The king decided to build an alliance with the kingdom of Israel. So he arranged a marriage between his son and the daughter of King Ahab.
Jehoshaphat then went to Samaria to make the alliance stronger. Ahab said to him, “I’m going to fight a battle. Come with me and we’ll do it together.”
Jehoshaphat said, “I’m willing to go if it’s God’s will, so let’s ask a prophet.”
Ahab sent for his 400 prophets. He said, “Should we go into this battle?”
They said, “Yes! Go fight because God will give you victory.”
King Jehoshaphat said, “I want to hear from a prophet of the Lord. Don’t you have one in Israel?”
Ahab said, “Well yes. We have one. But I hate to call him because he only says bad things about me. He’s always talking about judgment.”
Jehoshaphat said, “Still, I want to hear from him.”
So Ahab said to his guards, “Go get Micaiah and bring him here.”
As the guards brought the prophet in, they told him, “Everyone else is saying good things about the king’s plans. So go along with them.”
He said, “As there is a God in heaven, I’ll say what the Lord tells me to say.”
When King Ahab saw Micaiah, he said, “Tell me. Should I lead my army into this battle, or should I stay home?”
Micaiah said, “Oh, you should definitely go. You’ll be successful.”
Ahab glared at him, “I’ve told you over and over. Always tell me the truth. What does the Lord really say about this battle?”
Micaiah said, “I see Israel scattered like sheep without a shepherd. Their master is dead.”
Ahab turned to Jehoshaphat. “See I told you. He only says bad things about me.”
Micaiah said, “Hear the Word of the Lord. I saw God sitting among his angels. He said, ‘How shall I get King Ahab to go to this battle?’ The angels had various ideas. Then one spirit said, ‘I can make him go. I’ll become a lying spirit in the mouth of his prophets. He’ll believe them and go into the battle.’ So, that’s what he did. Listen, the Lord wants you at that battle.”
One of Ahab’s prophets walked over and slapped Micaiah. Ahab yelled at his guards, “Put this man in prison. Give him nothing but bread and water until I come back from battle.”
Micaiah yelled at the crowd, “Everyone listen and remember. I’m not a prophet of God if the king returns from this battle.”
Both kings went to the battlefield. Once they were there, Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “You can wear your royal robes, but I’ll disguise myself as a common soldier.”
The battle was fierce. The opposing army was focused on killing Ahab, but they couldn’t find him. At one point, they thought King Jehoshaphat was Ahab. But once they realized they were mistaken, they turned away from him.
Finally, a man shot an arrow into the air without aiming. It hit Ahab at a joint in his armor. He yelled, “Take me off of the battlefield. I’m wounded.”
Ahab watched the battle propped up in his chariot. He died as the sun set in the west.
They took his body back to Samaria and buried him. Someone washed his chariot beside a pool. Dogs licked up his blood just as the Lord had said.
