King Ahab of Israel asked King Jehoshaphat of Judah, "Will you join me in attacking Ramoth-gilead?"

"I'm with you," Jehoshaphat replied. "and my army is with you. We'll join you in the battle." But then Jehoshaphat asked the king of Israel, "Please ask for a message from the LORD, first."

So the king of Israel gathered together 400 prophets and asked them, "Should we go attack Ramoth-gilead, or should I call off the attack?" "Go attack them," they all said, "because God will drop them right in the king's hand."

"There is still one man left by whom we could ask the LORD what to do," the king of Israel replied to Jehoshaphat, "but I hate him because he won't prophesy anything good about me. Instead, he always prophesies evil. He is Imla's son Micaiah." But Jehoshaphat rebuked Ahab, "Kings should never talk like that."

Nevertheless, the king of Israel called an officer and ordered him, "Bring me Imla's son Micaiah quickly."

Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were each sitting on their own thrones, arrayed in their robes, and sitting on the threshing floor at the entrance to the city gate of Samaria, and all of the prophets were prophesying in front of them.

When Micaiah approached the king, the king asked him, "Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I not?" "Go to war," Micaiah replied, "and you will be successful, because the LORD will hand it over to the king!"

When he heard this, the king asked him, "How many times do I have to ask you? Tell me nothing but the truth, and do it in the name of the LORD!"

And so Micaiah replied: "I saw all of Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD told me, "These have no master, so let them each return to his own home in peace.'"

But Micaiah responded, "Therefore, listen to what the LORD has to say. I saw the LORD, sitting on his throne, and the entire Heavenly Army was surrounding him on his right hand and on his left hand.

"The LORD asked, "Who will tempt King Ahab of Israel to attack Ramoth-gilead, so that he will die there?' And one was saying one thing and one was saying another.

"But then a spirit approached, stood in front of the LORD, and said, "I will entice him.' "And the LORD asked him, "How?'

""I will go,' he announced, "and I will be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all of his prophets!' "So the LORD said, "You're just the one to deceive him. You will be successful. Go and do it.'

Now therefore, listen! The LORD has placed a lying spirit in the mouth of all of these prophets of yours, because the LORD has determined to bring disaster upon you."

As if on cue, Chenaanah's son Zedekiah approached Micaiah and struck him on the cheek. Then he asked him, "How did the Spirit of the LORD move from me to speak to you?"

Micaiah replied, "You'll learn the answer to that question when the day comes that you run away to hide yourself in a closet!"

Then the king of Israel ordered, "Take Micaiah and place him in the custody of Amon, the city governor. Hand him over to Joash, the king's son.

Give him this order: "Place him in prison on survival rations only until I come back safely.'"

The king of Israel suggested to Jehoshaphat, "I'll go into battle in disguise, but you keep your royal uniform on." So the king of Israel disguised himself and they both went into the battle.

So when the chariot commanders observed Jehoshaphat, they said by mistake, "It's the king of Israel!" and they turned aside to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out to the LORD, who helped him, and God diverted them from him.

When the chariot commanders saw that their target was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him.

The battle continued on for the rest of the day while the king of Israel propped himself up in front of the Arameans until the sun set, at which time he died.

After this, King Jehoshaphat of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem,

Nevertheless, a few good things have been found in you, in that you have removed the Asheroth from the land and you have disciplined yourself to seek God."

Jehoshaphat continued to live in Jerusalem, but he travelled again throughout the people from Beer-sheba to Mount Ephraim, bringing them back to the LORD God of their ancestors

and appointing judges throughout the land in all of the walled cities of Judah, city by city. He issued this reminder to the judges:

So let the fear of the LORD rest upon you, be on your guard, and act carefully, because with the LORD our God there is neither injustice, nor partiality, nor bribery."

In Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat also appointed certain descendants of Levi, priests, and family leaders of Israel to render verdicts for the LORD and to decide difficult cases. Their offices were in Jerusalem.

"You are to carry out your duties in the fear of the LORD, serving him faithfully with your whole heart. No matter what case comes before you from your fellow citizens who live in their own cities, whether it's a dispute between blood relatives or a dispute regarding the Law and the commands, statutes, or verdicts, you are to warn the parties so that they do not become guilty in the LORD's presence and so that anger does not come upon you and your fellow citizens.

Jehoshaphat's military advisors came and informed him, "We've been attacked by a vast invasion force from Aram, beyond the Dead Sea. Be advised they've already reached Hazazon-tamar, also known as En-gedi."

In mounting fear, Jehoshaphat devoted himself to seek the LORD. He proclaimed a period of fasting throughout all of the territory of Judah,

Jehoshaphat stood among the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the LORD's Temple in the vicinity of the new court

"LORD God of our ancestors, you are the God who lives in heaven, are you not? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, don't you? In your own hands you grasp both strength and power, don't you? As a result, no one can oppose you, can they? You are our God, who expelled the former inhabitants of this land right in front of our people Israel, aren't you? Then you gave it to your friend Abraham's descendant forever, didn't you?

They lived in it and have built there a sanctuary for your name, where they said,

"If evil comes upon us, such as war as punishment, disease, or famine and we stand in your presence in this Temple (because your Name is in this Temple) and cry out to you in our distress, then you will hear and deliver.'

Now therefore look! The Ammonites, the Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir, whom you would not permit Israel to attack when they arrived from the land of Egypt since they turned away from them and did not eliminate them

Our God, you are going to punish them, aren't you? We have no strength to face this vast multitude that has come against us, nor do we know what to do, except that our eyes are on you."

All of Judah was standing in the LORD's presence, along with their little babies, their wives, and their children.

Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Zechariah's son Jahaziel, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a descendant of Levi from the descendants of Asaph in the middle of the assembly, and he said:

"Pay attention, everyone in Judah, in Jerusalem, and you, too, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says to you: "Stop being afraid, and stop being discouraged because of this vast invasion force, because the battle doesn't belong to you, but to God.

You won't be fighting in this battle. Take your stand, but stand still, and watch the LORD's salvation on your behalf, Judah and Jerusalem! Never fear and never be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, since the LORD is with you.'"

Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the assembled inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem fell face down in the LORD's presence and worshipped the LORD.

Descendants of Levi from the descendants of Kohath and from the descendants of Korah stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel in a very loud voice that ascended to heaven.

The army got up early the next morning and headed out into the wilderness of Tekoa. Jehoshaphat stood up and addressed them. "Listen to me, you inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem," he said. "Have faith in the LORD your God and you'll be established! Have faith in his prophets and you'll succeed!"

After he had consulted with the people, Jehoshaphat appointed some choir members to sing to the LORD and to praise him in sacred splendor as they marched out in front of the armed forces. They kept saying "Give thanks to the LORD, because his gracious love is eternal!"

Right on time, as they began to sing and praise, the LORD ambushed the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir who had attacked Judah, and they were defeated.

The Ammonites and Moabites attacked the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them, and after they had finished with the inhabitants of Mount Seir, they worked on destroying one another!

When the army of Judah arrived at the remotest watchtower in the wilderness, they looked around at the invasion force, and to their surprise, there were dead bodies lying all around on the ground not one had escaped!

Later on, when Jehoshaphat and his army arrived to collect the spoils of war, they discovered there were far more goods, garments, and other valuable items to collect than they could carry off in a single day. There was so much material that it took three days to finish their collection efforts.

Three days later, they assembled together in the Beracah Valley, where they blessed the LORD, which is why the name of that place is called Beracah Valley to this day.

Fear of God seized all of the kingdoms in the surrounding territories when they heard that the LORD had battled Israel's enemies.

Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah, having become king at the age of 35. He reigned in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother's name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.

The rest of Jehoshaphat's accomplishments, from first to last, are recorded in the annals of Hanani's son Jehu, which appears in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

He also agreed with King Ahaziah to build ships to sail toward Tarshish, which they built in Ezion-geber.

But Dodavahu's son Eliezer from Mareshah prophesied in opposition to Jehoshaphat, "Because you have entered into an alliance with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your efforts." So the ships were destroyed and were never able to sail for Tarshish.

Jehoshaphat died, as had his ancestors, and was buried in the City of David alongside his ancestors. His son Jehoram became king in his place.

Their father gave them many gifts made of silver, and gold, as well as valuable things, along with fortified cities in Judah, but he passed the kingdom to Jehoram because Jehoram was his firstborn.

Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king, and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem.

Nevertheless, the Lord was unwilling to destroy David's dynasty because of the covenant that he had made with David, especially since he had promised to give him and to his sons the reigning presence of an heir forever.

Nevertheless, Edom revolted against Judah's rule and set up their own king to rule them during Jehoram's reign.

Edom remains in revolt against Judah to this day. Libnah revolted against Jehoram's rule, too, because he had abandoned the LORD God of his ancestors.

In addition to all of this, he built high places in the mountains of Judah, led the inhabitants of Jerusalem into cultic sexual immorality, and made Judah go astray.

"This is what the LORD God of your ancestor David says: "You haven't lived like your father Jehoshaphat and like King Asa of Judah. Instead, you have lived like the kings of Israel by causing Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit cultic sexual immorality just like Ahab's dynasty did! And you've killed your brothers who were better than you your own father's dynasty!

Look what's going to happen! The LORD is going to strike your people, your children, your wives, and everything you own with a massive tragedy.

And as for you, you will suffer from a serious disease of your bowels. Eventually, day-by-day you will excrete your own bowels because of this disease."

and they attacked Judah, invading it and carried off everything he owned in his royal palace, along with all of his sons and wives except for his youngest son Jehoahaz.

After all of this happened, the LORD struck him in his bowels with an incurable illness.

In due course, as time passed, two years later his bowels came out because of his sickness and he died in agony. His people lit no memorial bonfire for him as they had done for his ancestors.

Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years. He left this earth to nobody's regret and they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

The residents of Jerusalem made Jehoram's son Ahaziah king in his place after the raiding party that had invaded the city with the Arabs had killed all of the older sons. That's how Jehoram's son Ahaziah became king of Judah.

Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king, and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. His mother was Athaliah, Omri's granddaughter.

So he practiced what the LORD considered to be evil, just like Ahab's dynasty had done, because after his father died, he was given advice that resulted in his destruction.

so he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that he had received at Ramah in the battle against King Hazael of Aram. King Ahaziah of Judah, Jehoram's son, went to visit Ahab's son Joram, because he was wounded.

Jehu also searched for Ahaziah, had him apprehended while Ahaziah was hiding out in Samaria, and had Ahaziah brought to him. Jehu had Ahaziah executed and buried. It was said of Jehu, "He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all of his heart." As a result, there was no one left in the household of Ahaziah strong enough to reign in the kingdom.

However, the king's daughter Jehoshabeath took Ahaziah's son Joash away from the king's children who were about to be assassinated and hid him and his nurse in a bedroom. That's how King Jehoram's daughter Jehoshabeath, who was also the priest Jehoiada's wife and Ahaziah's sister, hid him from Athaliah. As a result, she was not able to kill him.

Joash remained with them for six years, hidden in God's Temple while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Everybody went to Jerusalem, and the whole group made a covenant with the king in God's Temple, where Jehoiada addressed them:

"Look! The king's son is going to rule, just as the LORD promised David's descendants. So here's what you'll need to do: One third of you priests and descendants of Levi who are on duty during the Sabbath will serve as guards at the temple gates.

Another third of you priests and descendants of Levi will take your places in the royal palace, while another third of you priests and descendants of Levi will stand near the Foundation Gate. The rest of you will remain in the courtyard of the LORD's Temple.

Nobody is to enter the LORD's Temple except for the priests and descendants of Levi who are on duty. They may enter because they are ceremonially holy, but all the rest of the people must observe the LORD's instructions.

The descendants of Levi will surround the king, brandishing weapons in their hands, and anybody who enters the Temple will be killed. Stay near the king wherever he enters and leaves."

What Jehoiada the priest ordered is precisely what the descendants of Levi and all of Judah did. Each of them took the men who were on duty on the Sabbath as well as those who were off duty. Jehoiada the priest did not release the divisions from service,

and Jehoiada the priest issued the spears and shields that King David had placed in storage in God's Temple to the officers in charge of the units of hundreds.

He set the rest of the people to serve as guards for the king, and each one brandished weapons in his hand, from the south side of the Temple to the north side of the Temple, around the altar, and surrounding the palace.

Then he brought out the king's son, put a crown on him, and presented him with the Testimony,

When Athaliah heard all the commotion of the people running around and praising the king, she went straight to the LORD's Temple to confront the people.

But Jehoiada the priest summoned the captains of hundreds who had been appointed in charge over the army and ordered them, "Bring her out between the ranks, and execute anyone who follows her." The priest also told them, "Don't execute her in the LORD's Temple."

So they arrested her when she arrived at the entrance to the Horse Gate near the royal palace, and then they executed her there.

After this, Jehoiada drew up a covenant between himself as an individual with all the people, and between himself as king, that they would be the LORD's people.

Then all the people went to the temple of Baal, broke its altars and idols to pieces, and executed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars.

Jehoiada also stationed inspectors at the LORD's Temple so that no one would enter who was ritually unclean in any manner.

He also took the captains of hundreds, the nobles, the people's governors, and all the people of the land, and they all marched with the king from the LORD's Temple through the upper gate to the royal palace, where they installed the king on his royal throne.

Joash was seven years old when he began his reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah. She was from Beer-sheba.

Later on, Joash decided to rebuild the LORD's Temple,

the king issued an order and a chest was made and set outside the entrance gate to the LORD's Temple.

A public notice was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring in the tax that Moses the servant of the LORD had levied on Israel when they were in the wilderness.

Both the king and Jehoiada paid the money to those who were working to maintain the service of the LORD's Temple, and they, in turn, hired masons and carpenters to restore the LORD's Temple. Iron and bronze workers also were brought in to repair the Lord's Temple.

When they had completed the work, they brought what was left of the money to the king and to Jehoiada, and it was used to cast utensils for the LORD's Temple that were to be utilized for daily service and for burnt offerings, for incense vessels, and for both gold and silver vessels. Burnt offerings were offered on a regular basis in the LORD's Temple throughout Jehoiada's lifetime.

He was buried in the City of David among the graves of the kings, because he had accomplished many good things in Israel on behalf of God and his Temple.

They abandoned the LORD's Temple and the God of their fathers, and they served Asherim and idols. As a result this guilt of theirs resulted in wrath coming upon Judah and Jerusalem.