Through the Bible – Day 156

₁In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's rule, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and captured the town of Ramah. He started making the town stronger, and he put troops there to stop people from going in and out of Judah.

₂When Asa heard about this, he took the silver and gold from his palace and from the LORD's temple. Then he sent it to Damascus with this message for King Benhadad of Syria: ₃“I think we should sign a peace treaty, just as our fathers did. This silver and gold is a present for you. Would you please break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel and force him to leave my country?”

₄Benhadad did what Asa asked and sent the Syrian army into Israel. They captured the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-Maim, and all the towns in Naphtali where supplies were kept. ₅When Baasha heard about it, he stopped his work on the town of Ramah.

₆Asa ordered everyone in Judah to carry away the stones and wood Baasha had used to fortify Ramah. Then he fortified the towns of Geba and Mizpah with these same stones and wood.

₇Soon after that happened, Hanani the prophet went to Asa and said:

₁₀When Asa heard this, he was so angry that he put Hanani in prison. Asa was also cruel to some of his people.

₁₁Everything Asa did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ₁₂In the thirty-ninth year of his rule, he got a very bad foot disease, but he relied on doctors and refused to ask the LORD for help. ₁₃He died two years later.

₁₄Earlier, Asa had his own tomb cut out of a rock hill in Jerusalem. So he was buried there, and the tomb was filled with spices and sweet-smelling oils. Then the people built a bonfire in his honour.

₁Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king and strengthened his defences against Israel. ₂He assigned troops to the fortified cities in Judah, as well as to other towns in Judah and to those towns in Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.

_3-4When Jehoshaphat's father had first become king of Judah, he was faithful to the LORD and refused to worship the god Baal as the kings of Israel did. Jehoshaphat followed his father's example and obeyed and worshipped the LORD. And so the LORD blessed Jehoshaphat ₅and helped him keep firm control of his kingdom. The people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, but even after he became very rich and respected, ₆he remained completely faithful to the LORD. He destroyed all the local shrines in Judah, including the places where the goddess Asherah was worshipped.

₇In the third year of Jehoshaphat's rule, he chose five officials and gave them orders to teach the LORD's Law in every city and town in Judah. They were Benhail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah. ₈Their assistants were the following nine Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah. Two priests, Elishama and Jehoram, also went along. ₉They carried with them a copy of the LORD's Law wherever they went and taught the people from it.

₁₀The nations around Judah were afraid of the LORD's power, so none of them attacked Jehoshaphat. ₁₁Philistines brought him silver and other gifts to keep peace. Some of the Arab people brought him seventy-seven hundred rams and the same number of goats.

₁₂As Jehoshaphat became more powerful, he built fortresses and cities ₁₃where he stored supplies. He also kept in Jerusalem some experienced soldiers ₁₄from the Judah and Benjamin tribes. These soldiers were grouped according to their clans.

Adnah was the commander of the troops from Judah, and he had three hundred thousand soldiers under his command. ₁₅Jehohanan was second in command, with two hundred and eighty thousand soldiers under him. ₁₆Amasiah son of Zichri, who had volunteered to serve the LORD, was third in command, with two hundred thousand soldiers under him.

₁₇Eliada was a brave warrior who commanded the troops from Benjamin. He had two hundred thousand soldiers under his command, all of them armed with bows and shields. ₁₈Jehozabad was second in command, with one hundred and eighty thousand soldiers under him. ₁₉These were the troops who protected the king in Jerusalem, not counting those he had assigned to the fortified cities throughout the country.

₁Jehoshaphat was now very rich and famous. He signed a treaty with King Ahab of Israel by arranging the marriage of his son and Ahab's daughter.

₂One day, Jehoshaphat went to visit Ahab in his capital city of Samaria. Ahab slaughtered sheep and cattle and prepared a big feast to honour Jehoshaphat and the officials with him. Ahab talked about attacking the city of Ramoth in Gilead, ₃and finally asked, “Jehoshaphat, would you go with me to attack Ramoth?”

“Yes,” Jehoshaphat answered. “My army is at your command. ₄But first let's ask the LORD what to do.”

₅Ahab sent for four hundred prophets and asked, “Should I attack the city of Ramoth?”

“Yes!” the prophets answered. “God will help you capture the city.”

₆But Jehoshaphat said, “Just to make sure, is there another of the LORD's prophets we can ask?”

₇“We could ask Micaiah son of Imlah,” Ahab said. “But I hate Micaiah. He always has bad news for me.”

“Don't say that!” Jehoshaphat replied. ₈Then Ahab sent someone to bring Micaiah as soon as possible.

₉All this time, Ahab and Jehoshaphat were dressed in their royal robes and were seated on their thrones at the threshing place near the gate of Samaria, listening to the prophets tell them what the LORD had said.

₁₀Zedekiah son of Chenaanah was one of the prophets. He had made some horns out of iron and shouted, “Ahab, the LORD says you will attack the Syrians like a bull with iron horns and wipe them out!”

₁₁All the prophets agreed that Ahab should attack the Syrians at Ramoth and promised that the LORD would help him defeat them.

₁₂Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah whispered, “Micaiah, all the prophets have good news for Ahab. Now go and say the same thing.”

₁₃“I'll say whatever the living LORD my God tells me to say,” Micaiah replied.

₁₄Then Micaiah went up to Ahab, who asked, “Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth?”

“Yes!” Micaiah answered. “The LORD will help you capture the city.”

₁₅Ahab shouted, “Micaiah, I've told you over and over again to tell me the truth! What does the LORD really say?”

₁₆Micaiah answered, “In a vision I saw Israelite soldiers wandering around, lost in the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The LORD said, ‘These troops have no leader. They should go home and not fight.’ ”

₁₇Ahab turned to Jehoshaphat and said, “I told you he would bring me bad news!”

₁₈Micaiah replied:

₂₃Zedekiah walked over and slapped Micaiah on the face. Then he asked, “Do you really think the LORD would speak to you and not to me?”

₂₄Micaiah answered, “You'll find out on the day you have to hide in the back room of some house.”

₂₅Ahab shouted, “Arrest Micaiah! Take him to Prince Joash and Governor Amon of Samaria. ₂₆Tell them to put him in prison and to give him nothing but bread and water until I come back safely.”

₂₇Micaiah said, “If you do come back, I was wrong about what the LORD wanted me to say.” Then he told the crowd, “Don't forget what I said!”

₂₈Ahab and Jehoshaphat led their armies to Ramoth in Gilead. ₂₉Before they went into battle, Ahab said, “Jehoshaphat, I'll disguise myself, but you wear your royal robe.” Ahab disguised himself and went into battle.

₃₀The king of Syria had ordered his chariot commanders to attack only Ahab. ₃₁So when they saw Jehoshaphat in his robe, they thought he was Ahab and started to attack him. But Jehoshaphat prayed, and the LORD made the Syrian soldiers stop. ₃₂And when they realized he wasn't Ahab, they left him alone.

₃₃However, during the fighting a soldier shot an arrow without even aiming, and it hit Ahab between two pieces of his armour. He shouted to his chariot driver, “I've been hit! Get me out of here!”

₃₄The fighting lasted all day, with Ahab propped up in his chariot so he could see the Syrian troops. He stayed there until evening, and by sundown he was dead.

₁Jehoshaphat returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem. ₂But the prophet Jehu son of Hanani met him and said:

₁₆Jesus told his disciples, “For a little while you won't see me, but after a while you will see me.”

₁₇They said to each other, “What does Jesus mean by saying that for a little while we won't see him, but after a while we will see him? What does he mean by saying that he is going to the Father? ₁₈What is this ‘little while’ that he is talking about? We don't know what he means.”

₁₉Jesus knew that they had some questions, so he said:

₂₉The disciples said, “Now you are speaking plainly to us! You are not using examples. ₃₀At last we know that you understand everything, and we don't have any more questions. Now we believe that you truly have come from God.”

₃₁Jesus replied: