1 Kings 22 (Part 3) Bible Study (Ahab Killed/Jehoshaphat & Ahaziah Reign) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Let's go to first Kings, and let us meet together in chapter 22, and we are going to start in verse 29 until the last verse of this chapter. First Kings chapter 22. The way you and I will make the most out of this final study in this book is by having second Chronicles open and ready to turn to throughout this study. And so I encourage you from now to have the book of second Chronicles open and prepared because second Chronicles will help us complete this study in terms of details and insights with very key points in this text. Where are we now?

What have we been studying lately? Well, God in his ineffable grace gave Ahab a sobering prophetic warning about what was going to happen if he chose to engage in a war with Syria. And the message of the prophet Micaiah was plain and clear. Ahab, if you go up to fight at Ramoth Gilead, you will die. You will die.

And this warning stood in stark contrast to the word of 400 other appointed prophets appointed by Ahab, at least, who told Ahab that he would have victory, sweeping victory over his enemies. And so we were left to wonder which message will Ahab respond to? What prophecy will he act upon? And we don't have to wait too long to discover what choice he will make because we are going to see right at the beginning of our study. The first verse that we're going to read will make that clear.

We're going to be told exactly what Ahab will do. So let's read the first few verses together. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth Gilead. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

Now the king of Syria had commanded the 32 captains of the chariots fight with neither small nor gray but only with the king of Israel. And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, it is surely the king of Israel. So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out. And when the captains of the chariot saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

Lord, we ask that at this time with this final study in this book that we have been exploring week after week after week, that your faithfulness would would meet us here at the finish line. Open our eyes, open our minds, let our hearts burn with these truths for the glory of your son. We long to know your will, your heart for us so that we may become the worshipers you've called us to be. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

So what was the decision that Ahab made? He would go to fight. He would ignore the word of the true prophet who spoke on behalf of the true God. And that might not be surprising to us that Ahab stiffened his neck yet once more. But what may be shocking to us is how Jehoshaphat complied.

How he joined Ahab. And especially because Jehoshaphat was the one who inquired for a true prophet to give a true word and he got it, but he didn't apply it. And you would think to yourself that if Jehoshaphat understood what Micaiah had said, that he would he would jump ship, he would eject, he would remove himself from this tragedy that Ahab was going to walk into. Or you at least think that he would encourage Ahab to reconsider, But instead what we see him do is walk with Ahab into disaster. And right there in verse 29, we learn something about this man Jehoshaphat.

That he is an example of the diluting influence of wrong relationships. It is not inherently wrong to be influenced by others. It just depends who's influencing you and what they're influencing you towards. And unfortunately, there are many like Jehoshaphat, I hope this isn't you, who have a general and oftentimes a sincere desire to know the will of God, but it's not a desire that governs them. And all it takes for such people is to know one person that they admire, enjoy, or make some benefit from to be influenced and to have their decisions swayed by them, even at the expense of disobeying the word of the Lord in the process.

And you might be wondering if Ahab had made such an impression on Jehoshaphat, and I am absolutely convinced that he did. There was something about Ahab that moved Jehoshaphat to be disarmed in this way. And you're not gonna know why until you look at the complete picture found in what book? Second Chronicles, and it's specifically in chapter 18 in verse one and verse two. There's a detail that the chronicler provides that first Kings 22 doesn't give us.

And so look there at second Chronicles 18 verse one. Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor. Pause. It would make you wonder why he would make an alliance with Ahab. He was prospering.

He was powerful. Yet for whatever reason, this man with great riches and honor, and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. After some years, he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him and induced him to go up against Ramoth Gilead. Do you see that detail that's omitted in first Kings 22?

What's the detail that stands out? What did Ahab do for him? He impressed him. He celebrated him with a generous feast. And this was totally strategic because Jehoshaphat, his heart was captured by Ahab in one way so that it can be controlled in another.

And this is something you have to understand about Satan. Satan will often use sinners to lavish, comfort, maybe even honor you in order to disarm you so that at some point he will destroy you. He has no new tricks. And the destruction that I'm speaking about doesn't necessarily mean physical death. It can simply mean a distraction, a significant distraction that will delay or even deter you from fulfilling God's will for your life.

And many people are bound in that. Many people are dizzied by that. And remember this, God will send people in your life to bless you, but so will Satan not to bless you. Not to bless you. God has his evangelist.

Satan has his evangelist. God has friends in mind for you, so does the enemy of your soul. And when the enemy of your soul does send somebody to you, it doesn't look like him having a weapon in one hand and drugs in the other. It can look like flattery. It can look like a financial proposal that will lead you into compromise.

And so be discerning. Jehoshaphat proves to us that you can even hear the word of God, but somebody else has more say in your life than that word. He heard from Micaiah, but he ended up following Ahab anyway. And there are many people who sit in churches and hear a pure word, but walk out no different because somebody else has greater influence than God himself. But let me say this while I'm here, not just to be cautious and discerning about how you are influenced by others, sinners or lukewarm people, I would even say this, be careful of the godly people in your life.

What do I mean by that? Because godly people are people still. Men of God are men still. Women of God are women still. And so the main takeaway from this is let God be over everything and everyone.

Because even, for example, leaders in your life that you look up to, that you revere, that you respect can have moments of weaknesses. And if you are so swept up by them, you can be weakened by their weaknesses. So many example of this in real life and in the New Testament. One of the strongest examples of that is Peter the apostle, who in Galatians chapter two was eating with the Gentiles no problem until James and the circumcision party came to visit. And so Peter removes himself from the Gentiles.

He acts hypocritically, and many were led to act hypocritically with him including who? Barnabas. That's in Galatians chapter two. Barnabas was influenced by who? A false apostle?

No. A true one. Who in a moment of weakness weakened him. So what are you to do? Yes.

God has designed our Christian life to be inspired and even led to some degree by others. But you have to understand that the main authority over your life is this word and God's will. And you have to filter everything through this. And even if one who had a wonderful reputation for a moment or even for a season walks away from that, you choose God's word over men of God even or women of God. Jehoshaphat here is going to learn a very hard lesson because we read here in verse 30 that the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.

What is that? So if if Jehoshaphat didn't listen before, surely he would catch on now that this alliance is a bad deal. If you were Jehoshaphat, wouldn't you think to yourself at this moment, okay, if Ahab really believed those 400 prophets, why would he succumb to such tactics? Why would Ahab wanna camouflage himself as a lower ranking soldier and allow Jehoshaphat to be the highlighted king on the battlefield? Or you might think if you were Jehoshaphat, if this man didn't believe what Micaiah said, then why is he behaving in such a way?

And you and I have determined from our previous study that down deep inside Ahab really did believe the word of Micaiah. Didn't he? He did believe Micaiah's prophecy. And that's why he's doing this. That's why he's scheming in this way.

And we remember, do we not? That there are some people who are living in falsehood because they believe what is wrong to be true. Some are just deceived. And there are others who are believing what is untrue knowing full well it is untrue. They embrace it still.

They've been disproven. They've been shown that what is true is not what they adhere to over and over, and yet they embrace it. Why? Because for many reasons, including the fear of losing something while rejecting what they've been holding on to for so long. Many people are living like that.

And we see here that Ahab is trying to now position Jehoshaphat in a way in which he will be harmed and he will be kept safe. And it makes you wonder, why is Jehoshaphat going along with this? And we're gonna discover that in a moment, but we see here that Jehoshaphat agrees. He agrees to this plan. Is not the selfishness of Ahab so blatantly obvious?

It's so clear. And this man here, you wonder why are you having this unwavering commitment to such a rascal? Why would you submit to something so perilous? Why would you why would you not think this is the final straw? This alliance was a bad idea, and I'm pulling out.

Well, as surprising as it may seem, Jehoshaphat's dedication to Ahab reflects on billions of people in their relationship with sin. Right? Maybe you know somebody or maybe more than one person, where you're just seeing what the rebellion is causing to them. You're seeing what their addiction or their way of thinking or their worldview is causing them, and you wonder from time to time how long is he gonna keep going this way. How long will she keep doing this to herself?

When will it click? When will she realize that what she is doing is destructive? It's false. It's not working, and that God's word is true. And so let's not pick on Jehoshaphat too much.

Again, we don't know what was going on through this mind of his while he's making these decisions, but I wonder and this is just speculation. I wonder if he felt that he was too invested to back out now. Is this just a friendship that they have? No. There is a marriage alliance that bound these two kingdoms together.

And what can be closer than you becoming family? So I wonder if Jehoshaphat thought to himself, I'm too deep into this. And you know what? Whether he did or not, I know that sinners do, some at least. They think that way about their own inequity, about their own way of life.

There's no point in backing out now. You're saying, how do you know that? Because I've talked to people like that. There's no point of repenting now. I have too many scars.

There's no point of turning back to the Lord. He's already warned me enough. Surely, he will not receive me again. There's no point. I'm this deep.

I can't recover from this. I can't change from this. I can't be renewed by this. And I believe many people who feel this way can learn something about Jehoshaphat. Something that you and I already know that it's never too late with Christ.

Never ever too late with the lord Jesus Christ. That's one of Satan's favorite lies for sinners. You're too far gone. It's been too long. You're a mess.

You're in shambles. So what do we see? We get a glimpse of the grace of God in this very passage. Right? So he tells him, disguise yourself as a king.

He agrees to it foolishly. Verse 31, now the king of Syria had commanded the 32 captains of his chariots. Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel. So this is a very strategic war. They're not looking here to eliminate the armies of Israel.

They're not here to try to take over cities. They have one goal in mind, kill the king of Israel. They're not even interested in the king of Judah. Just give us the king of Israel. And for a brief moment, something's gonna happen.

Verse 32, and when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, it is surely the king of Israel. He's the only one wearing robes. And so they think that he's the one. So they turned to fight against him and Jehoshaphat cried out. And when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

So, Ahab's deceptive scheme seems to have been working for a brief moment, but not enough. It wasn't enough to actually accomplish anything. And the turnaround, the the event, the occurrence that changed the script, what do you think it is in the verses that we just read? What is highlighted to us? If you know it, you can say it out loud.

Cried out. He cried out. Jehoshaphat cried out. We're not told what he cried out. So we're left to guess, at least in first Kings.

What did he cry out? I'm not Ahab. I'm not Ahab. Or maybe he said, he's over there. He's over there.

Or maybe in just absolute desperation, he just shrieked for mercy. He cried out. Now you get the impression from this that maybe he cried out to the Syrian army. We're not told how he did it. We're not told what he did.

But could it be that first Chronicles gives us an answer? Second Chronicles, it does. So second Chronicles 18, we looked at verse one and two, but scroll down to that chapter and look at verse 31, and you will be told what Jehoshaphat did when he cried out. Can anybody guess while you're passing to that passage? Okay.

No one wants to guess? That's okay. Verse 31. As soon as the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, it is the king of Israel. So they turned to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him.

God drew them away from him. What's the answer? He cried out to the Lord. Isn't that amazing? He cried out to God.

See why it's important to read your Bible through and through? You didn't wanna read first and second Chronicles because of the genealogies, and it's repetitive. The Bible wastes no real estate. There's not one part of the terrain of scripture that is void of purpose. And I think it's absolutely wonderful what Jehoshaphat crying out to Lord at this moment teaches us as believers that even amid compromise and even amid you facing the consequences for your sin, If you really belong to the Lord, you can cry out to him, and he is ready to hear you, and he is ready to help you.

He is ready to rescue you. Is Jehoshaphat at the top of his spiritual performance here? No. He's at his lowest, at least one of his low points. And yet the moment he turned his face to the Lord and cried out, God was there.

You know who abandoned him though they had an alliance? Ahab. You know who was with him and for him even though he was unfaithful in his covenant with him? God. Aren't you happy that God is not like us?

Aren't you happy that kings like Ahab are miserable friends, miserable leaders? But who stands out? The one who's really the king of Israel. And so we see the Lord here, though it Jehoshaphat gave him many reasons for him not to be there on his side, but he didn't take those things into consideration. So this is a comforting testimony for you and I.

This is how strong God's love is. It's incredibly fierce, especially for those who claim his name. Even though you do and you failed him, it doesn't it doesn't change what God is willing to do for you the moment you turn to him. It doesn't. It doesn't alter it.

He delights in our repentance. He's eager for us to turn from to to him. But at the same time, there is a side to God in this story that should provoke a fear of him. Especially if a person's like Ahab who arrogantly resists God and rejects God and swats away his invitations for relationship. Because while this man cries out to the Lord and God answers him, notice what happens to Ahab.

Look at verse 34. We haven't read this yet. But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore, he said to the driver of his chariot, turn around and carry me out of the battle for I am wounded. So here's a scene.

They approach Jehoshaphat. He cries out. Chronicles tells us that God drew the people away. In their minds, in the hue the human standpoint, they realize, oh, this is not the one we're looking after or looking for. So they retreat and one of these men takes his arrow, draws it randomly and shoots it towards the enemy hoping that this shot will make some kind of impact to their cause.

I'm not sure how skillful this soldier is to waste ammo like that, but it doesn't make a difference. Because unbeknown to this man, that arrow had Ahab's name on it. So what man did arbitrarily with his hands, the hands of almighty god guided to perform his will. And this is a unique illustration, listen to this, being placed at the end of the book of first Kings with no coincidence. This is not coincidental.

For this amazing breathtaking example of God's sovereignty being provided to us. Because what are we what are we been studying week after week since we opened first Kings? We've been studying a nation that was divided. Kings in succession becoming failures and jeopardizing the program of God. And as we come to the concluding thoughts, we realize that god has not lost control.

Whether that be overthrowns or bullets, that's a timely word, is it not? Yeah. He can guide arrows. He can guide AR 15 ammunition. He can guide anything.

He's sovereign. And that's what you're supposed to leave with as you come to the end of this book. He's in control. Yeah. Ahab's reigning and Jehoshaphat's compromising and the nation is fractured and but who's who's still overseeing everything?

The Lord Almighty. And additionally, this random arrow reminds us that you can never be successful when you stand against God, but you are the safest when you stand with him. Can you think about this? Here's Ahab who disguises himself as a soldier so that he can be, off the radar. And you have Jehoshaphat who has a bull's eye on his back because of his royal robes.

And yet you have this inverted outcome. The one who's trying to hide is killed and the one who is brought forth and underscored and highlighted is spared. What's the difference maker? I argue it boils down to this, where these two men stood with the lord. If you stand with him, armies can't overtake you.

If you stand against him no matter where you hide and no matter how much armor you put on, an arrow can find you. And notice it didn't hit any spot. It the Bible is so specific, it hit it hit one of the entry points. Whereas 90% of him was shielded, the one place among maybe other smaller places was where this arrow landed. Why?

It's not because this man had an amazing aim, because God's sovereignty and his judgment was at work. And you can't evade it. You can't run from him. You can't hide from him. You read a verse like that, that should cause you to fear the Lord.

That should encourage you to fear the Lord, to stand in awe of him. And if you stand against him, that should cause you to be terrified. And if you stand with him and you are dwelling underneath his wings, then you should feel the safest. No matter what kind of bunkers people are building and what kind of armory they have and what kind of money they have in their accounts and networks and private jets and private islands that they can hide from, you are the safest as long as you are close to God. So we see here that this man, Ahab, experienced the hard way that the word of Micaiah was true.

He was struck. And there's a subtle depiction of the level of stubbornness, the extent of this man's stubbornness that is actually staggering. So he says there at the end of verse 34, turn around and carry me out of the battle for I am wounded. But look at verse 35, and the battle continued that day and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians until at evening he died. And the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot.

What stands out to you from from that? So he's pierced by this arrow. Right? And then he does something in his his dying moments. What is it?

I argue it's this, that he was propped up to face the Syrians. So he he's out of the battle, but he wants he wants to show that he's okay. He wants to, by standing in this manner, provide courage to his army. Ahab, is the priority right now for you to think that you can win this war or provide the necessary motivation for your army to potentially win this war? Is that what you're supposed to be thinking about at this moment?

You know, some people would think, that's so noble. What a courageous leader. What should have Ahab done as he was bleeding out? Not propped up. Get on your face and get right with God.

You're about to meet him. You're about to meet him. And this little snapshot of a very, very stubborn sinner, like what Ahab showed us before, reflects on so many who to their dying breath will reject god. Their dying moments will try to thwart god's truth, deny it, discourage it, argue against it. You would think that knowing you're going to die would cause you to self reflect.

And this encouraged me late last night. I'm like, you know, I I just wanna I wanna explore how famous atheists die, if there's any recordings of their final words. And, I mean, some sources are accurate, some are maybe questionable. I'm not gonna quote any to you, but you would think that some who defied God throughout their lives and understanding that they're about to take a leap into the dark would really reflect on what they've fought against and maybe reconsider some have and others with their last breath, their final size, use that to curse God and to spew more venom against the person of the lord Jesus Christ. So Ahab here being propped up and trying to trying to think, is this still gonna work out for me?

Is my army still gonna win? You haven't you haven't registered yet that this is exactly what Micaiah said would happen to you? It's a terrifying thing, the depravity of man. Look at verse 36. And about sunset, a cry went through the army, every man to his city and every man to his country.

That's it. Once the news was heard that he had died, that was the point of the war. Verse 37. So the king died and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria, and they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood.

And the prostitutes washed themselves in it, according to the word of the Lord that he had spoken. What prophecy does this fulfill? The one in the previous chapter. Look at first Kings 21. As Ahab stood in Naboth's vineyard, Elijah arrives on the scene unannounced like he usually did, and he pronounces this awful, harrowing prophecy.

And you shall say to him, thus says the Lord, have you killed and also taken possession? And you shall say to him, thus says the Lord, in the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick your own blood. What what's the reason for this? There is no explanation apart from this describing the great contempt that God placed on Ahab as he was a king and would die. It would not be a noble death.

It would not be an honorable death. It would be a miserable, even horrific way of exiting this world. And then what do we see here in in chapter 22 that prostitutes washed themselves in that water as well? Very graphic. That wasn't a part of the original prophecy, but again, it's meant to give a fuller picture of the humiliation of Ahab's death because of his rebellion and his disobedience to God after so many demonstrations of grace and mercy.

And it could even be that these prostitutes were not random, street workers, but were temple prostitutes, cult prostitutes. You read of them throughout the kings, part of the false religious systems that were established through Baal worship and Asherah worship. So it could even be that these prostitutes who worship in their sensual ways, being arranged by Ahab and Jezebel themselves are now cleansing themselves in his blood. It's a really pathetic sight, actually. And it's meant to cause us if you feel squeamish, if you feel like this is horrific, that's what god is intending to do.

He wants to connect us with sin. He wants to connect us with his wrath. So either way, it is meant to portray the mortifying end of a miserable life, and that will only continue in the next two verses. Look at verse 39. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and the ivory house that he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah, his son, reigned in his place. The only positive remarks that the author of kings can provide this king are his material accomplishments. He built an ivory house. He built some cities. He won some wars.

That's not even directly mentioned. So he had the glamorous home, and he had some engineering success, and he had some kind of victory here and there. But what else is Ahab known for? And he'll be known for this for the rest of history as one of the most wicked kings that Israel has ever experienced. So physically, maybe impressive, Spiritually, disastrous.

And this man will go down as one of the worst. And Ahaziah, his son, will take his place, and he's gonna prove very quickly to be no better than his dad. Remember that name Ahaziah. Now let's read verse 41. That was a summary of Ahab's life, but for some reason the Holy Spirit wants to mention Jehoshaphat and give a summary of his life as well.

Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned twenty five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azuba, the daughter of Shilhi. He walked and all the way of Asa his father.

He did not turn aside from it doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. Yet the high places were not taken away and the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel. What impression do you get with this summary of Jehoshaphat's reign? Was he godly?

Was he evil? He wasn't totally godly, and he wasn't completely evil. He was in the middle. Some areas were admirable, other areas were very questionable. And we've touched on these verses before, but I want us to focus on the next few verses.

We haven't touched on these verses yet. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat and his might that he showed and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And from the land, he exterminated the remnant of the male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa. Now look at verse 47. This seems to be random.

Seems to serve no purpose. There was no king in Edom. A deputy was king. Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go for the ships were wrecked at Ezion Geber. Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, let my servants go with your servants in the ships.

But Jehoshaphat was not willing. Interesting. Out of nowhere, we're informed that Edom had no king, but a deputy. Edom had kings, but at this particular time, there was political instability. And who wanted to take advantage of that?

Jehoshaphat. And how did he wanna take advantage of that? Well, I'm maybe maybe it's true that somebody here remembers the name here of where he built these ships. Isyon Geber. Anybody memorize that before?

No? Have you seen this before in first Kings? We have seen it before in first Kings, but we didn't spend much time on it. But go to first Kings nine, and then you'll see it. Perhaps you'll remember it.

First Kings nine twenty six, this is under the rule and reign of Solomon. And notice the relation between this place and Solomon's effort, his prosperous efforts in the land. King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Isi on Gebur, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea in the land of what? Edom. Ah, now we come to first Kings 22, we learn that there was no king in Edom while Jehoshaphat was king of Judah.

And so Jehoshaphat wants to revive something that was lost after Solomon ruled and reigned. He he wanted to create a seaport and he wanted to create a a a kind of a trade route so that he could gain the gold that Solomon gained and to make the kingdom prosperous once more. And so he builds these fleets of of ships. But then what happens when first Kings 22, without explanation, we're informed that the ships were destroyed. They were wrecked.

And then Ahaziah approaches them and he says, hey, why why don't we work together and let's, let's get this thing going. I think, this will work for both of us. I'm willing to help you. And Jehoshaphat refuses. Is there any place in the bible where we can get some clarification?

Yes. Second Chronicles. I was scared somebody was gonna say Galatians or something. Second Chronicles, look at chapter 20, not 18, but chapter 20. Look here at verse 35 of chapter 20.

I hope this Bible study every Friday will encourage you to never skip a book in the Bible when you read it. That's my prayer. Second Chronicles twenty thirty five. After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel. Pause.

Who is Ahaziah? He's the son of who? Good. Good. Good.

So we're told here that Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel. Pause. In first Kings 22, remember when Ahaziah approached Jehoshaphat and he wanted to work together? What did Jehoshaphat do? He said, I'm not willing.

Well, here we're told that they joined together. This is gonna make sense in a moment. Who acted wickedly. The chronicle wants to let us know that Ahaziah was a wicked man. Look at verse 36.

He joined him in building ships to go to Tarshish, and they built the ships in Ezion Geber. What? Verse 37. Then Elija ezer, the son of Dodavahu of Mareshai, prophesied against Jehoshaphat saying, because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made. And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.

So let's forget about first Kings 22 for a moment. Let's just deal with second Chronicles twenty thirty five, k, to 37. We're told back at first Kings 22 that Ahaziah ruled and reigned for only two years. That's at the end, the final verses of our chapter. So let's think about this.

If Jehoshaphat made an alliance with Ahab, Ahab dies, Jehoshaphat goes back to his kingdom and he's just continuing where he left off. In under two years, evidently, he makes an alliance with the son of Ahab. Isn't that remarkable? You would think that this man learned his lesson with Ahab, but clearly he didn't. And not only that, although there's so many things that we can praise Jehoshaphat for, this is obviously a weakness in his life.

This is a habitual problem. He has this tendency. And what's his tendency? To be unequally yoked. That's his temptation.

Some people have different inclinations, and this was his problem. Because in such a short amount of time, he's magnetized towards the wrong people once again. And this is a tendency to not trust in God's wisdom in choosing friendships, partnerships, and even potential candidates to be your spouse. Is it possible for a genuine Christian to have a recurring problem of leaning towards those that they should have no association with? Yeah.

It is. And that's Jehoshaphat's problem here. They might honor the Lord Jesus in other areas, but when it comes to, like, Jehoshaphat with relationships, for whatever reason, they're drawn. They're drawn to the people that they should remove themselves from. And interestingly, the Lord does something to not allow this alliance to last very long.

He sends a prophet and the prophet says, the fact that you're doing this again is gonna make me do something before it gets ugly. I'm gonna put an end to this, and he destroys the ships. Is destruction a pleasant experience or unpleasant experience? Unpleasant. It's uncomfortable.

You might think about the time that Jehoshaphat invested, the money he invested, the the the plans for a prosperous nation that would come through this project, and all of that was decimated. It was dissolved. You think that's harsh on God's part? I don't think it's harsh. You know what I think it is?

It's God's mercy. That's God's mercy. Because who knows the problems and the trouble that would have arose from this man's prosperous relationship with Ahaziah. When I studied this last night, I I leaned back from my desk and I looked up to the ceiling and I learned something about the Lord. Because what's true of God here is certainly true for you and I.

You may not always have answers for why God allows certain things to come to an end. But one reason among many according to this scripture is that he's protecting you. Yeah. It's painful. It's unpleasant.

It's often without explanation. But if we belong to the Lord, you can trust that when certain opportunities, relationships you ready for this? Ministries no longer work, come to a close, come to an end. God knows something you don't. Now you gotta see beyond the surface.

Right? If you read this and if if you read this like how Jehoshaphat could have read it without the prophet indicating to him and actually explain to him why this is happening, all you would see is destruction. All you would see is harm. All you would see is loss. But what's God doing in the background?

What's he doing? Because you often don't get the explanation like Jehoshaphat did. You don't need the explanation. You just need to understand, is God Lord? Is Christ Lord?

You don't need anything else. So let him lead you. And some things he'll blossom. Some things might look like they're gonna work and they don't. But if you have committed it to the Lord in prayer, if you've surrendered him step by step, even if it looks broken, even if it looks destructive, even if it looks like a loss, realize that God is in control and he knows something you don't always.

But how do we reconcile second Chronicles with first Kings 22? Here's how we can make sense of the timeline. Originally, Jehoshaphat and Haziah made an alliance, and they did start something with these ships. And then the prophet comes, and he informs him, hey. These things are gonna say bye bye to them because this is not a part of God's plan.

You you yoked yourself once again to somebody that you shouldn't have partnered with. And then what do we read? You go back to first Kings 22. Ahaziah comes again. He approaches him once more, and he says, look.

Why don't we try this again? Didn't work, so let's, let's maybe think differently here. And what does Jehoshaphat do? I'm not willing. Finally, something about Jehoshaphat that we can take positive inspiration from.

This was a struggle for Jehoshaphat. Right? This was something that he could he he had great weakness in resisting. But you know what Jehoshaphat also shows? That even though it's a habit, even though it's call it what you want, whatever psychological tag you wanna attach to it, You have the ability to repent.

When god makes his will known, god has also instituted something in you to make a choice. This is enough is enough. You don't have the empowerment to know ultimate victory, but you can make the choice that pivots you for God to then empower you. This man made a decision. This is it.

I did it with Ahab. I did it with his son. God warned me once again. I'm I'm putting an end to this right here. And this is one of the lessons that you're supposed to leave with at the end of first Kings.

Right? That this is a man here who had cycling compromise, and he shows us that God has given us an ability to put it to an end, and you don't have to wait things to be destroyed for you to finally realize it. Unfortunately, Ahaziah did not learn that truth, and he didn't live very long to have the opportunities that Jehoshaphat did. So let's come back to the last verses of first Kings 22. Verse 51.

Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel. He did what was 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 the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin. He served Baal and worshiped him and provoked the Lord, the God of Israel to anger in every way that his father had done. What a sad way to end a book. But let me remind you how the book began.

You don't have to turn there. A lot of the things that were shared maybe not a lot, but some things that were shared here are gonna show up on the quiz. So there's no excuse for you not to get a lot of those questions right. How did the book of first Kings begin? It began with the son of a king who exalted himself and attempted to seize the throne, though he knew that it was against the will of God.

In no doubt, is that a form of idolatry. You elevating yourself and putting yourself before God's will and God's program, that's how the book begins. And how does the book end? You have a son of another king who promotes idolatry, false worship, who turns his back against God. And so this whole book is sandwiched between two failures.

Two failures. For what purpose? For you to realize, oh, when is that promise king going to come? When is that seed of the son of David going to arrive? When is the righteous one going to establish that perfect government that will rule over all nations and will reflect the splendor of the glory of God?

When when will he come? Because all these kings have disappointed us. And it's not until we get to second kings where we're gonna have a clear answer to that wonderful inquiry and longing and hard cry. And we're not gonna get there until a few weeks, so let's thank God for what he's done in the past many months in first Kings. Shall we pray together?

Lord, we thank you for your word. Thank you for these final lessons in this final section of this book. We remember, Lord, that your hand is at work. What we may see as random is not random to you. You're sovereign even over the molecules.

So help us believe that you are sovereign over politics and church scandals and nations and agendas that are polluting the minds of a generation. Help us believe you're sovereign. And Lord help us like Jehoshaphat remember that we have no excuse to not repent. That we have a mighty God we can cry out to at any point and you are ready to rescue us right there and then. So we pray for those in this room, for those who hear this recording in the days to come, that if there is any sin that they are caught in, that they would cry out to you.

And they they would trust that you will be there for them. Give us discernment. Give us grace. Lord, give us a hunger for your word. Help us believe that every part of this book has been breathed out by you.

And Lord, breathe into us so that we can know this abundant life that your son, the Lord Jesus, purchased with his own blood. We thank you for first Kings, and we're excited for what you have in store in the days to come. Should you tarry, Lord, bring us to this next book and guide us as you did in this one. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen.