Study Desk

Ahab asked his officials, "Remember when the king of Aram took Ramoth Gilead from us? That city is ours, so why have we done nothing to get it back?"

King Ahab answered, "Yes, there is another prophet. His name is Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he will not say anything good about me when he speaks for the Lord . He always says things that I don't like." Jehoshaphat said, "The king should not say that!"

So King Ahab told one of his officers to go and find Micaiah.

But Micaiah said, "Listen to this message from the Lord : I saw the Lord sitting on his throne. All of heaven's army was standing around him, some on his left side and some on his right side.

Then King Ahab ordered one of his officers to arrest Micaiah. Ahab said, "Arrest him and take him to Amon the governor of the city and prince Joash.

Then a soldier in the distance pulled back as far as he could on his bow and shot an arrow into the air. The arrow happened to hit the king of Israel in a small hole where his armor was fastened together. King Ahab said to his chariot driver, "I've been hit! Turn the chariot around and take me off the battlefield!"

The armies continued to fight while King Ahab was propped up in his chariot. He was leaning against the sides of the chariot, looking out toward the Arameans. His blood ran down onto the floor of the chariot. Later in the evening, he died.

And that is how King Ahab died. Some men carried his body to Samaria and buried him there.

They took his chariot to the large pool in Samaria to clean it. The dogs licked up Ahab's blood while the prostitutes washed the chariot. This happened just as the Lord said it would.

The rest of what King Ahab did during the time he ruled is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel. That book tells about all the cities he built and about all the ivory that he used to decorate his palace.

Ahab died and was buried with his ancestors. His son Ahaziah became the next king after him.

Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.

Like his father Asa, Jehoshaphat was good and did everything that the Lord wanted, but he did not destroy the high places. The people continued offering sacrifices and burning incense there.

Jehoshaphat forced all the men and women who sold their bodies for sex to leave the places of worship. They had served in these places of worship while his father Asa was king.

Then King Ahaziah of Israel offered to put some of his own sailors with Jehoshaphat's men on the ships, but Jehoshaphat refused to accept his help.

Jehoshaphat died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Jehoram became the next king.

He sinned against the Lord just as his parents, Ahab and Jezebel, did. He caused Israel to sin just as Jeroboam son of Nebat did.

Ahaziah served the false god Baal and worshiped him, just as his father did before him. He did all the things that his father did to make the Lord , the God of Israel, angry.

One day Ahaziah was on the roof of his house in Samaria. He fell down through the wooden bars on top of his house and was badly hurt. He called messengers and told them, "Go to the priests of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, and ask them if I will get well from my injuries."

They answered Ahaziah, "This man was wearing a hairy coat with a leather belt around his waist." Then Ahaziah said, "That was Elijah the Tishbite."