WWUTT 484 The Death of Ahab?

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Too often people expect God to manifest Himself in some kind of miraculous sign, without understanding that God is in control, working in the everyday things happening all around us, when we understand the text.

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This is When We Understand the Text, a daily Bible commentary to help encourage your time in the

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Word. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we feature New Testament Study, an Old Testament book on Thursday, and our

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Q &A on Friday. Now here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. We will finish our study of the book of 1

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Kings today with chapters 21 and 22. Still a decent read, though, because I think chapter 22 is the longest chapter in 1

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Kings. We finished last week two -thirds of the way through chapter 20, and that's where we'll pick up 1

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Kings 20, beginning in verse 35. So God has told Elijah that He is going to end

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Baal worship in Israel, but not the way that Elijah was hoping to see it.

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He thought it would be with fire from heaven, the way that God responded at Mount Carmel. But then when

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Jezebel threatened Elijah's life, he ran away to Mount Sinai, and it was there that God told

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Elijah that He would end the reign of Ahab and Jezebel, not with fire from heaven, not with a whirlwind or with an earthquake, but in the ebb and flow of things the way

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God works, setting up kings and tearing them down. Sometimes God works in the miraculous, but His hand is always in control, even when we don't see those miraculous signs.

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Still, Elijah was unenthusiastic about the whole thing. He was hoping to see some miracle, not just the everyday stuff.

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He found his successor, Elisha, who had way more enthusiasm than Elijah did.

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He left house and home and property and possessions and everything to go and follow this prophet.

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God gave success to Ahab against Ben -Hadad, the king of Syria. But after the victory,

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Ahab did not put Ben -Hadad to death. He made a treaty with him and let him go. And that's where we're picking up the story here in verse 35.

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A certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow at the command of the

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Lord, Strike me, please. But the man refused to strike him. Then he said to him,

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Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you have gone from me, a lion shall strike you down.

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And as soon as he had departed from him, a lion met him and struck him down. So notice once again in verse 35, this man said to his fellow at the command of the

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Lord, Strike me, please. The fellow refused to strike him. So this is going to be prophetic in the way that Ahab is going to meet his end.

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Ahab was supposed to have struck down the king of Syria, and he did not do it, just as this servant did not obey the command of the prophet.

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So verse 37, the prophet found another man and said, Strike me, please.

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And the man struck him, struck him and wounded him. So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.

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And as the king passed, he cried to the king and said, Your servant went out into the midst of the battle and behold, a soldier turned and brought a man to me and said,

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Guard this man. If by any means he is missing, your life shall be for his life or else you shall pay a talent of silver.

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And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone. The king of Israel said to him,

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So shall your judgment be. You use you yourself have decided it. And then he hurried to take the bandage away from his eyes.

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And the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. And he said to him, Thus says the

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Lord, Because you have let go out of your hand, the man whom I had devoted to destruction.

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Therefore, your life shall be for his life and your people for his people. And the king of Israel went to his house, vexed and sullen, and came to Samaria.

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Chapter 21. Now Naboth, the Jezreelite, had a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria.

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And after this, Ahab said to Naboth, Give me your vineyard that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it.

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Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value and money. But Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.

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And Ahab went into his house, vexed and sullen, because of what Naboth, the Jezreelite, had said to him.

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For he had said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food.

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But Jezebel, his wife, came to him and said to him, Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?

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And he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth, the Jezreelite, and said to him, Give me your vineyard for money, or else, if it please you,

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I will give you another vineyard for it. And he answered, I will not give you my vineyard. And Jezebel, his wife, said to him,

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Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread, and let your heart be cheerful.

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I will give you the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal.

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And she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city. And she wrote in the letters,

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Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying,

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You have cursed God and the king. Then take him out, and stone him to death. And the men of his city, the elders and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel sent word to them.

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And it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, They proclaimed a fast and set

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Naboth at the head of the people. And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him, and the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying,

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Naboth cursed God and the king. So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.

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And then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned, he is dead. As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead,

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Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money.

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For Naboth is not alive, but dead. And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead,

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Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to take possession of it.

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Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria.

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Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. And you shall say to him,

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Thus says the Lord, Have you killed and also taken possession? And you shall say to him,

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Thus says the Lord, In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick up your own blood.

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Ahab said to Elijah, Have you found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the

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Lord. Behold, I will bring disaster upon you, I will utterly burn you up, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel.

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And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made

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Israel to sin. And of Jezebel the Lord also said, The dog shall eat

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Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel. Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city, the dog shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country, the birds of the heavens shall eat.

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If you'll remember, this was exactly the same curse that was given to Jeroboam and also all others who would not obey the word of the

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Lord. Verse 25, There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the

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Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the

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Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel. And when

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Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and he put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly.

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And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me?

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Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days, but in his son's days,

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I will bring the disaster upon his house. It's almost like God is also saying to Elijah, look at how he is cowering before me.

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You had nothing to fear. I am going to take care of you. Next, we're going to meet a king named

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Jehoshaphat, who is the king over Judah at this particular time. And he's another righteous king in Judah, successor to Asa.

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And we're also going to meet a prophet named Micaiah, who has some different words for King Ahab than his other prophets have for him.

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First Kings chapter 22. For three years, Syria and Israel continued without war.

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But in the third year, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, came down to the king of Israel and technically went up to the king of Israel.

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But but anyway, I think it's in land formation. If you look at the topography of the area.

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So Jehoshaphat was coming down from Judah into a lower land area, even though on a map he's going up, he's going north anyway.

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Not a not a crucial point. Just thought I would mention that. And the king of Israel said to his servants, do you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us and we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?

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And he said to Jehoshaphat, will you go with me to battle at Ramoth Gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.

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And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, inquire first for the word of the Lord. Because remember,

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Jehoshaphat is a righteous king. A man who fears the

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Lord, worships him with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, shall

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I go to battle against Ramoth Gilead or shall I refrain? And they said, go up, for the

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Lord will give it into the hand of the king. But Jehoshaphat said, is there not here another prophet of the

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Lord of whom we may inquire? It's almost like Jehoshaphat is suspecting something here. He's seeing how easily all of these men just gave in to Ahab's request and didn't seem to Jehoshaphat that they were even inquiring of the

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Lord. They're just agreeing with the king, just telling the king what it is that he wants to hear. So he asks for another prophet.

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In verse eight, the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, there is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the

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Lord, Micaiah, the son of Imla. But I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.

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And Jehoshaphat said, oh, let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, bring quickly

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Micaiah, the son of Imla. Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, were sitting on thrones arrayed in their robes at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gates of Samaria.

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And all the prophets were prophesying before them. And Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made for himself horns of iron and said, thus says the

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Lord, with these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed. And all the prophets prophesied and said, go up to Ramoth Gilead and try him, for the

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Lord will give it into the hand of the king. And the messenger who went to summon

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Micaiah said to him, behold, the words of the prophets are with one accord.

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They are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them and speak favorably.

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But Micaiah said, as the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me that I will speak.

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And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle or shall we refrain?

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And he answered him, go up and triumph. The Lord will give it into the hand of the king.

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And in the way that Micaiah said this might have been kind of mocking the other prophets, because in verse 16, the king said to him, how many times shall

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I make you swear that you speak to be nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?

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And here's what Micaiah said to him next. I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd.

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And the Lord said, these have no master. Let each return to his home in peace.

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And here's where Ahab knows that Micaiah is not speaking the same favorable word that the other prophets are saying.

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The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?

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And Micaiah said, therefore, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left.

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And the Lord said, who will entice Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth -Gilead?

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And one said one thing and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord saying,

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I will entice him. And the Lord said to him, by what means? And he said, I will go out and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.

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And God said, you are to entice him and you shall succeed. Go out and do so.

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Now, therefore, behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these, your prophets.

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The Lord has declared disaster for you. And here we are given a rare glimpse into heaven.

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Remember what I said earlier this week? I think it was yesterday as we were finishing up Jude about narrative and didactic.

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So the narrative is always spoken to us in the perspective of the human beings who are writing it, the men who are writing the story as it is unfolding in biblical history.

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But every once in a while you get the didactic, you get the ultimate purpose. You get to look behind the curtain and see how

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God is orchestrating all things for his glory. So it's going to look like a person made a choice.

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And indeed they did. But ultimately, God is working all things for his purposes.

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And here a lying spirit has been put into the mouths of the prophets of Ahab to convince him to go to Ramoth Gilead and therefore be struck down and killed.

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Micaiah is giving Ahab a glimpse and us a glimpse at what is going on in heaven concerning these matters and these decisions.

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Verse 24, then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck

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Micaiah on the cheek and said, how did the spirit of the Lord go away from me to speak to you?

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And Micaiah said, behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.

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And the king of Israel said, seize Micaiah and take him back to Ammon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son and say, thus says the king, put this fellow in prison and feed him meager rations of bread and water until I come in peace.

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And Micaiah said, if you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.

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And he said, hear all you peoples. So Micaiah even presents to him, if you are able to come back to me in peace, then the

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Lord has not spoken by me. But if you are struck down and killed, you will know that the

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Lord has spoken the word of truth through my mouth. So verse 29, so the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth Gilead and the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.

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And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. So this is

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Ahab's insecurity here. He's going, well, what if Micaiah is right? Maybe if I disguise myself and I don't look like the king, then

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I won't die. Now the king of Syria had commanded the 32 captains of his chariots fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.

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And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, it is surely the king of Israel. So they turned to fight against him and Jehoshaphat cried out.

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And when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

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But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and breastplate.

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Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, turn around and carry me out of battle for I am wounded.

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And the battle continued that day and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians until at evening he died and the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot and about sunset, a cry went through the army, every man to his city and every man to his country, exactly as Micaiah had prophesied that the people were without a shepherd and everyone went back to his home.

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So the king died and was brought to Samaria and they buried the king in Samaria and they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria and the dogs licked up his blood and the prostitutes washed themselves in it according to the word of the

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Lord that he had spoken. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did and the ivory house that he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

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So Ahab slept with his fathers and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.

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Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.

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Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he began to reign and he reigned 25 years in Jerusalem.

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His mother's name was Azuba the daughter of Shilhai. He walked in all the way of Asa his father.

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He did not turn aside from it doing what was right in the sight of the

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Lord. Yet the high places were not taken away and the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places.

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Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat and his might that he showed and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

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And from the land he exterminated the remnant of the male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father

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Asa. There was no king in Edom. A deputy was king. Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Afir for gold, but they did not go for the ships were wrecked at Ezion Geber.

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Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, let my servants go with your servants in the ships.

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But Jehoshaphat was not willing and Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father and Jehoram his son reigned in his place.

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Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the 17th year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah and he reigned two years over Israel.

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He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made

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Israel to sin. He served Baal and worshipped him and provoked the Lord the God of Israel to anger in every way that his father had done.

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So we have not yet seen the judgment of Jezebel and in fact, she won't die until 2nd

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Kings chapter 9, but 2nd Kings is where we are going to begin next week having finished up our study of 1st

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Kings. Let us pray. Our Lord remind us that you are in control and help us to have the peace in our hearts and in our spirits to know that you are working all things together for good for those who love

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God and are called according to his purpose. We're not going to see miraculous signs like the

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Red Sea part or hear the voice of God through a burning bush or see water turn to wine, but you are at work.

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Your hand is in control. You are going to deliver us from our trials from this world into your eternal kingdom.

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And in that promise, we have hope. What can man do to me that I am secure in the hands of the living

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God, the one who conquered the grave, who has forgiven all my sins and has a place for me in his eternal kingdom?

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Let this message fill us up with joy and ask that we continue to see your hand working in all things and give you praise.

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In the name of Christ, amen. Gabriel Hughes is the pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas.