to kill them. Not least Jezebel. For the
defeat would have been blamed upon them. So Zedekiah would have hid from
shame and fear of being killed. There is a connection between Benhadad
going into an inner room to hide when Ahab was given victory against him
(1 Kings 20:30), and the false prophet Zedekiah going into an inner room
to hide when Ahab was defeated (1 Kings 22:25). The same Hebrew words are
used, and the connection becomes more apparent if we accept that 1 Kings
20 and 21 should be placed the other way around, as in LXX. This would
mean that the hiding of Benhadad is recorded just a short time before that
of Zedekiah. The connection would be to show that the false prophets were
in fact bracketed together by God with Israel's enemies; whereas they had
claimed that they were nationalists on Israel's side, proclaiming Israel's
certain victory against their enemies. God sees not as man sees, and the
real spiritual realities are often the very opposite of what appears.
1Ki 22:26 The king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back to
Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son-
These men were those who ran the prison, for "carry him
back"
means Micaiah was already in prison. See on :9.
Again we see how wrong
Elijah had been to claim that no prophet of Yahweh existed apart from
himself. Micaiah had gone to prison for speaking God's word to Ahab. But
Elijah presumably considered there was some curious point of theology or
matter of legal practice which enabled Elijah to rubbish Micaiah as not
sincere and not a true prophet. It reminds us of how truly committed
Christians who have gone to jail or even death for their witness... are
trashed by others as somehow not the real Christians. And only they the
critics are in fellowship with God. They really need to learn the lesson
of Elijah. For he was ejected from his ministry because of those
attitudes.
1Ki 22:27 Say, ‘Thus says the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and
feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I
come in peace’-
I suggest on :9,26 that he was already in prison for his faithful
witness against Ahab. So the idea here seems to be that he was to be put
in the inner prison and given a very tough regime.
1Ki 22:28 Micaiah said, If you return at all in peace, Yahweh has not
spoken by me. He said, Listen, all you people!-
If I were Micaiah, I think I would have just shrugged and remained
silent, fearing the harsh regime of punishment in :27 could easily be
changed into the death sentence. For Naboth had been slain for 'cursing
the king'. But Micaiah bravely invites the large audience to listen and
take note, because he seeks their conversion.
1Ki 22:29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up
to Ramoth Gilead-
The record is intentionally silent about the utter folly of
Jehoshaphat in going ahead with this. He was keenly interested to 'know
the truth' from God's word, and didn't want to hear false teaching. But
when the truth was presented, he didn't follow it. We can take a huge
lesson from this. He allowed the intense pressure of the crowd of
prophets, and his family relationship with Ahab as the in-law of his son,
to lead him to walk right against the 'truth' he had sought. And there are
many who seem to rejoice more in 'searching for the truth' than in
actually following it when they are find it or have it presented to them.
1Ki 22:30 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself,
and go into the battle; but you put on your robes. The king of Israel
disguised himself, and went into the battle-
LXX even suggests that Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to wear Ahab's robes.
The next verse describes why this was; Ahab was aware of the king of
Syria's desire to resolve the issue by capturing or killing Ahab. The
incident is a parade example of 'bad friends'. We marvel at Jehoshaphat's
stupidity in agreeing. For surely he must have foreseen what could happen.
This was the pressure he felt from Ahab and Jezebel, the in-laws of his
son. And so often family pressure leads otherwise solid believers into
uncharacteristic actions, seriously unwise behaviour and positions which
are utterly the opposite of all they stand for. Because quite simply, they
do not really commit to following God's word, even if they stand with
their backs to the world.
The fact Ahab disguised himself reflects how he secretly believed the words of prophecy in :17 that he would die in the battle. For all man's bravado, there is a conscience within every man that discerns that God's word is true.
1Ki 22:31 Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of
his chariots saying, Fight neither with small nor great, except only with
the king of Israel-
Only three years previously (see on :1), the king of Syria had been
foolishly spared by Ahab. Perhaps he couldn't live down that humiliation,
and wanted to kill the man who had shown him so much mercy. That again is
absolutely true to observed human experience, and the record time and
again is absolutely psychologically credible.
We note the similarities with 1 Kings 20:1, where Ahab was again attacked by 32 captains under Benhadad's control. Likewise we read of victory as being 'given into the hand' in both 1 Kings 20:6,13 and also in 1 Kings 22:6,15. Clearly Ahab had utterly failed to learn from his own history. And therefore God was angry with him and slew him. Our world is likewise full of folk who refuse to learn from their own history, who refuse to accept Divine jogs and nudges, who fail to see history repeating itself in their lives or between their lives and Biblical history. And this refusal to join the dots is not mere intellectual failure; in Ahab's case, it was seen as worthy of severe judgment. It is a form of resisting the Holy Spirit. Not only did Ahab fail to learn; Ahaziah later likewise repeated the same mistake of joining the king of Israel to fight the Syrians at Ramoth Gilead: "[Ahaziah] went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram" (2 Kings 8:28,29). Perhaps this is why Ahab is repeatedly referred to as "the king of Israel" in 1 Kings 22, because the history is being recorded as a general warning to any who would seek fellowship with any idolatrous "king of Israel". 2 Kings 3-13 describe many conflicts with Syria- and always the lesson taught by the history of 1 Kings 22 was ignored.
1Ki 22:32 It happened, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat,
that they said, Surely that is the king of Israel! And they turned aside
to fight against him. Jehoshaphat cried out-
The Hebrew implies that they surrounded him. He was clearly "lucky"
to escape with his life. It was only by Divine grace that he did. His
'crying out' was surely to God to save him from his foolishness.
1Ki 22:33 It happened, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was
not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him-
This was in response to his crying out to God for salvation in :32.
Chronicles adds: "and the Lord helped him and turned them off from him".
And yet he was strongly rebuked by God in 2 Chron. 19:2. His actions
provoked "the wrath of Yahweh", but God saved a man by grace whilst at the
same time having great wrath against him. This is so different to human
wrath and attempts to show grace, which seem usually to be displayed
without any other pole of feeling in mind. But God had both in perfect
balance at the same time. This is the wonder of His Name, which includes
all these poles of feeling toward men within His personality.
1Ki 22:34 A certain man drew his bow at random, and struck the king of
Israel between the joints of the armour. Therefore he said to the driver
of his chariot, Turn your hand, and carry me out of the battle; for I am
severely wounded-
The gaps in armour around vital organs would have been relatively
small. This is evidence for all time that there is no such thing as
"random". This was so clearly of God.
1Ki 22:35 The battle increased that day. The king was propped up in his
chariot facing the Syrians, and died at evening. The blood ran out of the
wound into the bottom of the chariot-
The weak minded Ahab genuinely wanted to do the best for his troops,
and therefore remained in his chariot, propped up. Presumably Israelite
soldiers knew where and who he was. It was this policy of not being
removed from his chariot which resulted in the blood accumulating within
it, which was required for the fulfilment of the prophecies about his
blood.
1Ki 22:36 A cry went throughout the army about the going down of the sun
saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his country!-
This was the exact fulfilment of Micaiah's prophecy that the shepherd
of Israel would be slain, and the sheep would return to their homes (:17).
1Ki 22:37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried
the king in Samaria-
The double emphasis upon the death and burial of "the king" is
perhaps to signpost attention to the fact that the prophecy of Micaiah
about the death of the shepherd / master of the flock had been fulfilled
(:17).
1Ki 22:38 They washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria; and the dogs
licked up his blood where the prostitutes washed themselves; according to
the word of Yahweh which He spoke-
The idea may be that the women were washing in the pool whilst the
blood of Ahab was washed off into it. According to 1 Kings 21:19 "In the place where dogs licked the blood
of Naboth, dogs will lick your blood, even yours" (Ahab's). But in
1 Kings 22:38 the dogs [LXX "the swine and the dogs"] licked Ahab's
blood in the pool of Samaria, just outside the gate of Samaria; not in
Jezreel. It could be argued that "the place" refers not to a geographical
locality, but rather to the place where the garbage was thrown outside a
city gate. The Lord uses 'Gehenna' to describe such a place as a figure
for condemnation. The way 1 Kings 22:38 triumphs in the fulfilment of the
prophecy suggests there was no perceived gap between the prediction and
its fulfilment. But another possibility is that because of Ahab's
repentance, the sentence was modified, just as that upon Adam was (for he
didn't die in the day he sinned, although he did die). This reflects God's
openness to human repentance in response to His stated judgments. In the
gap between statement and fulfilment, there can be repentance and a change
of outcomes. This is what gives intensity to our living in that gap. LXX
adds to 1 Kings 21:19 "and the harlots shall wash in thy blood". 1 Kings
22:38 LXX says that this was fulfilled. Perhaps the idea is that they
washed themselves in a spring in the rubbish dump where Ahab's blood as it
were was eternally present.
1Ki 22:39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the
ivory house which he built, and all the cities that he built, aren’t they
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?-
This may not refer necessarily to the same books of Chronicles we
have in our Bibles. Houses adorned with ivory were condemned by God in Am.
3:15. All of the Bible seems to cry out against high luxury living, in a
world of such great spiritual and material need.
1Ki 22:40 So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in
his place-
Ahab's naming his sons with the 'Yah' suffix in their names (he had
another son called Jehoram, 2 Kings 3:1) would be a nod toward Yahweh
worship. And yet he is famed as a Baal worshipper. This helps us better
understand the nature of the Baal worship then practiced; it was a mixture
of Yahweh worship with Baal worship, claiming to worship Yahweh through
Baal worship. This is why when Ahab is asked to produce a prophet of
Yahweh, he calls up the 400 prophets of Baal who had replaced those slain
by Elijah on Carmel. And this is typical of so much of our failure;
justifying sin in the name of worshipping God.
1Ki 22:41 Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the
fourth year of Ahab king of Israel-
Jehoshaphat means 'whom Jehovah judges'. And this is largely the
point of his life, which Chronicles records in more detail. He made major
mistakes in his relationships with Israel, incited the wrath of God
against him (2 Chron. 19:2), died without removing the high places, and
yet overall was judged as having a faithful heart before God
(:43; 2 Chron. 19:3). And so we have a parade example of how indeed
'Jehovah judges', factoring in the various dimensions of a man's life in a
way in which we cannot. The lesson is indeed that we cannot judge, nor
should we be tempted to judge a person according to the high and low
points on their spiritual graph, nor upon the fact they may die with
unconquered weaknesses.
1Ki 22:42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign;
and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was
Azubah the daughter of Shilhi-
Again the mother is maybe mentioned because of her great influence
upon the spiritual path of her children. However, there is also the theme
that believers arise from unbelieving backgrounds. "Azubah" means
"forsaken". It is the same word used in 2 Chron. 15:2, where Jehoshaphat's
father Asa was told of God "If you forsake Him, He will forsake you". It
could be that Asa forsook Azubah and she was effectively a divorced woman;
or perhaps the wife was renamed this because Asa felt she had forsaken
Yahweh, which is how the word "forsaken" ('Azubah') is usually used.
1Ki 22:43 He walked in all the way of Asa his father; he didn’t turn aside
from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh: however the
high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt
incense in the high places-
Again we marvel at God's positive overall opinion of Jehoshaphat. For
he rejected Yahweh's word in going to fight at Ramoth Gilead, and was
condemned by God for working together with those who hated Him, and
"therefore is wrath upon you from Yahweh" (2 Chron. 19:2). A man may fail
repeatedly, as Jehoshaphat did in his relations with Ahab and allowing his
son to marry Jezebel's daughter, and even experience God's wrath. And yet
finally be judged as having done what was right in God's eyes. That doing
of right may refer therefore not to a spotless track record of behaviour,
but rather to a basic faith in God, repentance and what the New Testament
calls "abiding in Him". It is not the dramatic ups and downs on the graph
of human spirituality over time which are significant to God. It is the
overall state of the heart. And we can take courage from this in our own
lives, and be guided therefore not to think too highly of those who at
specific points show great commitment, nor to think too lowly of those who
fail in specific points of their journey. We also learn that some men die
with weaknesses, such as not taking away the high places. But this does
not necessarily tip the balance towards their condemnation. This needs to
be factored in to our thinking about the spiritual fate of those who die
committing suicide.
1Ki 22:44 Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel-
Or, "kings". Ahab, Ahaziah, and Joram were all contemporary with
Jehoshaphat, and he seems to be commended for this. And yet the Chronicles
record clearly shows that he was too close to them. His son married a
daughter of Ahab (2 Chron. 18:1), and his insistence on supporting Ahab
was seen as loving those who hated Yahweh, and the wrath of God was upon
him because of it (2 Chron. 19:2). And yet he is commended for having
peace with the kings of Israel (1 Kings 22:44), even though that
desire for peace with them led him into major sin. But he was judged as
having a heart right with God (2 Chron. 19:3). We sense God weighting
Jehoshaphat's sins with his relations with Israel against his genuine
desire for peace within God's people. And overall, as he was judged on the
state of his heart, his desire for unity and peace was judged as his
dominant desire. We simply cannot factor in or weight all the dimensions
in a man's heart. Only God can. And the reason we are not to judge is
because in fact we cannot judge, in that we don't have access to human
hearts.
1Ki 22:45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he
showed, and how he warred, aren’t they written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Judah?-
This is the common rubric found in the histories of the kings (1
Kings 15:23; 16:5,27; 22:45; 2 Kings 10:34; 13:8,12; 14:15,28; 20:20).
"His might that he showed" uses a word for "might" which has the sense of
victory / achievement. But the contrast is marked with the way that David
so often uses this word for "might / victory / achievement" in the context
of God's "might"; notably in 1 Chron. 29:11, which the Lord Jesus
places in our mouths as part of His model prayer: "Yours is the power
[s.w. "might"], and the glory and the majesty". The kings about whom the
phrase is used were those who trusted in their own works. It therefore
reads as a rather pathetic memorial; that this man's might / achievement
was noted down. But the unspoken further comment is elicited in our own
minds, if we are in tune with the spirit of David: "But the only real
achievement is the Lord's and not man's". All human victory and
achievement must be seen in this context. The same word is used in Jer.
9:23,24: "Don’t let the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the
mighty man glory in his might [s.w.]... but let him who glories glory in
this, that he has understanding, and knows Me, that I am Yahweh who
exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth". The
glorification of human "might" is often condemned. "Their might [s.w.] is
not right" (Jer. 23:10; also s.w. Jer. 51:30; Ez. 32:29; Mic. 7:16 and
often).
1Ki 22:46 The remainder of the sodomites, from the days of his father Asa,
he put away out of the land-
Here we again encounter the theme of partial purges and partial
living according to God's standards; and also the reality of the fact that
no soon was one apostacy stamped out by a king that it rose up again. It
was this lack of abiding spiritual change which led the nation to a
downward spiral which climaxed in their rejection by God as having sinned
worse than Israel (Ez. 16,23).
1Ki 22:47 There was no king in Edom: a deputy was king-
This explains why Solomon could have access to Ezion Geber (:48)
which was in Edom (1 Kings 9:26). The "deputy" was surely one imposed by
Jehoshaphat (s.w. 1 Kings 4:7). Perhaps this effective subjugation of Edom
(2 Kings 8:20,22) by Jehoshaphat is part of the overall scene of his power
over the surrounding nations which we find in 2 Chron. 17:10,11. Hadad of
Edom had been an adversary to Solomon, who also traded through Ezion Geber
(1 Kings 11:14); but not to Jehoshaphat.
1Ki 22:48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold: but
they didn’t go; for the ships were broken at Ezion Geber-
2 Chron. 20:36,37 says that this was a joint venture with Ahab's son
Ahaziah. He was so slow to learn the lesson that he should not work
together with the apostate ten tribe kingdom. He had almost lost his life
because of this whilst fighting at Ramoth Gilead. And like us, the
situations were repeated, but he was so slow to learn.
"Ships of Tarshish" is clearly a technical term for a long distance trading vessel. "Tarshish" appears to have been the source of gold, peacocks, silver etc., which are only found together in southern India. But a ship of Tarshish wasn't necessarily a ship which went to Tarshish. "Tarshish" means 'endurance' and refers to vessels which had a capacity for long distance trading. At that time, India was the end of the earth for someone living in Israel. There is an analogous situation with how 19th century long distance trading vessels were known as "Indiamen", not because they necessarily sailed the routes to India, but because they were long distance vessels of the kind which had sailed to India. This is why 'going to Tarshish' in 2 Chron. 20:36,37 is paralleled with 'going to Ophir in ships of Tarshish' in 1 Kings 22:48.
"Ophir" may have been a generic name for areas to the east,
including southern Arabia (famed for gold in Ps. 72:15; Ez. 27:22) and
India; Ophir was in Arabia according to Gen. 10:29. Sheba was nearby and
was famed for gold, so it was through this trading that the Queen of Sheba
heard of the wisdom of Solomon. 1 Kings 10:1 goes on to speak of her after
mentioning gold of Ophir in 1 Kings 9:28, connecting her with this gold
trade with Ophir. But 1 Kings 10:11 connects Ophir with "almug trees and
precious stones". "Almug" appears to refer to sandalwood, "the Hebraized form of the
Deccan word for sandal". This points to "Ophir" as being in the east,
possibly as far as the Indian coast where these trees grow.
1Ki 22:49 Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, Let my
servants go with your servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not-
Jehoshaphat learned his lesson of not associating with the
ten tribes because of their apostacy. But he was so very slow in learning
it. We would have thought that his experience in the battle at Ramoth
Gilead would have taught him. But it didn't. His ships had to be broken by
the wind / storm of God's wrath (:48). And then when Ahaziah proposes
another join venture, Jehoshaphat apparently learns the lesson. I say
apparently, because after Ahaziah dies, Jehoshaphat again repeats the same
mistake with Ahab's other son Jehoram (2 Kings 3:7). And yet he was
finally counted righteous with God because his basic state of heart was
for Him. We marvel
again at God's patience with men. This means that we are to continue
seeking the repentance of men and never cut them off, as is typically done
by small minded churches 'disfellowshipping' people.
1Ki 22:50 Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his
fathers in the city of David his father; Jehoram his son reigned in his
place-
"Jehoram", 'Raised by Yah', would reflect spirituality in
Jehoshaphat. We note that so many of the kings of Israel didn't have the
covenant Name within their names, whereas the kings of Judah did.
1Ki 22:51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in
the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two
years over Israel-
The fact Ahab gave his son a name with the 'Yah' suffix ['Yah has
seized'] indicates that Ahab did have some desire to show commitment to
Yahweh despite Jezebel; for Jezebel surely would have been against this
name. But he failed to raise the boy to be a follower of Yahweh, and in
the end, Jezebel's influence was stronger upon him. We again see in Ahab a
man who knew better than to live how he did, and who showed moments and
aspects of commitment to the true God, but lived a life of overall failure
until his final repentance.
1Ki 22:52 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and walked in
the way of his father and in the way of his mother, and in the way of
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, in which he made Israel to sin-
The language here and in :53 appears to give no credit to Ahab for
his repentance which had so pleased Yahweh. Perhaps that was of no abiding
value, seeing that immediately before his death he specifically rejected
the word of Yahweh for that of the false prophets, which led him to his
death.
1Ki 22:53 He served Baal and worshipped him, and provoked to anger Yahweh,
the God of Israel, according to all that his father had done-
God can be grieved [s.w. 'provoke to anger']. He has emotions, and His
potential foreknowledge doesn't mean that these feelings are not
legitimate. They are presented as occurring in human time, as responses to
human behaviour. This is the degree to which He has accommodated Himself
to human time-space limits, in order to fully enter relationship and
experience with us. As He can limit His omnipotence, so God can limit His
omniscience, in order to feel and respond along with us.
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