1 Kings 22

1 Kings 22:1-40

The Final Fate Of Ahab Is Sealed (1 Kings 22:1-40). As we have seen, prophets have featured all through Ahab’s reign, and here they feature to the end. Ahab could never argue that he had not been given a chance. God gave him plenty of chances. But in the end even his repentance proved to be temporary, and in this chapter he is back to his old unbelieving ways. As a result of the greater finances which had flowed into Israel after Benhadad’s defeat Ahab was at the height of his power and had built up his chariot force to ‘two thousand chariots’. For we know from Assyrian records that in the previous year (853 BC) Shalmaneser III of Assyria had crossed the Euphrates with a view to obtaining tribute from, among others, the small Aramaean states, and while claiming victory at Qarqar had been forced to withdraw before a coalition of states which had included Ahab of Israel, who had provided ‘two thousand chariots and ten thousand men’. The same inscription tells us that Aram had provided 1200 chariots, 1200 cavalry, and 20,000 men. But it would appear that Aram (Syria) had been sufficiently damaged in the engagement to be at this time no threat to Israel. The story begins with a determination by Ahab to win back Ramoth-gilead, a city in Transjordan that had belonged to Israel but had been seized and held by the Aramaeans. And he sought joint action between Israel and Judah in order to fulfil that objective. Jehoshaphat the king of Judah was agreeable It would appear that Omri and Ahab had recognised the folly of fighting with Judah, and had instead established friendly relations. Ahab then consulted a number of patently false prophets to approve the venture, but being a godly king Jehoshaphat wanted approval from what he saw as a genuine prophet of YHWH and this finally resulted in Micaiah being called in. To Ahab’s chagrin Micaiah prophesied victory, but stated that in the gaining of that victory Ahab would be slain. As a result Ahab had him put under guard until he returned, so that if, as he expected, his prophecy proved wrong he could be punished. But the result was precisely as Micaiah had forecast, and Ahab returned a dying man only for his blood to be licked from his chariot by the scavenger dogs of Samaria.

1 Kings 22:20

“And YHWH said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.” What Micaiah was trying to give here was an explanation of the prophesying of the false prophets, and he did it in striking picture terms. His aim, in other words, was to give an explanation of the ‘inspired’ prophets that he saw before him in terms that all would understand and not forget. He was not really suggesting that YHWH actually behaved like this, or that these lying spirits actually appeared before YHWH. Indeed he wanted the people to realise that it was these prophets who were possessed by lying spirits and were thus not actually conveying YHWH’s will at all. But trouble was that many of the people thought that they were. So Micaiah wanted them to recognise that what these prophets were speaking was lies. 1 Kings 22:21‘And there came forth a spirit, and stood before YHWH, and said, “I will entice him.” ’ Here, Micaiah was saying, is the real source of the prophecies of the false prophets, a ‘spirit of prophecy’ which sought to entice men into catastrophe, and granted permission to do so by YHWH. In a sense it could be seen as coming from YHWH because nothing could happen without YHWH’s say-so. He was sovereign over all. Compare how even Satan could be described as a ‘son of the Elohim’ in Job chapters 1 & 2. He too was permitted some rein by God (although always on a tight rein).

1 Kings 22:22

“And YHWH said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You will entice him, and will also prevail. Go forth, and do so.’ ” Micaiah had far too high a view of God to actually believe that YHWH needed help and guidance from a spirit of any kind. This is a folksy explanation of false prophecy based on what he saw before him. (It was king Ahab on his throne who was inviting the advice of lying spirits). What was true was that God was allowing these men to prophesy falsely. Did the people really believe that these false prophets had contact with YHWH? Well if so, let them consider that it has simply led them astray into falsehood. History is full of examples of men who outwardly ‘prayed’ and ostensibly ‘sought God’s will’ and then openly committed glaring sins and crimes, and were continually steeped in lies. As in this case God resisted it by raising up true prophets who reveal the truth.

1 Kings 22:23

“Now therefore, behold, YHWH has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets, and YHWH has spoken evil concerning you.” Micaiah then explained the meaning of his parable. He very much saw God as the ‘first cause’ of everything, simply because He was sovereign over all things. He thus knew that in the end everything that happened was ‘God’s doing’. But the point was that that was because He had created man and was allowing him to live out what he was. He was allowing man’s behaviour within His sovereign purpose, not instigating it. “God has spoken evil concerning you.” That is, through the false prophets He has allowed them to hear lies about the future (but has combated it by sending His true prophet). 1 Kings 22:24‘Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, “Which way went the Spirit of YHWH from me to speak to you?” ’ Infuriated at Micaiah’s suggestion that he was not a true prophet Zedekiah came near and struck Micaiah across the cheek. This was a regular way of indicating that such a person was not to be listened to and had spoken lies. (Compare how Jesus was struck across the cheek when replying to the High Priest - John 18:22). Then he called on Micaiah to justify his statement. Did he not realise that all, as they had watched, had been able to see that he, Zedekiah, had been ‘filled with the spirit of YHWH’ by his very behaviour and actions. Let Micaiah then explain how that spirit had passed on from him to Micaiah. There was nothing about Micaiah’s behaviour which indicated possession by such a spirit. 1 Kings 22:25‘And Micaiah said, “Behold, you will see on that day, when you shall go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.” ’ Micaiah’s reply was simple. The true evidence of the spirit of prophecy was that what was prophesied came about (Deuteronomy 18:22). Thus when Zedekiah had to go to his inner room in order to hide himself because of his shame at the failure of his own prophecy, (and knew that Micaiah had spoken truly) he would know the answer to his own question. 1 Kings 22:26‘And the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son,” Ahab recognised that what Micaiah was saying would destroy the morale of the army and immediately commanded that he be held in custody. He was to be put in the charge of Amon the governor of the city, and of Joash the king’s son until Ahab arrived back safely. Ahab would have had a good number of sons by his many wives, all having their own royal duties to fulfil in different areas of government. Joash was clearly the son, possibly of a concubine, appointed to be seen as responsible for the safe custody of state prisoners.

1 Kings 22:27

“And say, ‘Thus says the king, put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with food of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.’ ” The king’s command was that ‘this fellow’ be fed and watered sparsely until Ahab safely returned in full health. Then, his prophecy having proved false, he could be dealt with accordingly. 1 Kings 22:28‘And Micaiah said, “If you return at all in peace, YHWH has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, you peoples, all of you.” ’ Micaiah had full confidence in the word that he had received from YHWH and was quite content to await its fulfilment. Indeed he declared quite blatantly, ‘If you do return in full health and wellbeing then it will be true that YHWH has not spoken by me.’ But he did not want to leave the people in doubt about the truth of his message, and so he turned to them and told them to take note of what had been said. “Hear, you peoples, all of you.” His words were carefully preserved and we find the idea behind them used by Micah in structuring his own prophecy (compare Micah 1:2). 1 Kings 22:29‘So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.’ All having been concluded Ahab and Jehoshaphat, along with the armies of Israel and Judah, then went up to Ramoth-gilead over the Jordan. Ahab did not believe that what Micaiah had said would come about. Surely four hundred prophets could not be wrong?

1 Kings 22:30-38

The Battle For Ramoth-gilead And The Death Of Ahab (1 Kings 22:30-38) The prophetic author is not really interested in the details of the battle. His concern is with the failure of the subterfuge which sought to prevent the fulfilment of Micaiah’s prophecy, and with the subsequent death of Ahab and his ‘ritual’ disgracing. For while the king’s body was no doubt being buried with all honours, as a hero of the battlefield, YHWH was revealing his true worth by arranging for his blood, his very life source, to be licked up by scavenger dogs and mingled with the dirt washed from common prostitutes. It was a picture of YHWH’s view of him. The description of the battle is split into two sections. The Failure Of The Subterfuge To Prevent The Fulfilment Of Micaiah’s Prophecy (1 Kings 22:30-34). The Death Of Ahab And YHWH’s Arrangements For The Disposal Of His Blood (1 Kings 22:35-38).

1 Kings 22:35-38

The Death Of Ahab And YHWH’s Arrangements For The Disposal Of His Blood (1 Kings 22:35-38). To his credit Ahab recognised that his absence from the battlefield would be a blow to his army’s morale, and having had his wound patched up, returned in his chariot into the fray, having in some way been provided with some means of support because of his weakness due to loss of blood. The battle continued to get ever more severe, but he was losing blood fairly rapidly and having fought until eventide he died, and his blood as he was dying, continually ran from his wound into the bottom of the chariot. It would have been a gory sight. It is quite possible that through his bravery Ahab enabled his forces to gain the victory. But once the news got around at sunset that Ahab was dead, the people left the site of the battle (it was after all Ahab’s battle), and returned to their own homes. (The prophetic author was only interested in the fact that Ahab had died as YHWH had prophesied, not in the course of the battle, but in view of Micaiah’s earlier prophecy we can assume that he intended it to be seen that Israel did succeed in their object). And while Ahab was no doubt buried with honours the writer makes clear what happened to his blood. It was dishonoured by being licked up by the scavenger dogs and by being washed away in the dirty water in which common prostitutes had washed themselves. Given the importance of the blood to YHWH (all blood had to be offered up to YHWH) this was an indication of Ahab’s total rejection by YHWH. He was being declared to be ‘unclean’. Analysis. aAnd the battle increased that day, and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Aramaeans (Syrians), and died at eventide, and the blood ran out of the wound into the bottom of the chariot (1 Kings 22:35). bAnd there went a cry throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his country.” (1 Kings 22:36). aSo 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 (now the common prostitutes washed themselves there), in accordance with the word of YHWH which he spoke (1 Kings 22:37-38). Note that in ‘a’ Ahab’s blood flowed into his chariot, and in the parallel that blood was licked up by scavenger dogs and washed away in waters made ‘unclean’ by common prostitutes. Centrally in ‘b’ the people returned home in a state of peace and wellbeing. YHWH had granted them His blessing even while he worked out His judgment on Ahab. 1 Kings 22:35‘And the battle increased that day, and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Aramaeans (Syrians), and died at eventide, and the blood ran out of the wound into the bottom of the chariot.’ With Ahab wounded the battle hotted up, and to his credit Ahab recognised that without his presence to encourage them (if they had thought that he was dead they would have withdrawn from the battle) his forces would have been hamstrung. So he had himself patched up, and returned to the battle in his chariot held upright by supports provided because he was weak through loss of blood, and he continued playing a part in the battle all day (he would have had an expert spearman with him in his chariot). But the blood continued to seep out from his bandaged wound, and as the battle approached its end at eventide he died, with his blood staining the chariot. 1 Kings 22:36‘And there went a cry throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his country.” ’ Once the news of his death reached the people at sunset, the battle probably having been won (so Micaiah’s prophecy), they recognised that in accordance with custom, with the planner and organiser of the invasion slain, the invasion was to be seen as over until there was a new king to determine the next action. Accordingly the army (which was not a professional army) disbursed back to their own homes. After all they had only fought because commanded to do so by the king, and now he was dead, it relieved them of their responsibility. They could now get back to seeing to their fields and cattle. The professional soldiers, and the men of Judah, could see to any necessary clearing up. 1 Kings 22:37‘So the king died, and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria.’ Meanwhile the king died, and his body was brought back to Samaria, and was buried with honour in Samaria. All seemed well, at least from that point of view. 1 Kings 22:38‘And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood (now the common prostitutes washed themselves there), in accordance with the word of YHWH which he spoke.’ But he was not honoured by YHWH. YHWH’s view of Ahab was revealed by what happened to his blood. This had stained the bottom of the chariot. The chariot was thus taken to the pool of Samaria, probably a catchment area outside the walls, where it was washed, while the scavenger dogs gathered round to lick Ahab’s blood. While not a literal fulfilment of the prophecy which had stated that this would happen in Jezreel because of the treatment of Naboth (a prophecy (1 Kings 21:19) that had been specifically transferred to his son because of Ahab’s repentance (1 Kings 21:29), and would be fulfilled in 2 Kings 9:25-26), it was a partial fulfilment which brought disgrace on Ahab as well. This would be seen as an indication that his repentance, which had earned the delay, had proved not to be lasting, and thus he shared in the punishment.

The remainder of his blood was washed away into the pool where the common prostitutes bathed themselves. There was thus a double disgrace. (Compare how dogs and prostitutes were both paralleled as unclean in Deuteronomy 23:18). In Leviticus 17:11-14 we are told that, ‘the life of the flesh is in the blood’ which was why what happened to the blood was considered to be so important. So for this to happen to Ahab’s blood was a severe judgment on him.

1 Kings 22:39-40

Ahab’s Obituary (1 Kings 22:39-40). Ahab’s experiences with the prophets now end with the usual final summary. Anyone interested in his achievements and his secular history could consult the court annals of Israel which had clearly been preserved and brought to Judah. The author was only marginally interested in them. 1 Kings 22:39‘Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he built, and all the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?’ The ivory house would be built of stone, but with ivory inlaid in the royal furniture and decorations with Phoenician, Egyptian and local motifs. Such houses are known to have been popular amongst great kings (e.g. Nimrud), and were seen as very prestigious. See Amos 3:15 for his view of them. Ahab is also credited with fortifying many cites. He would no doubt have completed Samaria when his father Omri died, and we also know from excavations of his building work at Megiddo and Hazor. Jericho was also rebuilt in his time (1 Kings 16:34). No doubt more information awaits. 1 Kings 22:40‘So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah his son reigned instead of him.’ That Ahab ‘slept with his fathers’ indicated that he had not been assassinated. His son Ahaziah, third in the dynasty of Omri, (a record in Israel), succeeded him.

1 Kings 22:41-50

The Reign Of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah c. 870-848 BC (1 Kings 22:41-50). We have already come across Jehoshaphat with regard to his alliance with Ahab against the Aramaeans (1 Kings 22:1-38), although that incident was mainly connected with the conflict between Ahab and Micaiah the prophet. (We will also learn more about him as a result of his alliance with Jehoram of Israel against Moab - 1 Kings 3:1-27). What follows now briefly summarises Jehoshaphat’s whole reign. As far as the prophetic author was concerned his life was satisfactory to YHWH, and that was what mattered. The placement of this summary of the reign of Jehoshaphat in this position follows the pattern of the whole book in that his reign began during the reign of Ahab, king of Israel, who has already previously been dealt with (and thus it also began before the reign of Ahab’s successor) Like Asa his father, Jehoshaphat ‘did what was right in the eyes of YHWH’, although similarly failing to do away with all the unofficial high places, and he did also remove the cult prostitutes out of the land, as his father had done. It is further stressed that he made peace with the king of Israel, the first king of Judah officially to do so since the division of the kingdoms, although we should note that there is no indication of war between Omri and Asa. This was approved of because God’s purpose was always that His people should be one in heart and spirit (hence the Central Sanctuary). One enterprise in which he did, however, fail, was in an attempt to re-establish trading connections with Ophir in partnership with Ahaziah, king of Israel. In the author’s view this venture was clearly disapproved of by God. As we have seen continually throughout the book he frowned on attempts to build up great wealth, and always notes with quiet satisfaction the emptying of the treasury, seeing it as YHWH’s chastening of His people.

He had recognised what the process of amassing wealth had done to Solomon’s kingdom, and he disapproved of it. Because of the methods used, and the attitude resulting from it, it had been the main cause for the division of the kingdom. Analysis. aAnd Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi (1 Kings 22:41-42). bAnd he walked in all the way of Asa his father. He turned not aside from it, doing what was right in the eyes of YHWH. However, the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places (1 Kings 22:43). cAnd Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel (1 Kings 22:44). dNow 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 the remnant of the sodomites, who remained in the days of his father Asa, he put away out of the land (1 Kings 22:45-46). cAnd there was no king in Edom, a deputy was king (1 Kings 22:47). bJehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat would not (1 Kings 22:48-49). aAnd Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father. And Jehoram his son reigned instead of him (1 Kings 22:50). Note that in ‘a’ we have details of the commencement of the reign, and in the parallel details of its cessation. In ‘b’ we are told what he did which was on the whole right in the eyes of YHWH of which the prophetic writer approved, and in the parallel we are told of an enterprise of which the prophetic author appears to have disapproved. In ‘c’ we are told of his relations with Israel, and in the parallel of his relations with Edom. Centrally in ‘d’ we are referred for details of his history to the official annals of the kings of Judah, and also learn of his removal of cult prostitutes from the land. 1 Kings 22:41‘And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.’ In accordance with the usual pattern, Jehoshaphat’s reign follows that of the king of Israel who was still alive when he became king, which was Ahab. Asa had reigned for thirty eight years when Ahab came to the throne (1 Kings 16:29), and reigned in full for forty one years (1 Kings 15:10), which might have made us expect here to read of ‘the third year of Ahab’. The difference between three and four years can, however, be explained in terms of part years counted (or not counted) as whole years. The prophetic author took the figures that he found in his sources and did not attempt to reconcile them. Those figures sometimes differed because of different methods of reckoning years in Israel and Judah (e.g. at this time Israel included the part year of accession as a full year when reckoning the length of a reign, Judah excluded it. Both methods were in use among other nations). 1 Kings 22:42‘Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.’ Jehoshaphat began to reign when he was thirty five years old, and reigned ‘in Jerusalem’, the city which YHWH chose out of all the tribes of Israel to put His Name there (1 Kings 14:21), because it was the wish of David His servant, who introduced the Ark which bore the Name of YHWH (2 Samuel 6:2 onwards) into Jerusalem his own city. Jehoshaphat was thus the next ‘lamp’ of the house of David (1 Kings 15:4). He reigned there for twenty five years, which probably included four years of co-regency with Asa. As was usual with the kings of Judah his mother’s name is given, demonstrating that he was a true ‘son of David’. The queen mother appears to have held a high position in Judah. 1 Kings 22:43‘And he walked in all the way of Asa his father. He turned not aside from it, doing what was right in the eyes of YHWH. However, the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.’ Like his father, but like few kings after him, Jehoshaphat did what was right in the eyes of YHWH. In all his ways he did not turn aside from doing what was right in the eyes of YHWH. He was continually pleasing to YHWH. The only blot on his reign in this regard was that the illegitimate high places at which the people had become used to sacrificing and offering incense were not all taken away, with the result that in some parts they continued to be used for syncretistic worship, mixing up YHWH with Baal and Asherah, to YHWH’s disadvantage. There was now the Temple and there were legitimate high places (such as formerly on Mount Carmel - 1 Kings 18:32) where the worship was kept pure by the priests and prophets, but along with these there were many syncretised high places, which were ancient local sanctuaries, often also containing a Baal pillar and an Asherah pole/image, where the worship became a mixture of Yahwism and Baalism. These did not retain the purity of worship of the Temple and the legitimate high places, and would in fact later lead the people of Judah into grosser sin. But Jehoshaphat’s position was complicated, as we might have expected when considering such a complicated situation. And it would appear from 2 Chronicles 17:6; 2 Chronicles 19:3-4 that he did make an effort to remove those which had become too obviously syncretistic, and came to his attention. What was lacking was a full-scale purge. (Note in contrast 2 Chronicles 20:33 which repeats what is said here). 1 Kings 22:44‘And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.’ Jehoshaphat was also the first king to officially establish peace with Israel. This was mentioned because it was always YHWH’s desire that His people be one in spirit. That had been the reason for the Central Sanctuary among diverse tribes from the beginning. But the author makes no mention here of his marrying of his son Jehoram to the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel as a ‘treaty wife’ (see 1 Kings 8:18; 2 Chronicles 18:1; 2 Chronicles 21:6). The prophetic author appears to have approved of the idea of peace, but like the Chronicler he did not approve of the marriage, especially in view of its results (1 Kings 8:18). 1 Kings 22:45‘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?’ As usual the author glides over secular affairs in dealing with the king’s reign, and we are referred for them to the official annals of the Kings of Judah for details of his wars and of his might (some of which, however, we can find in 2 Chronicles 17-10. Also in 1 Kings 22:1-38; 2 Kings 3:1-27). They were of no concern to the prophetic author whose concern was with what pleased or displeased YHWH. We do in fact learn more about them in the narratives in respect of the kings of Israel, which are dealt with in more detail simply because of their interplay with the prophets of YHWH, something which the writer did consider to be of importance, for it demonstrated that YHWH had given Israel every chance, and why they therefore doubly merited what finally came to them. There is a reminder to us here that much of what we spend our lives in building up is an irrelevance to God. His concern is whether we have walked in His ways and done what is pleasing in His sight. Some labour for earthly honours, but we are to ensure that we seek the honour that comes from God alone. Note on The Other Activities Of Jehoshaphat. The Chronicler gives us a great deal of further information about Jehoshaphat, which the prophetic author of Kings was not interested in, for Jehoshaphat was a capable and vigorous ruler as well as being a godly one. 1). He established garrisons, both throughout Judah (2 Chronicles 17:2; 2 Chronicles 17:14-19), and in the parts of Israel that his father had retaken (2 Chronicles 17:2). 2). He totally reorganised the judicial system in the land seeking to make it fair for all (2 Chronicles 19:5-7). 3). He despatched teachers throughout Judah to teach the Law of YHWH to the people (2 Chronicles 17:7-9). 4). He built up the wealth of Judah (2 Chronicles 17:12-13). 5). He was successful beyond the borders of Judah, and received tribute from some of the Philistines and from some Arabians (2 Chronicles 17:11). 6). And all this as well as assisting Ahab in his venture at Ramoth-gilead (1 Kings 22:1-38; 2 Chronicles 18), and Jehoram of Israel against Moab (2 Kings 3:1-27). End of note. 1 Kings 22:46‘And the remnant of the sodomites, who remained in the days of his father Asa, he put away out of the land.’ One thing that did please YHWH was that he removed the remnants of the cult prostitutes out of the land, something which his father had attempted to do, without fully succeeding. (It was not always easy as they would go into hiding and the people would often be supporting them). 1 Kings 22:47‘And there was no king in Edom, a deputy was king.’ It would also appear that Edom was now back under the control of Judah, with Jehoshaphat’s deputy ruling there (compare 2 Kings 3:7-9). We have not been told anything about Edom since the days of Hadad (1 Kings 11:14-22). But as we saw previously Hadad had probably only established himself in the mountainous part of Edom, and we do not know what happened after Solomon died. It is quite possible that the trade routes had remained under the control of the kings of Judah, although subject to attack, and it may have been the nuisance of these attacks which made Jehoshaphat retake control of Edom as a whole. 1 Kings 22:48-49‘Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat would not.’ Another feature of Jehoshaphat’s reign, only possible because of his control of Edom, was an abortive attempt to re-commence trading with Ophir (compare 1 Kings 9:26-28). But it proved ill-fated and the ‘ships of Tarshish’ (large merchantmen) which he built were destroyed in a storm while still at Ezion-geber. He appears to have seen that as YHWH’s will and therefore to have resisted any further attempts to persuade him. The fact that the author tells us about this would suggest that he also saw in their destruction the hand of YHWH, and approved of Jehoshaphat’s subsequent decision. He knew that such building up of wealth was partly what had led Solomon astray, and the author always indicates with cynical approval the times when Judah was despoiled of its wealth (e.g. 1 Kings 14:26; 1 Kings 15:18). 1 Kings 22:50‘And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father. And Jehoram his son reigned instead of him.’ Jehoshaphat died peacefully and was not assassinated (he ‘slept with his fathers’) and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his ‘father’. Jehoram his son then reigned instead of him. The house of David continued.

1 Kings 22:51-53

A Summary Of Ahaziah’s Life (1 Kings 22:51 - 2 Ki 1:1).1 Kings 22:51‘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.’ Ahaziah began reigning over Israel in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat, and he reigned for ‘two years’, that is, for part of his accession year, and the part year in which he ceased to reign. 1 Kings 22:52‘And he did what was evil in the sight of YHWH, 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, by which he made Israel to sin.’ Like all his predecessors he did what was evil in the sight of YHWH. He walked in the way of both Ahab and Jezebel, (note that the latter is stressed in that the mother is not usually mentioned in statements such as this), with all their evil ways. He also continued to follow the false religious practises instituted by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, leading the people astray with him. 1 Kings 22:53‘And he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger YHWH, the God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.’ And like Ahab had done he worshipped Baal and served him in all his evil and distorted sexual practises, provoking YHWH to anger (antipathy against sin).