King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Monday, June 29, 2020
Chapters: I Kings 22, II Chronicles 18-19
Message: Compromising Situations
Hello My Friend,
Compromising situations. As Christians, we are told to love one another as brothers, but not get ourselves into situations that compromise or faith. To do that we have to understand what brotherly love is, [Romans 12:9-10,16-18 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.]
In other words, brotherly love means that we are to be kind to all, even if all are not kind to us, but we also keep our distance as to not get ourselves into compromising situations. We must be careful who we align ourselves with, even fellow Christians, or we will be put into those compromising situations, and will suffer from them. After Ahab got the news that his entire family would be destroyed, including Jezebel, he might have been spared from seeing it all come to pass, if he would have just turn to God, but he refused and that left Israel still under judgment. Now, after three years of war with Syria, he attempts to align himself with Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, who happened to be his father-in-law, which was the first mistake.
[I Kings 22:2-8 And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 3 And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? 4 And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. 5 And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day. 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. 7 And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him? 8 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.]
[Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides,] Before Jehoshaphat even made a decision he wanted to know from God if it was something he should do, and although four hundred Baal prophets encouraged them, he wanted to hear from God Himself. Every decision we make needs to be advised and directed by God Himself. Ahab sent he men for Micaiah, they encourage Micaiah to speak words that Ahab wanted to hear.
[II Chronicles 18:12-17 And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one assent; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good. 13 And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak. 14 And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand. 15 And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the LORD? 16 Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master; let them return therefore every man to his house in peace. 17 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good unto me, but evil?]
[Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good unto me,] The world does not want the hear the truth, and the truth is that their sins will be the death of them, and send them straight to hell if they do not turn to Jesus Christ. Micaiah refused to get himself into a compromising situation by lying to Ahab to avoid more prosecution. We cannot hide the truths in God’s Word under any circumstance, and we cannot change His truths for fear of not offending someone, we must tell the truth, even if that means we will be persecuted for it. However, because we are God’s, He will always protect us, even if we do get caught up in a compromising situation. Ahab came up with a plan to make sure that he would not get caught, he intended for the enemy to go after Jehoshaphat thinking it was him, but God intervened when Jehoshaphat called out to Him.
[II Chronicles 18:28-32 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramothgilead. 29 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle. 30 Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots that were with him, saying, Fight ye not with small or great, save only with the king of Israel. 31 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him. 32 For it came to pass, that, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back again from pursuing him.]
[and God moved them to depart from him.] We cannot change fate, when God places judgment upon someone, it will happen no matter how many people try to stop Him, that is unless they humble themselves before Him. We would all go through a lot less suffering if we just learn to say no more often. Let me tell you, that people might mock you, call you a Jesus freak or something like that, but it is better to suffer for doing the right thing than for the wrong thing, [I Peter 4:12-13 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.]
Jehoshaphat barely escaping with his life, returned to Jerusalem to find Jehu, a seer, to warn him of a battle that was about to take place in Judah because of his decision to join Ahab. Jehoshaphat admitting he was wrong proclaimed a fast throughout all of Judah in order to get right with God and stop the battle from happening or at least have God’s help in it.
[II Chronicles 19:4-9 And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again through the people from Beersheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back unto the LORD God of their fathers. 5 And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city, 6 And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. 7 Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts. 8 Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites, and of the priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Israel, for the judgment of the LORD, and for controversies, when they returned to Jerusalem. 9 And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart.]
[take heed and do it:] God will warn us when we are about to do something against His will, but once we make the choice to do it, the consequences are all our own. We need to be very careful not to let people charm us into going against God, but God knows our heart and our intentions and although He allows the affliction to continue He will help us endure it as long as we seek His help, [Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.]
Today’s Prayer: God, As much as I attempt to do the right thing, I often find myself stuck in compromising situations because I do not want to offend someone. Thank You for helping me endure every situation I have gotten myself into by not coming to You in the first place. Lord, Lead me and guide me, help me to never make a decision that will compromise my relationship with You or what I believe in You. Help me to not even walk into compromising situations in the first place by keeping my eyes on You and listening for Your warnings. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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