What Was He Thinking? 1 Kings 22:1-40 What was it that compelled King Jehoshaphat to align himself and the nation of Judah with King Ahab and the nation of Israel? How could he not have seen the contact that obviously existed between the God-centered religion of Judah and the idolatry of Israel? That Jehoshaphat discounted the two kingdoms religious differences as insignificant is difficult to understand considering his insistence that a prophet of the Lord be consulted to determine whether or not they should go into battle together against the Syrian enemy (v.7). Realizing that Israels prophets were not speaking for the Lord, Jehoshaphat asked Ahab to seek out a true prophet of God. One would think that King Jehoshaphat would have heeded this prophet and been reluctant to continue the alliance. However, despite the warning of Micaiah, Judah and Israel entered the battlefield. In His sovereignty, God brought about the end result He intended, namely, the death of King Ahab. Surely the fulfillment of Micaiahs prophecy caused Jehoshaphat to separate then from Israel, right? Amazingly, it did not (v.44). We may wonder why God did not harshly judge Jehoshaphat for his direct disobedience. Yet clearly,it was not Gods time and purpose to do so at that point; and furthermore, it may have been Gods intention to give an unambiguous display of His grace and mercy to Judah and their king by sparing them from the turmoil that embroiled the Northern Kingdom following Ahabs death. Regardless, the lesson for us today is clear; We are not to align ourselves or our ministries with unbelievers who oppose our Lord nor with fellow believers who compromise the truth of Gods holy Word.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 02:01:30 +0000
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