EGW Writings1 Kings 22

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)

Ms 29, 1911

25LtMs, Ms 29, 1911, par. 30

When Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, was about to go to battle with Ahab against Syria, he said, “Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord today.” [1 Kings 22:5.]

25LtMs, Ms 29, 1911, par. 31

“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.” [Verse 6.]

25LtMs, Ms 29, 1911, par. 32

But Jehoshaphat was not satisfied. He dared not go to battle on such authority. “Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might enquire of him?” And Ahab answered, “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 prophecy good concerning me, but evil.” [Verses 7, 8.]

25LtMs, Ms 29, 1911, par. 33

“Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah.” [Verse 9.]

25LtMs, Ms 29, 1911, par. 34

“So he came to the king,” and to the question, “Shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear?” he answered, “Go, and prosper.” [Verse 15.]

25LtMs, Ms 29, 1911, par. 35

Still they suspected that all was not right, and Ahab said, “How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord? 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.” [Verses 16, 17.]

Prophets and Kings

Chapter 15—Jehoshaphat

PK 190.2

In his efforts to rule wisely, Jehoshaphat endeavored to persuade his subjects to take a firm stand against idolatrous practices. Many of the people in his realm “offered and burnt incense yet in the high places.” 1 Kings 22:43. The king did not at once destroy these shrines; but from the beginning he tried to safeguard Judah from the sins characterizing the northern kingdom under the rule of Ahab, of whom he was a contemporary for many years. Jehoshaphat himself was loyal to God. He “sought not unto Baalim; but sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in His commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.” Because of his integrity, the Lord was with him, and “stablished the kingdom in his hand.” 2 Chronicles 17:3-5.

PK 191.1

“All Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honor in abundance. And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord.” As time passed and reformations were wrought, the king “took away the high places and groves out of Judah.” Verses 5, 6. “And the remnant of the Sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land.” 1 Kings 22:46. Thus gradually the inhabitants of Judah were freed from many of the perils that had been threatening to retard seriously their spiritual development.

PK 195.3

Unsatisfied, Jehoshaphat sought to learn for a certainty the will of God. “Is there not here a prophet of the Lord,” he asked, “that we might inquire of him?” Verse 6. “There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord,” Ahab answered; “but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” 1 Kings 22:8. Jehoshaphat was firm in his request that the man of God be called; and upon appearing before them and being adjured by Ahab to tell “nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord,” Micaiah 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.” Verses 16, 17.

PK 196.1

The words of the prophet should have been enough to show the kings that their project was not favored by Heaven, but neither ruler felt inclined to heed the warning. Ahab had marked out his course, and he was determined to follow it. Jehoshaphat had given his word of honor, “We will be with thee in the war;” and after making such a promise, he was reluctant to withdraw his forces. 2 Chronicles 18:3. “So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.” 1 Kings 22:29.

PK 196.2

During the battle that followed, Ahab was shot by an arrow, and at eventide he died. “About the going down of the sun,” “there went a proclamation throughout the host,” “Every man to his city, and every man to his own country.” Verse 36. Thus was fulfilled the word of the prophet.

From Splendor to Shadow

Chapter 15—Jehoshaphat, the King Who Believed God

SS 101.1

Called to the throne at the age of thirty-five, Jehoshaphat had before him the example of good King Asa, who in nearly every crisis had done “that which was right in the eyes of the Lord.” 1 Kings 15:11. During a reign of twenty-five years, Jehoshaphat sought to walk “in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside.” 1 Kings 22:43. He endeavored to persuade his subjects to take a firm stand against idolatry. Many in his realm “sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.” 1 Kings 22:43, RSV. From the beginning the king tried to safeguard Judah from the sins characterizing the northern kingdom under Ahab. Jehoshaphat “sought not unto Baalim, but sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in His commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.” The Lord was with him, and “stablished the kingdom in his hand.” 2 Chronicles 17:3-5.

SS 101.2

Jehoshaphat “had riches and honor in abundance.” As time passed, the king “took away the high places and groves out of Judah.” Verses 5, 6. “And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land.” 1 Kings 22:46. Thus gradually the inhabitants of Judah were freed from perils that had threatened to retard seriously their spiritual development.

SS 103.1

Unsatisfied, Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might inquire of him?” Verse 6. “There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord,” Ahab answered, “but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me.” 1 Kings 22:8. Jehoshaphat was firm in his request that the man of God be called. Micaiah 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.” Verse 17.

From Splendor to Shadow

Jehoshaphat Makes a Mistake

SS 103.2

Neither ruler felt inclined to heed the warning. Ahab had marked out his course and was determined to follow it. Jehoshaphat had given his word, “We will be with thee in the war” (2 Chronicles 18:3), and after making such a promise he was reluctant to withdraw his forces. “So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.” 1 Kings 22:29. During the battle that followed, Ahab was shot by an arrow and died.

Prophets and Kings

Chapter 16—The Fall of the House of Ahab

PK 207.4

It was less than three years later that King Ahab met his death at the hands of the Syrians. Ahaziah, his successor, “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.” “He served Baal, and worshiped him, and provoked to anger the Lord God of Israel,” as his father Ahab had done. 1 Kings 22:52, 53. But judgments followed close upon the sins of the rebellious king. A disastrous war with Moab, and then an accident by which his own life was threatened, attested to God’s wrath against him.