There were, however, challenges ahead for Jehoshaphat and they came in the form of another person. Sometimes those around us may help us to stand on God’s Word and sometimes they want to lead us away. Let’s take a look in II Chronicles to see what happens when Jehoshaphat joins up with Ahab, the king of Israel.

II Chronicles 18:1 and 3:

Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab.

And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramoth-gilead?

Ahab was not known for really caring about what God wanted. When he was asked join Ahab in this battle Jehoshaphat told him to ask God if this was the right thing to do. Ahab brought together four hundred prophets (those who were supposed to be listening to God) and asked them if he and Jehoshaphat should go to Ramoth-gilead. The answer was that Jehoshaphat and Ahab should “Go up; for God will deliver it into the kings’ hand.”

Jehoshaphat was not convinced that these prophets really listened to God so he asked Ahab specifically to get a “prophet of the Lord” to ask what the true God thought of the idea. Ahab agreed to do this, but was not happy because he said the prophet of the Lord, “never prophesied good unto me.” The reason for this is that Ahab was not doing the will of God.

The prophet they brought in was Micaiah and he did end up telling them that if they went to battle the Israelites would end up with no master and would be as sheep without a shepherd; meaning that Ahab would die. Ahab threw Micaiah back in prison. At this point you might think that Jehoshaphat would walk away from this Ahab who was up to no good. However, he did not; he stuck around and went to battle with him. The battle plan that Ahab came up with spelled trouble for Jehoshaphat.

II Chronicles 18:28

So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle.

Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots that were with him, saying, Fight ye not with small or great, save only with the king of Israel.

And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him; and God moved them to depart from him.

For it came to pass, that when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back again from pursuing him.

And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.

And the battle increased that day: howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the even: and about the time of the sun going down he died.

The enemy, the king of Syria, told his soldiers that the only one he cared about killing was the king of Israel, Ahab. This may not have been bad news except that Jehoshaphat had been convinced to disguise himself as Ahab. When the Syrians saw the robes of Ahab they surrounded him to battle.

This may have been the point when Jehoshaphat realized the big mistake he had made in choosing to be friends with Ahab instead of doing the will of God. Realizing his mistake, he quickly cried out to God and God “moved them to depart from him.” God did not ignore Jehoshaphat even though he had done something wrong. Jehoshaphat realized his error, went to God for help and God helped him.

Psalm 34:4:

I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

Numbers 23:19:

God is not a man, that he should lie.

This is a remarkable verse. We have learned through experience that many people do not tell the truth; they do not do what they say they will do. It is important to remember that God is not like people; He does not lie and what He says is true and will work. God gave us His Word so that we would know Him and have confidence in what He said. Let’s look at what the Bible says about God’s Word.

Genesis 1:3:

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Wow! When God spoke, it came to pass. God keeps His Word and does not lie. God gave His Word and look at the result to those who believed. His Word is powerful!

Psalms 107:20:

He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

Have you ever walked into a room when it was dark and the lights were not turned on? If so, perhaps you stubbed your toe or bumped into a piece of furniture. It is much easier to move when it is dark if there is light somewhere. The same is true for us when we walk with the light of God’s Word.

Psalms 119:105:

They word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

In the times of the Bible people would get up very early to go out to the fields to work. There were no street lamps or flashlights back then, but they needed light so they could see where they were going. Traditionally, they would take a piece of rope and light the end of it in a fire so that there would be embers on the rope. (see Isaiah 50:11, 12) They would then swing the rope in front of them as they walked so that their path would be lit. God’s Word lights our path so that we do not have to stumble or fall.

Psalm 19:8:

The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

II Corinthians 13:11:
The God of love and peace shall be with you

Jeremiah 31:3:
The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

Although this verse from Jeremiah was written to people who lived in a different time than we do the truth is still the same. God loves us with an everlasting love. Nothing we can do can change that.

John 3:16:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God’s first-born son was Jesus Christ and God loved him very, very much. However, God was willing to sacrifice Jesus Christ so that we could confess him as our Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead. When we do this we get born-again and one of the benefits is that we have eternal life. Quite remarkable!

There is nothing that we can do to lose God’s love. This does not mean that we should try to be bad and disobey what God wants us to do. We should try to please God by believing His Word, but there will be times when we fall short. Even then, God’s love will be there for us.

Romans 8:38 & 39:
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

As born-again believers it is also good for us to know the One in charge, and that is God. Jesus Christ gave his life for us so that we could be born again and receive holy spirit. When we confess Romans 10:9 and 10 we become children of God. As God’s children we have access to God.

Romans 10:9 and 10:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Being born again gives us a spiritual connection to God which allows us to go directly to Him at any time. Because of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ we have access to God.

Ephesians 3:11 and 12:
According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

Jesus Christ has personally brought us into the presence of God. Since we have this “access” we do not need to be shy or timid; we can have boldness and confidence to stand before God knowing that He loves us and hears our prayers.

Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Let’s remember that no matter where we are, who we are with or what we are doing we have access to our wonderful Heavenly Father.

I Peter 3:12
For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers.

The first way that the Scriptures will interpret themselves, or tell us what they mean, is right in the verse. This means that you do not need a dictionary to understand the words; nor do you need to understand the culture at the time the Bible was written. It is clear from reading the verse what is meant. Let’s look at a few examples to help to understand this key to understanding the Scriptures.

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

This verse is very clear. We do not have to guess what it means. We do not need to know Greek, Aramaic or Hebrew to understand what it means. We know from reading this verse that God created the heaven and the earth in the beginning.

II Corinthians 1:3:
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.

Pretty clear, isn’t it – God is the Father of Jesus Christ and he is a God of comfort.

Philippians 4:4:
Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

We read here that we should “rejoice” in the Lord always. Now if we wanted to learn more about rejoicing we can go to other verses in the Bible, but what we can clearly see from this verse is that we should “always rejoice.” What a joy!

These are just a few of the hundreds of verses in the Bible that interpret themselves “right where they are written.” Why don’t you take some time now to find other verses as well. Remember that studying God’s Word is something that He likes us to do!

God also has great grace towards His children. There are numerous references in the Bible where God says: “Grace unto you . . . from God our Father.” We do not always deserve the good things that God does for us, but because He has grace towards us He gives them to us anyway.

Let’s look at an example of God’s grace in the book of Genesis. This was many hundreds of years ago. God had created the earth and furnished it with plants, animals and people. The people, though, had not pleased God because many of them were very evil. However, there was one man, Noah, who did please God. Let’s read and see what happened.

Genesis 6:5-8:
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

The people that God had made had turned away from him and allowed the thoughts of their hearts to be “evil continually.” Because of what they thought and then acted upon they had become wicked. Noah was the only one that God mentions having “found grace” in His eyes. He must have been very special. Even though all of those around him were evil Noah was still able to do God’s will and love God. This is a great example for us.

God needed to do something to rid the earth of such evil while still making available something good for Noah.

Genesis 6:13, 14, 22:
And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth if filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

God decided that the only answer was to destroy the earth, but before He did it He told Noah to build an ark. He then instructed Noah to put his family and the different types of animals onto the ark. After a while there was a flood where everything was destroyed except Noah and those on the ark.

God later promised Noah that He would never again be a flood to destroy the earth.

Genesis 9:12-15:
And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

As a sign of God’s promise that there would never again be a flood to destroy the earth God set a bow in the cloud. Every time you see a rainbow in the sky you can be reminded of God’s grace to Noah and God’s grace to you. Noah did what God commanded him to do even though it was probably not the easiest work. Because he found grace in God’s eyes he was able to build the ark, place the animals on there and many other things that God told him to do. You and I can do what God wants us to do because He gives us grace also.

II Corinthians 9:8:
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.

II Timothy 2:15:
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

We are to study to get God’s approval. There are times when we try to get the approval of a certain person whether it is a teacher, a friend, a parent or someone else. We may or may not know the right things to do to get them to approve of us and even if we do they may still decide NOT to give their approval.

God’s Word makes it very clear that to get His approval we need to study His Word, the Bible. This word “study” comes from the Greek word spoudazo and it means to be diligent. We are to get busy studying God’s Word. Honestly going to God’s Word with diligence and determination is something of which God approves. Other people may think it is silly, but not God.

Just like it takes work to get better at a sport or playing a musical instrument it takes work to get better at understanding the Bible. Here are some other interesting verses to consider.

Proverbs 2:1-5:
My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

Taking the time to learn what God’s Word says is a good thing to do. If we “hide” His commandments and “apply” our hearts to understand then we will grow in our understanding of God and His Word. We are to go to God’s Word realizing that God knows what is right and He has given us instructions to help us in our lives.

James 1:21:
Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

There was a time when Jesus Christ was being tempted by the devil to do things that were not right. Instead of doing what the devil wanted him to do (which would have been disobeying God) Jesus Christ told him this next verse.

Matthew 4:4:
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

After looking at just these few verses we can see how important it is for us to diligently go to God’s Word expecting to receive answers and expecting to find the knowledge of God.

Let’s take a look at God’s Word to see what is said about faithfulness and how God is faithful.

Psalm 36:5
Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.

Wow! God’s faithfulness reaches to the clouds. This is a figure of speech used in the Bible to help us see how awesome God is when it comes to being faithful. Although the Psalms were written a long time ago this faithfulness still applies to us today.

Psalm 119:90
Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.

As an example of God’s faithfulness we can look at the earth which was made a very long time ago and yet, it is still here. At the end of every day the sun sets and at the beginning of every day the sun rises. Even if there are clouds in the sky the sun is still up and doing its job.

God has called you and I out to be His children and He is there for us in every situation. When we were born our parents took on the responsibility of taking care of us and teaching us. In a much bigger way God also does this.

I Corinthians 1:9
God is faithful, by who ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

There is no situation so tough or impossible that God is not there to help. The apostle Paul was a born-again one who devoted his life to teaching God’s Word. At times he found himself in very challenging circumstances even to the point of physical danger. Yet, he trusted that God would be there to help. He relied on God’s faithfulness and he was not disappointed.

II Timothy 3:11
Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

We may face different challenges than Paul did, but God is still the same and will be faithful to keep His promises to us.

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