Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab
18 Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor; and he allied himself by marriage with Ahab. 2 Some years later he went down to visit Ahab at Samaria. And Ahab slaughtered many sheep and oxen for him and the people who were with him, and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. 3 Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth-gilead?” And he said to him, “I am as you are, and my people as your people, and we will be with you in the battle.”
4 Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire [a]first for the word of the Lord.” 5 Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” 6 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not yet a prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of him?” 7 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me but always evil. He is Micaiah, son of Imla.” But Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”
Ahab’s False Prophets Assure Victory
8 Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, “[b]Bring quickly Micaiah, Imla’s son.” 9 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, and they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 10 Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are consumed.’” 11 All the prophets were prophesying thus, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
Now, this wasn’t the smartest thing Jehoshaphat ever did, that is the act of allying himself with Ahab through his son’s marriage. But we see he still looks to God for wisdom unlike his father who threw the prophet of God in prison.
Instead, Ahab is the one who holds a grudge against the prophet, and Jehoshaphat is perhaps in a little denial. If you read some of what Ahab did in other passages, you’ll know he never did anything righteous in his life. Somehow, Jehoshaphat thinks this venture to Ramoth-Gilead might be different and tells Ahab not to lose hope in the prophet of God just yet.
In any case, we do see that Jehoshaphat still desired to follow God, in the face of Ahab’s blatant disregard for anything that had to do with God. In the face of all Ahab’s false prophets, it must have been difficult to stand up for his beliefs.
When everyone seems to be talking crazy, and we know we are following God, stay the course! Don’t let false “prophets” and the media steer you off track. Filter everything through God and his Word (the Bible), and stick to the narrow path regardless of what anyone else might say.