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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangi, and today we're in First Kings, chapter
Speaker 1: twenty two, and this is what we read. For three years,
Speaker 1: there was no war between Aram and Israel. Then during
Speaker 1: the third year, King Jehosaphat of Judah went to visit
Speaker 1: King Ahab of Israel. During the visit, the King of
Speaker 1: Israel said to his officials, do you realize that the
Speaker 1: town of Ramoth Gilead belongs to us, and yet we've
Speaker 1: done nothing to recapture it from the King of Aram.
Speaker 1: Then he turned to Jehosaphat and asked, will you join
Speaker 1: me in battle to recover Ramoth Gilead. Jehosaphat replied to
Speaker 1: the King of Israel, why, of course you and I
Speaker 1: are as one. My troops are your troops, and my
Speaker 1: horses are your horses. Then Jehosephat added, but first let's
Speaker 1: find out what the Lord says. So the King of
Speaker 1: Israel summoned the prophets, about four hundred of them, and
Speaker 1: ask them, should I go to war against Ramoth Gilead.
Speaker 1: Or should I hold back? They all replied, yes, go
Speaker 1: right ahead. The Lord will give the king victory. But
Speaker 1: Jehosephad asked, is there not also a prophet of the
Speaker 1: Lord here? We should ask him the same question. The
Speaker 1: King of Israel replied to Jehosephat, there is one more
Speaker 1: man who could consult the Lord for us, But I
Speaker 1: hate him. He never prophesies anything but trouble for me.
Speaker 1: His name is Macaiah, son of Imla. Jehosephat replied, that's
Speaker 1: not the way a king should talk. Let's hear what
Speaker 1: he has to say. So the King of Israel called
Speaker 1: one of his officials and said, quick, bring Makiah son
Speaker 1: of Imlah. King Ahab of Israel and King Jehosephad of Judah,
Speaker 1: dressed in their royal robes, were sitting on thrones at
Speaker 1: the threshing floor near the gate of Samaria. All of
Speaker 1: Ahab's prophets were prophesying there. In front of them. One
Speaker 1: of them, Zedekiah son of Kenana, made some iron horns
Speaker 1: and proclaimed, this is what the Lord says. With these horns,
Speaker 1: you will gore the Aramians to death. All the other
Speaker 1: prophets agreed. Yes, they said, go up to Ramath Gilead
Speaker 1: and be victorious, for the Lord will give the king victory. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: the messenger who went to get Michiah said to him, look,
Speaker 1: all the prophets are promising victory for the king. Be
Speaker 1: sure that you agree with them and promise success. But
Speaker 1: Makaiah replied, as surely as the Lord lived, I will
Speaker 1: say only what the Lord tells me to say. When
Speaker 1: Machiah arrived before the king, Ahab asked him, Makiah, should
Speaker 1: we go to war against Ramath Gilead or should we
Speaker 1: hold back. Makiah replied sarcastically, yes, go up and be victorious,
Speaker 1: for the Lord will give the king victory. But the
Speaker 1: king replied sharply, how many times must I demand that
Speaker 1: you speak only the truth to me when you speak
Speaker 1: for the Lord. Then Makaiah told him, in a vision,
Speaker 1: I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep
Speaker 1: without a shepherd, and the Lord said, their master has
Speaker 1: been killed. Send them home in peace. Didn't I tell you?
Speaker 1: The King of Israel exclaimed to Jehosaphat, he never promises
Speaker 1: anything but trouble for me. Then Makiah continued listen to
Speaker 1: what the Lord says. I saw the Lord's sitting on
Speaker 1: his throne with all the armies of heaven around him
Speaker 1: on his right and on his left, and the Lord said,
Speaker 1: who can entice Ahab to go into battle against Raymuth
Speaker 1: Gilead so he can be killed? There were many suggestions,
Speaker 1: and finally a spirit approached the Lord and said, I
Speaker 1: can do it. How will you do this, the Lord asked,
Speaker 1: and the spirit replied, I will go out and inspire
Speaker 1: all of Ahab's prophets to speak lives. You will succeed,
Speaker 1: said the Lord. Go ahead and do it. So you see,
Speaker 1: the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths
Speaker 1: of all your prophets. For the Lord has pronounced your doom.
Speaker 1: Then Zedekiah, son of Kenana, walked up to Machiah and
Speaker 1: slapped him across the face. Since when did the spirit
Speaker 1: of the Lord leave me to speak to you, he demanded,
Speaker 1: and Machiah replied, you will find out soon enough, when
Speaker 1: you are trying to hide in some secret room. Arrest him,
Speaker 1: the King of Israel ordered. Take him back to Ammon.
Speaker 1: The governor of the city and my son joe Ash
Speaker 1: give them this order from the King put this man
Speaker 1: in prison and feed him nothing but bread and water
Speaker 1: until I return safely from the battle. But Makaiah replied,
Speaker 1: if you return safely, it will mean that the Lord
Speaker 1: has not spoken through me. Then he added to those
Speaker 1: standing around, everyone mark my words. So King Ahab of
Speaker 1: Israel and King Jehosaphat of Judah led their armies against
Speaker 1: Ramoth Gilead. The King of Israel said to Jehosaphat, as
Speaker 1: we go into battle, I will disguise myself so no
Speaker 1: one will recognize me. But you wear your royal robes.
Speaker 1: So the King of Israel disguised himself and they went
Speaker 1: into battle. Meanwhile, the King of Aram had issued these
Speaker 1: orders to his thirty two two chariot commanders. Attack only
Speaker 1: the King of Israel, don't bother with anyone else. So
Speaker 1: when the Rami and Chariot commanders saw Jehosaphat in his
Speaker 1: royal robes, they went after him. There is the King
Speaker 1: of Israel, they shouted. But when Jehosaphac called out, the
Speaker 1: Chariot commanders realized he was not the King of Israel,
Speaker 1: and they stopped chasing him. An Ramian soldier, however, randomly
Speaker 1: shot an arrow at the Israelite troops and hit the
Speaker 1: King of Israel between the joints of his armor. Turn
Speaker 1: the horses and get me out of here. Ahab groaned
Speaker 1: to the driver of his chariot, I'm badly wounded. The
Speaker 1: battle raged all that day, and the king remained propped
Speaker 1: up in his chariot facing the Aramians. The blood from
Speaker 1: his wound ran down to the floor of his chariot,
Speaker 1: and as evening arrived, he died. Just as the sun
Speaker 1: was setting, the cry ran through his troops, We're done
Speaker 1: for Run for your lives. So the king died and
Speaker 1: his body was taken to Samaria and buried there. Then
Speaker 1: his chariot was washed beside the pool of Samaria, and
Speaker 1: dogs came and licked his blood at the place where
Speaker 1: the prostitutes bathed, just as the lord had promised. The
Speaker 1: rest of the events in Ahab's reign and everything he did,
Speaker 1: including the story of the Ivory Palace and the towns
Speaker 1: he built, are recorded in the book of the History
Speaker 1: of the Kings of Israel. So Ahab died and his
Speaker 1: son Ahaziah became the next king. Jehosaphat, son of Asa,
Speaker 1: began to rule over Judah in the fourth year of
Speaker 1: King Ahab's reign in Israel. Jehosphat was thirty five years
Speaker 1: old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem
Speaker 1: twenty five years. His mother was Azuba, the daughter of Shilhe.
Speaker 1: Jehosephat was a good king, following the example of his
Speaker 1: father Asa. He did what was pleasing in the lord's sight.
Speaker 1: During his reign, however, he failed to remove all the
Speaker 1: pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned
Speaker 1: incense there. Jehosephad also made peace with the King of Israel.
Speaker 1: The rest of the events in Jehosephat's reign, the extent
Speaker 1: of his power and the wars he waged, are recorded
Speaker 1: in the book of the History of the Kings of Judah.
Speaker 1: He banished from the land the rest of the male
Speaker 1: and female shrine prostitutes, who still continued their practices from
Speaker 1: the days of his father Aesa. There was no king
Speaker 1: in Edom at that time, only a deputy. Jehosephad also
Speaker 1: built a fleet of trading ships to sail to Ophir
Speaker 1: for gold, but the ships never set sail, for they
Speaker 1: met with disaster in their home port of Easy and Geeber.
Speaker 1: At one time, Ahaziah son of Ahab, had proposed to Jehosaphat,
Speaker 1: let my men sail with your men in the ships,
Speaker 1: but Jehosaphat refused the request. When Jehosaphat died, he was
Speaker 1: buried with his ancestors in the city of David. Then
Speaker 1: his son Jehoram became the next king. Ahaziah, son of Ahab,
Speaker 1: began to rule over Israel in the seventeenth year of
Speaker 1: King Jehosaphat's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria two years,
Speaker 1: but he did what was evil in the Lord's sight.
Speaker 1: Following the example of his father and mother, and the
Speaker 1: example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had led Israel
Speaker 1: to sin, he served Bail and worshiped him, provoking the
Speaker 1: anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, just as
Speaker 1: his father had done. Let's pray, Lord, we thank you
Speaker 1: for your word, and we thank you as always for
Speaker 1: the privilege of being able to look at it today.
Speaker 1: And Lord, as we look at this passage, we see
Speaker 1: a contrast between prophets and kings, and those who followed
Speaker 1: you and those who rejected you. Lord, we know that
Speaker 1: Ahab was one who worshiped idols and rejected the counsel
Speaker 1: of your prophets, and primarily just wanted to hear what
Speaker 1: he had already made up his mind about what he
Speaker 1: already thought was the case, and rejected your truth as
Speaker 1: it was spoken to him by the prophet. And Lord,
Speaker 1: sometimes we can find ourselves doing that same exact thing.
Speaker 1: Sometimes when we come across things in your word that
Speaker 1: you've revealed through your prophets. Sometimes we're confronted about areas
Speaker 1: of our lives that we don't really want to be
Speaker 1: confronted about. But Lord, your word tells us the truth,
Speaker 1: and you speak into parts of our lives that we
Speaker 1: would live our lives completely unaware of if you hadn't
Speaker 1: opened our eyes to see what was really going on.
Speaker 1: And Lord, we know that through faith in your son
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, that you give us the mind and the
Speaker 1: eyes of Christ as we perceive things and as we
Speaker 1: grow in our understanding of your will. So Lord, we
Speaker 1: pray that by your grace that today we would see
Speaker 1: things from your perspective, things related to our life, things
Speaker 1: related to our culture, things related to the people that
Speaker 1: we interact with, and that we would honor and glorify
Speaker 1: the name of Jesus Christ. In all of our dealings, Lord,
Speaker 1: we love you. We thank you for your presence with
Speaker 1: us today, and we commit this day to your care.
Speaker 1: We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen,