Ahab and Jehoshaphat

2 Chronicles 18 tells of an unlikely partnership: Jehoshaphat, the good king of Judah, and Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, joined together to make war against Syria.

Jehoshaphat was intent on asking God’s will before going to war, so Ahab summoned 400 of his prophets. They all foretold victory. Jehoshaphat then asked if a prophet of the Lord could be found (it seems he could tell the difference!). Ahab said there was one, the prophet Micaiah, “but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil” (verse 7).

Jehoshaphat insisted, so Ahab agreed to have Micaiah brought in. At first, the prophet (with a dose of sarcasm?) told Ahab to “go up and succeed.” When the king pressed him for the truth, Micaiah declared that Ahab’s prophets had a deceiving spirit. Israel’s army would be scattered like sheep with no shepherd. “If you indeed return safely,” he said, “the Lord has not spoken by me” (verse 27).

Fuming over Micaiah’s gloomy forecast, Ahab had him imprisoned with bread and water rations. The two kings ignored the good prophet’s counsel and led their armies into battle. But the result was just as Micaiah had warned: Israel was defeated, and Ahab lost his life.

Consider a few lessons from this story.

1. Seek God’s will in all your decisions. Before committing to battle, Jehoshaphat said, “Please inquire first for the word of the Lord” (verse 4). This godly king understood that “there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12). He didn’t want to make a move that was out of step with God.

Seeking God’s will means praying. Jesus spent the whole night in prayer before choosing His apostles (Luke 6:12-13). Do you pray when making decisions about your money? your career? your family? your friends? “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

Seeking God’s will also means study. Jehoshaphat wanted to hear what God had to say. He had Micaiah, and we have the Bible. But often we pray for God to lead us to a right decision, then refuse to listen to His leading! “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word. With all my heart I have sought Thee; do not let me wander from Thy commandments. Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee” (Psalm 119:9-11). If you pray for God’s direction, make sure you open up His “road map.”

2. Look for answers, not just approval. “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools” (Ecclesiastes 7:5). Jehoshaphat wanted to learn the right way, while Ahab just wanted to hear that his way was right (see verse 12). When God’s word is taught, which kind of hearer are you? Do you want preaching that challenges your thinking and stirs your conscience, or preaching that pats your back and strokes your ego?

Paul warned that “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires” (2 Timothy 4:3). That time has certainly come. For every immoral or unscriptural activity you can name, you can find some “preacher” who will say it’s alright. Instead of looking for “smooth words” (Isaiah 30:9-10), we should be looking for Divine truth.

3. When the truth is unpleasant, don’t blame the messenger. In some ancient societies it wasn’t unusual for a king to execute a messenger who brought him bad news. Ahab hated Micaiah because he always spoke evil concerning him. Did it ever occur to Ahab that the problem might be with himself?

People get mad at preaching and teaching that convicts their sin. A sermon on modest dress angers the woman who likes to “show off her assets.” Teaching on drunkenness irritates the brother who’s fond of a swig now and then. The kind of preaching that got John the Baptist beheaded, Stephen stoned, and Christ crucified was preaching that called on people to put away their wickedness. “For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:20).

Has the preacher said something that made you uncomfortable? Before you get angry with him, evaluate whether his message is true (Acts 17:11). If it is, then you have no one to be angry with but yourself.

4. Once you have sought out God’s will, don’t ignore it. The astounding part of this story is that after God’s prophet foretold defeat, Ahab and Jehoshaphat went to war anyway! We might expect this from Ahab, but Jehoshaphat should have known better!

Most parents have had similar experiences with their children: they ask how to do this, or what to do about that, then turn around and totally disregard what mom and dad told them. Sadly, we often do the same thing to our heavenly Father. It should frighten us to hear ourselves say, “I know what God says about this, but…” The wise man warned, “He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. He who neglects discipline despises himself, but he who listens to reproof acquires understanding” (Proverbs 15:31-32). “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22).

Korah & Co.

As they led God’s people toward Canaan, Moses and Aaron faced numerous challenges, most of which came from the people themselves. Numbers 16 describes one such occasion: a group of prominent Israelite men, led by a Levite named Korah, contested Moses’ and Aaron’s leadership and laid claim to the priesthood. It wasn’t an armed uprising, but it was rebellion just the same. And since “whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction” (Romans 15:4), we need to learn the lessons of that rebellion. The spirit of contempt that motivated Korah and company is alive and well today.

Contempt for Leaders

Korah and the others charged that Moses and Aaron had arrogantly assumed power, had not delivered on their promises, and were keeping the people in the dark to maintain control (see verses 3,13,14). The uprising had popular support; even after God punished these rebels, the public blamed Moses and Aaron for their deaths (see verse 41). It was a formal show of contempt for the authority of Moses the prophet and Aaron the priest.

Our society encourages the criticism of leaders as a healthy and essential thing. But sometimes we let that go to our heads, and we criticize those in authority simply because they’re in authority! When we do that, we are no better than Korah and company.

For a simple application, consider our attitude toward elders in the local church. The very fact of their being in a position of leadership makes some Christians feel the need to criticize them. Overseers who do their God-given task of watching over men’s souls (Hebrews 13:17) have been wrongly accused of prying, harassment, or “lording it over the flock” (1 Peter 5:3). This tendency may be why Paul warned Timothy not to receive an accusation against an elder without confirming testimony (1 Timothy 5:19). Instead of an “Us vs. Them” attitude, let’s give elders the respect and cooperation their work demands.

Jude warned of evil men who “turn the grace of God into lewdness” (verse 4), saying that they had “perished in the rebellion of Korah” (verse 11). How so? He explained that they “reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries [lit. ‘that which is praiseworthy’]” (verse 8) and are “grumblers, complainers” (verse 16). Take note: the path of contempt for authority follows in the footsteps of Korah, where we should fear to tread.

Contempt for God-given Roles

Korah and his men were not a bunch of nobodies; they already had important roles to fill. The Levites had been given special work by God (verse 8-10; cf. 3:5f), and the others involved were “leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown” (verse 2). But these men weren’t satisfied with the positions God had given them; they wanted the positions He had given to Moses and Aaron.

There’s a saying that any person can do any amount of work, provided it’s not the work he’s supposed to be doing. Most of us have seen this principle in action in the workplace, and it happens in other areas of life as well. Like Korah and company, people grow dissatisfied with the vital roles God has given them; they want to do something else. That sometimes leads to an abandonment of God’s commands.

Korah’s argument (verse 3) was that all the Israelites were holy; why should Moses and Aaron get to be in charge? Hadn’t God said that all Israel would be “a kingdom of priests, a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6)? To Korah, this justified doing away with God’s arrangement of the priesthood. But the Lord’s promise in Exodus 19 was conditioned on Israel’s obeying His voice (verse 5) — including His instructions on who could serve as priests! God’s declaration that all the people were holy did not mean they could disregard the respective roles He had given them.

I see a parallel to this in the modern battle over women’s roles in the church and the family. Korah misapplied God’s statement that all the people were holy to argue for an “open” priesthood. Likewise, people today often use Galatians 3:28 (“…there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus”) to argue against any distinction between men’s and women’s roles. But, like Korah, they ignore the very words of God Himself. He has placed limits on what women can do in the public functions of the church (1 Corinthians 14:34-35; 1 Timothy 2:11f). And He has given men the job of leadership in the home (Ephesians 5:22f). This doesn’t mean that God values men and women differently, it just means they have different roles to fill. When we ignore those distinctions, we drink deeply of the spirit of Korah’s rebellion.

Contempt for God’s Will

Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company are gathered together against the Lord; but as for Aaron, who is he that you grumble against him?” (verse 11). Even in declaring the punishment of these men, Moses emphasized that it was God’s doing, not his (verse 28). Although Korah and the others didn’t see it this way, their challenge really was not against Moses or Aaron, but against God Himself.

There’s a lesson here on respecting God’s silence. God had said that those of the family of Aaron, from the tribe of Levi, would serve as priests before Him (Exodus 28:1). He didn’t say, “Thou shalt not have a priest from Reuben, or Simeon, or Judah, etc.” But by specifying who was to serve, He ruled out all others. Dathan, Abiram, and On (verse 1) were from the tribe of Reuben. The 250 “leaders of the congregation” were probably from all the various tribes. And Korah, though a Levite, still did not meet God’s qualifications for priesthood. The author of Hebrews confirms that God’s silence about the other tribes meant no one from among them could serve as priest under the Mosaic Law, including Jesus Himself (Hebrews 7:13-14). Korah’s rebellion put this matter to the test and proved it! The incident shows that when God specifies what He wants, we are not at liberty to improvise.

But the more obvious lesson is that when we have contempt for those God has appointed to lead us, when we envy the roles He has given to others, we are actually rebelling against the Lord Himself. That should be the last thing any disciple would want to do.

The Consequences of Rebellion

Korah’s rebellion had tragic results. The ringleaders and their families were swallowed up by the earth and perished (verses 31-33). The others who had joined them were consumed by fire (verse 35). And when the people protested, a plague from God killed nearly 15,000 (verses 41f). It was a costly lesson in the foolishness of rejecting God’s plan. And it serves as a reminder that rebelling against Him ultimately will cost men their souls.