2 Chronicles 18

 Jehoshaphat makes a mistake in chapter 18 and creates a “marriage alliance” with Ahab, king of Israel.  To celebrate Jehoshaphat makes a visit to see him in Samaria.  I knew I liked Jehoshaphat for a few reasons but check this out: they “celebrated…..huge barbeque…..all the lamb and beef you could eat”.  Guess I see now why he went.  I love that stuff.  But unfortunately Jehoshaphat gets pulled into Ahab’s desire to attack an enemy and go to war.  Jehoshaphat does try and put the skids on – look at what he insists: “But before you do anything, ask GOD for guidance”.  He said he would go and help do battle with this caveat.  Ahab calls all the priests together and they wholeheartedly say go for it.  But Jehoshaphat doesn’t feel comfortable – he asks if there are any other priests and of course there is one more – Micaiah – whom Ahab doesn’t like because he always tells the truth not what the king wants to hear.  And that happens again.  Micaiah tells them they will not have a cake walk and the king will be killed.  Micaiah says it like this: “As sure as GOD lives, what God says, I’ll say”.  Not willing to say what is popular or wanted – just the truth, the whole truth.  And as you would expect from a prophet, he is right and Ahab dies that day in battle.  Jehoshaphat is captured by the enemy “but God intervened and they let him go”.  He was a lucky man that day.  How did Ahab die?  He had been careful to dress as just one of the tens of thousands of regular warriors so they couldn’t identify him.  Scripture has this play by play: “Just then someone, without aiming, shot an arrow into the crowd and hit the king of Israel in the chink of his armor”.  Don’t tell me that God is not in control of all things.  And never doubt that the Word of God will come true.  Jehoshaphat learned a hard lesson here.  He almost died and lost his kingdom because he chose to associate with a king who led him down a bad path.  He tried to follow his gut and get God involved in direction, but in the end, he was pulled along down a path contrary to God’s desire.  Who we run with matters men.  Those we associate with can lead us places we don’t want to go.  We need to pay close attention to that.