Lesson 305 - Senior
Memory Verse
"The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
Cross References
I Jehoshaphat's Visit with Ahab
1. Jehoshaphat joins affinity with Ahab, [1KG:22:1-2]; [2CH:18:1-2]; [2CH:19:2]; [PS:1:1].
2. Ahab asks Jehoshaphat to go with him to battle at Ramoth-gilead, [1KG:22:3-4]; [2CH:18:2-3].
3. Johoshaphat desires to inquire of the Lord, [1KG:22:5]; [2CH:19:3]; [PS:27:8].
II True and False Prophets
1. Ahab gathers 400 false prophets, [1KG:22:6]; [JER:23:13-40].
2. Jehoshaphat seeks a true prophet, [1KG:22:7-10]; [AMO:8:11-12].
3. The false prophets say, "Go . . . and prosper,” [1KG:22:11-12]; [ISA:30:10]; [JER:28:1-11].
4. Micaiah speaks the truth, [1KG:22:13-25]; [JER:28:12-17].
III The Battle at Ramoth-gilead
1. Ahab disguises himself, [1KG:22:29-33]; [MAT:10:26]; [1CO:4:5].
2. Ahab is wounded and dies, [1KG:22:34-37].
3. Elijah's prophecy is fulfilled, [1KG:22:38-40]; [1KG:21:17-24].
Notes
Friendship with the World
"I am as thou art." These words of Jehoshaphat to Ahab are tragic when you consider that there was none so wicked as Ahab. Jehoshaphat, on the contrary, had sought the Lord and walked in His ways. When Jehoshaphat became as Ahab, he did not bring Ahab up to his standard, but rather lowered himself to Ahab's level. He made a friend of Ahab, but lost the friendship of God. "Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" [JAM:4:4]). Who is your friend? And who is your enemy?
The Smooth-Tongued Prophets of Samaria
It can be said in Jehoshaphat's favour that he desired to inquire of the Lord before going with Ahab to Ramoth-gilead. If he had remembered to inquire of the Lord before making affiliations with Ahab and going to Samaria, it would have been much more to his credit. To Ahab, inquiring of the Lord meant calling out 400 of his lying, "yes-men" prophets. Jezebel had destroyed and cast out of the land many of the real prophets of God, and there seemed to be no one left but a bunch of old lying prophets -" hypocrites -" ready to compromise the issue with sin, the world, and the devil, at any turn of the road. They fell right into line with the request, "Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things" [ISA:30:10]).
When Elijah was on Mount Carmel, there were 450 prophets of Baal to one prophet of God. In Samaria there were 400 lying prophets to one Micaiah who spoke the truth. The number of men today who uphold the whole truth of the Word of God seems proportionately small. Men like John the Baptist, who could stand up and tell the king that it was wrong for him to live in adultery and keep his brother Philip's wife, are very rare in this adulterous generation. Preachers who believe in the God of creation and defy the theories of evolution are in the minority today. Few dare to teach that a Christian lives above sin, for such teachers are not popular in this sinful age. Fewer still are they who preach that only the pure in heart shall see God. And among those who do teach sanctification, how many are there today who believe that one must also receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, with the Bible evidence of speaking in tongues, in order to be a full overcomer? Men who love the truth and who have the fortitude of Elijah, Micaiah, and John the Baptist are desperately needed in the world today.
Satan's Ministers
Regardless of their cloak of pretence, Jehoshapat had enough honesty to recognize that these 400 men were not true prophets of the Lord. "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness" [2CO:11:14-15]). We are not concerned about the 400 false prophets of Ahab's day, but we are concerned about their descendants who have greatly increased in number. Peter emphatically warns: "There were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, . . . And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of" [2PE:2:1-2]). Jesus was speaking of our very day when he said, "Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many" [MAT:24:11]). Can't you just hear one of those false prophets saying: "Now, Brother Ahab, you go right up to Ramoth-gilead. You need not worry about being lost; you are one of those who are predestined to be saved, and God will take care of you, regardless of what you do."
No Love for the Truth
"Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might inquire of him?" "There is yet one man, . . . but I hate him." There were too many crooked deals in the background, too much love for sin in his life for Ahab to seek the truth. The Bible states that "the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables" [2TM:4:3-4]).
The statement, "They shall turn away their ears from the truth," shows a voluntary action on the part of the individual; but the words that follow, "Shall be turned unto fables," indicate an involuntary action or coercion from without. In another passage of Scripture it is stated, "God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" [2TS:2:11-12]). If a man reaches the place where he has no love for the truth, but like Ahab, hates the truth and those who speak it, he is treading on very dangerous ground. He may find himself in the place where God will bring to pass his word, "I also will choose their delusions" [ISA:66:4]). What hope is there for mortals when the Almighty God chooses their delusions and His Spirit ceases to strive with the soul. A love for the truth is important in the life of any person.
The truth is not always pleasant for a sinner to contemplate. The truth reveals that an eternal hell awaits him if he does not repent. The truth revealed that Ahab would be killed at Ramoth-gilead. Yet in spite of this revelation Ahab turned away his ears from the truth and was turned to fables. The fables sounded good. The fables promised success and prosperity. But the truth came to pass. Ahab gave orders to "put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace." Micaiah went to prison, but Ahab did not return in peace -" he was brought back a corpse. He took the word of 400 smooth-tongued prophets -" but the truth that the hated Micaiah spoke was fulfilled.
A Weakling
One may well ask: "What was the matter with you, Jehoshaphat? You asked to hear the word of the Lord. You heard it, and yet you turned against it and went on to Ramoth-gilead in spite of the defeat that awaited you there. Were you, too, carried away by the smooth tongues of the false prophets? or were you so weak that you were not able to say No to a friend? If you had taken your stand with the Prophet of the Lord, you might have saved Ahab's life; but instead, you went along with Ahab to Ramoth-gilead to what was his destruction. You heard the truth, and the truth came to pass. If you had taken your stand, you might have turned Ahab to the truth -" the truth which could have saved his soul from eternal hell."
Disguise and Hypocrisy
There seems to have been a little fear in Ahab's heart that Micaiah's word would come to pass, for Ahab disguised himself before he went to battle. But a disguise can never prevent the word of the Lord from being fulfilled. Many a hypocrite has disguised himself before the world with a show of religion, but with a heart filled with corruption. Jesus cried: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity" [MAT:23:27-28]). To what advantage is a pretense or disguise if the end is death and destruction?
Ahab softened his heart at the word of Elijah but refused to listen to the word of Micaiah. Elijah prophesied Ahab's doom, but when he humbled himself God gave him another chance. Ahab refused that chance, and the word of the Lord spoken by both Micaiah and Elijah came to pass. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" [GAL:6:7]).
Questions
1. Why was it wrong for Jehoshaphat to help Ahab in battle?
2. Why did Jehoshaphat seek another prophet besides the 400 Ahab called?
3. Why did Ahab hate Micaiah?
4. What answer did the 400 prophets give concerning the king's going to Ramoth-gilead?
5. Look up several passages of Scripture about false prophets.
6. Why was Micaiah sent to prison?
7. How was Ahab slain?
8. What was Elijah's prophecy concerning the death of Ahab?
9. Find as much evidence as you can in this chapter that indicates Ahab was not serving God.
10. Compare Micaiah's prophecy with the events that transpired.