2 Chronicles 16:1-14
Asa’s Last Years
Baasha was king of Israel. He marched out against Judah. It was in the 36th year of Asa’s rule over Judah. Baasha built up the walls of Ramah. He did it to keep people from leaving or entering the territory of Asa, the king of Judah.
Asa took the silver and gold from among the treasures of the Lord’s temple and his own palace. He sent it to Ben-Hadad. Ben-Hadad was king of Aram. He was ruling in Damascus. “Let’s make a peace treaty between us,” Asa said. “My father and your father had made a peace treaty between them. Now I’m sending you silver and gold. So break your treaty with Baasha, the king of Israel. Then he’ll go back home.”
Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa. He sent his army commanders against the towns of Israel. His army captured Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim and all the cities in Naphtali where Baasha stored things. Baasha heard about it. So he stopped building up Ramah and left that place. Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah to Ramah. They carried away the stones and wood Baasha had been using. Asa used them to build up Geba and Mizpah.
At that time Hanani the prophet came to Asa, the king of Judah. He said to him, “You trusted the king of Aram. You didn’t trust in the Lord your God. So the army of the king of Aram has escaped from you. The people of Cush and Libya had a strong army. They had large numbers of chariots and horsemen. But you trusted in the Lord. So he handed them over to you. The Lord looks out over the whole earth. He gives strength to those who commit their lives completely to him. You have done a foolish thing. From now on you will be at war.”
Asa was angry with the prophet because of what he had said. In fact, he was so angry he put him in prison. At the same time, Asa treated some of his own people very badly.
The events of Asa’s rule from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of the kings of Judah and Israel. In the 39th year of Asa’s rule his feet began to hurt. The pain was terrible. But even though he was suffering, he didn’t look to the Lord for help. All he did was go to the doctors. In the 41st year of Asa’s rule he joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in a tomb. He had cut it out for himself in the City of David. His body was laid on a wooden frame. It was covered with spices and different mixes of perfume. A huge fire was made to honor him.
2 Chronicles 17:1-19
Jehoshaphat King of Judah
Jehoshaphat was the son of Asa. Jehoshaphat became the next king after him. He made his kingdom strong in case Israel would attack him. He placed troops in all the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. He stationed some soldiers in Judah. He also put some in the towns of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.
The Lord was with Jehoshaphat. That’s because he lived the way King David had lived. He didn’t ask for advice from the gods that were named Baal. Instead, Jehoshaphat obeyed the God of his father. He obeyed the Lord’s commands instead of the practices of Israel. The Lord made the kingdom secure under Jehoshaphat’s control. All the people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat. So he had great wealth and honor. His heart was committed to living the way the Lord wanted him to. He removed the high places from Judah. He also removed the poles used to worship the female god named Asherah.
In the third year of his rule, he sent his officials to teach in the towns of Judah. The officials were Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah. Some Levites were with them. Their names were Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-Adonijah. Elishama and Jehoram, the priests, were also with them. They taught people all through Judah. They took the Book of the Law of the Lord with them. They went around to all the towns of Judah. And they taught the people.
All the kingdoms of the lands around Judah became afraid of the Lord. So they didn’t go to war against Jehoshaphat. Some Philistines brought to Jehoshaphat the gifts and silver he required of them. The Arabs brought him their flocks. They brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats.
Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful. He built forts in Judah. He also built cities in Judah where he could store things. He had large supplies in the towns of Judah. In Jerusalem he kept men who knew how to fight well. Here is a list of them, family by family.
From Judah there were commanders of groups of 1,000.
One of them was Adnah. He commanded 300,000 fighting men.
Another was Jehohanan. He commanded 280,000.
Another was Amasiah, the son of Zikri. Amasiah commanded 200,000. He had offered to serve the Lord.
From Benjamin there were also commanders.
One of them was Eliada. He was a brave soldier. He commanded 200,000 men. They were armed with bows and shields.
Another was Jehozabad. He commanded 180,000 men. They were prepared for battle.
These were the men who served the king. He stationed some other men in the cities all through Judah. The cities had high walls around them.
2 Chronicles 18:1-27
Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab
Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor. He joined forces with Ahab by marrying Ahab’s daughter. Some years later he went down to see Ahab in Samaria. Ahab killed a lot of sheep and cattle for Jehoshaphat and the people with him. Ahab tried to get Jehoshaphat to attack Ramoth Gilead. Ahab was the king of Israel. He spoke to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. He asked, “Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?”
Jehoshaphat replied, “Yes. I’ll go with you. My men will also go with your men. We’ll join you in the war.” He continued, “First ask the Lord for advice.”
So the king of Israel brought 400 prophets together. He asked them, “Should we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or not?”
“Go,” they answered. “God will hand it over to you.”
But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here? If there is, ask him what we should do.”
The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat. He said, “There is still one prophet we can go to. We can ask the Lord for advice through him. But I hate him. He never prophesies anything good about me. He only prophesies bad things. His name is Micaiah. He’s the son of Imlah.”
“You shouldn’t say bad things about him,” Jehoshaphat replied.
So the king of Israel called for one of his officials. He told him, “Bring Micaiah, the son of Imlah, right away.”
The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, were wearing their royal robes. They were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor. It was near the entrance of the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were prophesying in front of them. Zedekiah was the son of Kenaanah. Zedekiah had made horns out of iron. They looked like animal horns. He announced, “The Lord says, ‘With these horns you will drive back the men of Aram until they are destroyed.’ ”
All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. “Attack Ramoth Gilead,” they said. “Win the battle over it. The Lord will hand it over to you.”
A messenger went to get Micaiah. He said to him, “Look. The other prophets agree. All of them are saying the king will have success. So agree with them. Say the same thing they do.”
But Micaiah said, “You can be sure that the Lord lives. And you can be just as sure that I can only tell the king what my God says.”
When Micaiah arrived, the king spoke to him. He asked, “Should we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or not?”
“Attack,” he answered. “You will win. The people of Ramoth Gilead will be handed over to you.”
The king said to him, “I’ve made you promise to tell the truth many times before. So don’t tell me anything but the truth in the name of the Lord.”
Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all the Israelites scattered on the hills. They were like sheep that didn’t have a shepherd. The Lord said, ‘These people do not have a master. Let each of them go home in peace.’ ”
The king of Israel spoke to Jehoshaphat. He said, “Didn’t I tell you he never prophesies anything good about me? He only prophesies bad things.”
Micaiah continued, “Listen to the Lord’s message. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne. Some of the angels of heaven were standing at his right side. The others were standing at his left side. The Lord said, ‘Who will get Ahab, the king of Israel, to attack Ramoth Gilead? I want him to die there.’
“One angel suggested one thing. Another suggested something else. Finally, a spirit came forward and stood in front of the Lord. The spirit said, ‘I’ll get Ahab to do it.’
“ ‘How?’ the Lord asked.
“The spirit said, ‘I’ll go and put lies in the mouths of all his prophets.’
“ ‘You will have success in getting Ahab to attack Ramoth Gilead,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’
“So the Lord has put lies in the mouths of your prophets. He has said that great harm will come to you.”
Then Zedekiah, the son of Kenaanah, went up and slapped Micaiah in the face. Zedekiah asked Micaiah, “Do you think the spirit sent by the Lord left me? Do you think that spirit went to speak to you?”
Micaiah replied, “You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inside room to save your life.”
Then the king of Israel gave an order. He said, “Take Micaiah away. Send him back to Amon. Amon is the ruler of the city of Samaria. And send Micaiah back to Joash. Joash is a member of the royal court. Tell them, ‘The king says, “Put this fellow in prison. Don’t give him anything but bread and water until I return safely.” ’ ”
Micaiah announced, “Do you really think you will return safely? If you do, the Lord hasn’t spoken through me.” He continued, “All you people, remember what I’ve said!”
