1 Kings · chapter 22 of 22
Updated on
1 Kings 22 tells how Ahab and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, ally to recover Ramoth-gilead. Four hundred prophets promise victory, but Micaiah, son of Imlah, announces defeat and reveals that the Lord has allowed a lying spirit in their mouths. Ahab, in disguise, is struck by a randomly shot arrow and dies. The chapter also summarizes the reign of Jehoshaphat and that of Ahaziah of Israel.
The last chapter of 1 Kings brings together a king who cannot stand the truth and a prophet who will not keep silent. It is the fulfillment of what Elijah announced to Ahab in chapter 21, and it shows how no human strategy, not even a disguise, can escape the word of the Lord. It also closes the book with a summary of Jehoshaphat.
After three years of peace with Syria, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, visits Ahab. Ahab proposes to recover Ramoth-gilead, and Jehoshaphat agrees, but asks to inquire of the Lord first. About four hundred prophets say he should go up, because the Lord will give it into the king's hand, and Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, makes iron horns to announce that with them he will gore the Syrians.
Jehoshaphat asks whether there is not another prophet of the Lord. Ahab says there is one, Micaiah, son of Imlah, but he hates him because he never prophesies anything good about him. Micaiah first answers ironically the same as the others, but Ahab demands the truth in the name of the Lord. Then he says he saw Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and saw the Lord on his throne and a spirit offering to be a lying spirit in the mouth of Ahab's prophets. Zedekiah slaps him and Ahab orders him put in prison on bread and water.
Ahab and Jehoshaphat go up to Ramoth. Ahab disguises himself and asks Jehoshaphat to wear his royal robes. The king of Syria orders his captains to attack only the king of Israel, but on recognizing Jehoshaphat they turn back. A man shoots his bow at random and strikes Ahab between the joints of his armor. Ahab dies at evening, and the dogs lick his blood when his chariot is washed in Samaria, as the Lord had said.
The chapter summarizes that Jehoshaphat reigned twenty-five years and did right like Asa, though he did not remove the high places, and that his fleet to go to Ophir was wrecked at Ezion-geber. Ahaziah, son of Ahab, reigns in Israel and follows the way of his parents.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Jehoshaphat asks Ahab to inquire first for the word of the Lord. This reflex of seeking God before war distinguishes the king of Judah, though later his alliance with Ahab will put him in danger.
Micaiah answers that he will say only what the Lord tells him. His integrity contrasts with the four hundred who tell Ahab what he wants to hear, and shows that a true prophet does not live to please power.
Micaiah describes a vision of the heavenly court, where the Lord allows a spirit to deceive Ahab's prophets. The difficult passage shows that God is sovereign even over the deception that leads a hardened king to his judgment.
A man draws his bow without aiming and strikes Ahab between the joints of his armor. What looks like an accident is the fulfillment of the Lord's word, which no disguise could prevent.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: That they first inquire for the word of the Lord. — 1 Kings 22:5
Answer: That he should go up to Ramoth-gilead because the Lord would give it into his hand. — 1 Kings 22:6
Answer: Because he never prophesied anything good about him, only evil. — 1 Kings 22:8
Answer: All Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. — 1 Kings 22:17
Answer: He disguised himself for battle and asked Jehoshaphat to wear his royal robes. — 1 Kings 22:30
Answer: A man shot his bow at random and struck him between the joints of his armor; he died at evening. — 1 Kings 22:34-35
Ahab preferred four hundred flatterers to one prophet who told the truth. In a small group, ask whom you listen to when you make decisions: those who tell you what you want to hear, or those who love you enough to tell you what you need? Ask God for courage to be like Micaiah when it is your turn to speak the truth respectfully.
The story also shows that no one can flee from God's word with a disguise. Every decision we make, and every plan, is under his gaze. Consult him first, as Jehoshaphat did, and seek counsel in his Word.
1 Kings 22 closes the book with the death of Ahab, the reign of Jehoshaphat in Judah and a new king in Israel who follows the same path. The story continues in 2 Kings, with Elijah, Elisha and the history of both kingdoms down to the exile.
It is a scene from the heavenly court where the Lord allows a spirit to deceive Ahab's prophets. Interpreters understand it as a way of saying that God permits deception as judgment on one who has repeatedly rejected the truth, without God himself being the author of evil.
He had become related to Ahab's house by marriage and sought a military alliance with the northern kingdom. His desire to consult the Lord shows his faith, but the alliance was a mistake that other passages of the Bible criticize.
Yes. The chapter says they washed his chariot at the pool of Samaria and the dogs licked his blood, according to the word of the Lord. So what was announced in 1 Kings 21 is fulfilled.