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1 Kings 22 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
What’s the deal with Ramoth-Gilead and why did they want it back?
Ramoth was a Levitical city so it was considered important to the Jews. During King Solomon’s reign, it was a key administrative center and it was positioned as a military stronghold in Jewish history. But we must look several chapters back to see how it connects to the ongoing narrative of 1 Kings.
Israel had been at war with Aram for 2 long years and Ramoth is currently under Aram’s control. During that time, Ben-Hadad, the leader of Aram, had gone to war against King Ahab of Israel along with many other supplementary leaders and armies. God delivered Ahab from the danger of Ben-Hadad’s attacks, but Ahab let his enemy off the hook. He made a covenant with Ben-Hadad and it seems that in 1 Kings 20, Ramoth-Gilead was negotiated as part of the deal for Ben-Hadad to go free.
After this entire incident, a prophet tells Ahab he has made a terrible decision to let Ben-Hadad go, and predicts that Ahab will die in a future battle with him. Our story today, 1 Kings 22, picks up 3 years after they had made that peace deal because it opens with that exact phrase in verse 1… “Three years passed without war between Aram and Israel.”
Ironically, Ahab is sitting around thinking about that old city that used to be theirs – Ramoth-Gilead. And so he calls a meeting with Jehoshaphat from down south in Judah and he says, “Hey, do you know that scoundrel Ben-Hadad still occupies our honorable city of Ramoth-Gilead? How about you and I join forces and go kick him out for good?” Jehoshaphat, being a Godly king (at least for the majority of his reign), agrees on one condition. We must seek the Lord. So, Ahab goes back and gets his 400 puppets, uh, I mean prophets, to inquire if he should go to war.
You Can’t Handle The Truth!
Micaiah is the only authentic prophet in Ahab’s court, yet, he is vastly outnumbered 400 to 1 by false prophets. The most intriguing part of this chapter for me is the bizarre revelation found in the parable. God asks for a lying, deceitful spirit to go and entice Ahab to fall at Ramoth-Gilead. Instead of Micaiah coming right out and saying the prophets are deceived by the enemy, he veils his response with a parable in order to powerfully illustrate the truth of the situation. And, in the end, Micaiah pays a price. That cost, however, would not be greater than Ahab’s.
Ahab has surrounded himself with people who agree with him. Once again, his life speaks of compromise. Unwilling to see the truth, he stubbornly tries to outsmart God and he ends up dead. Ahab was given every opportunity to repent. He was told prophetically on several occasions and saw firsthand how God lavished him with sheer grace.
Even though God allows sin He doesn’t leave us without a compass. Ahab had surrounded himself with idols, hardened his heart, and was determined to take his own path toward destruction. So, God let him have what he wanted. Ahab’s life is a sad story of how our lives will turn out if we fail to walk in humility and repentance. Praise God for the grace found in Jesus, and the power found in the Holy Spirit to turn from our past life of sin.