1 KINGS LESSON 29

 
     We will begin this lesson in I Kings 22:29 "So the king of Israel
and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead."

     Jehoshaphat would have been willing to listen to Micaiah's advice
and call off the battle against Syria. Ahab was determined that
Micaiah was a false prophet, and he went ahead with the battle.

     I Kings 22:30 "And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I
will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy
robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the
battle."

     This is a very evil request in itself. Ahab thought, if anyone
should be killed, it would be Jehoshaphat. He thought the king of
Syria would mistake Jehoshaphat for him. Ahab put on the clothes of
the common soldier, and went into battle.

     I Kings 22:31 "But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two
captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with
small nor great, save only with the king of Israel."

     Ben-hadad was still angry with Ahab for the two battles they had
fought, when Ben-hadad lost thousands of his men. His anger is vented
against Ahab, personally. These thirty-two captains are specifically
over the chariots, which is the strongest and best of the army. He is
not saying, that they should not kill any of the soldiers, if it is
necessary. He is saying, concentrate on killing Ahab.

     I Kings 22:32 "And it came to pass, when the captains of the
chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it [is] the king of
Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat
cried out."  I Kings 22:33 "And it came to pass, when the captains of
the chariots perceived that it [was] not the king of Israel, that they
turned back from pursuing him."

     Perhaps, the king of Judah cried out, and told them he was not
Ahab. It was possible that the thirty-two captains  knew Ahab's voice,
and the voice of Jehoshaphat was not recognized as Ahab. He could have
actually shouted something about Judah, which would have, also, caused
them to know he was not Ahab. We do not know what showed them he was
not Ahab, only that they did realize he was not Ahab. Their
recognition of Jehoshaphat is what turned them away.

     I Kings 22:34 "And a [certain] man drew a bow at a venture, and
smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore
he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me
out of the host; for I am wounded."

     An unknown archer shot the king of Israel, without any knowledge
that he was the king. Some would say this was an accidental happening,
but I would say, this was the will of God. The arrow shot him in the
chest area, near the breast bone. He was in the chariot with one of
his men, and asked the driver to take him out of the battle zone.

     I Kings 22:35 "And the battle increased that day: and the king
was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even:
and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot."

     It seemed, he remained in his chariot, even though he was wounded
and removed from the front lines. He, possibly, even continued to
fight at his retreated position, until he died. There seemed to be a
pool of blood in the bottom of the chariot.

     I Kings 22:36 "And there went a proclamation throughout the host
about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and
every man to his own country."

     This is just what Micaiah had prophesied. The army was disbanded
and everyone went home. Just as the prophet had said, this army was
scattered, because they had no leader.

     I Kings 22:37  "So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and
they buried the king in Samaria."

      Ahab was buried in his capital city. He was buried in Samaria
with his father.

     I Kings 22:38 "And [one] washed the chariot in the pool of
Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour;
according unto the word of the LORD which he spake."

     The following prophecy was fulfilled in the Scripture above.
I Kings 21:19 "And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the
LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt
speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs
licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine."

     I Kings 22:39 "Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he
did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he
built, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel?"

     This record book is mentioned over and over in the book of Kings.
His house was not solid ivory, but he had used ivory widely in the
inlay work. Ahab was a very evil, self-indulgent king. In the
following, we read of a throne made of ivory.  I Kings 10:18 "Moreover
the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best
gold."  Amos 3:15 "And I will smite the winter house with the summer
house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses
shall have an end, saith the LORD."

     I Kings 22:40 "So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his
son reigned in his stead."

     Ahaziah had no son to carry on for him. Ahab would not live on
through grandsons. Joram would be the last of his line. Ahaziah was
evil as his father, Ahab, had been evil.  He worshipped Baal.
"Ahaziah" means whom Jehovah upholds. We see that, Ahab had great
plans for this son. God had helped Ahab against Syria, but Ahab
continued to worship false gods, and God destroyed him.

     I Kings 22:41  "And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign
over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel."

     This is a break from the last few verses. This goes back to when
Jehoshaphat became king of Judah. We must remember, that he is of
Judah, and not the ten tribes of Israel.  Ahab had been reigning in
Israel 4 years, when Jehoshaphat became king of Judah.

     I Kings 22:42 "Jehoshaphat [was] thirty and five years old when
he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem.
And his mother's name [was] Azubah the daughter of Shilhi."

     He reigned, until he was 60 years old. Jehoshaphat tried to keep
the people of Judah faithful to the LORD. He even sent those, who
taught the law, to the people the third year of his reign. He was
faithful to the commandments of the LORD. His headquarters was in
Jerusalem. He was a good king to the people.

     I Kings 22:43 "And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father;
he turned not aside from it, doing [that which was] right in the eyes
of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; [for]
the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places."

     For all of his struggles trying to teach them the law of God,
the people still worshipped in high places. They claimed to be
worshipping the LORD there, but the worship should have taken place in
the temple.

     I Kings 22:44 "And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of
Israel."

     In the verses preceding, we learned of his peace with Ahab of
Israel, until the death of Ahab.

     I Kings 22:45 "Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his
might that he shewed, and how he warred, [are] they not written in the
book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?"

     Chronicles, in the Bible, have quite a bit more to say about
Jehoshaphat, but this is speaking of another book which is not in the
Bible.

     I Kings 22:46 "And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained
in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land."

     We have discussed, in previous lessons, those who practiced
sodomy. It is interesting to note, again, this king who did right in
the sight of the LORD, drove out the "sodomites". These were religious
prostitutes in false religions, doing the same thing homosexuals and
lesbians do today.

     I Kings 22:47 "[There was] then no king in Edom: a deputy [was]
king."

     Edom must have been under the control of Judah at this time.
Perhaps, Jehoshaphat appointed a deputy to lead Edom.

     I Kings 22:48 "Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir
for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-
geber."

     Solomon had a great fleet of ships, which traded with the known
world, when he was in power. It appears, Jehoshaphat tried to build a
fleet and send them out on similar missions. We see from this, that
they were destroyed in rough seas.

     I Kings 22:49 "Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto
Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But
Jehoshaphat would not."

     It appears, that Ahaziah and Jehoshaphat had worked together on
the building of the ships. II Chronicles 20:35  "And after this did
Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel,
who did very wickedly:" II Chronicles 20:36 "And he joined himself
with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in
Ezion-gaber." It appears, that God sunk these ships, because of this
evil alliance with Ahaziah.

     I Kings 22:50  "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 stead."

     Jehoram married the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and he became
an evil king, unlike his father. Jehoshaphat was buried with honor in
the city of David.

     I Kings 22:51  "Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over
Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah,
and reigned two years over Israel."

     This goes back a step to pick up the very short reign of Ahaziah,
the evil king of Israel.

     I Kings 22:52 "And he did 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 Israel to sin:" I Kings
22:53 "For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger
the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done."

     You can easily see, why the LORD would not have been pleased with
Jehoshaphat making an alliance with this very evil king of Israel.

                        1 Kings 29 Questions


1.  Why did Ahab go to war, after the warning from the prophet
    Micaiah?
2.  What did Ahab do, so no one would suspect he was at the sight of
    the battle?
3.  What did he tell Jehoshaphat to do?
4.  What did the king of Syria tell his 32 captains to do?
5.  How did Jehoshaphat stop them from killing him?
6.  Who shot Ahab?
7.  What part of his body was hit?
8.  Where was Ahab, when this happened.
9.  What did Ahab do the rest of the day?
10. What proclamation was given at the end of the day?
11. Where was Ahab carried to be buried?
12. What happened to his blood?
13. Quote 1 Kings chapter 21 verse 19.
14. What kind of house had Ahab made in his lifetime?
15. Quote 1 Kings chapter 10 verse 18.
16. Who reigned in Ahab's stead?
17. Who was the last of Ahab's linage?
18. What does "Ahaziah" mean?
19. When did Jehoshaphat begin to reign in Judah?
20. How old was he when he began?
21. What kind of king was he?
22. What was he never able to break the people from doing?
23. Who were the "sodomites"?
24. What did Jehoshaphat do to them?
25. Who ruled in Edom?
26. What happened to the ships Jehoshaphat built?
27. Where was Jehoshaphat buried?
28. How long did Ahaziah reign in Israel?
29. What kind of a king was Ahaziah?