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Viewpoints: God's-Man's

Viewpoints: God’s—Man’s

In studying the books of I and II Samuel, I and II Kings
and I and II Chronicles, one occasionally finds what
seems to be contradictory accounts of the same man
or incident. Careful research of these comparable records
soon discloses a shift of viewpoint from one account to
its counterpart in another Old Testament book. The books
of Samuel and Kings are written from a human viewpoint,
man’s point of view. The books of Chronicles, on
the other hand, are written from God’s point of view,
from the vantage point of spiritual power. Man’s point
of view will simplify life to apparent, overt actions; but
God, understanding the spiritual forces at work in the
world, goes beneath the surface and points out the spiritual
aspects which bring about man’s destiny.

The accounts of two kings, Saul and Jehoshaphat, are
clear examples of the changes of viewpoint from man’s
analysis to God’s over-all view. Records of the death of
Saul are found in I Samuel 31, from man’s viewpoint,
and in I Chronicles 10, from God’s viewpoint.

At the end of his life, Saul is once more battling the
Philistines.

I Samuel 31:1-6:
Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the
men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and
fell down slain in mount Gilboa.
And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and
upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and
Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons.
And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers
hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers.
Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy
sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these
uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and
abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he
was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and
fell upon it.
And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead,
he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him.
So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer,
and all his men, that same day together.

The record in Samuel makes Saul’s death seem like
an act of stress brought on by the defeat of battle. Chronicles
shows the spiritual forces which brought on Saul’s
wretched end.

I Chronicles 10:13, 14:
So Saul died for his transgression which he committed
against the Lord, even against the word of the
Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel
of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it;
And inquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew him,
and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.

From the record in Samuel we learned that the Philistines
shot Saul with an arrow, and then Saul impaled
himself on his own sword. According to Chronicles, the
Lord slew him. How does one harmonize these apparent
discrepancies?

Remember, the record in Samuel is from man’s point
of view: God looked beyond the arrow and the sword.
From God’s point of view, Saul died because of his transgressions
which included his visit to the sensitive to gain
information.

Saul disobeyed God’s law, and because of his own
disobedience killed himself or was killed. God didn’t
literally take Saul’s life. I Chronicles 10:14 doesn’t mean
that. There is a spiritual law founded by God. Picture the
law as a cement wall. When a person runs into it, he
hurts himself. Saul knew that God’s number one law
said man should not pay tribute to idols or other gods:
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Later on
Jesus Christ set forth the commandment: “Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy strength and with all thy mind”
(Luke 10:27). God will bear many acts of unrighteousness
from His people, but He will not tolerate the worshipping
of other gods.

Saul knew God’s commandment, but nevertheless he
willfully broke it. Saul, disobeying the true God, began
playing with spiritualistic power by having the woman
of Endor trying to conjure up the dead Samuel. By this
act, Saul rushed head-first against the immovable wall
of the law, and thus brought destruction to himself. From
the senses’ vantage point, Saul died because of battle
wounds and self-inflicted impaling. From the spiritual
point of view Saul died because he disobeyed the most
important law of God.

Another example of the two viewpoints, human and
spiritual, is found in the account of Jehoshaphat, king of
Judah, in I Kings 22 and II Chronicles 20. Instead of
studying just the varied viewpoints of one event in Jehoshaphat’s
life, let us look at the background leading up
to this event. The biography of Jehoshaphat is a record
of a frail, though sometimes great, human being, and an
example of God’s indulgence and faithfulness to His own.

II Chronicles 17:1:
And Jehoshaphat his [Asa’s] son reigned in his stead,
and strengthened himself against Israel.

Jehoshaphat strengthened himself against Israel, which
nation at that time was very wicked and ungodly. Jeroboam
of Israel had been a wicked king setting up many
high places (temples on hills) to worship pagan gods. And
Ahab, Jeroboam’s son, continued his father’s idolatrous
practices when he succeeded his father to the throne of
Israel. Jeroboam suffered the loss of his captured cities
of refuge at the hand of the king of Judah, Abijah.
Abijah’s son, Asa, followed in the footsteps of his father
and kept the people of Judah from worshipping pagan
gods. And Jehoshaphat, the son of Asa, “strengthened
himself against Israel,” meaning that Jehoshaphat continued
the practice of Abijah, his grandfather and Asa, his
father, and further ordered all idolatry, including all high
places in the land, to be destroyed.

In contrast to Jehoshaphat, King Ahab of Israel, following
the pattern of his father Jeroboam, continued
constructing many high places for pagan worship with
all kinds of idols therein.

The king of Israel and the king of Judah were spiritual
opposites, and it temporarily appeared that they were
going to remain very distant from each other. Not only
did Jehoshaphat strengthen himself against Israel, but he
also “placed forces in the fenced cities of Judah,” the
cities of refuge which had been captured from the wicked
father of Ahab. Jehoshaphat did not want Ahab to recapture
the fenced cities of Judah which were designed
to harbor people who accidentally killed or injured a
person. God was pleased with the actions of Jehoshaphat,
and thus God established an alliance with Jehoshaphat.
An alliance with God is always an asset.

II Chronicles 17:3-6, 9-12:
And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he
walked in the first ways of his father David, and
sought not unto Baalim;
But sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked
in his commandments, and not after the doings of
Israel.
Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his
hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents;
and he had riches and honour in abundance.
And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord:
moreover he took away the high places and groves
out of Judah.
And they [priests] taught in Judah, and had the book
of the law of the Lord with them, and went about
throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the
people [Jehoshaphat had the Word of God taught
to the people of Judah].
And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms
of the lands that were round about Judah, so that
they made no war against Jehoshaphat.
Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat
presents, and tribute silver; and the Arabians brought
him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams,
and seven thousand and seven hundred he goats.
And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he
built in Judah castles, and cities of store.

Jehoshaphat not only waxed great, he waxed great
exceedingly. Why? Because of God’s alliance with him.

II Chronicles 18:1:
Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance,
and joined affinity with Ahab.

Jehoshaphat, after strengthening himself against Israel,
had great success in wealth and prestige. However, as
time went on, Jehoshaphat developed a pride in his success
which gave him a false sense of security and a
feeling of superiority. This change in Jehoshaphat’s life
rerouted his future. Jehoshaphat overestimated his own
ability, and instead of keeping his alliance singularly with
God, he aligned himself with the idolatrous king of Israel,
Ahab, against whom he had formerly set up a defense.
The alliance between Jehoshaphat and Ahab came in
the form of an inter-family marriage. Jehoshaphat had
his oldest son, Jehoram, marry Ahab’s daughter.

When Jehoshaphat joined affinity with Ahab, did the
Lord forsake Jehoshaphat? No. Jehoshaphat forsook the
Lord. With the marriage of Jehoshaphat’s son to Ahab’s
daughter, Jehoshaphat was forced by protocol to accept
Ahab’s hospitality.

Before the inter-family marriage took place, Ahab
could never have gotten Jehoshaphat to go to the capital
city of Israel. But once the marriage occurred, Jehoshaphat,
the father-in-law, could hardly refuse the overtures
of Ahab.

II Chronicles 18:2:
And after certain years he [Jehoshaphat] went down
to Ahab to Samaria [capital of Israel]. And Ahab
killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and
for the people that he had with him, and persuaded
him to go up with him to Ramoth-gilead.

Ramoth-gilead was a city of refuge which originally
belonged to Israel but which the Syrians had captured.

Verses 3 and 4:
And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king
of Judah, Wilt thou go [to fight] with me to Ramothgilead?
And he [Jehoshaphat] answered him, I am
as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we
will be with thee in the war.
And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire,
I pray thee, at the word of the Lord to day.

Although Jehoshaphat had an alliance with Ahab, still
within himself he sensed that there was something wrong
in trying to recapture Ramoth-gilead. Even though Ahab
had made up his mind to recapture Ramoth-gilead and
Jehoshaphat had given his word that he would go with
Ahab, Jehoshaphat knew that all was not right. So before
marching off to battle, Jehoshaphat requested that Ahab
ask the Lord what He thought of their plan. This sounds
a little bit like all of us. We decide what we want to do,
and then we ask God for His stamp of approval.

Verses 5 and 6:
Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of
prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall
we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?
And they [the four hundred prophets] said, Go up;
for God will deliver it into the king’s hand.
But Jehoshaphat said [to Ahab], Is there not ,here a
prophet of the Lord besides [these four hundred],
that we might inquire of him?

Jehoshaphat said to Ahab, “Is there possibly another
prophet of the Lord that we could ask about our plans?
I’m still not satisfied that we’re doing the right thing.”
Four hundred so-called prophets had already told Ahab
and Jehoshaphat that their plan was approved, but Jehoshaphat
wanted to hold out for the confirmation from
one more.

Verses 7-26:
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There
is yet one man, by whom we may inquire of the
Lord: but I hate him; for he never prophesied [anything]
good unto me, but always evil: the same is
Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let
not the king say so.
And the king of Israel called for one of his officers,
and said, Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imla.
And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah
sat either of them on his throne, clothed in their
robes, and they sat in a void place at the entering in
of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied
before them.
And Zedekiah [one of the four hundred] the son of
Chenaanah had made him horns of iron, and said,
Thus saith the Lord, With these thou shalt push Syria
until they be consumed.
And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up
to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for the Lord shall
deliver it into the hand of the king.
And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake
to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets
[the four hundred who have already spoken] declare
good to the king with one assent; let thy word therefore,
I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and [for once
in your life] speak thou good.
And Micaiah said, As the Lord liveth, even what my
God saith, that will I speak.
And when he [Micaiah] was come to the king, the
king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramothgilead
to battle, or shall I forbear? And he [Micaiah]
said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered
into your hand.
And the king [Jehoshaphat] 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?
Then he [Micaiah] 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.
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I
not tell thee that he would not prophesy good unto
me, but evil?
Again he [Micaiah] said, Therefore hear the word
of the Lord; I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne,
and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand
and on his left.
And the Lord said, Who shall entice Ahab king of
Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?
And one spake saying after this manner, and another
saying after that manner.
Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the
Lord, and said, I will entice him. And the Lord said
unto him, Wherewith?
And he [the spirit] said, I will go out, and be a lying
spirit in the mouth of all his prophets [all four hundred].
And the Lord said, Thou shalt entice him, and
thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so.
Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying
spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the
Lord hath spoken evil against thee.
Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and
smote Micaiah upon his cheek [To touch a man on
the cheek is to disgrace him. When Jesus was smote
on the cheek before being brought out for His crucifixion,
Jesus was terribly disgraced.], and said,
Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to
speak unto thee?
And Micaiah said, Behold, thou [Zedekiah] shalt see
on that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber
to hide thyself.
Then the king of Israel said, Take ye Micaiah, and
carry him back to Amon the governor of the city,
and to Joash the king’s son;
And say, Thus saith the king [Ahab], Put this fellow
in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction
and with water of affliction, until I return in peace.

What a dilemma for Jehoshaphat! After his alliance
with Ahab, he was asked by Ahab to go up to Ramoth-
gilead and fight the Syrians. Jehoshaphat sensed that
something was amiss, even after the favorable prophecies
of the four hundred prophets. Jehoshaphat recognized
Micaiah as the true prophet of God. He knew that the
other four hundred were false prophets, counterfeits, crystal
ball gazers, sensitives and those in E.S.P. Having
committed himself to Ahab, Jehoshaphat must have been
deeply hurt when Ahab had the true prophet imprisoned
and fed bread and water of affliction.

Verses 27 and 28:
And Micaiah said, If thou certainly return in peace,
then hath not the Lord spoken by me. And he
[Micaiah] said, Hearken, all ye people.
So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of
Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.

Ahab bullheadedly proceeded with his plans—after all,
the odds were four hundred to one.

Verse 29:
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will
disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put
thou [Jehoshaphat] on thy robes. So the king of Israel
disguised himself; and they went to the battle.

This action is described from God’s point of view.
Note what is happening in the camp of the Syrians from
this omniscient vantage point.

Verse 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.

The Syrian king made it clear to his military men that
he didn’t want a great deal of blood shed; all he wanted
was the death of the king of Israel.

Verse 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.*

Observe the usage of Lord and God in verse 31,
“. . .the Lord helped him; and God moved them to depart
from him.” The Hebrew word for “Lord” is Jehovah,
while “God” is the word Elohim. Jehovah helped Jehoshaphat,
while Elohim moved the Syrians to depart.

Jehovah was the covenant God. Jehovah had a covenant
with Jehoshaphat so that when Jehoshaphat cried
to him, Jehovah helped. But it was God as the creator,
Elohim, who moved the Syrians to depart from Jehoshaphat.
Exactly what Elohim did to the Syrians is unknown.

Verses 32-34:
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 a certain man [a Syrian sharp-shooter] drew a
bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between
the joints of the harness: therefore he [Ahab]
said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thou
mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
And the battle increased that day: howbeit the king
of Israel stayed himself up in his chariot against the
Syrians until the even: and about the time of the
sun going down he died.

One prophet had said that Ahab would die while four
hundred said that he would be victorious. Micaiah proved
to be the true prophet because his prophecy came to
pass.**

After the loss in battle at Ramoth-gilead, Jehoshaphat
tried to collect himself. He had never known the taste of
defeat until he aligned himself with Ahab and ignored the
prophecy of Micaiah.

II Chronicles 19:1, 2:
And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his
house in peace to Jerusalem.
And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer [the prophet]
went out to meet him [Jehoshaphat], and said to king
Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and
love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon
thee from before the Lord.

Many Christians are constantly helping the ungodly
who hate the true God. What a message of reproof not
only to Jehoshaphat but to all who meddle in the affairs
of the ungodly. God overlooks many things in the life
of man, but idolatry, paganism, spiritualism, pendant
usage and E.S.P. are not overlooked nor forgotten.
Jehoshaphat was spared because he had destroyed the
groves of Judah where idolatry had been practiced.

After his defeat at Ramoth-gilead, Jehoshaphat set
about once more to put his house in order.

Verse 4:
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.

II Chronicles 20:30:
So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God
gave him rest round about.

But unfortunately for Jehoshaphat, all did not remain
restful because Jehoshaphat had not yet learned his lesson
in making bad alliances. Later II Chronicles 20 records
that Jehoshaphat made another alliance—this time a commercial
pact.

II Chronicles 20:35-37:
And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join
himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very
wickedly [Israel’s new king after the death of Ahab
was Ahaziah.]:
And he joined himself with him to make ships to go
to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.
Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah
prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou
hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the Lord hath broken
thy works. And the ships were broken, that they
were not able to go to Tarshish.

Jehoshaphat anticipated the wealth and comfort to be
derived from trade with Tarshish, a very rich city. But
from God’s point of view, the plan was not fit because
of Jehoshaphat’s alliance with the ungodly Ahaziah, and
therefore Jehoshaphat did not succeed. A record of man’s
point of view of this commercial fiasco is found in
I Kings.

I Kings 22:48:
Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir
for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken
at Ezion-geber.

II Chronicles states that “because thou hast joined thyself
with Ahaziah, the Lord hath broken thy works,”
whereas I Kings attributes the event to natural causes,
“for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber.”

Verse 49:
Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat,
Let my servants go with thy servants in the
ships. . . .

After the first ships were destroyed, the men built more
ships to go again. Wicked Ahaziah still tried to cajole
Jehoshaphat with his commercial plans. Verse 49 ends
saying, “. . .But Jehoshaphat would not.”

Jehoshaphat finally had learned his lesson. At a price
he learned that an alliance with the ungodly in marriage
didn’t work; He then learned that an alliance with the
ungodly in military exploit didn’t work; and lastly, he
learned that an alliance with the ungodly in commercial
enterprise didn’t work.

From man’s point of view, it appeared that Jehoshaphat’s
prosperity and his later defeats came by natural
causes. But from God’s point of view, success or the
lack of it varied directly with Jehoshaphat’s obedience
to God. When Jehoshaphat accommodated the ungodly,
defeat ensued. When he aligned himself with God, prosperity
abounded.

Jehoshaphat never worshipped any other god, so his
end was not a bloody one. King Saul, however, did break
the first commandment in seeking aid from other gods,
and in doing so he ran head-first against the law of God
and thereby suffered an inglorious death. From man’s
viewpoint appearances would say that Saul died of a
sword sticking through his body; but from God’s viewpoint,
the spiritual view, Saul died because of disobedience
to God.

Man’s point of view is always limited to appearances
and a finite overview. God’s point of view is comprehensive.
The two accounts of Saul in I Samuel and
I Chronicles and of Jehoshaphat in II Kings and II Chronicles
are not contradictory; they simply contrast the two
points of view—God’s and man’s.

* The Syrians knew only that they were fighting King Ahab and his
forces. So naturally, when they saw Jehoshaphat in his royal garb,
they thought they had spotted their prey.
** Deuteronomy 18:22: “When a prophet speaketh in the name of
the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing
which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it
presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”