2 Chronicles 18 – Jehosphaphat had great riches. He made a marriage alliance with Ahab – had his son Joram marry Ahab’s daughter, Athaliah. A few years later, he goes to visit Ahab. Ahab offers sacrifice for him and asks for Jehoshaphat’s help in fighting to recover Ramoth-gilead. The Jerusalem Bible note says the unlawful sacrifice—not at the authorized sanctuary, will prove disastrous.
Jehosphaphat asks Ahab to consult “the word of the Lord” (18:4) to see what they should do. Ahab calls together four hundred prophets to advise them. But Jehoshaphat is not satisfied. He asks if “there [is] no other prophet of the Lord here of whom we may inquire?” (18:6)
Ahab says there is Micaiah, son of Imlah, “but I hate him, for he never prophesies anything favorable about me but only disaster” (18:7). They are sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor before the gates of Samaria with the prophets all around them. The messenger who has gone to get Micaiah advises him to “speak favorably” about the proposal like as the others have, but Micaiah says, “As the Lord lives, whatever my God says, that I will speak” (18:13).
When he
arrives, he does as he has ben advised; but Ahab knows him and says, “How many
times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the
Lord?” (18:15) And Micaiah respond, in that case, “I saw the Lord sitting on
his throne, with all the host of heaven standing to the right and to the left
of him. And the Lord said, ‘Who will
entice King Ahab of Israel, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’
Then one said one thing, and another said another, until a spirit came forward
and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ The Lord asked him,
‘How?’ He replied, ‘I will go out and be
a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ . . .So you see, the Lord
has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets; the Lord has
decreed disaster for you” (18:18-22).
Zedekiah slaps Micaiah, and Ahab orders him returned to
Amon, governor of the city and to Joash, the king’s son to be put in prison
“until I return in peace” (18:26). Micaiah
tells him if he returns, then the Lord has not spoken through him. So they
go up to Ramoth-gilead.
Ahab convinces Jehoshaphat to put on his robes while he
(Ahab) disguises himself to go into battle. He is
slyly acting on the truth he heard from Micaiah, trying to avoid the fate
Micaiah has prophesied. The king of Aram, has instructed his men to only
go after the king of Israel, so it looks at first as if Ahab’s strategy will
save him. The Aramaean soldiers come after Jehosphaphat, but the Lord helps him (18:31). The captains see it is not the king
of Israel and turn back. Then
“unknowingly, a man draws his bow and [strikes] the king of Israel between the
scale armor and the breastplate. . . .” (18:34). At sunset he dies. Chronicles focuses more on Jehoshaphat than Kings does—Kings
focuses more on Ahab. His focus is on the Judaean monarchy.
Augustine’s Treatise
on the Profit of Believing
21 - This, you
will say, is ridiculous – to turn to the church Augustine calls "Catholic" for instruction on the teaching “that has flowed down from Christ
Himself through the Apostles even unto us” - whereas all profess to hold
and teach this: all heretics make this profession, I cannot deny it; but so, as
that they promise to those whom they entice, that they will give them a reason
concerning matters the most obscure: and on this account chiefly charge the
Catholic [Church], that they who come to
her are enjoined to believe; but
they make it their boast, that they
impose not a yoke of believing, but open a fount of teaching. You answer,
What could be said, that should pertain more to their praise? It is not so.
So, OK – this is not easy stuff to
unravel – he has just spoken in the last section of having turned to the church
that teaches what has flowed down to us through the apostles and teaches it in
a certain authoritative way, not open to a lot of speculation or personal
interpretation. While they – Augustine and Horatius – have been similar in the
past in not wanting to trust to “a yoke of believing” now Augustine believes
that this yoke is more to be trusted than an “open fount” which the Manichees
boast of having.
For this they do,
without being endued with any strength, but in order to conciliate to
themselves a crowd by the name of reason: on the promise of which the human soul naturally is pleased, and,
without considering its own strength and state of health, by seeking the food
of the sound, which is ill entrusted save to such as are in health, rushes upon
the poisons of them who deceive. For
true religion, unless those things be believed, which each one after, if he
shall conduct himself well and shall be worthy, attains unto and understands,
and altogether without a certain weighty power of authority, can in no way be
rightly entered upon. What Augustine calls “true
religion” rests in an essential way on the authority of those who have come
before us – their testimony.
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