43 And he walketh in all the way of Asa his father, he hath not turned aside from it, to do that which `is' right in the eyes of Jehovah; only the high places have not turned aside, yet are the people sacrificing and making perfume in high places.
And Jehoshaphat feareth, and setteth his face to seek to Jehovah, and proclaimeth a fast over all Judah; and Judah is gathered to inquire of Jehovah; also, from all the cities of Judah they have come in to seek Jehovah. And Jehoshaphat standeth in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of Jehovah, at the front of the new court, and saith, `O Jehovah, God of our fathers, art not Thou -- God in the heavens? yea, Thou art ruling over all kingdoms of the nations, and in Thy hand `is' power and might, and there is none with Thee to station himself. `Art not Thou our God? Thou hast dispossessed the inhabitants of this land from before Thy people Israel, and dost give it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend to the age, and they dwell in it, and build to Thee in it a sanctuary for Thy name, saying, If evil doth come upon us -- sword, judgment, and pestilence, and famine -- we stand before this house, and before Thee, for Thy name `is' in this house, and cry unto Thee out of our distress, and Thou dost hear and save. `And now, lo, sons of Ammon, and Moab, and mount Seir, whom Thou didst not grant to Israel to go in against in their coming out of the land of Egypt, for they turned aside from off them and destroyed them not, and lo, they are recompensing to us -- to come in to drive us out of Thy possession, that Thou hast caused us to possess. `O our God, dost Thou not execute judgment upon them? for there is no power in us before this great multitude that hath come against us, and we know not what we do, but on Thee `are' our eyes.' And all Judah are standing before Jehovah, also their infants, their wives, and their sons. And upon Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, hath the Spirit of Jehovah been, in the midst of the assembly, and he saith, `Attend, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and O king Jehoshaphat, Thus said Jehovah to you, Ye fear not, nor are afraid of the face of this great multitude, for not for you `is' the battle, but for God. To-morrow, go ye down against them, lo, they are coming up by the ascent of Ziz, and ye have found them in the end of the valley, the front of the wilderness of Jeruel. Not for you to fight in this; station yourselves, stand, and see the salvation of Jehovah with you, O Judah and Jerusalem -- be not afraid nor fear ye -- to-morrow go out before them, and Jehovah `is' with you.' And Jehoshaphat boweth -- face to the earth -- and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem have fallen before Jehovah, to bow themselves to Jehovah. And the Levites, of the sons of the Kohathites, and of the sons of the Korhites, rise to give praise to Jehovah, God of Israel, with a loud voice on high. And they rise early in the morning, and go out to the wilderness of Tekoa, and in their going out Jehoshaphat hath stood and saith, `Hear me, O Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, remain stedfast in Jehovah your God, and be stedfast; remain stedfast in His prophets, and prosper.' And he taketh counsel with the people, and appointeth singers to Jehovah, and those giving praise to the honour of holiness, in the going out before the armed `men', and saying, `Give ye thanks to Jehovah, for to the age `is' His kindness.' And at the time they have begun with singing and praise, Jehovah hath put ambushments against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, who are coming in to Judah, and they are smitten, and the sons of Ammon stand up, and Moab, against the inhabitants of mount Seir, to devote and to destroy, and at their finishing with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped, a man against his neighbour, to destroy. And Judah hath come in unto the watch-tower, to the wilderness, and they look unto the multitude, and lo, they `are' carcases fallen to the earth, and there is none escaped, and Jehoshaphat cometh in, and his people, to seize their spoil, and they find among them, in abundance, both goods and carcases, and desirable vessels, and they take spoil to themselves without prohibition, and they are three days seizing the spoil, for it `is' abundant. And on the fourth day they have been assembled at the valley of Blessing, for there they blessed Jehovah: therefore they have called the name of that place, `Valley of Blessing,' unto this day. And they turn back, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, to go back unto Jerusalem with joy, for Jehovah hath made them rejoice over their enemies. And they come in to Jerusalem with psalteries, and with harps, and with trumpets, unto the house of Jehovah. And there is a fear of God on all kingdoms of the lands in their hearing that Jehovah hath fought with the enemies of Israel, and the kingdom of Jehoshaphat is quiet, and his God giveth rest to him round about.
but good things have been found with thee, for thou hast put away the shrines out of the land, and hast prepared thy heart to seek God.' And Jehoshaphat dwelleth in Jerusalem, and he turneth back and goeth out among the people from Beer-Sheba unto the hill-country of Ephraim, and bringeth them back unto Jehovah, God of their fathers.
And Jehovah is with Jehoshaphat, for he hath walked in the first ways of David his father, and hath not sought to Baalim, for to the God of his father he hath sought, and in His commands he hath walked, and not according to the work of Israel. And Jehovah doth establish the kingdom in his hand, and all Judah give a present to Jehoshaphat, and he hath riches and honour in abundance, and his heart is high in the ways of Jehovah, and again he hath turned aside the high places and the shrines out of Judah.
And at that time hath Hanani the seer come in unto Asa king of Judah, and saith unto him, `Because of thy leaning on the king of Aram, and thou hast not leaned on Jehovah thy God, therefore hath the force of the king of Aram escaped from thy hand. Did not the Cushim and the Lubim become a very great force for multitude, for chariot, and for horsemen? and in thy leaning on Jehovah He gave them into thy hand, for Jehovah -- His eyes go to and fro in all the earth, to show Himself strong `for' a people whose heart `is' perfect towards Him; thou hast been foolish concerning this, because -- henceforth there are with thee wars.' And Asa is angry at the seer, and giveth him to the house of torture, for `he is' in a rage with him for this; and Asa oppresseth `some' of the people at that time. And lo, the matters of Asa, the first and the last, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. And Asa is diseased -- in the thirty and ninth year of his reign -- in his feet, till his disease is excessive, and also in his disease he hath not sought Jehovah, but among physicians.
And Asa doth that which is good, and that which is right, in the eyes of Jehovah his God, and turneth aside the altars of the stranger, and the high places, and breaketh the standing-pillars, and cutteth down the shrines, and saith to Judah to seek Jehovah, God of their fathers, and to do the law and the command; and he turneth aside out of all cities of Judah the high places and the images, and the kingdom is quiet before him.
and he doth that which `is' right in the eyes of Jehovah, only not like David his father, according to all that Joash his father did he hath done, only, the high places have not turned aside -- yet are the people sacrificing and making perfume in high places.
And Samuel saith unto the people, `Fear not; ye have done all this evil; only, turn not aside from after Jehovah -- and ye have served Jehovah with all your heart, and ye do not turn aside after the vain things which do not profit nor deliver, for they `are' vain,
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Commentary on 1 Kings 22 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 22
1Ki 22:1-36. Ahab Slain at Ramoth-gilead.
1. continued three years without war between Syria and Israel—The disastrous defeat of Ben-hadad had so destroyed his army and exhausted the resources of his country, that, however eager, he was unable to recommence active hostilities against Israel. But that his hereditary enmity remained unsubdued, was manifest by his breach of faith concerning the treaty by which he had engaged to restore all the cities which his father had seized (1Ki 20:34).
2. Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel—It was singular that a friendly league between the sovereigns of Israel and Judah should, for the first time, have been formed by princes of such opposite characters—the one pious, the other wicked. Neither this league nor the matrimonial alliance by which the union of the royal families was more closely cemented, met the Lord's approval (2Ch 19:2). It led, however, to a visit by Jehoshaphat, whose reception in Samaria was distinguished by the most lavish hospitality (2Ch 18:2). The opportunity of this visit was taken advantage of, to push an object on which Ahab's heart was much set.
3-8. Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours—a Levitical and free town on the north border of Gad (De 4:43; Jos 21:38), on the site of the present Salt Lake, in the province of Belka. It lay within the territories of the Israelitish monarch, and was unjustly alienated; but whether it was one of the cities usurped by the first Ben-hadad, which his son had promised to restore, or was retained for some other reasons, the sacred historian has not mentioned. In the expedition which Ahab meditated for the recovery of this town, the aid of Jehoshaphat was asked and promised (see 2Ch 18:3). Previous to declaring hostilities, it was customary to consult the prophets (see on 1Sa 28:8); and Jehoshaphat having expressed a strong desire to know the Lord's will concerning this war, Ahab assembled four hundred of his prophets. These could not be either the prophets of Baal or of Ashteroth (1Ki 18:19), but seem (1Ki 22:12) to have been false prophets, who conformed to the symbolic calf-worship of Jehovah. Being the creatures of Ahab, they unanimously predicted a prosperous issue to the war. But dissatisfied with them, Jehoshaphat inquired if there was any true prophet of the Lord. Ahab agreed, with great reluctance, to allow Micaiah to be summoned. He was the only true prophet then to be found residing in Samaria, and he had to be brought out of prison (1Ki 22:26), into which, according to Josephus, he had been cast on account of his rebuke to Ahab for sparing the king of Syria.
10. a void place—literally, "a threshing-floor," formed at the gate of Samaria.
11. Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron—Small projections, of the size and form of our candle extinguishers (worn in many parts of the East as military ornaments), were worn by the Syrians of that time, and probably by the Israelite warriors also. Zedekiah, by assuming two horns, personated two heroes, and, pretending to be a prophet, wished in this manner to represent the kings of Israel and Judah in a military triumph. It was a symbolic action, to impart greater force to his language (see De 33:17); but it was little more than a flourish with a spontoon [Calmet, Fragments].
14-17. what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak—On the way the messenger who conducted [Micaiah] to the royal presence informed him of the tenor of the prophecies already given and recommended him to agree with the rest, no doubt from the kindly motive of seeing him released from imprisonment. But Micaiah, inflexibly faithful to his divine mission as a prophet, announced his purpose to proclaim honestly whatever God should bid him. On being asked by the king, "Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I forbear?" the prophet gave precisely the same answer as the previous oracles that had been consulted; but it must have been given in a sarcastic tone and in ironical mockery of their way of speaking. Being solemnly urged to give a serious and truthful answer, Micaiah then declared the visionary scene the Spirit had revealed to him;—
17. I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd—The purport of this was that the army of Israel would be defeated and dispersed; that Ahab would fall in the battle, and the people return without either being pursued or destroyed by the enemy.
18-23. Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?—Since Ahab was disposed to trace this unwelcome truth to personal enmity, Micaiah proceeded fearlessly to tell the incensed monarch in full detail what had been revealed to him. The Hebrew prophets, borrowing their symbolic pictures from earthly scenes, described God in heaven as a king in His kingdom. And as earthly princes do nothing of importance without asking the advice of their counsellors, God is represented as consulting about the fate of Ahab. This prophetic language must not be interpreted literally, and the command must be viewed as only a permission to the lying spirit (Ro 11:34) [Calmet].
24, 25. Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek—The insolence of this man, the leader of the false prophets, seems to have been provoked by jealousy at Micaiah's assumed monopoly of the spirit of inspiration. This mode of smiting, usually with a shoe, is both severe and ignominious. The calm reply of the Lord's prophet consisted in announcing the fate of the false prophets who suffered as the advisers of the disastrous expedition.
26-28. Take Micaiah, … Put this fellow in prison—Ahab, under the impulse of vehement resentment, remands the prophet until his return.
27, 28. bread of affliction, water of affliction—that is, the poorest prison fare. Micaiah submitted, but reiterated aloud, in the presence of all, that the issue of the war would be fatal to Ahab.
29-38. went up to Ramoth-gilead—The king of Israel, bent on this expedition, marched, accompanied by his ally, with all his forces to the siege; but on approaching the scene of action, his courage failed, and, hoping to evade the force of Micaiah's prophecy by a secret stratagem, he assumed the uniform of a subaltern, while he advised Jehoshaphat to fight in his royal attire. The Syrian king, with a view either to put the speediest end to the war, or perhaps to wipe out the stain of his own humiliation (1Ki 20:31), had given special instructions to his generals to single out Ahab, and to take or kill him, as the author of the war. The officers at first directed their assault on Jehoshaphat, but, becoming aware of their mistake, desisted. Ahab was wounded by a random arrow, which, being probably poisoned, and the state of the weather increasing the virulence of the poison, he died at sunset. The corpse was conveyed to Samaria; and, as the chariot which brought it was being washed, in a pool near the city, from the blood that had profusely oozed from the wound, the dogs, in conformity with Elijah's prophecy, came and licked it [1Ki 21:19]. Ahab was succeeded by his son Ahaziah [1Ki 22:40].