Sermon Outline, 1 Kings 22

INTRODUCTION
Ahab�s life ends in a battle with the Arameans, but the story of Ahab�s death includes another, deeper battle �Ethe battle between true and false prophecy. Ahab�s life ends the way it began, with Ahab ignoring Yahweh�s prophet. But he cannot escape the prophet�s word by ignoring the prophet. In spite of all his efforts to escape the word of Yahweh, his death fulfills that word.

THE TEXT
�Now three years passed without war between Syria and Israel. Then it came to pass, in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went down to visit the king of Israel. . . .�E(1 Kings 22:1-53).

STRUCTURE
Chapter 22 alludes to a number of earlier incidents in Ahab�s life, and thus provides a fitting conclusion to the story. Verse 39 mentions his building projects, alluding back to 16:28, 32. The confrontation of true and false prophets in chapter 22 is reminiscent of Elijah�s confrontation with the Baal prophets at Carmel (ch. 18). Here again Ahab is fighting Arameans, as he did in chapter 20, and Elijah�s prophecy following Ahab�s murder of Naboth (21:19) is fulfilled in 22:38.

The story begins as a war story, but the bulk of the chapter is about the contest of prophets (vv. 5-28). This part of the story is told using a parallel structure:

Verses 5-14 Verses 15-28

inquiry Inquiry
answer Answer
Dissatisfaction of king: Jehosh Dissatisfaction of king: Ahab
Micaiah mentioned Micaiah�s prophecy
Throne scene: Samaria Throne scene: heaven
Pressure on prophet Imprisonment of prophet

The battle scene is structured as a small chiasm, which emphasizes how the word of Yahweh triumphs over all the plans of man:

a. Ahab�s plan to dodge the word of God, vv 29-30
b. Aramean king�s plan to kill Ahab, vv 31-33
b�E Random arrow kills Ahab, vv 34-36
a�E Ahab brought back dead to Samaria, vv 37-40

JUDAH AND ISRAEL ALLIED
Ramboth-gilead was a border town just across the Jordan from the Northern Kingdom. Given its location, it was important for the defense of Israel against invaders from the East. By the terms of the treaty with Ben-Hadad (20:34), the Arameans should have returned Ramoth-gilead to Israel. They haven�t, so Ahab intends to take it by force.

This is our first extended introduction to Jehoshaphat of Judah. His name means �Yah judges,�Eand the repetition throughout the story (13x in 22:1-32) keeps reminding us of the prophecies against Ahab. We learn from the end of the chapter that Jehoshaphat is a righteous man and a reformer, but one who is criticized for allying with Ahab (22:41-50). Even though the Northern Kingdom is still part of the covenant people, it is a sin for Jehoshaphat to fight alongside Ahab. His eagerness to help is disturbing (v. 4), and introduces the notion that Jehoshaphat is essentially a �twin�Eto his Northern counterpart. This does not bode well for Judah.

Jehoshaphat is clearly more faithful than Ahab, since he asks for a prophet of Yahweh (5, 7). Ahab at first brings out 400 prophets who all agree that the �Lord�Ewill give Ramoth-gilead to Ahab, but Jehoshaphat discerns that something is wrong. The prophets do not speak in the name of Yahweh, but in the name of some unidentified �lord�E(though cf. v 12). Besides, they speak equivocally. The Hebrew of verse 6 says �the lord will give into the hand of the king.�E But they don�t say what is going to be given (Ramoth-gilead? something else? A person?). Nor do they say which king they are talking about. The prophecy could mean �Yahweh will deliver the city into the hand of Ahab�Eor it could mean �Yahweh will deliver Ahab into the hand of the king of Aram.�E The prophets�Eword is not at all clear, as Herman Melville understood.

�WHO IS LIKE YAH?�E
Pressed by Jehoshaphat, Ahab reluctantly brings out a true prophet of Yahweh, Micaiah, whose name means �Who is like Yah?�E He is brought to the gates of the city, to a threshing floor, where the two kings are enthroned (v. 10). Each of these details is significant: Gates are places of judgment, and threshing is often an image of judgment (since it involves separation of wheat and chaff). The court prophets are not only telling the kings what to expect; they are enacting the victory over Aram (vv. 11-12; cf. Deuteronomy 33:13-17). The kings look like twins on their thrones, interchangeable. But Micaiah has been in another court, and seen another King whose judgments transcend any decisions of Ahab and Jehoshaphat (v. 19).

Micaiah at first agrees with the court prophets, using their own equivocal phrasing. How does Ahab know that it�s not true? Verse 16 implies that this is not the first time Micaiah has pulled this trick; Ahab says �how many times must I put you under oath?�E Micaiah has just told the messenger that he can speak only what Yahweh puts in his mouth, but his first words are a false prophecy. He plays the part of one of the lying prophets (v. 22). Ironically, Ahab recognizes that Micaiah is not telling the truth; but when the other 400 prophets say exactly the same thing, Ahab apparently believes it! Ahab knows what the truth is, but refuses to follow it.

Micaiah�s true prophecy consists of two scenes. The first describes Israel scattered on the mountains without a king-shepherd (v. 17). The second is a scene from the heavenly court, where Yahweh plans Ahab�s downfall by sending a deceiving spirit to the prophets of Ahab, so that he will be enticed to his death (vv. 19-23). What kind of God is this? He is a God who is straight with the straight, merciful to the humble, but cunning with the wicked (Psalm 18:25-26).

THE BATTLE
Ahab�s plan to escape Micaiah�s prophecy highlights again that the two kings have become interchangeable. Ahab intends to put off his royal robes and enter the battle disguised as a common soldier, while Jehoshaphat dresses like a king (v. 30). It looks as if Ahab is doing a brave thing, but his real intention is to protect himself (cf. v. 31). Ahab�s disguise is symbolically important. It reminds us of Saul�s disguise at Endor (1 Samuel 28; cf. 1 Kings 14:1-16), and also suggests that Ahab is losing his kingship. He voluntarily �defrocks�Ehimself. Ahab�s plan seems to be working when the Arameans begin chasing Jehoshaphat. But Ahab�s plans cannot overcome Yahweh�s plans. Like Saul, he is killed with arrows (cf. 1 Samuel 31).

Ahab doesn�t die immediately, but bleeds to death as he�s returned to Samaria (vv. 34-36). Dogs lick the blood of Ahab as they licked the blood of Naboth (v. 38), an eye-for-eye punishment. But Ahab�s blood is not licked up in Jezreel, so Elijah�s prophecy is only fulfilled in part. Ahab is dead, but Yahweh�s work is not finished until Ahab�s house is also destroyed, until the dogs lick the blood and eat the flesh of Jezebel.

posted by Peter J. Leithart on Tuesday, April 05, 2005 at 09:20 PM

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