And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
The verse records that Jehoshaphat, the good king of Judah, made peace with Ahab, king of Israel, during Ahab's reign. That peace was an alliance with Ahab and his house to go to war against Syria together. That alliance was a fearful and serious mistake.
The verse belongs to the account in which Ahab was persuaded by a lying spirit to go up to Ramoth-gilead to fall in battle. Ahab was a very wicked king who caused Israel to depart from the Lord and did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. God faithfully warned Ahab by His servants and gave him time to reform, but he continued doing what displeased the Lord, so finally God suffered him to follow his own way, gave him over to the control of a lying spirit, and decided that he should fall in battle at Ramoth-gilead. God has a right to punish the disobedient and impenitent, and the case of Ahab is a striking illustration of God's justice and long-suffering. The verse is part of the account of Ahab whose reign and idolatry are described in 1 Kings 16-22.
The verse stands at the close of the history of the two separate kingdoms of Judah and Israel covering about eighty years from the revolt of the ten tribes to the death of Jehoshaphat, a history comprising the reigns of several kings of both Judah and Israel. It is part of the history of the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah, which continued at times in war and at times in peace until Israel's overthrow in 721 B.C. It stands at the close of 1 Kings 11-22, the history that begins with Solomon multiplying wives to himself until they turned away his heart and left little for God, though in his last days he repented when he penned Ecclesiastes. That same history continues with the division of the kingdom because of his mistakes into two and a half tribes in Judah and ten tribes in Israel, and then traces war and strife between the two divisions through Rehoboam, Jeroboam and his altars against God's altar, Abijah, Asa, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Ahab, and Elijah who slew the prophets of Baal, prayed for rain that God sent, became discouraged with weariness, and was translated.
The verse records that Jehoshaphat, the good king of Judah, made peace with Ahab, king of Israel, during Ahab's reign. That peace was an alliance with Ahab and his house to go to war against Syria together. That alliance was a fearful and serious mistake.
The verse belongs to the account in which Ahab was persuaded by a lying spirit to go up to Ramoth-gilead to fall in battle. Ahab was a very wicked king who caused Israel to depart from the Lord and did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. God faithfully warned Ahab by His servants and gave him time to reform, but he continued doing what displeased the Lord, so finally God suffered him to follow his own way, gave him over to the control of a lying spirit, and decided that he should fall in battle at Ramoth-gilead. God has a right to punish the disobedient and impenitent, and the case of Ahab is a striking illustration of God's justice and long-suffering. The verse is part of the account of Ahab whose reign and idolatry are described in 1 Kings 16-22.
The verse stands at the close of the history of the two separate kingdoms of Judah and Israel covering about eighty years from the revolt of the ten tribes to the death of Jehoshaphat, a history comprising the reigns of several kings of both Judah and Israel. It is part of the history of the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah, which continued at times in war and at times in peace until Israel's overthrow in 721 B.C. It stands at the close of 1 Kings 11-22, the history that begins with Solomon multiplying wives to himself until they turned away his heart and left little for God, though in his last days he repented when he penned Ecclesiastes. That same history continues with the division of the kingdom because of his mistakes into two and a half tribes in Judah and ten tribes in Israel, and then traces war and strife between the two divisions through Rehoboam, Jeroboam and his altars against God's altar, Abijah, Asa, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Ahab, and Elijah who slew the prophets of Baal, prayed for rain that God sent, became discouraged with weariness, and was translated.