The Fellowship of Fools: On Unequal Yokes and Hired Prophets Text: 2 Chronicles 18:1-7
Introduction: The Gravitational Pull of Compromise
There is a constant, downward gravitational pull in the life of every believer, every church, and every Christian institution. It is the pull toward respectability. It is the allure of the world's approval. It is the desire to be seated at the table with the powerful, even if the powerful are profane. We tell ourselves we are being missionaries, that we are building bridges. But more often than not, we are simply being absorbed. We think we are influencing them, when in reality, they are domesticating us.
The story of Jehoshaphat and Ahab is a master class in this kind of slow-motion spiritual suicide. Jehoshaphat was, by all accounts, one of the good kings. He followed the Lord, instituted reforms, and was blessed by God with riches and honor. But a good man with a soft spot is a fortress with an unlocked gate. His fatal flaw was a desire for friendly relations with those with whom God was at war. He wanted peace where God had declared enmity. This desire led him to make a marriage alliance with the house of Ahab, the most notoriously wicked dynasty in Israel's history. And as we see in our text, a bad marriage alliance inevitably leads to a bad military alliance. Compromise is a cataract; it grows by degrees until you are completely blind.
This chapter is a stark warning against the folly of what the apostle Paul would later call being "unequally yoked." It demonstrates that once you join yourself to the world's projects, you are inevitably forced to consult the world's prophets. And when you are surrounded by the world's prophets, the one true voice of God will sound like hatred and discord. This is not just ancient history; it is a description of the American evangelical landscape.
The Text
Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and he allied himself by marriage with Ahab. And some years later he went down to Ahab at Samaria. And Ahab sacrificed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people who were with him, and incited him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. And Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, "Will you go with me against Ramoth-gilead?" And he said to him, "I am as you are, and my people as your people, and we will be with you in the battle."
Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Please inquire first for the word of Yahweh." Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets, four hundred men, and said to them, "Shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?" And they said, "Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king." But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not yet a prophet of Yahweh here that we may inquire of him?" And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh, but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me but always evil. He is Micaiah, son of Imla." But Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say so."
(2 Chronicles 18:1-7 LSB)
The Foundational Folly (v. 1)
We begin with the root of the entire disaster:
"Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and he allied himself by marriage with Ahab." (2 Chronicles 18:1)
Notice the structure here. God's blessing, "riches and honor in abundance," is immediately followed by Jehoshaphat's foolishness. This is a warning. Blessing can make a man proud, and it can make him soft. It can make him think he is invincible, that he can afford to dabble in a little compromise. He had everything he needed from God, but he sought the approval of Ahab. He yoked his son to the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, Athaliah, a woman who would later prove to be a venomous snake in the heart of Judah.
This marriage alliance was not a savvy political move; it was an act of spiritual treason. It was a public declaration that the differences between a nation that served Yahweh and a nation that served Baal under the patronage of Jezebel were negotiable. It blurred the antithesis that God has established between His people and the world. Every subsequent disaster in this story flows directly from this poisoned well. Before you enter a foolish military campaign, you first attend a foolish wedding.
The Seductive Feast (vv. 2-3)
Years pass, and the rotten fruit of this alliance begins to show.
"And some years later he went down to Ahab at Samaria. And Ahab sacrificed sheep and oxen in abundance for him... and incited him to go up against Ramoth-gilead... And he said to him, 'I am as you are, and my people as your people, and we will be with you in the battle.'" (2 Chronicles 18:2-3 LSB)
Ahab is a master manipulator. He throws a great feast, a lavish barbecue. This is not mere hospitality; it is a tool of seduction. The world does not try to win us over with logical arguments for atheism. It wins us over with friendship, with fine food, with acceptance, with the promise of partnership. Ahab's goal is to "incite" Jehoshaphat, to entice him into a sinful entanglement.
And it works perfectly. Jehoshaphat's response is one of the most tragic statements a king of Judah could ever make to a king of Israel. "I am as you are, and my people as your people." This is a lie. Jehoshaphat, you are not as he is. You serve the living God; he serves Baal. Your people are God's covenant people; his people are apostates. To say "we are the same" is to erase the covenant. It is the creed of every ecumenical compromiser. It is the false unity of the flesh, not the true unity of the Spirit. Once you have declared this false unity, agreeing to join his doomed war is just the next logical step.
A Sudden Spasm of Piety (v. 4)
Having already given his word, Jehoshaphat now wants to give his decision a religious varnish.
"Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, 'Please inquire first for the word of Yahweh.'" (2 Chronicles 18:4 LSB)
This sounds pious, but it is entirely out of order. The time to inquire of the Lord was before he made the marriage alliance, before he went down to Samaria, and certainly before he said, "we will be with you in the battle." This is not a man seeking guidance; this is a man seeking confirmation. He has already committed his army. Now he wants a prophet to come along and bless the mess. This is what we do when we buy the car and then pray for God to provide the payments. It is using God as a rubber stamp for our own foolish desires.
The Prophetic Industrial Complex (vv. 5-6)
Ahab is more than happy to provide the religious confirmation Jehoshaphat wants.
"Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets, four hundred men, and said to them, 'Shall we go...?' And they said, 'Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.' But Jehoshaphat said, 'Is there not yet a prophet of Yahweh here that we may inquire of him?'" (2 Chronicles 18:5-6 LSB)
Ahab has his prophets on the payroll. Four hundred of them. These are not prophets of God; they are court chaplains. Their job is to keep the king happy and to maintain their government funding. Their prophecy is unanimous, positive, and vague. "God will give it into the hand of the king." They are the ancient equivalent of the motivational speakers and leadership gurus who fill our Christian conferences, promising success and victory without mentioning sin, repentance, or the cost of discipleship.
To his credit, Jehoshaphat's spiritual senses, though dulled, are not dead. He smells a rat. The sheer, slick unanimity of it all is suspicious. A chorus of 400 voices all singing the same happy tune is the sound of a conspiracy, not the sound of the Holy Spirit. So he asks a crucial question. He asks if there is a prophet of Yahweh still around. He recognizes that what he has just heard is not the authentic word of the covenant God. He is looking for the minority report.
The Tyrant's Hatred of the Truth (v. 7)
Ahab's reply is perhaps the most revealing verse in the entire chapter.
"And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, 'There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh, but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me but always evil. He is Micaiah, son of Imla.' But Jehoshaphat said, 'Let not the king say so.'" (2 Chronicles 18:7 LSB)
Here is the heart of the unregenerate man laid bare. Ahab does not say, "I hate him because he is a liar." He does not say, "I hate him because his prophecies don't come true." He says, "I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me but always evil." In other words, I hate him because he tells me the truth. The truth about my sin, my rebellion, and my impending judgment feels like "evil" to me. The faithful pastor is the one who tells the rebellious tycoon that his business venture, built on greed and compromise, will fail. The tycoon hears this as "evil." He wants a prophet who will tell him he is a great man of God and that his venture will be blessed.
Ahab hates the man who brings the word that contradicts his desires. This is why the world hates the true Church. The world does not hate us for our charities or our pleasant dispositions. It hates us when we, like Micaiah, speak God's revealed truth about sin, righteousness, and judgment. It hates the message of the cross because it declares the world's wisdom to be foolishness and its righteousness to be filthy rags.
And what is Jehoshaphat's response to this venomous hatred of God's prophet? A weak, polite, "Let not the king say so." It is a pathetic response. It is the response of a man who is terrified of offending his powerful, wicked friend. He should have stood up, overturned the table, and said, "If you hate the prophet of Yahweh, then you are the enemy of Yahweh, and I will have no part with you." But his compromise has rendered him impotent.
Conclusion: Whose Report Will You Believe?
This story places a choice before all of us. We live in a world that is, like Ahab, hell-bent on a suicidal course. And it invites us to join in. It throws lavish parties, offers us partnerships, and promises us victory. It has its 400 prophets in the media, in the academy, and sadly, in many pulpits, all singing the same song: "Go up! You will be successful! You can have it all!"
But the Word of God comes to us like Micaiah. It is often a lonely voice. It brings a message that the world considers "evil." It tells us that the way of Ahab leads to death. It tells us that our friendly alliances with the world are spiritual adultery. It calls us to break the yoke, to come out from among them and be separate.
The ultimate Micaiah is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Word of God made flesh. He came to a world that hated Him precisely because He told the truth about it. And for that, they killed Him. But His prophecy, the prophecy of His own death and resurrection, was the one that came true. The bad news of His cross is the only thing that can deliver us from the judgment that is coming upon all the Ahabs of this world.
The choice is yours. You can enjoy the feast in Samaria, listen to the 400 court prophets, and march off to Ramoth-gilead with Ahab. Or you can break the alliance, stand with the hated prophet, and trust the Word of the Lord. One path leads to the approval of men and the judgment of God. The other leads to the hatred of men and the salvation of God.