Keeping Tracks of the Kings--Part II: Ahab & Jehoshaphat
Timeline of kings and prophets
larger view of this timeline
Chart of Hebrew Kings & Prophets
I7 Ahab
Began reign in 38th year of Asa, reigned 22 years in Samaria. Was more evil than the kings before him, married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, King of the Sidians (Phoenicians, capital of Tyre) and bowed down to Baal. He built an Asherah pole, a temple and an altar for Baal in Samaria.
Ahab fought the king of Aram. When Israel was given victory in that battle (by God, who explained that He was granting victory so that the Arameans would know that God was not just God of the mountains), Ahab failed to follow through and kill Benhadad. Instead he granted him amnesty as long as he gave back Ramoth-Gilead. He didn't and later they fought again (with Jehoshaphat's help) over this city. Upon this occasion, Ahab died, even though he took pains to disguise himself in battle. Jehoshaphat, who was undisguised, lived. Great encouragement there---God's justice will prevail!
Jehoshaphat, King of Israel and Ahab, King of Judah forge an alliance against the King of Aram. Ahab's reign was mid 9th century, circa 870 to 850 BC. In ancient times, Aram was a kingdom east of Phoenicia, above Israel's territory. Today this area is Syria.
"...In the third year (853 b.c.), shortly after Ahab and Ben-Hadad had fought Shalmaneser at the Battle of Qarqar, Ahab decided that he needed to retake the important city of Ramoth in Gilead from the Arameans who had taken it from Israel earlier. Ramoth was one of the chief cities of the tribe of Gad, 28 miles east of the Jordan and 15 miles south of the Sea of Kinnereth, almost directly east of Jezreel." -BKC
On the map below, which I couldn't find a date for, Ramoth-Gilead is close to the border of these territories:
"Certainly Ahab should have been the very last person to think of rousing and provoking the very foe who, by the Divine sentence and by his own compromise, had gained so sad and signal an advantage over him. But instead of following so wise a course, Ahab blindly rushes into the opposite extreme from his former fault; and because before he has been blamed for not going far enough, with God on his side, he is provoked to go too far now, though God has declared against him. He is not without his reasons, and they are very plausible reasons, to justify the step proposed.1. In the first place, it is in itself an act of patriotism and of piety; at least it looks very like it, and may easily be so represented.
2. Secondly, it has received the countenance of a friend (verse 4). And that friend is not a wicked man, but one fearing God, and acknowledged by God as righteous.
3. And, thirdly, it has obtained the sanction of four hundred prophets (verse 6). And these are not prophets of Baal. Looking, then, at the act itself as an act of patriotic and pious zeal, encouraged by the consent of his friend and the concurrence of the prophets, Ahab, we may think, might well be misled. And we might pity and excuse him too, as one misled, did we not see him so willing to be so. Is he n
ot all the while deceiving himself, and that too almost wilfully and consciously? O beware, ye pilgrims in an evil world, ye soldiers in an arduous fight, beware of your own rash wilfulness, of the weakness of compliant friends, and of the flattering counsels of evil men and seducers, who in the last times—in the last and critical stage of individual experience, as well as of the world’s history—are sure to wax worse and worse! There is no design, no device, no desire of your hearts, which you may not find some specious arguments to justify, some friends to countenance, ay, and some prophets, too, to sanction." --Source?
BI?
Another application---Jehoshaphat made an alliance with Ahab, perhaps in an effort to continue the peace and prosperity of their era among kingdoms. Was this love of comfort and profit a weakness of Jehoshaphat's? Thinking it through, Jehoshaphat had no business making an alliance with Ahab, even though they were divided parts of a once unified nation. Their motivation for unity was self-interested and not God-interested. If is only after pressing that Jehoshaphat gets his wish---to consult a prophet of the Lord's about this battle and clearly Jehoshaphat gets the short end of the relationship:
"To please Jehoshaphat by speaking to him of Jehovah was no more than decency required; but it was all that Ahab did for Jehoshaphat, except that he unwillingly sent for Micaiah. Jehoshaphat helped Ahab against Syria; he helped Jehoram against Moab; but neither Ahab nor his son helped Jehoshaphat in any one thing, except to be unfaithful to Jehovah." -Darby
The application for me is to be careful what alliances I make in my own life. Are they motivated by a desire to glorify the Lord or to prosper and pamper my own kingdom? Big difference. We make these kinds of informal alliances all the time in our personal lives. They happen quickly---in real time--often without a lot of thought or prayer on the front end. It speaks of our need to slow down and present our requests to God (Philippians 4:6-7) so that we might have a true peace and divine guidance in both small and big matters.
Sadly, Jehoshaphat had the sense to consult the Lord, but it was after the fact of choosing to ally himself with Ahab through the marriage of his son to Ahab's daughter. One has to wonder if he consulted the Lord about this decision too which got him into the manipulative situation with Ahab. Sometimes it is the decision before the decision that sets us up for trouble that could have been prevented. It speaks of our need to walk circumspectly (Ephesians 5:15-16)
"Such is the history of the alliances of believers, not only with unbelievers, but with the unfaithful. The latter are very willing that we should go with them; but to walk in the ways of truth is another thing." -Darby
One further application:
"Beware of the deceitfulness of sin. The wiles of the devil are not unknown to you. In a doubtful case, where you are hesitating, it is easy for him to insinuate and suggest reasons enough to make the worse appear the better cause. Generally you may detect his sophistry by its complex character. Truth is simple; the word of God is plain." R.S. Candlish, BI
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| James TIssot, Ahab Pierced by an Arrow, Jewish Museum, New York |
J4-Jehoshaphat
Asa's son, strengthened Judah from attack by Israel. He followed God and was like his father Asa in his early years. He fortified Judah and people brought him gifts, so he became wealthy. He removed shines and Asherah poles from Judah.In the 3rd year of his reign, he sent priests, Levites, and officials out to all the towns of Judah to teach them the law. Then the fear of the Lord fell on surrounding nations and they brought him tribute. So Jehoshaphat continued to prosper and fortify. He built places to store grain, reinforced fortresses and kept a standing army at Jerusalem.
Jehoshaphat made an alliance with Israel by having his son marry one of Ahab's daughters. Then, he was talked into helping Israel get Ramoth-Gilead back from Aram, despite the dire warning of the prophet Micaiah.
Matthew Henry notes:
"That the king of Israel, who hated God's prophet, should so far disbelieve his admonition as to persist in his resolution, notwithstanding, is not strange; but that Jehoshaphat, that pious prince, who had desired to enquire by a prophet of the Lord, as disrelishing and discrediting Ahab's prophets, should yet proceed, after so fair a warning, is matter of astonishment."
When Jehoshaphat returned to his kingdom after the war, the prophet Jehu chastised him for his involvement with Ahab. Jehoshaphat also had wise word for the judges of the land:
"Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the LORD. He is with you in giving judgment." -2 Chronicles 19:6
He also appointed some Levites to help, and left the biggest cases ultimately up to the high priest. I imagine this was the same principle as applied when Jesus appeared before the high priest?
"Take courage as you fulfill your duties, and may the Lord be with those who do what is right.” 2 Chronicles 19:11
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| Michelangelo's Asa-Jehoshaphat-Joram. The man on the left is generally considered to be Jehoshaphat |
From the BKC: "Part of Jehoshaphat’s program of reform was his personally traveling through Judah to encourage people to turn back to the Lord. He also appointed godly judges throughout the land, arbiters whose task it was to judge without partiality or bribery (cf. Deu_16:18-20). He did the same in Jerusalem with a kind of supreme court charged with hearing the matters referred to them from outlying districts. Over this court he selected Amariah the chief priest to oversee religious cases and Zebadiah (not the same Zebadiah as in 2Ch_17:8, who was a Levite) to be over civil cases. The Levites would serve as officers to implement the work of the judges as a whole."
"The answer involves character: “the good.” God identifies Himself with all that is good in thought as well as in act; in purpose as well as in service. Even when the godly man ceaseth God will maintain the cause that is “good.” This promise, like all the promises of God, is designated not as a sedative, but a stimulant. Deal courageously! See how the text might have read: The Lord shall be with the good, therefore sit still; the Lord shall be with the good, therefore let wickedness have its own way in the world; the Lord shall be with the good, therefore pay no attention to self-discipline. The text reads contrariwise. The Lord is with the good, therefore deal courageously. Goodness is not to be merely passive—it is to be aggressive, defiant of all evil. (J. Parker, D. D.)"
Jehoshaphat is our everyman here. He's mostly trying to do the right thing, but has occasional lapses of bad judgment that keep him from excellence and higher commendation. He removes the idols but can't seem to shake alliances with Ahab and later his son Joram. It's hard to turn people down--especially when they were once part of a larger united nation. Jehoshaphat has enough sense to consult prophets, but he fails to heed their advice at times. We are guilty of the same---call upon the Lord, or we seek Him through His word, but fail to apply His direction and Word to the specifics of our daily lives. Across centuries and cultures, the flaw seems obvious--but, the flaw is woven through our daily lives yet remains mostly undetected. Yes, Jehoshaphat shows us the Lord's patience and mercy against man's uneven flesh.
The Lord's mercy is evident when He spares Jehoshaphat's life after going into battle with Ahab against Aram. Later, he allows the alliance of Israel, Judah & Edom success against Moab and provides water in the desert (2 Kings 3). However, even then, it results in their retreat after the Moabite King offers his oldest son on the wall of the city as a sacrifice. Jehoshaphat's united endeavor to work with Ahaziah to send ships from Tarsish to get gold from Ophir also went awry. Nothing good came from the alliance at any point, so what was the lure for Jehoshaphat? Money? Security? The feel-good unity of the Kingdom?
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