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Jehoshaphat King of Judah
Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king and strengthened himself against Israel.
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The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David before him. He did not consult the Baals
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The Lord established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honor.
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The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not go to war against Jehoshaphat.
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Some Philistines brought Jehoshaphat gifts and silver as tribute, and the Arabs brought him flocks: seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred goats.
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Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful; he built forts and store cities in Judah
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Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab
Now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor, and he allied himself with Ahab by marriage.
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Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied, “I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will join you in the war.”
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But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord.”
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But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?”
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The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied.
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Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them.
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The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?”
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Ahab Killed at Ramoth Gilead
So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead.
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The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
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When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “This is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him,
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When Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem,
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Jehoshaphat Appoints Judges
Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.
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In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, priests and heads of Israelite families to administer the law of the Lord and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem.
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Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon
After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.
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Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi).
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Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.
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Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard
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He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.
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Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord.
