This
chapter finishes the history of Ahab's reign. It was promised in the close
of the foregoing chapter that the ruin of his house should not come in his
days, but his days were soon at an end. His war with the Syrians at Ramoth-Gilead
is that which we have an account of in this chapter. I. His preparations for
that war. He consulted, 1. His privy-council, ver. 1-3. 2. Jehoshaphat, ver.
4. 3. His prophets. (1.) His own, who encouraged him to go on this
expedition (ver. 5, 6), Zedekiah particularly, ver. 11, 12. (2.) A prophet
of the Lord, Micaiah, who was desired to come by Jehoshaphat (ver. 7, 8),
sent for (ver. 9, 10-13, 14), upbraided Ahab with his confidence in the
false prophets (v. 15), but foretold his fall in this expedition (ver.
16-18), and gave him an account how he came to be thus imposed upon by his
prophets, ver. 19-23. He is abused by Zedekiah (ver. 24, 25), and imprisoned
by Ahab, ver. 26-28. II. The battle itself, in which, 1. Jehoshaphat is
exposed. But, 2. Ahab is slain, ver. 29-40. In the close of the chapter we
have a short account, (1.) Of the good reign of Jehoshaphat king of Judah,
ver. 41-50. (2.) Of the wicked reign of Ahaziah king of Israel, ver. 51-53.
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Jehoshaphat's
League with Ahab.
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B.
C. 897.
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1 And they continued three years without war
between Syria and Israel. 2 And it came to pass in the third
year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of
Israel. 3 And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye
that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and
take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? 4 And he said
unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead? And
Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my
people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. 5 And Jehoshaphat
said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD
to day. 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets
together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against
Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the
Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. 7 And
Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD
besides, that we might enquire of him? 8 And the king of Israel
said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah,
by whom we may enquire of the LORD:
but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And
Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. 9 Then the king of
Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of
Imlah. 10 And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of
Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in
the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before
them. 11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of
iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD,
With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them.
12 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and
prosper: for the LORD
shall deliver it into the king's hand. 13 And the
messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now,
the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth:
let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that
which is good. 14 And Micaiah said, As the LORD
liveth, what the LORD
saith unto me, that will I speak.
Though Ahab continued under guilt and wrath, and the dominion of the lusts
to which he had sold himself, yet, as a reward for his professions of
repentance and humiliation, though the time drew near when he should descend
into battle and perish, yet we have him blessed with a three years' peace (v.
1) and an honourable visit made him by Jehoshaphat king of Judah, v.
2. The Jews have a fabulous conceit, that when Ahab humbled himself for his
sin, and lay in sackcloth, he sent for Jehoshaphat to come to him, to
chastise him; and that he staid with him for some time, and gave him so many
stripes every day. This is a groundless tradition. He came now, it is
probable, to consult him about the affairs of their kingdoms. It is strange
that so great a man as Jehoshaphat would pay so much respect to a kingdom
revolted from the house of David, and that so good a man should show so much
kindness to a king revolted from the worship of God. But, though he was a
godly man, his temper was too easy, which betrayed him into snares and
inconveniences. The Syrians durst not give Ahab any disturbance. But,
I. Ahab here meditates a war against the Syrians, and advises concerning it
with those about him, v. 3. The king of Syria gave him the
provocation; when he lay at his mercy, he promised to restore him his cities
(ch. xx. 34), and Ahab foolishly took his word, when he ought not to
have dismissed him till the cities were put into his possession. But now he
knows by experience, what he ought before to have considered, that as the
kisses, so the promises, of an enemy are deceitful, and there is no
confidence to be put in leagues extorted by distress. Benhadad is one of
those princes that think themselves bound by their word no further and no
longer than it is for their interest. Whether any other cities were restored
we do not find, but Ramoth-Gilead was not, a considerable city in the tribe
of Gad, on the other side Jordan, a Levites' city, and one of the cities of
refuge. Ahab blames himself, and his people, that they did not bestir
themselves to recover it out of the hands of the Syrians, and to chastise
Ben-hadad's violation of his league; and resolves to let that ungrateful
perfidious prince know that as he had given him peace he could give him
trouble. Ahab has a good cause, yet succeeds not. Equity is not to be judged
of by prosperity.
II. He engages Jehoshaphat, and draws him in, to join with him in this
expedition, for the recovery of Ramoth-Gilead, v. 4. And here I do
not wonder that Ahab should desire the assistance of so pious and prosperous
a neighbour. Even bad men have often coveted the friendship of the good. It
is desirable to have an interest in those that have an interest in heaven,
and to have those with us that have God with them. But it is strange that
Jehoshaphat will go so entirely into Ahab's interests as to say, I am as
thou art, and my people as thy people. I hope not; Jehoshaphat and his
people are not so wicked and corrupt as Ahab and his people. Too great a
complaisance to evildoers has brought many good people, through unwariness,
into a dangerous fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.
Jehoshaphat had like to have paid dearly for his compliment when, in battle,
he was taken for Ahab. Yet some observe that in joining with Israel against
Syria he atoned for his father's fault in joining with Syria against Israel,
ch. xv. 19, 20.
III. At the special instance and request of Jehoshaphat, he asks counsel of
the prophets concerning this expedition. Ahab thought it enough to consult
with his statesmen, but Jehoshaphat moves that they should enquire of the
word of the Lord, v. 5. Note, 1. Whithersoever a good man goes he
desires to take God along with him, and will acknowledge him in all his
ways, ask leave of him, and look up to him for success. 2. Whithersoever a
good man goes he ought to take his religion along with him, and not be
ashamed to own it, no, not when he is with those who have no kindness for
it. Jehoshaphat has not left behind him, at Jerusalem, his affection, his
veneration, for the word of the Lord, but both avows it and
endeavours to introduce it into Ahab's court. If Ahab drew him into his
wars, he will draw Ahab into his devotions.
IV. Ahab's 400 prophets, the standing regiment he had of them (prophets
of the groves they called them), agreed to encourage him in this
expedition and to assure him of success, v. 6. He put the question to
them with a seeming fairness: Shall I go or shall I forbear? But they
knew which way his inclination was and designed only to humour the two
kings. To please Jehoshaphat, they made use of the name Jehovah: He
shall deliver it into the hand of the king; they stole the word from
the true prophets (Jer. xxiii. 30) and spoke their language. To please Ahab
they said, Go up. They had indeed probabilities on their side: Ahab
had, not long since, beaten the Syrians twice; he had now a good cause, and
was much strengthened by his alliance with Jehoshaphat. But they pretended
to speak by prophecy, not by rational conjecture, by divine, not human,
foresight: "Thou shalt certainly recover Ramoth-Gilead." Zedekiah,
a leading man among these prophets, in imitation of the true prophets,
illustrated his false prophecy with a sign, v. 11. He made himself a
pair of iron horns, representing the two kings, and their honour and power
(both of which were signified by horns, exaltation and force), and with
these the Syrians must be pushed. All the prophets agreed, as one man, that
Ahab should return from this expedition a conqueror, v. 12. Unity is
not always the mark of a true church and a true ministry. Here were 400 men
that prophesied with one mind and one mouth, and yet all in an error.
V. Jehoshaphat cannot relish this sort of preaching; it is not like what he
was used to. The false prophets cannot so mimic the true but that he who had
spiritual senses exercised could discern the fallacy, and therefore he
enquired for a prophet of the Lord besides, v. 7. He is too
much of a courtier to say any thing by way of reflection on the king's
chaplains, but he waits to see a prophet of the Lord, intimating that
he could not look upon these to be so. They seemed to be somewhat
(whatever they were, it made no matter to him), but, in conference, they added
nothing to him, they gave him no satisfaction, Gal. ii. 6. One faithful
prophet of the Lord was worth them all.
VI. Ahab has another, but one he hates, Micaiah by name, and, to please
Jehoshaphat, he is willing to have him sent for, v. 8-10. Ahab owned
that they might enquire of the Lord by him, that he was a true
prophet, and one that knew God's mind. And yet, 1. He hated him, and was not
ashamed to own to the king of Judah that he did so, and to give this for a
reason. He doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And whose
fault was that? If Ahab had done well, he would have heard nothing but good
from heaven; if he do ill, he may thank himself for all the uneasiness which
the reproofs and threats of God's word gave him. Note, Those are wretchedly
hardened in sin, and are ripening apace for ruin, who hate God's ministers
because they deal plainly with them and faithfully warn them of their misery
and danger by reason of sin, and reckon those their enemies that tell
them the truth. 2. He had (it should seem) imprisoned him; for, when he
committed him (v. 26), he bade the officer carry him back, namely, to
the place whence he came. We may suppose that this was he that reproved him
for his clemency to Ben-hadad (ch. xx. 38, &c.) and for so doing
was cast into prison, where he had lain these three years. This was the
reason why Ahab knew where to find him so readily, v. 9. But his
imprisonment had not excluded him for divine visits: the spirit of prophecy
continued with him there. He was bound, but the word of the Lord was not.
Nor did it in the lease abate his courage, nor make him less confident or
faithful in delivering his message. Jehoshaphat gave too gentle a reproof to
Ahab for expressing his indignation against a faithful prophet: Let not
the king say so, v. 8. He should have said, "Thou art unjust
to the prophet, unkind to thyself, and puttest an affront upon his Lord and
thine, in saying so." Such sinners as Ahab must be rebuked sharply.
However he so far yielded to the reproof that, for fear of provoking
Jehoshaphat to break off from his alliance with him, he orders Micaiah to be
sent for with all speed, v. 9. The two kings sat each in their robes
and chairs of state, in the gate of Samaria, ready to receive this poor
prophet, and to hear what he had to say; for many will give God's word the
hearing that will not lend it an obedient ear. They were attended with a
crowd of flattering prophets, that could not think of prophesying any thing
but what was very sweet and very smooth to two such glorious princes now in
confederacy. Those that love to be flattered shall not want flatterers.
VII. Micaiah is pressed by the officer that fetches him to follow the cry, v.
13. That officer was unworthy the name of an Israelite who pretended to
prescribe to a prophet; but he thought him altogether such a one as the
rest, who studied to please men and not God. He told Micaiah how unanimous
the other prophets were in foretelling the king's good success, how
agreeable it was to the king, intimating that it was his interest to say as
they said--he might thereby gain, not only enlargement, but preferment.
Those that dote upon worldly things themselves think every body else should
do so too, and true or false, right or wrong, speak and act for their
secular interest only. He intimated likewise that it would be to no purpose
to contradict such a numerous and unanimous vote; he would be ridiculed, as
affecting a foolish singularity, if he should. But Micaiah, who knows better
things, protests, and backs his protestation with an oath, that he will
deliver his message from God with all faithfulness, whether it be pleasing
or displeasing to his prince (v. 14): "What the Lord saith to
me, that will I speak, without addition, diminution, or
alteration." This was nobly resolved, and as became one who had his eye
to a greater King than either of these, arrayed with brighter robes, and
sitting on a higher throne.
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Micaiah's
Prediction.
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B.
C. 897.
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15 So he came to the king. And the king said
unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we
forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD
shall deliver it into the hand of the king. 16 And the
king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me
nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD?
17 And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that
have not a shepherd: and the LORD
said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in
peace. 18 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I
not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?
19 And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD:
I saw the LORD
sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his
right hand and on his left. 20 And the LORD
said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?
And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. 21
And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD,
and said, I will persuade him. 22 And the LORD
said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a
lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt
persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. 23
Now therefore, behold, the LORD
hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD
hath spoken evil concerning thee. 24 But Zedekiah the son of
Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way
went the Spirit of the LORD
from me to speak unto thee? 25 And Micaiah said, Behold, thou
shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide
thyself. 26 And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry
him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's
son; 27 And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in
the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of
affliction, until I come in peace. 28 And Micaiah said, If thou
return at all in peace, the LORD
hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you.
Here Micaiah does well, but, as is common, suffers ill for so doing.
I. We are told how faithfully he delivered his message, as one that was more
solicitous to please God than to humour either the great or the many. In
three ways he delivers his message, and all displeasing to Ahab:--
1. He spoke as the rest of the prophets had spoken, but ironically: Go,
and prosper, v. 15. Ahab put the same question to him that he had
put to his own prophets (Shall we go, or shall we forbear?) seeming
desirous to know God's mind, when, like Balaam, he was strongly bent to do
his own, which Micaiah plainly took notice of when he bade him go, but with
such an air and pronunciation as plainly showed he spoke it by way of
derision; as if he had said, "I know you are determined to go, and I
hear your own prophets are unanimous in assuring you of success; go then and
take what follows. They say, The Lord shall deliver it into the hand of
the king; but I do not tell thee that thus saith the Lord; no, he
saith otherwise." Note, Those deserve to be bantered that love to be
flattered; and it is just with God to give up those to their own counsels
that give up themselves to their own lusts. Eccl. xi. 9. In answer to this
Ahab adjured him to tell him the truth, and not to jest with him (v.
16), as if he sincerely desired to know both what God would have him to do
and what he would do with him, yet intending to represent the prophet as a
perverse ill-humoured man, that would not tell him the truth till he was
thus put to his oath, or adjured to do it.
2. Being thus pressed, he plainly foretold that the king would be cut off in
this expedition, and his army scattered, v. 17. He saw them in a
vision, or in a dream, dispersed upon the mountains, as sheep that had no
one to guide them. Smite the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered,
Zech. xiii. 7. This intimates, (1.) That Israel should be deprived of their
king, who was their shepherd. God took notice of it, These have no
master. (2.) That they would be obliged to retire re infecta--without
accomplishing their object. He does not foresee any great slaughter in
the army, but that they should make a dishonourable retreat. Let them
return every man to his house in peace, put into disorder indeed for the
present, but no great losers by the death of their king; he shall fall in
war, but they shall go home in peace. Thus Micaiah, in his prophecy,
testified what he had seen and heard (let them take it how they pleased),
while the others prophesied merely out of their own hearts; see Jer.
xxiii. 28. "The prophet that has a dream let him tell that, and so
quote his authority; and he that has my word, let him speak my word
faithfully, and not his own; for what is the chaff to the wheat?"
Now Ahab finds himself aggrieved, turns to Jehoshaphat, and appeals to him
whether Micaiah had not manifestly a spite against him, v. 18. Those
that bear malice to others are generally willing to believe that others bear
malice to them, though they have no cause for it, and therefore to put the
worst constructions upon all they say. What evil did Micaiah prophesy to
Ahab in telling him that, if he proceeded in this expedition, it would be
fatal to him, while he might choose whether he would proceed in it or no?
The greatest kindness we can do to one that is going a dangerous way is to
tell him of his danger.
3. He informed the king how it was that all his prophets encouraged him to
proceed, that God permitted Satan by them to deceive him into his ruin, and
he by vision knew of it; it was represented to him, and he represented it to
Ahab, that the God of heaven had determined he should fall at Ramoth-Gilead
(v. 19, 20), that the favour he had wickedly shown to Ben-hadad might
be punished by him and his Syrians, and that he being in some doubt whether
he should go to Ramoth-Gilead or no, and resolving to be advised by his
prophets, they should persuade him to it and prevail (v. 21, 22); and
hence it was that they encouraged him with so much assurance (v. 23);
it was a lie from the father of lies, but by divine permission. This matter
is here represented after the manner of men. We are not to imagine that God
is ever put upon new counsels, or is ever at a loss for means whereby to
effect his purposes, nor that he needs to consult with angels, or any
creature, about the methods he should take, nor that he is the author of sin
or the cause of any man's either telling or believing a lie; but, besides
what was intended by this with reference to Ahab himself, it is to teach us,
(1.) That God is a great king above all kings, and has a throne above all
the thrones of earthly princes. "You have your thrones," said
Micaiah to these two kings, "and you think you may do what you will,
and we must all say as you would have us; but I saw the Lord sitting upon
his throne, and every man's judgment proceeding from him, and therefore
I must say as he says; he is not a man, as you are." (2.) That he is
continually attended and served by an innumerable company of angels, those
heavenly hosts, who stand by him, ready to go where he sends them and to do
what he bids them, messengers of mercy on his right hand, of wrath on
his left hand. (3.) That he not only takes cognizance of, but presides
over, all the affairs of this lower world, and overrules them according
to the counsel of his own will. The rise and fall of princes, the issues
of war, and all the great affairs of state, which are the subject of the
consultations of wise and great men, are no more above God's direction than
the meanest concerns of the poorest cottages are below his notice. (4.) That
God has many ways of bringing about his own counsels, particularly
concerning the fall of sinners when they are ripe for ruin; he can do it
either in this manner or in that manner. (5.) That there are malicious and
lying spirits which go about continually seeking to devour, and, in order to
that, seeking to deceive, and especially to put lies into the mouths of
prophets, by them to entice many to their destruction. (6.) It is not
without the divine permission that the devil deceives men, and even thereby
God serves his own purposes. With him are strength and wisdom, the
deceived and the deceivers are his, Job xii. 16. When he pleases, for
the punishment of those who receive not the truth in the love of it, he not
only lets Satan loose to deceive them (Rev. xx. 7, 8), but gives
men up to strong delusions to believe him, 2 Thess. ii. 11, 12. (7.)
Those are manifestly marked for ruin that are thus given up. God has
certainly spoken evil concerning those whom he had given up to be
imposed upon by lying prophets. Thus Micaiah gave Ahab fair warning, not
only of the danger of proceeding in this war, but of the danger of believing
those that encouraged him to proceed. Thus we are warned to beware of
false prophets, and to try the spirits; the lying spirit never deceives
so fatally as in the mouth of prophets.
II. We are told how he was abused for delivering his message thus
faithfully, thus plainly, in a way so very proper both to convince and to
affect. 1. Zedekiah, a wicked prophet, impudently insulted him in the face
of the court, smote him on the cheek, to reproach him, to silence him
and stop his mouth, and to express his indignation at him (thus was our
blessed Saviour abused, Matt. xxvi. 67, that Judge of Israel, Mic. v. 1);
and as if he not only had the spirit of the Lord, but the monopoly of this
Spirit, that he might not go without his leave, he asks, Which way went
the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak to thee? v. 24. The false
prophets were always the worst enemies the true prophets had, and not only
stirred up the government against them, but were themselves abusive to them,
as Zedekiah here. To strike within the verge of the court, especially in the
king's presence, is looked upon by our law as a high misdemeanour; yet this
wicked prophet gives this abuse to a prophet of the Lord, and is not
reprimanded nor bound to his good behaviour for it. Ahab was pleased with
it, and Jehoshaphat had not courage to appear for the injured prophet,
pretending it was out of his jurisdiction; but Micaiah, though he returns
not his blow (God's prophets are not strikers nor persecutors, dare not
avenge themselves, render blow for blow, or be in any way accessory to the
breach of the peace), yet, since he boasted so much of the Spirit, as those
commonly do that know least of his operations, he leaves him to be convinced
of his error by the event: Thou shalt know when thou hidest thyself in an
inner chamber, v. 25. It is likely Zedekiah went with Ahab to the
battle, and took his horns of iron with him to encourage the soldiers, to
see with pleasure the accomplishment of his prophecy, and return in triumph
with the king; but, the army being routed, he fled among the rest from the
sword of the enemy, sheltered himself as Ben-hadad had done in a chamber
within a chamber (ch. xx. 30), lest he should perish, as he knew
he deserved to do, with those whom he had deluded, as Balaam did (Num. xxxi.
8), and lest the blind prophet should fall into the ditch with the
blinded prince whom he had misled. Note, Those that will not have their
mistakes rectified in time by the word of God will be undeceived, when it is
too late, by the judgments of God. 2. Ahab, that wicked king, committed him
to prison (v. 27), not only ordered him to be taken into custody, or
remitted to the prison whence he came, but to be fed with bread and water,
coarse bread and puddle-water, till he should return, not doubting but that
he should return a conqueror, and then he would put him to death for a false
prophet (v. 27)-- hard usage for one that would have prevented his
ruin! But by this it appeared that God had determined to destroy him,
as 2 Chron. xxv. 16. How confident is Ahab of success. He doubts not but he
shall return in peace, forgetting what he himself had reminded Ben-hadad of,
Let not him that girdeth on the harness boast; but there was little
likelihood of his coming home in peace when he left one of God's prophets
behind him in prison. Micaiah put it upon the issue, and called all the
people to be witnesses that he did so: "If thou return in peace, the
Lord has not spoken by me, v. 28. Let me incur the reproach and
punishment of a false prophet, if the king come home alive." He ran no
hazard by this appeal, for he knew whom he had believed; he that is terrible
to the kings of the earth, and treads upon princes as mortar, will rather
let thousands of them fall to the ground than one jot or tittle of his own
word; he will not fail to confirm the word of his servants, Isa. xliv.
26.
29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the
king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 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. 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.
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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in
Samaria. 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. 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? 40 So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah
his son reigned in his stead.
The matter in contest between God's prophet and Ahab's prophets is here soon
determined, and it is made to appear which was in the right. Here,
I. The two kings march with their forces to Ramoth-Gilead, v. 29.
That the king of Israel, who hated God's prophet, should so far disbelieve
his admonition as to persist in his resolution, notwithstanding, is not
strange; but that Jehoshaphat, that pious prince, who had desired to enquire
by a prophet of the Lord, as disrelishing and discrediting Ahab's
prophets, should yet proceed, after so fair a warning, is matter of
astonishment. But by the easiness of his temper he was carried away with the
delusion (as Barnabas was with the dissimulation, Gal. ii. 13) of his
friends. He gave too much heed to Ahab's prophets, because they pretended to
speak from God too, and in his country he had never been imposed upon by
such cheats. He was ready to give his opinion with the majority, and to
conclude that it was 400 to one but they should succeed. Micaiah had not
forbidden them to go; nay, at first, he said, Go, and prosper. If it
came to the worst, it was only Ahab's fall that was foretold, and therefore
Jehoshaphat hoped he might safely venture.
II. Ahab adopts a contrivance by which he hopes to secure himself and expose
his friend (v. 30): "I will disguise myself, and go in
the habit of a common soldier, but let Jehoshaphat put on his robes,
to appear in the dress of a general." He pretended thereby to do honour
to Jehoshaphat, and to compliment him with the sole command of the army in
this action. He shall direct and give orders, and Ahab will serve as a
soldier under him. But he intended, 1. To make a liar of a good prophet.
Thus he hoped to elude the danger, and so to defeat the threatening, as if,
by disguising himself, he could escape the divine cognizance and the
judgments that pursued him. 2. To make a fool of a good king, whom he did
not cordially love, because he was one that adhered to God and so condemned
his apostasy. He knew that if any perished it must be the shepherd (so
Micaiah had foretold); and perhaps he had intimation of the charge the enemy
had to fight chiefly against the king of Israel, and therefore basely
intended to betray Jehoshaphat to the danger, that he might secure himself.
Ahab was marked for ruin; one would not have been in his coat for a great
sum; yet he will over-persuade this godly king to muster for him. See what
those get that join in affinity with vicious men, whose consciences are
debauched, and who are lost to every thing that is honourable. How can it be
expected that he should be true to his friend that has been false to his
God?
III. Jehoshaphat, having more piety than policy, put himself into the post
of honour, though it was the post of danger, and was thereby brought into
the peril of his life, but God graciously delivered him. The king of Syria
charged his captains to level their force, not against the king of Judah,
for with him he had no quarrel, but against the king of Israel only (v.
31), to aim at his person, as if against him he had a particular enmity. Now
Ahab was justly repaid for sparing Ben-hadad, who, as the seed of the
serpent commonly do, stung the bosom in which he was fostered and saved from
perishing. Some think that he designed only to have him taken prisoner, that
he might now give him as honourable a treatment as he had formerly received
from him. Whatever was the reason, this charge the officers received, and
endeavoured to oblige their prince in this matter; for, seeing Jehoshaphat
in his royal habit, they took him for the king of Israel, and surrounded
him. Now, 1. By his danger God let him know that he was displeased with him
for joining in confederacy with Ahab. Jehoshaphat had said, in compliment to
Ahab (v. 4), I am as thou art; and now he was indeed taken for
him. Those that associate with evil doers are in danger of sharing in their
plagues. 2. By his deliverance God let him know that, though he was
displeased with him, yet he had not deserted him. Some of the captains that
knew him perceived their mistake, and so retired from the pursuit of him;
but it is said (2 Chron. xviii. 31) that God moved them (for he has
all hearts in his hand) to depart from him. To him he cried out, not
in cowardice, but devotion, and from him his relief came: Ahab was in no
care to succour him. God is a friend that will not fail us when other
friends do.
IV. Ahab receives his mortal wound in the battle, notwithstanding his
endeavours to secure himself in the habit of a private sentinel. Let no man
think to hide himself from God's judgment, no, not in masquerade. Thy
hand shall find out all thy enemies, whatever disguise they are in, v.
34. The Syrian that shot him little thought of doing such a piece of service
to God and his king; for he drew a bow at a venture, not aiming
particularly at any man, yet God so directed the arrow that, 1. He hit the
right person, the man that was marked for destruction, whom, if they had
taken alive, as was designed, perhaps Ben-hadad would have spared. Those
cannot escape with life whom God hath doomed to death. 2. He hit him in the
right place, between the joints of the harness, the only place about
him where this arrow of death could find entrance. No armour is of proof
against the darts of divine vengeance. Case the criminal in steel, and it is
all one, he that made him can make his sword to approach him. That
which to us seems altogether casual is done by the determinate counsel and
fore-knowledge of God.
V. The army is dispersed by the enemy and sent home by the king. Either
Jehoshaphat or Ahab ordered the retreat of the sheep, when the shepherd was
smitten: Every man to his city, for it is to no purpose to attempt
any thing more, v. 36. Ahab himself lived long enough to see that
part of Micaiah's prophecy accomplished that all Israel should be scattered upon
the mountains of Gilead (v. 17), and perhaps with his dying lips
did himself give orders for it; for though he would be carried out of the
army, to have his wounds dressed (v. 34), yet he would be held up
in his chariot, to see if his army were victorious. But, when he saw the
battle increase against them, his spirits sunk, and he died, but his death
was so lingering that he had time to feel himself die; and we may well
imagine with what horror he now reflected upon the wickedness he had
committed, the warnings he had slighted, Baal's altars, Naboth's vineyard,
Micaiah's imprisonment. Now he sees himself flattered into his own ruin, and
Zedekiah's horns of iron pushing, not the Syrians, but himself, into
destruction. Thus is he brought to the king of terrors without hope
in his death.
VI. The royal corpse is brought to Samaria and buried there (v. 37),
and hither are brought the bloody chariot and bloody armour in which he
died, v. 38. One particular circumstance is taken notice of, because
there was in it the accomplishment of a prophecy, that when they brought the
chariot to the pool of Samaria, to be washed, the dogs (and swine, says the
LXX.) gathered about it, and, as is usual, licked the blood, or, as
some think, the water in which it was washed, with which the blood was
mingled: the dogs made no difference between royal blood and other blood.
Now Naboth's blood was avenged (ch. xxi. 19), and that word of David,
as well as Elijah's word, was fulfilled (Ps. lxviii. 23), That thy foot
may be dipped in the blood of thy enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the
same. The dogs licking the guilty blood was perhaps designed to
represent the terrors that prey upon the guilty soul after death.
Lastly, The story of Ahab is here concluded in the usual form, v.
39, 40. Among his works mention is made of an ivory house which he built, so
called because many parts of it were inlaid with ivory; perhaps it was
intended to vie with the stately palace of the kings of Judah, which Solomon
built.
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Jehoshaphat's
Death.
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B.
C. 897.
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41 And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to
reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 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. 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. 44 And
Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. 45 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? 46 And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in
the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land. 47 There
was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king. 48
Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went
not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. 49 Then said
Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy
servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not. 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.
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. 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: 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.
Here is, I. A short account of the reign of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, of
which we shall have a much fuller narrative in the book of Chronicles, and
of the greatness and goodness of that prince, neither of which was lessened
or sullied by any thing but his intimacy with the house of Ahab, which, upon
several accounts, was a diminution to him. His confederacy with Ahab in war
we have already found dangerous to him, and his confederacy with Ahaziah his
son in trade sped no better. He offered to go partner with him in a fleet of
merchant-ships, that should fetch gold from Ophir, as Solomon's navy did, v.
49. See 2 Chron. xx. 35, 36. But, while they were preparing to set sail,
they were exceedingly damaged and disabled by a storm (broken at
Ezion-geber), which a prophet gave Jehoshaphat to understand was a
rebuke to him for his league with wicked Ahaziah (2 Chron. xx. 37); and
therefore, as we are told here (v. 49), when Ahaziah desired a second
time to be a partner with him, or, if that could not be obtained, that he
might but send his servants with some effects of board Jehoshaphat's ships,
he refused: Jehoshaphat would not. The rod of God, expounded by the
word of God, had effectually broken him off from his confederacy with that
ungodly unhappy prince. Better buy wisdom dear than be without it; but
experience is therefore said to be the mistress of fools because those are
fools that will not learn till they are taught by experience, and
particularly till they are taught the danger of associating with wicked
people. Now Jehoshaphat's reign appears here to have been none of the
longest, but one of the best. 1. It was none of the longest, for he reigned
but twenty-five years (v. 42), but then it was in the prime of his
time, between thirty-five and sixty, and these twenty-five, added to his
father's happy forty-one, give us a grateful idea of the flourishing
condition of the kingdom of Judah, and of religion in it, for a great while,
even when things were very bad, upon all accounts, in the kingdom of Israel.
If Jehoshaphat reigned not so long as his father, to balance this he had not
those blemishes on the latter end of his reign that his father had (2 Chron.
xvi. 9, 10, 12), and it is better for a man that has been in reputation for
wisdom and honour to die in the midst of it than to outlive it. 2. Yet is
was one of the best, both in respect of piety and prosperity. (1.) He did
well: He did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord (v.
43), observed the commands of his God, and trod in the steps of his good
father; and he persevered therein: He turned not aside from it. Yet
every man's character has some but or other, so had his; the high
places were not taken away, no not out of Judah and Benjamin, though
those tribes lay so near Jerusalem that they might easily bring their
offerings and incense to the altar there, and could not pretend, as some
other of the tribes, the inconveniency of lying remote. But old corruptions
are with difficulty rooted out, especially when they have formerly had the
patronage of those that were good, as the high places had of Samuel,
Solomon, and some others. (2.) His affairs did well. He prevented the
mischiefs which had attended their wars with the kingdom of Israel,
establishing a lasting peace (v. 44), which would have been a greater
blessing if he had contented himself with a peace, and not carried it on to
an affinity with Israel; he put a deputy, or viceroy, in Edom, so that the
kingdom was tributary to him (v. 47), and therein the prophecy
concerning Esau and Jacob was fulfilled, that the elder should serve the
younger. And, in general, mention is made of his might and his wars, v.
45. He pleased God, and God blessed him with strength and success. His death
is spoken of (v. 50), to shut up his story, yet, in the history of
the kings of Israel, we find mention of him afterwards, 2 Kings iii. 7.
II. The beginning of the story of Ahaziah the son of Ahab, v. 51-53.
His reign was very short, not two years. Some sinners God makes quick work
with. It is a very bad character that is here given him. He not only kept up
Jeroboam's idolatry, but the worship of Baal likewise; though he had heard
of the ruin of Jeroboam's family, and had seen his own father drawn into
destruction by the prophets of Baal, who had often been proved false
prophets, yet he received no instruction, took no warning, but followed the
example of his wicked father and the counsel of his more wicked mother
Jezebel, who was still living. Miserable are the children that not only
derive a stock of corruption from their parents, but are thus taught by them
to trade with it; and unhappy, most unhappy parents, are those that help to
damn their children's souls.
