Then the prophet Zedekiah went up to Micaiah, slapped his face, and asked, “Since when did the Lord’s spirit leave me and speak to you?”
“You will find out when you go into some back room to hide,” Micaiah replied.
When the farce of religion meets the reality of God which brings to mind the Pharisees at the time of Jesus. May I not fear opposition, Lord – may I rather expect it and confront it. May I freely say what I think.
Then King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to attack the city of Ramoth in Gilead. Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “As we go into battle, I will disguise myself, but you wear your royal garments.” So the king of Israel went into battle in disguise.
Clever. King Ahab is covering his bases: a lesson learned after the events of 1 Kings 18:20-40!
The king of Syria had ordered his chariot commanders to attack no one else except the king of Israel. So when they saw King Jehoshaphat, they all thought that he was the king of Israel, and they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat gave a shout, and the Lord God rescued him and turned the attack away from him. The chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, so they stopped pursuing him.
Despite the cards being stacked against Jehoshaphat, you saved him, Father. You truly have everything in your hands. May I not anxiously look about me (Philippiens 4:6-7).
By chance, however, a Syrian soldier shot an arrow which struck King Ahab between the joints of his armor. “I’m wounded!” he cried out to his chariot driver. “Turn around and pull out of the battle!” While the battle raged on, King Ahab remained propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians. At sunset he died.
“By chance.” 😊 Both that improbable shot and the intensity of the battle had to have taken place for Ahab to be killed that day. Your word, Lord, will always accomplish what you’ve sent it out to do (Isaiah 55:10-11) and nothing can impede it (Job 42:2).
King Jehoshaphat of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem. A prophet, Jehu son of Hanani, went to meet the king and said to him, “Do you think it is right to help those who are wicked and to take the side of those who hate the Lord? What you have done has brought the Lord’s anger on you. But even so, there is some good in you. You have removed all the symbols of the goddess Asherah which people worshiped, and you have tried to follow God’s will.”
This encounter with Hanani is not recorded in 1 Kings 22:44-50. Moreover, it strikes me as strange to talk of the “Lord’s anger” in the absence of consequences. Marrying his son to Ahab’s family strikes me as being so much worse (2 Chronicles 18:1).