2 Chron. 17-18
Let me see if I’ve got this straight. Ahab called the prophet Micaiah before him (granted, only at Jehoshaphat’s request) to ask if they should go to battle against the Assyrians. Then, when Micaiah told him what he wanted to hear, Ahab told him to speak the truth. Since what Micaiah said was in line with what all the other prophets were saying, this means that Ahab knew what the prophets were saying was a lie. And yet, after Micaiah told Ahab that God was using the other prophets and this battle to entice Ahab to his death, Ahab followed the advice of the prophets he knew were lying to him?!? Truly we are blinded by darkness when we refuse to walk in God’s light!
Ahab seems to have thought that he could outsmart God and escape his prophesied fate. But what the LORD says will be, will be. As for Jehoshaphat, I wish I knew what drove such a godly man to ally with evil Ahab. This had to have been after that moment when Ahab genuinely humbled his heart before God. So maybe Jehoshaphat had some hope for him?
At least Jehoshaphat did right to seek God before going into battle. He even recognized that the initial group of prophets were not really from God. But did he seek God before he decided to ally with Ahab in the first place? Also, I can understand why Ahab ignored God’s word through His prophet. But why did Jehoshaphat continue on after hearing what he heard? I guess he had promised Ahab assistance. And since it wasn’t his life God was taking, he was okay with it. I wish I knew what he was thinking.
The beautiful and encouraging thing to me is that, even though Jehoshaphat was where he should not have been doing what he should not have been doing, God did not forsake him. When the Syrians mistook him for Ahab and went after him, “Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; God drew them away from him.” (2 Chron 18:31b). I feel some commonality with Jehoshaphat. Even though I do my best to seek God and to live my life for Him, I sometimes ignore His warning flags, putting myself in situations I should not be in. Besides causing stress and distress that could have been avoided, making a habit of such behavior can only lead away from God. How encouraging to know that God stays with me, even when I get it wrong! But how much better if I would learn to heed those warning flags from the start.
2 Cor. 6
“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Cor 6:14). Nothing like sticking with a theme. I know this verse is most used as marriage advice. However, I believe this was the mistake that Jehoshaphat made in today’s Old Testament reading. He yoked his righteous self with unrighteous Ahab, and the results were not good. The same happens to us anytime we let another person who is not following God entice us to go with them. A team can’t move in two different directions at the same time. Either you are following God or you aren’t.
Clearly Paul is not advocating that we disassociate with the world around us. However, we need to examine ALL of our relationships and be careful about the level of intimacy we allow in them. The more deeply bonded a relationship is – whether it is a business or personal one – the more obvious any spiritual divergence will be (because our spiritual path is what we are talking about here). We cannot commit, as Jehoshaphat did, to travel a path with someone if they are not walking the same path we are. In short, ANY relationship that leads us away from God is not a good one.