After all these good things, an army of enemies came to fight against Israel.

King Asa took the gold and silver out of the Lord’s temple and sent them to another king to help Asa fight the enemies.

The Lord sent a messenger to Asa to say, Because you trusted that other king instead of Me the army of bad ones has escaped.

Weren’t the other armies of enemies that came to fight you much bigger and stronger than you and didn’t I help you beat them when you rested in My strength?

The eyes of the Lord watch over the whole earth to make strong those who are resting in Him.

This thing you did was foolish and because of it you will have war from now on.

King Asa was so angry that he put the messenger in prison and was very hard on some of God’s people.

Then king Asa had a very bad disease in his feet.

but he did not ask the Lord to help him,

he only went to doctors.

Asa was king in Israel for 41 years and was wrapped in spices and perfumes and given a big party when he died.

Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, was king next after Asa

and he built up a strong army against the north part of Israel.

The Lord God was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the Lord with all his heart like David did and didn’t listen to anything from the bad ones.

Because king Jehoshaphat followed God with all his heart,

the Lord God set the kingdom strong in his hand.

The people did everything he said.

The whole south country of Israel, called Judah, brought presents to the king.

He had lots and lots of riches.

And the people held him very high in their hearts because he held the Lord God up very high in his heart.

He took away all the stuff of the bad ones from his country.

When Jehoshaphat had been king for 3 years he sent out his princes and temple servants to teach the people everything the Lord God said in His book.

The nation became so strong in the Lord God that all the countries around them were afraid of them so they didn’t come make war against them.

Instead, some of them brought presents to king Jehoshaphat.

God made king Jehoshaphat greater and greater.

But king Jehoshaphat went to the king of the north of Israel, named Ahab, who was following the bad one.

King Ahab wanted to go to battle and Jehoshaphat told him, Ask the Lord God first if we should do this.

So king Ahab asked 400 men who said they told God’s words and they said, Go, because God will give you to win the battle.

Jehoshaphat said, Don’t you have another prophet for the Lord God here? And Ahab said, There is one named Micaiah, but he never says anything good about me.

They sent for him and he asked the Lord God and then told the two kings, I see all Israel scattered like sheep that don’t have a shepherd anymore (which meant that the king, their shepherd, was going to die in the battle).

The he told Jehoshaphat, I see the Lord sitting on his throne, sending a spirit to lead Ahab to his death.

For these words, Ahab had Micaiah put in prison

and the two kings took their armies to the battle.

Then Ahab did a sneaky trick.

He dressed like a soldier

but told Jehoshaphat to wear his king's robes into the battle (so the enemy soldiers would kill Jehoshaphat instead of him).

But Jehoshaphat saw what was happening

and shouted to God for help

and then the soldiers turned away from him

while one soldier accidentally shot Ahab anyway with his bow and arrow

and king Ahab died like the Lord God said for all the bad things he caused to happen to God’s people by following the bad one.