Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel. It was his family’s land. He was proud of it. It also happened to be beside Ahab’s palace. Ahab wanted it because it was a good spot for a herb garden. He offered a better vineyard or money. Naboth said no way. Not going to sell family land. Ahab went home pouting, got into bed, faced the wall, and refused to eat. Jezebel heard about it, go the whole story, and told him she would take care of it. She offered money to men to be false witnesses. They said Naboth had blasphemed God and the king. Naboth got stoned and Ahab got his vineyard.

Elijah showed up. He went by the command of God and pronounced judgment on Ahab. He would die. Jezebel would die. And none of his family would get a proper burial when THEY died. Ahab heard it. He took it seriously, and he humbled himself in sackcloth and ashes and in his heart, presumably, because God relented and said Ahab wouldn’t see the great destruction of his family himself. The great disaster would come in the life of his son instead.

“and the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know Ramoth-Gilead belongs to us, and we are doing nothing about taking it from the hand of the king of Aram?”” (1 Kings 22:3)

There were three years without war with Aram, but on the third year the king of Judah visited the king of Israel. Jehoshaphat and Ahab became buddies. Now Ahab was a little irked. Remember that Ben-Hadad had promised to return the cities? He hadn’t and Ahab wanted Ramoth-Gilead back. If Ahab had killed Ben-Hadad, Syria would have been a vassal country (if anything) and they could have taken the cities without war. But now there would be war. Ahab asked Jehoshaphat if he wanted in. Jehoshaphat said okay (that name is more fun to say than type). Being friends with this ungodly man, he put himself under Ahab’s thumb.

Ahab got all his prophets together and they all said yay, go, it’s gonna be great. There were four hundred of them (sound familiar?). Jehoshaphat asked if there was a man of God who could prophesy. Ahab said there was one (he REALLY hated Elijah and didn’t include him). But Ahab didn’t like him because he only prophesied bad things. Jehoshaphat said call him. And in came Micaiah (who some believe was also the same man of God who was struck AND also Micah, author of a book of the Bible). Ahab asked him how the battle would go and Micaiah said yay, go, it’ll be great. Ahab got mad at him. He demanded Micaiah speak the truth. So Micaiah said you’re going to die, you’re going to be defeated, and the people scattered. Ahab turned to Jehoshaphat and said, See? Nothing good.

Up the two kings went. Ahab disguised himself as a regular solider. They went into battle. Now the king of Aram had had a special force of thirty-two commanders tasked with killing no one but Ahab. They spotted Jehoshaphat and chased him. Jehoshaphat yelled in fright and took off. They realised it was not Ahab and gave up chase. Meanwhile, an archer firing into the ranks at random hit Ahab. He ordered his driver to take him out of the battle. He did. Ahab propped himself up in the chariot. He lasted until evening, but he died. The men were ordered home to their houses. Ahab was brought home to Samaria and was buried there.

Jehoshaphat had become king in the fourth year of king Ahab at thirty-five years of age. He reigned twenty-five years and was a king like his father Asa. He followed God. He didn’t take down the temples in the high places, but didn’t allow idol worship there. The people still went and performed sacrifices and burnt incense there though. But he exterminated the cult of male prostitutes from the land (these would be the men who had sex as part of idol worship with whomever came by – mostly other males). He tried to get a fleet of ships to visit Ophir and bring back riches, but they didn’t reach it. When he died, he was buried in Jerusalem and his son Jehoram ruled in his place.

Up in Israel, Ahaziah took over from his father, Ahab, in the seventeeth year of Jehoshaphat. He lasted two years ruling Israel. He did evil from God’s point of view. He walked after the ways of his father and his mother. He was an idolater. He worshipped his mother’s idols and also the golden calves of Jeroboam.

Summary

Key Players: God, Elijah, Ahab, Jezebel, Jehoshaphat

Key Themes: Murder, Right Worship, Idolatry, Ungodly Friendships, Judgment

Key Verse(s): 1 Kings 21:1-4, 13-14, 20-22; 22:7-8, 17-18, 34-36