Ahab's Payday

Jehoshaphat, a somewhat godly king of Judah, entered into a political alliance with Ahab, king of Israel, by having his son marry Ahab's daugher. Such an alliance proved disasterous as Ahab's godless influence spread to Judah and marred Jehoshaphat's reign and that of his descendants.

Ahab enticed Jehoshaphat to got to battle to takeover Ramoth-Gilead. It was not until after they had devised their plan that Jehoshaphat demanded that they seek the word of the Lord, from a true prophet. Dismissing the favorable advice of the false prophets, the true prophet of the Lord, Micaiah, was called upon. The message Micaiah had from the Lord was not favorable concerning the outcome of the battle already planned, but they went ahead anyway. Israel suffered a great defeat and as foretold, the army was left in disarray with no leadership. Interesting details are given of activity going on in the heavenly realm and the interaction between God, the fallen and unfallen angelic beings. Micaiah was made privy to that the fact of an evil spirit being allowed to entice Ahab to pursue this battle that would result in his death.

Lessons from this study include:

1. The people of God shouldn't be entangled with the ungodly.
2. We should seek the Lord BEFORE we make commitments.
3. Ungodly men don't want to hear what God has to say.
4. False prophets/teachers can be persuasive...we don't want to think we are smarter or stronger than the devil & the doctrines of demons.
5. You cannot hide from God's Word. We can reject it but not escape it.
6. The Word of the Lord is always accomplished.