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2BC BIBLE STUDY NOTES

Wednesday in the Word

Second Baptist Church

December 7, 2022

2nd Chronicles 17 and 18

  1.  Verses 1-2. We continue studying the Kings of Judah and Israel. Tonight, we pick up with Jehoshaphat the son of King Asa. Asa reigned in Judah for 41 years and Jehoshaphat succeeded him as king of Judah in the Southern Kingdom. One of the first things Jehoshaphat does is fortify the outer boundaries of the nation. Ahab was king in the Northern Kingdom (Israel). While Ahab was leading the people in the north further and further away from God, Jehoshaphat was doing his best to lead the people closer to God. The lives of King Jehoshaphat and Ahab are in stark contrast. This is important to know because at one point Jehoshaphat will make the mistake in aligning himself up with Ahab.

  2.  Verses 3-6. The writer says that God was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the Lord in a way that David did when David was young. When the writers say he followed in "the ways of his father David,” it means that the person was like David when David followed God. David made some horrible mistakes in his later years, but in his early life he was a true example of a follower of God. Jehoshaphat is doing his best to serve the Lord with all his heart, soul and mind. He did not consult with the pagan idols but sought the counsel of the Lord in every action he made. Because he sought the Lord the Lord established his kingdom. His heart was devoted to God and the people honored him with great wealth. He even removed the high places from Judah.

  3.  Verses 7-9. ln his third year, the King sent out some men of God to teach the people the law of the Lord. The King understood that he wanted the entire community to know the ways of the Lord. These officials went through all of Judah teaching the people the ways of the Lord.

  4.  Verses 10-19. God favored the king and the people. God put fear in the hearts of the surrounding nations to the point that none of them would dare attack Judah. The foreign nations even brought silver and flocks of rams and goats to the king by the thousands. The king grew in power and God gave him a great army of nearly 1 million able bodied fighting men across the nation.

  5.  Chapter 18. 1-8. Jehoshaphat made a mistake concerning Israel. Instead of asking God about how to deal with his cousins in the North, Jehoshaphat took it upon himself to align himself with king Ahab in the North by way of the marriage of their children. The king did this because this was a habit of kings to keep peace by aligning their royal families. The problem was that Ahab was an evil king who didn't serve God very well. Sometime later, Jehoshaphat went to see Ahab. Ahab gave a great feast and during the feast asked Jehoshaphat to go with him into battle. It was hard for king Jehoshaphat to say no because they were aligned through marriage. Even though Jehoshaphat was willing to go into battle with Ahab, he wasn't willing to do that without seeking God's counsel on the matter. Ahab brought in 400 so called prophets and asked them if they should go into battle. These men were probably prophets of Baal and it was obvious they weren't servants of the most high. All 400 said that they should go into battle and that they would win. Jehoshaphat wasn't so convinced by these 400 prophets. Jehoshaphat knew real men of God and these 400 fake prophets didn't sound like the prophets he knew. Jehoshaphat asks King Ahab does he know a prophet of the Lord that they could inquire of. Ahab replies that he knows such a man, but that the man never says anything good about him. Ahab said he hates this prophet. Jehoshaphat insist that Ahab call the prophet Micaiah. Jehoshaphat even tells Ahab that he should not speak ill of the man of God.

  6.  Verses 9-22. The king sends his officials to get the prophet Micaiah. While they were going to get the prophet Micaiah, the two kings were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor listening to the fake prophets talk about how glorious the victory would be. One of the leaders of the 400 prophets Zedekiah was making a grand display of what would happen to their enemies. Of course, this was all a show. The other prophets in this group of 400 joined in with the declaration of victory. Meanwhile the messengers arrive at the location where the prophet Micaiah was staying. When the messenger arrives, he thinks he can tell the prophet what to say to the king. He tells Micaiah what all the other prophets are saying and tells him to say the same thing. Micaiah replies by telling the messenger that he can only say what God tells him to say. When they arrive, Ahab asks Micaiah should they go up and attack Ramoth Gilead. Micaiah sarcastically repeats what the 400 fake prophets say. Micaiah never says this is what the Lord says. He just responds sarcastically. The king gets mad and tells him to say what the Lord really says. Micaiah then answers by stating that he had a vision and in this vision all of Israel was scattered like sheep without a shepherd. The Ahab hears this and looks at Jehoshaphat and tells him that “l told you he never says anything good about me." At this, Micaiah begins to speak the word of the Lord. Micaiah shares that the Lord put a lying spirit into the mouths of the fake prophets as judgment for the sins of Ahab. God allowed the king to hear what he wanted to hear as judgment for his wickedness. God put people around him that wouldn't speak the truth because Ahab loved lies and wickedness. God gave him what he wanted.

  7.  Verses 23-27. After Micaiah shared that harsh judgment, the fake prophet Zedekiah came over and slapped him and mocked him as not hearing from the Lord. Micaiah looked at Zedekiah and told him he would reap what he sowed soon enough. The king then had Micaiah put in prison for his words. The king said to give him nothing but bread and water till he returned form battle. Micaiah responded with “if you return” and “mark my words.”

  8.  Verses. 28-34. Jehoshaphat is about to learn a very valuable lesson. He should have trusted in God and not aligned himself with Ahab, he should have prayed before he made that agreement to join with Ahab. Ahab was someone who would only look out for himself and was not the kind of person to be trusted or think would have your back. Alignment with Ahab seemed innocent enough, but if Jehoshaphat had inquired of God he would not have aligned himself with Ahab. We must be careful about binding ourselves to people without seeking God first. Ignoring the prophet, both kings go into battle. Ahab convinced Jehoshaphat to wear his royal clothes into battle, while Ahab goes in a disguise. This initially put Jehoshaphat in harm’s way. The enemy was told to only aim their arrows at the king. Fortunately for Jehoshaphat the enemy realizes he is not Ahab and doesn't kill him. A random arrow did find its way to hitting Ahab between his armor. Ahab was destined for judgment that day and there was no way of escaping it. By the end of the battle the king died. The next chapter starts with king Jehoshaphat getting an earful from the man of God about his decisions to join up with Ahab.

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