The arrow.

  Pat and I were having coffee one Saturday morning, and she started to tell me about the Scripture that she read that day.   It was so good that I asked her to get the Bible and read it to me, and the question came to mind this morning: Does God have His way, and does He use people?
  Jehoshaphat, Ahab, 400 Prophets, Michiah, and the young warrior.  Four hundred and four and only one right? And one used by God?  The stage is set and I will tell a modified, but true account that The Lord showed us.
   Ahab, the king of Israel asked Jehosophat of Judah to ally with him against the enemy.  Jehosophat replied, "Of course!  But first, let's ask God."  So Ahab called his 400 heathen prophets and asked them if they should go to war.  They replied, "Go ahead.  God will give you a great victory!"
But Jehosaphat insisted on hearing from a prophet of The Lord, of which there was only one, Michiah.  The heathen prophets went to Michiah and told him what they had said and asked him to agree with them.  (Ahab hated Michiah because he always told him the truth,  not what Ahab wanted him to say.)  Michiah replied, "I vow by God that whatever God says is what I will say."  But when he went before the two kings he said, "Sure, go ahead!  It will be a glorious victory!"  Ahab said, "How many times do I have to tell you to speak only what The Lord tells you to?"
     This was Michaiah's answer:  "In my vision I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountain as sheep without a shepherd.  And The Lord said, 'Their master has been killed.  Send them home.'"  This, of course, really angered Ahab.  Then Michiah continued, "I saw him upon his throne surrounded by vast throngs of angels.  And The Lord said 'Who can get King Ahab to go to battle and be killed there?'  Finally, a spirit stepped forward and said 'I can do it! I will be a lying spirit in the mouths of the king's prophets!'  ' It will work,' The Lord said.  'Go and do it.'
     The king ordered Michiah to prison on bread and water until such time as he (Ahab) returned safely from battle.  Michaiah replied, "If you return safely, The Lord is not speaking through me."  Then, turning to the others around him,  remarked, "Take note of what I have said."
   So, Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, " I will disguise myself, but you put on your royal robes."
    Now the king of Syria had commanded his troops to ignore everyone except the king of Israel.  So when the Syrian charioteers saw King Jehoshaphat of Judah in his royal robes, they went for him, thinking he was Ahab.  But Jehoshaphat cried out for The Lord to save him and The Lord caused them to realize it was not Ahab, and they stopped chasing him.
    Here comes the hero of the story...
    One of the Syrian charioteers shot an arrow haphazardly and it struck King Ahab at the opening where the lower armor and the breastplate meet.  "Get me out of here'" he groaned to his chariot driver, "for I am badly wounded."  The battle grew hotter and hotter all that day, and King Ahab went back in, propped in his chariot, to fight.  But as the sun went down, he died.
    When Jehoshaphat returned home, uninjured, he was met by the prophet of God, Jehu.  Jehu asked, "Should you be helping the wicked, and loving those who hate The Lord?  Because of what you have done, God's wrath is upon you."
    What happened to Jehoshaphat?  You can read the rest in 2Chronicles chapter 19.