1 Kings 22:29-30
“So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.”
Rejecting the godly counsel of the prophet Micaiah, Ahab went into battle at Ramoth-gilead against a vastly superior Syrian army. In an attempt to avert the prophet’s prediction that he would be killed in battle, Ahab went incognito, wearing the garb of a common soldier.
On a side note, one has to question the naivete and foolishness of Jehoshaphat. Wearing his kingly robes would make him stand out on the battlefield, a clear target for the Syrian soldiers, which is the very thing that Ahab was seeking to avoid.
“Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.” And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is surely the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him.” (1 Kings 22.31-32)
At first it appeared that Ahab’s strategy of disguise (and Jehoshaphat’s foolishness) would succeed in protecting Ahab. When the Syrians saw Jehoshaphat’s royal attire on the battlefield, they assumed he was Ahab the king of Israel, although in reality he was the king of Judah.
Finding himself as the only identifiable king in the battle, Jehoshaphat recognized that he was in grave danger. Scripture says that Jehoshaphat “cried out,” most likely to alert the Syrians as to his true identity, and to ask the Lord to save him.
“And Jehoshaphat cried out. And when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.” (1 Kings 22.32-33)
2 Chronicles 18 gives us a little more insight into what happened at this moment during the battle: “And Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; God drew them away from him. For as soon as the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.”
Jehoshaphat was under the Lord’s protection. Ahab, on the other hand, was not.
“But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”
It should be noted that after the close escape at Ramoth-gilead, Jehoshaphat rededicated himself to the spiritual reform of Judah (2 Chronicles 19:4).
For Ahab, on the other hand, this was the end. The prophet’s forecast found him out. A solitary arrow, lofted into the air in a volley of random shots, happened to pierce a gap in Ahab’s armor. It was an odd twist in life which appeared to be random but in reality was the hand of God.
Despite his efforts to disguise himself, and despite the protective armor he wore, Ahab could not escape God’s judgment.
