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Speaker 1: I'm John Stongi, and today we're in Second Chronicles, chapter eighteen,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the New English translation. Jehoshafat
Speaker 1: was very wealthy and greatly respected. He made an alliance
Speaker 1: by marriage with Ahab, and after several years, went down
Speaker 1: to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered many sheep and
Speaker 1: cattle to honor Jehosha Fat and those who came with him.
Speaker 1: He persuaded him to join in an attack against Ramothgilad.
Speaker 1: King Ahab of Israel said to Jehoshafat, will you go
Speaker 1: with me to attack Raymothgilead. Jehosha replied to the King
Speaker 1: of Israel, I will support you. My army is at
Speaker 1: your disposal and will support you in battle. Then Jehoshaphat added,
Speaker 1: first seek an oracle from the Lord. So the King
Speaker 1: of Israel assembled four hundred prophets and asked them should
Speaker 1: we attack Raymoth Gilead or not. They said, attack, God
Speaker 1: will hand it over to the king. But Jehoshaphat asked,
Speaker 1: is there not a prophet of the Lord still here
Speaker 1: that we may ask him? The King of Israel answered, Jehoshaphat,
Speaker 1: there is still one man through whom we can seek
Speaker 1: the Lord's will. But I despise him because he does
Speaker 1: not prophesy prosperity for me, but always disaster. His name
Speaker 1: is Machiah son of Imlah. Jehoshaphat said the King should
Speaker 1: not say such things. The King of Israel summoned an
Speaker 1: officer and said, quickly, bring Machiah son of Imlah. Now.
Speaker 1: The King of Israel and King Jehoshaphad of Judah were
Speaker 1: sitting on their respective thrones, dressed in their royal robes,
Speaker 1: at the threshing floor at the entrance of the Gate
Speaker 1: of Samaria. All the prophets were prophesying. Before them. Zedekiah
Speaker 1: son of Kenanah made iron horns and said, this is
Speaker 1: what the Lord says. With these, you will gore Syria
Speaker 1: until they are destroyed. All the prophets were prophesying the same, saying,
Speaker 1: attack Raymoth Gilead. You will succeed. The Lord will hand
Speaker 1: it over to the king. Now. The messenger who went
Speaker 1: to summon Machiah said to him, look, the prophets are
Speaker 1: in complete agreement that the King will succeed. Your words
Speaker 1: must agree with theirs. You must predict success. But Machiah said,
Speaker 1: as certainly as the Lord lives, I will say what
Speaker 1: my God tells me to say. Makiah came before the
Speaker 1: king king and the king asked him, Makiah, should we
Speaker 1: attack Raymoth Gilead or not. He answered him, attack you
Speaker 1: will succeed. They will be handed over to you. The
Speaker 1: King said to him, how many times must I make
Speaker 1: you solemnly promise in the name of the Lord to
Speaker 1: tell me only the truth. Makiah replied, I saw all
Speaker 1: Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd.
Speaker 1: Then the Lord said, they have no master. They should
Speaker 1: go home in peace. The King of Israel said to Jehoshaphat,
Speaker 1: didn't I tell you he does not prophesy prosperity for me,
Speaker 1: but disaster. Machiah said that, being the case, hear the
Speaker 1: word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on
Speaker 1: his throne, with all the heavenly assembly standing on his
Speaker 1: right and on his left. The Lord said, who will
Speaker 1: deceive King Ahab of Israel, so he will attack Raymoth
Speaker 1: Gilead and die there. One said this, and another that.
Speaker 1: Then a spirit stepped forward and stood before the Lord.
Speaker 1: He said, I will deceive him. The Lord asked him how.
Speaker 1: He replied, I will go out and be a lying
Speaker 1: spirit in the mouths of all his prophets. The Lord said,
Speaker 1: deceive and overpower him. Go out and do as you
Speaker 1: have proposed. So now look, the Lord has placed a
Speaker 1: lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours.
Speaker 1: But the Lord has decreed disaster for you. Zedekiah, son
Speaker 1: of Kenanah, approached hit Machiah on the jaw and said,
Speaker 1: which way did the Lord's spirit go when he went
Speaker 1: from me to speak to you. Machiah replied, look, you
Speaker 1: will see in the day when you go into an
Speaker 1: inner room to hide. Then the King of Israel said,
Speaker 1: take Machiah and return him to Ammon. The city official,
Speaker 1: and joe oh Ash, the king's son, say this is
Speaker 1: what the King says. Put this man in prison, give
Speaker 1: him only a little bread and water until I returned safely.
Speaker 1: Makaiah said, if you really do return safely, then the
Speaker 1: Lord has not spoken through me. Then he added take note,
Speaker 1: all you people. The King of Israel and King Jehoshaphat
Speaker 1: of Judah attacked Raymoth Gilead. The King of Israel said
Speaker 1: to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and then enter the battle.
Speaker 1: But you wear your royal attire. So the King of
Speaker 1: Israel disguised himself and they entered the battle. Now, the
Speaker 1: King of Syria had ordered his chariot commanders do not
Speaker 1: fight common soldiers or high ranking officers, fight only the
Speaker 1: King of Israel. When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they
Speaker 1: said he must be the King of Israel. So they
Speaker 1: turned and attacked him. But Jehoshaphat out the Lord helped
Speaker 1: him God lured them away from him. When the chariot
Speaker 1: commanders realized he was not the King of Israel, they
Speaker 1: turned away from him. Now, an archer shot an arrow
Speaker 1: at random, and it struck the King of Israel between
Speaker 1: the plates of his armor. The king ordered his charioteer
Speaker 1: turn around and take me from the battle line, for
Speaker 1: I am wounded. While the battle raged throughout the day,
Speaker 1: the king stood propped up in his chariot opposite the Syrians.
Speaker 1: He died in the evening as the sun was setting.
Speaker 1: Let's pray, Lord, we thank you for your word, and
Speaker 1: we thank you for the privilege to be able to
Speaker 1: look at it together today. And we thank you Lord,
Speaker 1: that in this portion of scripture we can see a
Speaker 1: glimpse of what it looks like when a heart is
Speaker 1: hardened against you and when the accurate proclamation of your
Speaker 1: truth is rejected. Lord, we see that activity in the
Speaker 1: King of Israel, and it's a warning to us to
Speaker 1: not emulate that behavior. Lord. That's something that you don't
Speaker 1: want us to copy. That's something that you want us
Speaker 1: to reject. Rather, you want us to be people who
Speaker 1: have soft hearts and who listen to your word. Lord.
Speaker 1: We know that during the course of Christ's earthly ministry,
Speaker 1: when your son was here in the flesh, ministering on
Speaker 1: this earth, there were people who harden their hearts against him,
Speaker 1: and they wouldn't listen to his teaching, and they wouldn't
Speaker 1: accept him for who he was God in the flesh. Lord,
Speaker 1: we pray that that would not be something that we
Speaker 1: would copy, but rather we pray that as you speak
Speaker 1: to us through the power of your Holy Spirit and
Speaker 1: through the teaching of the prophets that you have inspired.
Speaker 1: We pray Lord that our hearts would be soft and
Speaker 1: mouldable and teachable, and that your instruction would be something
Speaker 1: that we would be eager to listen to. We pray
Speaker 1: Lord that that would be the case throughout the course
Speaker 1: of our lives, and we pray in particular for today,
Speaker 1: that today would be a day that we would listen
Speaker 1: to your that today would be a day that we
Speaker 1: would obey your word. Lord. We're grateful for the privilege
Speaker 1: to know you, and we're grateful for the fact that
Speaker 1: you are right here with us in all respects, and
Speaker 1: we commit this day to your care and thank you
Speaker 1: for your presence with us in it. We pray this
Speaker 1: all in Jesus' name. Amen.