1 Kings 22:1-50 The Death of Ahab How does Ahab die? One could say that he dies in battle against the Syrians. That's true. But one could also say that Ahab dies by the Word of the LORD. Ahab spent his whole life in rebellion against the Word of Yahweh. The real battle in Ahab's life was not his border skirmishes with the Syrians. The real battle was his unremitting warfare against the God of Israel and his prophets. The basic lesson that we should learn from the life of Ahab is that the Word of the LORD will accomplish his purposes. You can run, you can hide, you can fight and kick against the word of the LORD, but in the end, you will lose. Chapter 22 brings the whole life of Ahab to a fitting close by recapitulating the whole of his life. We met Ahab at the end of chapter 16 where we heard of his building projects. Verse 39 of chapter 22 reminds us that Ahab was a great builder. Ahab is most famous for the confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal in chapter 18, and in this last story, there is another contest of prophets. In chapter 20 Ahab was fighting the Syrians, and he dies in battle against the Syrians. In chapter 21 Elijah prophesied his death, and now we see its fulfillment. 1. The "Reunion" of Judah and Israel (22:1-4) So far in Kings we have seen Judah and Israel at war with each other. Ever since Jeroboam led the northern tribes in rebellion against the house of David, there has been hostility between Israel and Judah. But one of Ahab's most ambitious goals was the reunion of the two kingdoms. So he invited Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, to visit him. And Jehoshaphat comes. So far we haven't heard much about Jehoshaphat. All we know is that he is the son of Asa (and we know that Asa was a good king). He is about the same age as Ahab (he began to rule only four years into Ahab's rule). But now after three years of peace between Israel and Syria, Ahab is working to bring Judah into his sphere of influence. So having invited Jehoshaphat to Samaria in order to build an alliance, Ahab invites him into a military alliance. Will yo go with me to battle at Ramoth-Gilead? Ramoth-Gilead is an important border town on the east side of the Jordan. According to the treaty with Ben-Hadad in 20:34 this city should have been returned to Israel, but three years later, Ben-Hadad appears to have no intention of living up to his end of his life-saving bargain. What is Jehoshaphat doing here? It is easy to see Ahab's purpose. He wants to bring Judah into the orbit of his control. But Jehoshaphat is called a good king at the end of the chapter. Why is he here? Why is he willing to fight for Ahab? We will only understand this at the end of our passage. But one thing that you need to understand is that Jehoshaphat's name means "Yahweh will judge." The presence of the Son of David, the LORD's anointed, has a powerful effect on the events of 1 Kings 22. 2. Whose Prophet? Whose Spirit? (22:5-28) First of all, it is Jehoshaphat who insists on inquiring of the Word of Yahweh. (verse 5) This reminds us that Ahab has no intention of asking for Yahweh's counsel. (Do you seek God's counsel in your decisions? Remember how our Lord Jesus Christ devoted himself to the word and to prayer. Even the eternal Son of God needed to seek his Father's counsel! If you do not know the scriptures, and if you do not seek him in prayer, then you will not be prepared for battle today!) Jehoshaphat, the son of David, the LORD's anointed, did not dare to go into battle without first seeking the LORD's counsel. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about 400 men, and said to them, 'Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain? And they said, 'Go up for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.' But did you notice that "Lord" is not capitalized? That means that this is not "Yahweh" it is only "Adonai" a much more generic reference. And Jehoshaphat is not impressed. Is there not here another prophet of Yahweh of whom we may inquire? Jehoshaphat will not go into battle without the word of Yahweh. Even though the chapter is supposedly a war story about Israel vs. Syria, the center of the story in verses 5-28 focuses on the battle between the prophets. Peter Leithart points out that there is a parallel structure to this: verses 5-14 are parallel to verses 15-28 First comes the inquiry and the answer of the prophet (verses 5-6 and 15) then comes the dissatisfaction of the king (Jehoshaphat in verse 7; then Ahab in verse 16) then comes the alternative answer (the reference to Micaiah in v8; Micaiah's 2nd answer in v17) then comes the throne seen (the earthly thrones of v10-12; the heavenly throne of v18-23), concluding with the courage of Micaiah in the face of opposition (v13-14; v24-28). In the first sequence, Ahab is in charge, and he summons 400 prophets (remember the 400 prophets of Baal?!) And when Jehoshaphat is dissatisfied, Ahab replies, there is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil. What does Jehoshaphat mean by his response? Let not the king say so. Is he siding with Ahab, suggesting that maybe the prophet will say something different? Or is he subtly suggesting that Ahab should change his attitude. Is this a gentle rebuke from the LORD's anointed? Do not say this about the prophet of Yahweh! Either way, Ahab submits to the LORD's anointed and calls for Micaiah to come. If Jehoshaphat is trying to reform Ahab, Ahab is also trying to pervert Jehoshaphat from his service to Yahweh. But as the messenger goes to get Micaiah, the kings of Israel and Judah sit on their thrones at the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them. And as they sit there, Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, 'Thus says Yahweh, With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.' Now the 400 prophets start using the name of Yahweh. Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king. What exactly does this mean. There is a certain ambiguity in the words of the prophets. Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king. What is "it" and which "king" will triumph? Obviously they intend this to mean that Ahab will triumph, and Ramoth-Gilead will be given into the hand of Ahab. But "it" could be Ahab, and the king could be Ben-Hadad! Even false prophets can speak truly if you twist their words around! When the messenger comes to Micaiah, he urges him to join the 400 prophets in their favorable words. But Micaiah replies, As Yahweh lives, what Yahweh says to me, that I will speak. And so Micaiah comes before the kings. Notice the picture: Micaiah is brought before two kings (including Jehoshaphat, whose name means "Yahweh is judge") as they sit at the gates of the city the place of judgment, at a threshing floor (where the wheat and the chaff are separated another symbol of judgment) And as Micaiah comes, the prophets are enacting the victory of the kings. And so Ahab asks Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain? And Micaiah replies, Go up and triumph; Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king. This is the very answer the 400 prophets had given complete with the equivocal promise of victory. Someone will triumph! Some king will be given the victory! For some reason Ahab realizes that Micaiah is mocking him. Maybe it was Micaiah's tone of voice. Maybe Micaiah had done this before! After all, Ahab's response is to say, How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?! For some reason Ahab was willing to believe the 400 prophets when they lied, but he could not believe Micaiah when he said exactly the same thing! And so as he stands before the kings on their thrones, Micaiah explains that he has seen a vision of a greater throne. And even as the earthly kings have taken counsel from their advisors, so also Yahweh has his counselors in the heavenly court. There are two parts to Micaiah's prophecy: 1) 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.' Normally sheep without a shepherd would not be a good condition; but in this case, the lack of a shepherd will bring shalom to Israel! Ahab is worse than nothing! And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat (remember that this means, the king of Israel said to Yahweh shall judge) Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil? But Micaiah is not finished with Ahab: 2) Therefore hear the word of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and Yahweh said, 'Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward. Do you see what is happening? In verses 10-12 we heard about the earthly throne room. Now we are hearing the heavenly version of the same event. The prophesy of Zedekiah had a heavenly origin! And it wasn't just "a" spirit that came forward. Verse 21 has the definite article: the Spirit came forward. Especially when we consider verse 24 "the Spirit of the LORD" we should conclude that this was in fact the Holy Spirit himself. Some folks have difficulty with this. How could the Holy Spirit (or even a holy angel) be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets? Well, as Psalm 18:25-26 says With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. J.R.R. Tolkien said it nicely: to crooked eyes, truth may wear a wry face. The Holy Spirit inspires the prophets of Ahab to declare the word of the LORD to him. The Spirit of the LORD is indeed upon them, "but the words they speak are misleading, equivocal, and intended to seduce." (Peter Leithart) This is a valuable reminder that God's judgment is a double-edged sword: he will vindicate his people, but he will destroy those who oppose his word. Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has declared disaster for you. The coming of the Spirit of the LORD results in blessing for God's people, but also in judgment against his enemies. Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, How did the Spirit of the LORD go from me to speak to you? Zedekiah was the one who had prophesied in the name of Yahweh, so he mocks Micaiah, suggesting that if the Spirit of Yahweh was lying through him, then why wouldn't the Spirit of Yahweh be lying through Micaiah! And Micaiah said, 'Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself! (Remember how the Syrians died in 20:30 when they fled into the city) Do not blaspheme the work of the Spirit! Jesus says that blasphemy against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When the Holy Spirit plainly decrees destruction and judgment, do not mock the word of the LORD! But Ahab is a mocker and a scoffer, and he has had enough of this prophet, so he orders Micaiah imprisoned until he returns. Note that Ahab does not order Micaiah to be executed. He wants to mock Micaiah further. Put this fellow in prison and feed him meager rations of bread and water, until I come in peace. And Micaiah said, 'If you return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me. And he said (probably Ahab speaking): Hear all you peoples! 3. The Death of Ahab (22:29-40) So Ahab and Jehoshaphat set out for battle against Ramoth-gilead. Ahab decides that he will try to avoid the curse of God by disguising himself. (As though God could not see through the disguise!) But what is the effect of this disguise? Ahab defrocks himself. The only king leading the armies of Israel into battle is the Son of David. Notice in verse 31 that Ben-Hadad still has 32 captains (remember the 32 in chapter 20). He sets his 32 captains with the task of going after Ahab. So when they see Jehoshaphat, they pursue him, but when he cried out, they turned away. Interesting. The voice of the Son of David turns back the armies of his enemies. But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Ahab cannot escape the voice of the LORD. And so the seemingly random shot of a Syrian archer, guided by the voice of the LORD, pierces Ahab's armor. And at evening Ahab dies, and the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot. And when they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, the dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed themselves in it, according to the word of the LORD that he had spoken. As the dogs had licked the blood of Naboth, so also now they lick the blood of Ahab. God will bring justice for his people. You may recall that Elijah had said that Ahab's blood would be spilled in the same place as Naboth's, but Naboth died in Jezreel and Ahab died in Samaria. (Cf. 21:19) Is this a problem? Not at all. Because Ahab's blood will be spilled in Jezreel, when the dogs lap up the blood of Joram and Ahaziah, his descendants (in Jehu's day). Postscript: Jehoshaphat and the House of Ahab (22:41-50) Verses 41-50 then tell us about Jehoshaphat. He walked in all the ways of Asa his father. He did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD. Yet the high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel. 2 Chronicles is very critical of Jehoshaphat for his alliance with Ahab. Kings is more ambivalent. Kings does not condemn Jehoshaphat for his alliance with the King of Israel. Indeed in verses 47-49 we hear that Jehoshaphat declined a joint trading venture with Ahaziah, son of Ahab, which suggests that Jehoshaphat was trying to be careful not to become too entangled with Israel. But what Kings does not mention is how the fleet was wrecked. 2 Chronicles 20 tells us that Jehoshaphat and Ahaziah actually built the ships together, and that it was the word of the prophet Eliezer that brought destruction against the ships Kings doesn't mention that part. Kings seems to present Jehoshaphat as one who is trying to bring peace between Israel and Judah. In other words, he is a reforming king a good king who has good intentions for reuniting Israel and Judah. But in his good intentions for reuniting the church, he overlooks the problem of idolatry. Indeed, Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab will nearly result in the end of the house of David, because one fruit of his alliance is that his son, Jehoram will marry Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab. He may have thought that this was a good way to try to bring Israel back into the fold, but you do not bring about reformation by intermarrying with idolaters! What brings reformation, as the book of Kings demonstrates repeatedly, is the Word of the LORD. The Word of the LORD may be mocked and ridiculed for a time, but it will triumph in the end. Consider Micaiah. In his case the Word of the LORD was humbled. He was slapped, imprisoned and ridiculed but in the end his word came true. Centuries later the Word made flesh would also be slapped, imprisoned and ridiculed indeed, he would even be put to death. When Jesus went to the cross it appeared that the Word of the LORD had failed. But the Word of the LORD is not bound. The humiliation of the Word invariably ends with the exaltation of the Word. And sometimes you have to be patient! The Psalms frequently cry out "How long, O LORD?" The souls under the altar cry out, "how long O Lord?" We don't like waiting! We want instant fulfillment of God's promises! Peter Leithart says it well: "But this is not God's way. Between the word and the fulfilled, there is often silence, and the silence can last a long time. We cling to God's promises regarding our children through periods of estrangement and rebellion; we long for the promised unity, peace and concord in the church, but meet only warfare, envy, and suspicion; we struggle to be free from sin, believing that we are dead and risen with Christ and that we now walk in newness of life, but seeing very little fruit of that new life. "God's way with the world is a way of tension and rest, a way of exile and return, and we are always called to wait and trust through the exile until God fulfills His promise, crying out in the silences that God would keep His promises. The Word seems to be humiliated, imprisoned, and there is little to be done but wait and see." Be patient. Remember who God is. You may not like the apparent slowness of God, but he knows what he is doing!