The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 224

more prudence bad Jehosha.pha.t stayed at home. To say the leMt it was hazardous to frnternize with such a eon of Belial as the King of Israel (2 Sam. ~xiii. 6, 7). UL AN UNHOLY CONFEDERACY. Jehoshaphat makes a league with Ahab (var. 8), 1. .At what time, After enjoying Ahab's hospitality, which was sumptuous. The pleasures of the t&ble have a tendency to lay one open to temptation; indul"ed in to excess, they lead to other ~ins (2 'l'im. iii. 4; 1 Pet. ii. 11). Gluttony and dru;kennese go co!11monly together (Deut. _xxi .. 2~; P~o".. xxiii. 21 ;_ Mat~. xxiv. 49); and all experience shows that when wrne 1s m Wit 1s out. Besides, 1t requires courage to accept a neighbour's hospitality-to eat his dinner and drink his wines-and deny his request. (N .B.-Beware of dining with those whose characters cannot be trusted I) 2. On whose persuasion, Ahab's. '!'he King of Israel doubtless reasoned he had a double claim on Jehoshaphat, to whose son he had given a wife, and to whose self he had furnished a splendid entertainment. It is dangerous for good men to accept favours e.t the hands of the wicked. Jehoshaphat should have remembered David's prayer (Ps. cxli. 4). 8. For what ob}ect, To recover Ra.moth-Gilead upon the northern frontier of Israel-a town which belonged to Israel (Deut. iv. 43; Josh. xxi. 88), and had been captured by Benha.da.d's father, not in the war with Baasha (eh. xvi. 4; 1 Kings xv. 20), who was not Ahab's father, but in a subsequent unrecorded strug"le with Omri who was. Benhada.d had promised to restore it (1 Kincrs xx. 34), but h";i,d neglected or refused to do so. Accordingly, Ahab may have argu;d that bis plea for the projected campaign was good, as the monuments appear to show be had ground for thinking the time opportune, Shalmaneser II. of Assyria having shortly before, in the battle of Karkar, defeated the Syrian king (Sayce, 'Fresh Light,' etc., p. 121). Still it was not clear that this expedition, though justified by political and military considera- tions, was approved by God, and Jehoshaphat would have been excused bad he viewed with suspicion any enterprise that bad Ahab for its author. 4. In what terms 1 "I am e.s thou art," etc. (ver. 8). The magniloquence of this utterance was probably due to the time when and the place where it was given forth. Had Jehoshaphat not been dining with Ahab, he would most likely have consulted Jehovah before committing himself and his battalions in so pompous and foolhardy a fashion. Yet it may have proceeded from a constitutional pomposity of manner with which the southern king was afflicted (cf. 2 Kings iii. 7), as were ancient sovereigns generally; compare the treaty of the Grand Duke of Kheta with Rameses II. of Egypt, "Behold, I am at one in heart with Ramessu-Meriamen, the great ruler of Egypt" (' Records,' etc., iv. 29). The world has travelled far since the days when kings could send their peoples to war without asking their opinion, simply to gratify revenge or slake ambition. Amongst civilized nations subjects cannot now be plunged into hostilities by their rulers without their own consent. Learn: L The danger of mixed marriages. 2. The perils of the table (Prov. xxiii. 2, 6, 20). 3. The slipperiness of evil paths-one sin leads to another. 4. The propriety of wisely selecting companions (Prov. xxviii. 7, 19). 5. The folly of being confederate with wicked men. 6. The wisdom of consulting God before engaging in a doubtful enterprise.-W. Vers. 4-8.-A C01JA'l,ci7, of war: Jehoshaphat and Ahab among the prophets. I. JEHOSHAPHAT'B PROPOSAL. To inquire at the Lord (ver. 4). A proposal: 1. Good. Commanded by God (Prov. iii. 5, 6), recommended by the pious (Gen. xxv. 22; 1 Sam. xxiii. 2, 4; 1 Chron. xxi. 30), approved by experience as indispensable for safety (Jer. x. 23), and one that can seldom be neglected without loss (Zeph. i. 6), and even hurt (1 Chron. x. 14). 2. New. At least in Israel, where the custom had been to say, 'Inquire of Baal' (Hall). As such, it probably appeared to Ahab unnecessary, as to ungodly men generally religion and its forms mostly do; though to Ahab it should likewise have served as a rebuke, reminding him of his apostasy from Jehovah and mviting him to return. "A word fitly spoken," etc. (Prov. xxv. 11). 3. Untimely. It should have been made not after but before the conclusion of the treaty, and w&11 now too late. It is not clear that God will direct those whose minds are fixed before they consult him. 4. Insincere. Jehoshapbat's suggestion not that of an honest man who desired guidance from Heaven, but of one who half suspected he had entered on e. doubtful course, from which, however, he did not ea.re to withdraw, but for which he on. xvm. 1-34,) THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. 225