Hello, thank you for joining us as we read 2 Chronicles 18-20 today.
Yesterday, at the end of our reading, we met Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son.
Good People – Bad Choices
According to 2 Chron 17:3-4, he followed the ways of David, and didn’t consult idols. Instead, he sought the Lord and verse 17:6 says his heart was in the right place. It also says he removed the high places.
Therefore, I would group Jehoshaphat into the minority. He was a king who made good choices most of the time.
Even those of us who strive to follow God and dedicate ourselves to His ways make mistakes.
When I was young, this did not describe me. I didn’t know the Lord. But, I tried to make good life choices. Most of the time, I succeeded.
I remember one night, however, when I was at Apache Lake, a popular waterskiing location in Arizona. There were thirty or forty people, all drinking beer and having a good time.
My cousin and I liked to hang out together. We were close in age, a little younger than our brothers and their friends.
On this night, we were also hanging out with a friend of theirs who didn’t fit in with the others, so he was talking to us.
He convinced us to go looking for girls, so we began walking around the camp.
As we passed by a tent, we could hear the people inside were having amorous activity. For reasons I will never know, this guy we’re walking with decides it would be funny to pull up all the poles and make their tent fall down on top of the inhabitants.
Our Choices Have Consequences
My cousin and I did not know what he was about to do, but when he took off running, we had to run with him.
In the darkness, we did not see the barbed wire fence that ran across the wash we were running in. My cousin was a track star and was ahead of me.
I could see as he hit the fence and flip over it. There was a large gouge in his leg.
Others can influence even “good” people to do foolish things.
King Jehoshaphat was doing right, when King Ahab reaches out and asked him to go with him against Ramoth Gilead (v18:3).
Jehoshaphat tells him he must first check with the Lord (v18:4). This was a wise response.
Ahab, we may recall, had run off all the genuine prophets, and replaced them with his own people.
He gathers all four hundred of those false prophets and asks them if he should go. They tell him what he wants to hear (v18:5)
Jehoshaphat knows this is a bad idea. He asks if there are no prophets of the Lord in Israel (v18:6).
Listen to the Voice of Reason
There is one prophet, but Ahab knows he won’t like his answer.
We all have that one friend who would tell us not to jump off the bridge when everyone else was. When we get hurt or in trouble, we know we should have listened to him.
After a while, when we are plotting misadventures, we contemplate leaving them out. We know they won’t want to participate.
That is how Ahab felt about Micaiah.
He knows Micaiah will relay the Lord’s message to him, and nothing else.
Notice, even Ahab knew it was a lie (v18:15). So Micaiah tells him he will die.
God has a spirit mislead Ahabs’ prophets, because it is His will that Ahab fails. God’s character would not allow Him to tell the lie, or even to tempt the spirit to do this evil thing.
Evil is always around, working against the Lord. God allows the spirits to decide this on their own (v18:21)
Just as He lets Satan test Job, he allows this spirit to put this lie into all those prophets’ mouths (v18:22).
Then, Micaiah tells Ahab the truth, that he will die (v18:27)
The Price of Disobedience
You hear Ahab knows this is true, but ignores it.
If I were more mature that night at the lake, I would have admitted that I knew walking around with that guy at Apache Lake was a bad idea. It wasn’t a matter of if we would get in trouble. The only questions were when and how.
Ahab tries to disguise himself, but you can’t hide from God. An arrow hits the king with a lucky shot (v18:33). He props himself up and watches the battle until sunset, then dies (v18:24).
When Jehoshaphat returns, Jehu, the seer, lets him know his actions are going to cost him (v19:2)
Because the king had done good deeds prior to making this poor alliance with Ahab, and has a heart set on God (v19:3), God allows him to live.
We wish to believe our positive contributions far exceed our shortcomings. They don’t.
Think of every sinful thought, every lie, all the times we have malice in our hearts toward people who do things we disapprove of. Those are all sins.
On a good day, I would say I sin a hundred times. It disgusts me, but it is that old nature.
There is no amount of good I can do that would justify myself.
Therefore, Jesus knew He had to die for me. He knew I could not pay that debt.
He had no sin, so He took mine. (2 Cor 5:21).
Jehoshaphat continues to do wise things throughout chapter 20. But that will never erase the mistakes he had made helping Ahab.
Judge yourself.
Realize you can not redeem yourself and seek Jesus today. Before the sunsets on you.
Tomorrow we will read 2 Chronicles 21-24
