1 Kings22:7
Previous VerseTranslation
Then JEHOSHAPHAT said, “[Is there] not here a prophet of YHVH [whereby] we can still inquire of Him?”
Paraphrase
Then THE LORD HAS JUDGED asked Ahab, “Don’t you have any prophets left here in your country that are committed to only speaking the words of THE ETERNAL AND PERSONAL GOD, so we can ask him what God says?”
THIS SETS THE TONE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY
First of all, the objective was a good one. The town of Ramoth Gilead with all its Jewish inhabitants had been taken from Israel by the Arameans. Retaking control of it would be a good thing. Maybe that is why Jehoshaphat, the God-fearing king of Judah, was willing to help with this military campaign.
Notice that the prophets of other gods were pretending to give a word from the Lord (Adonai in this case, but later YHVH will be used later). They did not use the name of the foreign gods they followed, so they were trying to deceive or cover something up.
The fact that Ahab had around 400 prophets but the righteous king Jehoshaphat did not want to listen to any of them shows that Ahab had been listening to deceiving spirits for some time. This story is not just about finding a way to get Ahab to go to Ramoth Gilead where he will die; it involves his entire kingship and probably all of his adult life. It is a long story of Ahab’s willingness to follow deceiving spirits, with the help, of course, of a wife who was heading that direction ahead of him.
A SUMMARY OF VERSES 8 THROUGH 14
Verse 8: Ahab said there is one such prophet left, but he didn’t like the guy because he never told Ahab what he wanted to hear.
This informs us that King Ahab knew his 400 prophets were not true prophets of YHVH, and that Ahab used his priests and prophets in the same way that kings of foreign nations with pagan religions used them – simply as confirmation. In the end pagan kings eventually got the prophecy they wanted from their soothsayers, liver-readers, etc.
Jehoshaphat said, “You shouldn’t say that.”
Verse 9: Ahad sent someone to bring the prophet Micaiah.
Verse 11: Zedekiah had made iron horns and he told King Ahab, “Thus says YHVH, with these horns you will gore Aram until they are destroyed.”
Zedekiah, was one of Ahab’s prophets, his name includes the abbreviated form of the name YHVH. The name Zedekiah meant, “Yah is righteousness”. This guy was not following YHVH nor the righteousness of YHVH, but he was pretending to be able to speak for YHVH or declare the will of YHVH.
Verse 12: All the prophets were telling King Ahab to attack Ramoth Gilead because “YHVH will give it into your hands.”
Verse 13: When the messenger arrived at Micaiah’s house, he told the prophet that all the other prophets were predicting success if the kings attacked Ramoth Gilead and urged Micaiah to agree with them.
Verse 14: Micaiah responded, “I can only tell him what the Lord tells me.”
From the outset, Micaiah was determined to not bow to pressure but to communicate God’s message to King Ahab. However, right after this, the story takes an unexpected twist.