ImmerseChronicles NLT - Page 85



2C
| 18:24–19:7
C hronicles – E Z R A – N E H E M I A H
73
And Mi­ca­iah replied, “You will find out soon enough when you are trying to hide in some secret room!”
“Arrest him!” the king of Is­ra­el ordered. “Take him back to Amon, the
governor of the city, and to my son Jo­ash. Give them this order from the
king: ‘Put this man in prison, and feed him nothing but bread and water
until I return safely from the battle!’”
But Mi­ca­iah replied, “If you return safely, it will mean that the Lord
has not spoken through me!” Then he added to those standing around,
“Every­one mark my words!”
So King Ahab of Is­ra­el and King Je­hosh­a­phat of Ju­dah led their armies
against R
­ amoth-­gilead. The king of Is­ra­el said to Je­hosh­a­phat, “As we go
into battle, I will disguise myself so no one will recognize me, but you
wear your royal robes.” So the king of Is­ra­el disguised himself, and they
went into battle.
Meanwhile, the king of Aram had issued these orders to his char­i­ot commanders: “Attack only the king of Is­ra­el! Don’t bother with anyone else.”
So when the Ar­a­me­an char­io­ t commanders saw Je­hosh­a­phat in his royal
robes, they went after him. “There is the king of Is­ra­el!” they shouted.
But Je­hosh­a­phat called out, and the Lord saved him. God helped him by
turning the attackers away from him. As soon as the char­i­ot commanders
realized he was not the king of Is­ra­el, they stopped chasing him.
An Ar­a­me­an soldier, however, randomly shot an arrow at the Is­ra­elite
troops and hit the king of Is­ra­el between the joints of his armor. “Turn the
horses and get me out of here!” Ahab groaned to the driver of the char­i­ot.
“I’m badly wounded!”
The battle raged all that day, and the king of Is­ra­el propped himself up
in his char­i­ot facing the Ar­a­me­ans. In the evening, just as the sun was setting, he died.
When King Je­hosh­a­phat of Ju­dah arrived safely home in Je­ru­sa­lem, Jehu
son of Ha­na­ni the seer went out to meet him. “Why should you help the
wicked and love those who hate the Lord?” he asked the king. “Because
of what you have done, the Lord is very angry with you. Even so, there is
some good in you, for you have removed the Ashe­rah poles throughout
the land, and you have committed yourself to seeking God.”
Je­hosh­a­phat lived in Je­ru­sa­lem, but he went out among the people,
traveling from Be­er­she­ba to the hill country of Ephra­im, encouraging the
people to return to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. He appointed
judges throughout the nation in all the fortified towns, and he said to
them, “Always think carefully before pronouncing judgment. Remember
that you do not judge to please people but to please the Lord. He will be
with you when you render the verdict in each case. Fear the Lord and
ImmerseChronicles_NLT.indd 73
6/21/2017 10:01:32 AM





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