2 Chronicles 18 Study Notes

18:12-13 The court messenger wanted to avoid controversy and did not want to offend the king, so he encouraged Micaiah to go along with the crowd. As a true prophet, Micaiah knew he must speak the message God gave him (Nm 22:18; 2Co 2:17; Gl 1:10; 1Th 2:4).

18:14-15 There may have been a sarcastic tone in Micaiah’s first statement, because Ahab detected that it was not the truth.

18:16-17 Putting sarcasm aside, Micaiah stated that he saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, implying that Ahab would be killed in the battle. Ahab said that this was precisely what he had come to expect from Micaiah.

18:18-24 Micaiah also stated that Ahab’s court prophets were the instruments of a spirit sent by God with the specific intention of leading Ahab into destruction with a lie. While God does not lie, he does permit lying spirits to deceive those who will not believe the truth (2Th 2:9-12). In the end, God also sent Micaiah with the truth, so Ahab had a choice whom to believe. Zedekiah questioned Micaiah’s divine authority by slapping him and accusing him of infringing on Zedekiah’s right to speak for the Lord. Micaiah replied that the matter would be settled on the day that Zedekiah, confronted by the defeat of Ahab’s army, would try to protect himself by hiding in a toilet. The Chronicler did not record the precise confirmation of this prophecy.

18:25-27 Ahab’s safe return would prove Micaiah a false prophet and a traitor deserving death. Micaiah publicly announced he would submit to the test of a true prophet: whether his prediction came to pass (Dt 18:21-22).

18:28-29 Ahab, knowing that the Arameans wanted to kill him, made it look like Jehoshaphat was the only king on the battlefield. His superstition may have led him to think that a disguise could avert what was prophesied. It is difficult to understand why Jehoshaphat would go along with this plan, unless he had already let Ahab have the upper hand in their relationship (see note at 1Kg 22:4-5).

18:30-32 The Arameans did, in fact, have orders to single out Ahab. Since Jehoshaphat was the only visible king, they focused on him and almost killed him. Jehoshaphat cried out to the Lord. God graciously caused the Arameans to back off by letting the Aramean chariot commanders recognize that Jehoshaphat was not Ahab, their intended target.

18:33-34 One lone Aramean archer shot a random arrow. The Hebrew could also be taken to mean that he “simply” shot or that he was merely doing what a good soldier should do. This arrow not only hit Ahab but penetrated through the joints of his armor, something even the best archer was unlikely to achieve on purpose. When Ahab died at sunset, Micaiah, the prophet of the Lord, had been vindicated, and Zedekiah, the prophet of Baal, had been repudiated.