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Jehoshaphat and Ahab · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the
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  Speaker 1: kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so
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  Speaker 1: that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. 2 Chronicles 17.10
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  Speaker 1: Before I start my day, I will first spend it
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  Speaker 1: in your presence. Through this decision, your truth spoken to
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  Speaker 1: me in today's reading has set me up for success.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you that through the story of Jehoshaphat and Ahab,
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  Speaker 1: I see the importance of not moving on a matter
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  Speaker 1: until I get your word on it. Protect me from
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  Speaker 1: the advice of others that would have me die on
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  Speaker 1: the battlefield of my dreams because I did not wait
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  Speaker 1: for the true answer of the Lord. Stick my feet
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  Speaker 1: to the ground until I've clearly heard from you. Help
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  Speaker 1: me to recognize people-pleasers who just want to be yes-men
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  Speaker 1: and yes-women in my life. Your word, your yes, is
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  Speaker 1: the final say in my life. Therefore, I will thank
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  Speaker 1: you in advance, because when I get my yes from you,
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  Speaker 1: I can trust that my outcome will be glorious and
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  Speaker 1: filled with your favor. In Jesus' name, amen. by listening
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  Speaker 1: to today's Bible in a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Jehoshaphat and Ahab. In our last story, we dove more
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  Speaker 2: into the mind of the witch queen Jezebel. Her evil
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  Speaker 2: and twisted ways had a hold on King Ahab, and
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  Speaker 2: she would enact cruelty on his behalf. After she had
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  Speaker 2: a farmer killed for his land, Elijah confronted Ahab, and
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  Speaker 2: he repented before the Lord. Now we learn about the
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  Speaker 2: righteous rule of King Jehoshaphat over Judah in his unlikely
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  Speaker 2: alliance with King Ahab from Israel. Their alliance proved to
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  Speaker 2: be a deadly one for Ahab as they pursued the Syrians,
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  Speaker 2: inspired by the book of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
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  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. But before we begin, I want
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  Speaker 3: to let you know about a unique e-book that's yours
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  Speaker 3: to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from Stress.
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  Speaker 3: And my prayer is that it will help you conquer
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  Speaker 3: the daily tasks and pressures and burdens that bring stress
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  Speaker 3: in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
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  Speaker 3: from Stress today by visiting jackgraham.org slash stress. That's jackram.org
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  Speaker 3: slash stress. In our previous episode, we saw just how
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  Speaker 3: evil and conniving and calculating Jezebel, the witch of a queen, was.
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  Speaker 3: She held Ahab in her power and acted with great
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  Speaker 3: wickedness on his behalf and with his silent consent. Elijah,
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  Speaker 3: the great man of God, finally confronted Ahab for his
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  Speaker 3: unfaithfulness and pronounced God's judgment on him and his wife Jezebel.
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  Speaker 3: Ahab was moved to repentance and sorrow for his actions,
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  Speaker 3: and the Lord showed mercy on the king. But Jezebel
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  Speaker 3: died in judgment. Today, we'll hear how Judah's righteous king, Jehoshaphat,
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  Speaker 3: formed an alliance with Ahab. These two kingdoms, so often
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  Speaker 3: at odds and at war, were now working together. But
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  Speaker 3: it will spell disaster for Ahab. So let's listen to
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  Speaker 3: God's word now.
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  Speaker 2: In the land of Judah, a new king was emerging. Jehoshaphat,
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  Speaker 2: a young man from the line of David, had taken
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  Speaker 2: over as king after his father Athah. Jehoshaphat was not
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  Speaker 2: a man to go looking for war and conflict. However,
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  Speaker 2: he knew that Judah had many enemies, mainly their neighboring
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  Speaker 2: nation Israel. So Jehoshaphat strengthened Judah's borders and fortified its cities.
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  Speaker 2: He stationed troops in every town and created garrisons to
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  Speaker 2: stand in defense of the farmlands and villages. All Jehoshaphat
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  Speaker 2: did was pleasing in the sight of the Lord. Similar
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  Speaker 2: to his father Atha during his younger years, Jehoshaphat was
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  Speaker 2: faithful and kind. He worshipped the Lord and shunned the
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  Speaker 2: popular images of Baal. Meanwhile, Israel under King Ahab was
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  Speaker 2: known for its idolatry and wicked practices. Word had spread
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  Speaker 2: of their run-ins with Elijah. Jehoshaphat took their conflict as
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  Speaker 2: a warning to continually seek the Lord and obey Him.
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  Speaker 2: He even sent men to remove the pagan shrines that
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  Speaker 2: remained in the wilderness of Judah. Because of this, the
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  Speaker 2: Lord blessed him with wisdom, riches, and influence. Jehoshaphat also
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  Speaker 2: desired that other people know the Lord deeply. He knew
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  Speaker 2: that without knowledge, the people would perish. Jehoshaphat's goal was
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  Speaker 2: to allow the entire nation of Judah to truly understand
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  Speaker 2: the law and love of God, as their ancestors once did.
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  Speaker 2: So he sent out teachers, priests, and prophets into the
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  Speaker 2: land to spread the word of God and teach its meanings.
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  Speaker 2: He sent Ben-Hael, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nathanael, and Micaiah to teach
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  Speaker 2: the people the depths of God's word and his love
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  Speaker 2: for the people. He also sent out Levites to perform
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  Speaker 2: sacrifices on behalf of the villages and cities that could
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  Speaker 2: not afford to do so themselves. The fear and love
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  Speaker 2: of the Lord blew through the nation of Judah like
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  Speaker 2: a pleasant breeze. So much so that even surrounding nations
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  Speaker 2: began to take notice. Some of the Philistines, sworn enemies
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  Speaker 2: of God's people, would send gifts of silver and livestock
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  Speaker 2: to make peace. Many nations refused to declare war on
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  Speaker 2: Judah solely because the presence of God was known to
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  Speaker 2: dwell there. So Jehoshaphat became loved and respected in the
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  Speaker 2: whole land. The wealth of Judah began to grow, and
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  Speaker 2: there were great reserves for times of famine. In addition,
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  Speaker 2: the armies of Judah amassed in great numbers. They were well-fed, well-trained,
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  Speaker 2: and well-treated soldiers. Even more, they loved their king. Jehoshaphat
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  Speaker 2: had earned the love and favor of his men as
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  Speaker 2: David once did. Yet he believed the time for war
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  Speaker 2: was over. And now it was time for alliances to
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  Speaker 2: be made and partnerships to be formed. Jehoshaphat extended an
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  Speaker 2: alliance to King Ahab of Israel. So Jehoshaphat's son and
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  Speaker 2: Ahab's daughter were married as a sign of solidarity between nations.
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  Speaker 2: Their warring against one another was to be ended through
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  Speaker 2: their union. A few years had passed, and Jehoshaphat had
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  Speaker 2: enjoyed peace with Israel and the other surrounding nations. One
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  Speaker 2: day he went to Samaria to visit Ahab, who had
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  Speaker 2: prepared a great feast in his honor. Jehoshaphat sat at
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  Speaker 2: the large banquet table with his officials, enjoying the company
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  Speaker 2: of their allies. Ahab was sitting on the opposite end
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  Speaker 2: of the table. He was much more quiet than usual.
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  Speaker 2: Jehoshaphat knew something was slightly off about Ahab's demeanor. He
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  Speaker 2: needed to say something. He needed to ask something. Jehoshaphat
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  Speaker 2: watched as Ahab finished his plate, set it aside, and
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  Speaker 2: cleared his throat. My friend, Ahab began, did you know
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  Speaker 2: that Ramoth Gilead belongs to Israel? But the Syrians took
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  Speaker 2: it over quite some time ago. Ahab looked intently at
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  Speaker 2: the king of Judah. There was desperation in his eyes. Please,
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  Speaker 2: will you go into battle with us to take it back?
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  Speaker 2: Some of our people are still there and our resources.
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  Speaker 2: Jehoshaphat took a moment to think. He had made a
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  Speaker 2: point to avoid war in the past few years. Did
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  Speaker 2: he want to go into battle for land that was
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  Speaker 2: not his? Did he want to march his men to
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  Speaker 2: fight to right a wrong that was not done to them?
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  Speaker 2: It was a difficult decision, but ultimately Jehoshaphat knew what
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  Speaker 2: needed to be done. What good were alliances if you
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  Speaker 2: did not hold your end of the bargain? You and
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  Speaker 2: I are one, the king said. Your people are my people,
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  Speaker 2: and my horses are your horses. Ahab was elated at
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  Speaker 2: his words. The two of them embraced, and the whole
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  Speaker 2: room continued to celebrate. Jehoshaphat raised his hand to silence
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  Speaker 2: them for a moment and said, However, let us first
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  Speaker 2: consult the Lord to see if we have his favor
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  Speaker 2: in this. After that, Ahab summoned some of his pagan
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  Speaker 2: prophets in the land. Four hundred men from Israel filtered
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  Speaker 2: in through the palace gates and came to Ahab's halls.
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  Speaker 2: Jehoshaphat watched as the idol-worshipping men of Israel gave their words.
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  Speaker 2: Each and every one of them gave the king permission
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  Speaker 2: to go into battle. Yes, they all said. God will
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  Speaker 2: give the king victory, they all replied. However, Jehoshaphat was
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  Speaker 2: not convinced they spoke for the Lord. He turned to
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  Speaker 2: Ahab and said, Are there any men of God in
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  Speaker 2: your land that could speak with us? Ahab thought long
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  Speaker 2: and hard about Jehoshaphat's question. He knew that there was
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  Speaker 2: another man who would speak faithfully for the Lord, but
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  Speaker 2: he often rebuked Ahab for his wicked ways. Ahab spoke
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  Speaker 2: and said, Yes, there is another. His name is Micaiah. However,
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  Speaker 2: I hate the man. He never prophesies in my favor.
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  Speaker 2: He only means trouble for me. The king of Judah
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  Speaker 2: began to worry about the man he had aligned with.
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  Speaker 2: He knew that Ahab had pagan tendencies and had led
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  Speaker 2: Israel astray once before, but he thought he had repented
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  Speaker 2: from that. However, now Jehoshaphat was beginning to wonder if
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  Speaker 2: aligning with Ahab was a wise decision. That is not
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  Speaker 2: how a king should speak, Jehoshaphat rebuked. Let us hear
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  Speaker 2: what the prophet has to say. The king of Israel
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  Speaker 2: nodded and sent for Micaiah. While they waited, Ahab had
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  Speaker 2: more of his false prophets spin stories of victory for them.
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  Speaker 2: They sat on their thrones and listened to the tickling
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  Speaker 2: words of self-serving men. They had made it their habit
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  Speaker 2: to say anything that pleased Ahab, but not Micaiah. Much
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  Speaker 2: like Elijah, he would always tell the truth, no matter
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  Speaker 2: how brutal. A messenger finally came to Micaiah to summon
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  Speaker 2: him to the palace. The messenger pulled Micaiah in close
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  Speaker 2: and said, Every prophet is promising the king victory in battle.
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  Speaker 2: Make sure you agree with them and promise the king success.
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  Speaker 2: Micaiah laughed at the request and shook his head. He
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  Speaker 2: patted the messenger on the shoulder and said, I will
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  Speaker 2: say what God says. No more, no less. and with
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  Speaker 2: that he made his way to the palace. Micaiah entered
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  Speaker 2: into the palace doors. The four hundred prophets lined the
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  Speaker 2: walls like flies to sugar. The torches were lit, and
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  Speaker 2: there was music playing. Clearly Ahab wanted to gain favor
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  Speaker 2: from his new friend, the king of Judah. Micaiah looked
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  Speaker 2: around and saw the king sitting on his throne. His
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  Speaker 2: robes were draped over the throne, and he was clothed
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  Speaker 2: in fine linens and gold. His flashiness disgusted Micaiah. The
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  Speaker 2: king glared at him. No doubt Micaiah had only been
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  Speaker 2: summoned because King Jehoshaphat was a man of integrity. Why
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  Speaker 2: else would he be asked to give counsel? Ahab sat
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  Speaker 2: upright and asked a question for all to hear. Micaiah,
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  Speaker 2: should we go to war against Ramoth-Gilead, or should I
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  Speaker 2: stay back? Micaiah was entertained by the question. He smiled
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  Speaker 2: and did his best to initiate the pandering tone of
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  Speaker 2: the other prophets and said, Ah, yes, my lord and king,
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  Speaker 2: you shall be victorious as you are in all your ways.
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  Speaker 2: Go and be brave. Then he bowed as a close
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  Speaker 2: to his small performance. Ahab teemed with anger. How many
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  Speaker 2: times must I demand you speak the truth to me
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  Speaker 2: with these matters? Ahab replied sharply. Micaiah's entertained face grew darker.
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  Speaker 2: He sighed and pointed intently at Ahab. I have seen
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  Speaker 2: a vision in Israel, he said. I saw the children
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  Speaker 2: of Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep without a shepherd.
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  Speaker 2: The Lord then spoke to me and said, Their master
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  Speaker 2: has been killed. Send them home in peace. Micaiah then
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  Speaker 2: shrugged his shoulders and began to turn back. Ahab leaned
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  Speaker 2: over to the king of Judah and said, What did
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  Speaker 2: I tell you? He never prophesies in my favor. This
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  Speaker 2: instance is no different from the rest. Upon hearing Ahab,
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  Speaker 2: Micaiah turned around and said, Listen to me now. I
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  Speaker 2: saw the Lord sitting on his throne with the armies
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  Speaker 2: of heaven surrounding him. The Lord spoke clearly and asked
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  Speaker 2: all of his armies, Who will go forth and entice
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  Speaker 2: King Ahab to be killed? So a spirit came and said,
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  Speaker 2: I will send him prophets to tell him of victory.
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  Speaker 2: So believe me when I say that the Lord has
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  Speaker 2: put lying mouths in these prophets of yours to lead
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  Speaker 2: you into your death. As Micaiah was speaking, another prophet
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  Speaker 2: came up to him and slapped him across the face.'
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  Speaker 2: Since when did God's Spirit leave me to speak to you?'
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  Speaker 2: he said. Micaiah spat out some blood from his mouth
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  Speaker 2: and peered.
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  Speaker 3: Up at him.
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  Speaker 2: You will see soon enough, when you are hiding like
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  Speaker 2: a dog in your den.' Arrest him!' Ahab yelled.' Put
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  Speaker 2: him in prison and feed him nothing but bread and
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  Speaker 2: water until I return from my battle!' That's if you return,
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  Speaker 2: Micaiah yelled as he was being bound by the palace guards.
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  Speaker 2: Mark my words, if you return from that battle, it
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  Speaker 2: means the Lord does not speak through me. And with
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  Speaker 2: those last words, Micaiah was taken away. Despite Jehoshaphat's reservation,
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  Speaker 2: the two armies marched into battle the next week. When
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  Speaker 2: the two armies met to descend into Ramoth-Gilead, Ahab turned
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  Speaker 2: to Jehoshaphat and said... You continue to wear your royal armor,
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  Speaker 2: but I will disguise myself so nobody knows I am king.
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  Speaker 2: So Ahab disguised himself, knowing full well the Syrians would
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  Speaker 2: want to kill him. Meanwhile, on the other side of
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  Speaker 2: the battlefield, the king of Syria said to his commanders,
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  Speaker 2: Attack only the king of Israel. Do not bother with
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  Speaker 2: anyone else. So the battle began. The alliance of Judah
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  Speaker 2: and Israel charged at the Syrians. Metal and bone clashed
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  Speaker 2: on the battlefield, and the Syrians were intent on getting
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  Speaker 2: to the back of the battle to get the king.
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  Speaker 2: When they saw Jehoshaphat in his royal armor, they mistook
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  Speaker 2: him for King Ahab and charged. Jehoshaphat's eyes widened as
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  Speaker 2: he saw a sea of soldiers pursuing him. He planted
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  Speaker 2: his feet in the ground and prepared for their attack.
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  Speaker 2: But the Lord saved him, and as soon as the
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  Speaker 2: chariots drew close to him, They realized it was not
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  Speaker 2: Ahab and stopped. Meanwhile, Ahab was disguised as a normal
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  Speaker 2: soldier in the back of the battlefield. He fought very little,
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  Speaker 2: making sure to preserve his own safety. A barrage of
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  Speaker 2: arrows were suddenly shot in Ahab's direction and he was
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  Speaker 2: struck in his side. Ahab writhed in pain on the floor.
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  Speaker 2: He called to his chariot and yelled, Get me out
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  Speaker 2: of here! I am wounded! So the servant propped him
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  Speaker 2: up on the chariot and began to weave through the
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  Speaker 2: battle to escape. The battle raged on violently as the
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  Speaker 2: Syrians looked for Ahab. However, as the sun was setting
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  Speaker 2: and the battle was raging, Ahab died on his chariot.
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  Speaker 3: In today's scripture, we read of a story of two
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  Speaker 3: kingdoms and two very different kings. Jehoshaphat was the son
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  Speaker 3: of Asa, king of Judah. And like his father and
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  Speaker 3: his forefather David before him, Jehoshaphat was a righteous king
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  Speaker 3: who earnestly sought the Lord's favor. And he not only
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  Speaker 3: sought favor for himself, he acted in the best interest
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  Speaker 3: of the people of Judah, tearing down idols not only
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  Speaker 3: in the prominent cities but in the dark recesses of
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  Speaker 3: the desert where evil tried to hide. His example is
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  Speaker 3: one we should follow, seeking to root out any idolatry
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  Speaker 3: in our life all false gods and false ideologies, even
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  Speaker 3: those that we try to hide in our own life.
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  Speaker 3: God looked favorably upon Jehoshaphat and blessed him and his
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  Speaker 3: nation with peace, prosperity, and prominence among the neighboring nations.
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  Speaker 3: Jehoshaphat and Judah stood in stark contrast to Israel and
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  Speaker 3: King Ahab to the north. Any change of heart or
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  Speaker 3: repentance from Ahab seemed to be now gone. and he
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  Speaker 3: continued to lead people in the worship of Baal in
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  Speaker 3: giving his ear to false prophets. Once again, he disobeys God.
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  Speaker 3: King Jehoshaphat desired peace, especially with his northern neighbors, so
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  Speaker 3: he forged an alliance with Ahab through the marriage of
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  Speaker 3: his son to Ahab's daughter. Thus ended the conflict between
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  Speaker 3: these two nations, Israel and Judah. Ahab knew that Judah's
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  Speaker 3: army was strong and capable, and after a few years,
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  Speaker 3: he approached Jehoshaphat for help defeating Syria and reclaiming land
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  Speaker 3: and possessions the Syrians had taken from Israel. And though
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  Speaker 3: Jehoshaphat wanted peace and to avoid war, he knew it
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  Speaker 3: would be right to support his ally. So he agreed
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  Speaker 3: to help. But he wisely told Ahab that they must
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  Speaker 3: first seek the Lord's guidance, to seek God's counsel, to
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  Speaker 3: see if the battle was one God would give victory.
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  Speaker 3: For Ahab, the battle seemed to be no problem, for
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  Speaker 3: He had hundreds of men who would gladly tell him
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  Speaker 3: whatever he wanted to hear. Ahab then summoned these pagan prophets,
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  Speaker 3: and as he sat with Jehoshaphat, these men came before
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  Speaker 3: him and spoke only of victory, saying God would be
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  Speaker 3: the king. But Jehoshaphat had a discerning heart, and he
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  Speaker 3: wanted to be sure these were in fact God's words.
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  Speaker 3: So he says in 1 Kings 22, 7, Is there
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  Speaker 3: not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we
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  Speaker 3: may inquire? This is a huge reminder for us today
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  Speaker 3: that we must always be discerning and wise concerning so-called
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  Speaker 3: spiritual advice. The Bible says we are to test the
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  Speaker 3: spirits to see if they are from God. Ahab surely
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  Speaker 3: was frustrated because he knew his prophetic yes-men did not
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  Speaker 3: convince Jehoshaphat. He knew of a prophet who indeed spoke
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  Speaker 3: from God and for God, but he didn't want to
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  Speaker 3: hear this. So he called for Micaiah to come to him,
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  Speaker 3: even though he never gave him a favorable word from God.
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  Speaker 3: As they waited for his arrival, more false prophets continued
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  Speaker 3: their spectacle, trying to prop up the king. But when
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  Speaker 3: the prophet arrived, the real prophet, the word he brought
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  Speaker 3: was ultimately much different. He revealed a vision from God
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  Speaker 3: of sheep scattered on the hill and their master having
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  Speaker 3: been killed. After Ahab rejected this prophet, Micaiah turned around
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  Speaker 3: and spoke in clear terms, telling him God had sent
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  Speaker 3: him false prophets to entice him to war so that
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  Speaker 3: he would be killed. Yet even with this knowledge, Ahab
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  Speaker 3: insisted on going to war. But rather than bravely entering
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  Speaker 3: the battle as king, he tried to disguise himself while
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  Speaker 3: he made Jehoshaphat dress in royal garb and mount his horse.
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  Speaker 3: In the end, however, None of his schemes mattered, because
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  Speaker 3: the Lord's plans will never fail. Jehoshaphat, the righteous king,
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  Speaker 3: was spared from death, while Ahab was struck down by
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  Speaker 3: the enemy's arrows and died. in his chariot. Next time,
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  Speaker 3: we'll learn more about this God-fearing righteous king of Judah,
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  Speaker 3: whose name is Jehoshaphat. Dear Lord, help us always to
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  Speaker 3: listen to you and not to others who may speak
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  Speaker 3: for you, but in fact tell lies. You have told
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  Speaker 3: us that we should discern truth from error, righteousness from unrighteousness,
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  Speaker 3: and your word, the word of God, for the words
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  Speaker 3: of men. Help us always to test the spirits to
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  Speaker 3: see that they are from you, and trust and obey
• 20:22
  Speaker 3: your counsel as we fight spiritual battles in your name. Amen.
• 20:28
  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: Before we go, I want to let you know about
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: a unique e-book that's yours to download absolutely free today.
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  Speaker 3: It's called Breaking Free from Stress. And my prayer is
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  Speaker 3: pressures and burdens that bring stress into your life. Download
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: your free copy of Breaking Free from Stress today by
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  Speaker 3: visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org slash stress.