2 Chronicles 18:1–19:3
18 Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor, and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. 2 18:2After some years he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him, and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. 3 18:3Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.”
4 18:4And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” 5 18:5Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” 6 18:6But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” 7 18:7And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” 8 18:8Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.” 9 18:9Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes. And they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 10 18:10And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” 11 18:11And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph. The Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
12 18:12And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” 13 18:13But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.” 14 18:14And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And he answered, “Go up and triumph; they will be given into your hand.” 15 18:15But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 16 18:16And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” 17 18:17And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” 18 18:18And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. 19 18:19And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. 20 18:20Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ 21 18:21And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ 22 18:22Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets. The Lord has declared disaster concerning you.”
23 18:23Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “Which way did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?” 24 18:24And Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.” 25 18:25And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son, 26 18:26and say, ‘Thus says the king, Put this fellow in prison and feed him with meager rations of bread and water until I return in peace.’” 27 18:27And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!”
28 18:28So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 29 18:29And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. 30 18:30Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.” 31 18:31As soon as the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him; God drew them away from him. 32 18:32For as soon as the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 33 18:33But a certain man drew his bow at random 1 and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” 34 18:34And the battle continued that day, and the king of Israel was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening. Then at sunset he died.
19 Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. 2 19:2But Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord. 3 19:3Nevertheless, some good is found in you, for you destroyed the Asheroth out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.”
1 Hebrew in his innocence
Section Overview
Ahab, son of Omri, was an influential king in the northern kingdom, well known for his military exploits to the northeast1 and even more, through his marriage to the Tyrian Jezebel, for the explosion of Baal worship in the north and subsequent influence in Judah that marked his reign. The Chronicler relates only the battle that Jehoshaphat participated in, which led to Ahab’s death (1 Kings 22; Ahab’s reign began in 1 Kings 16:29). Although 2 Chronicles 18:3–34 is almost word for word as in Kings, the additions and changes (especially 18:1–2; 19:1–3) shift the focus to Jehoshaphat. In Chronicles, Jehoshaphat is condemned for his marriage alliance with Ahab, being “with” him (18:1–3; 19:1–2), but is commended for his “seek[ing] God” (19:3; reflected in 18:4, 6, 7b); further, in the battle narrative “The Lord helped him” is added after “Jehoshaphat cried out” (18:31).
Three-quarters of the narrative is an account of prophetic conflict over who was truly speaking a message from God concerning the proposed attack (18:4–27). Jehoshaphat initiated and persisted in a request to hear from a “prophet of the Lord” (18:4, 6, 7b), but once the prophet Micaiah appeared, Jehoshaphat played no active part other than accompanying Ahab (18:9, 17, 28, 29), until he “cried out, and the Lord helped him” (18:31). The account is not completed until we are told of the Lord’s evaluation of the whole incident (19:1–3).2
Section Outline
- III.C. Jehoshaphat: Religious and Judicial Reforms, and Battles (17:1–20:37) . . .
- 2. Alliance with Ahab, a Battle, and Prophetic Judgment (18:1–19:3)
Response
Throughout Chronicles the people of God are always more than Judah, but here is a warning to postexilic hearers against alliances that compromise their distinctive identity as God’s people.6 The wider unity of Israel is to be based on common allegiance to the Lord.7 Prosperity and peace are to be found through trusting in him, not in political (or later, trading; 20:35–37) partnerships. Jeroboam’s alliance in battle continues as a salutary example of a man seeking to be loyal to God but getting drawn into actions one knows are contrary to God’s revealed Word. Such is the grace of God, however, that even there he delivers as one cries to him.
The account of prophetic conflict illustrates ongoing issues in discerning God’s will in specific situations. How is one to know whether it is Zedekiah or Micaiah who is telling the truth? Or similarly, Hananiah or Jeremiah (Jeremiah 28)? Or Paul or other preachers (e.g., Gal. 1:6–7)? While Micaiah’s words (2 Chron. 18:27) illustrate the ultimate test given in Deuteronomy 18:21–22,8 the conflict in this passage points to other key factors: the track record and character of the person or group speaking and whether they benefit personally—and whether hearers are willing to be corrected and change plans. Micaiah’s reputation for speaking fearlessly (2 Chron. 18:7) contrasts with prophets who benefit from royal patronage for speaking favorable words, benefiting themselves (cf. Jer. 5:31; 14:13–14; Mic. 3:5; Matt. 7:15–16; Luke 6:26). It is evident that Micaiah was committed to the Lord, whose prophet he was. Similarly, centuries later Paul was in no doubt that he had been “entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God. . . . We never came with words of flattery . . . nor with a pretext for greed. . . . Nor did we seek glory from people” (1 Thess. 2:4–6). As Jesus stated, “Each tree is known by its own fruit” (Luke 6:44), and “wisdom is justified by her deeds” (Matt. 11:19).
1 One such battle is recounted on the Kurkh Stela (discovered in 1861 and now in the British Museum) on which the Assyrian Shalmaneser III records that at Qarqar in Syria in 853 BC he defeated a twelve-nation coalition that came to the aid of Damascus, including “Ahab of Israel” with “2,000 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers.” Shalmaneser attributes his victory to his god Assur.
2 In Hebrew manuscripts there is no paragraph or chapter division after 18:34. The next division is after the first phrase of 19:4.
3 The combination in verse 10 of a name with “-iah” (“the Lord”) and “Chenaanah” (kenaʻanah), which is similar to “Canaanites” (kenaʻani ), could point to a syncretism in which prophets spoke of either the Lord or Baal; Jerome T. Walsh, 1 Kings, Berit Olam (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1996), 347>n5.
4 Japhet, I & II Chronicles, 765.
5 Thompson, 1, 2 Chronicles, 288.
6 Knoppers, “Reform and Regression,” 501.
7 Cf. Introduction: Theology of 1–2 Chronicles: “All Israel.”
8 For criteria of message content, cf. Deuteronomy 13:1–3; Galatians 1:8; and 1 John 4:13.