Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of I Kings Chapter 22
Metaphysically Interpreting I Kings 22:1-12
22:1And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. 22:2And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 22:3And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth-gilead is ours, and we are still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? 22:4And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.
22:5And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire first, I pray thee, for the word of Jehovah. 22:6Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king. 22:7But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah besides, that we may inquire of him? 22:8And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, there is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Jehovah, Micaiah the son of Imlah: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. 22:9Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah. 22:10Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 22:11And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith Jehovah, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until they be consumed.22:12And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper; for Jehovah will deliver it into the hand of the king.
July 29, 1934: I Kings 22:1-14
What is involved in the word Israel? This word grows out of the thought of contending with obstacles and prevailing over them in order to reach a higher state.
What does Syria typify in man's consciousness? Syria is typical of intellectual pride, which is ruled over by egotistic, purely intellectual thought. The word Syria means “highland,” “swelling up,” “increasing.”
What does the alliance between Jehoshaphat and Ahab indicate? Jehoshaphat (righteous judgment) allied with Ahab (the false, intellectual concepts) shows man's failure to know himself and to separate the true from the false unerringly. Instead he expects to gain spiritual consciousness (Ramoth-gilead) by combining the two.
How does a person prove his faith in God? He proves his faith by seeking and following the guidance of Spirit in all his undertakings.
What relation does righteous judgment hold to man’s desires? This faculty rules desire always, whereas personal judgment justifies it.
What does the name Micaiah represent? Micaiah (“Who is like Jah?”) may be called the prophetic phase of man's higher consciousness, which perceives that the powers of Being are active in and through man.
Jehoshaphat insisted upon having the advice of Micaiah but disregarded it. What does this show? It shows that one's better judgment is sometimes overruled in favor of specious reasonings of the intellect, or through considerations of policy.
What do you understand by the statement “The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets”? That the faculty of intuition develops only through the exercise of faith and is quenched in an atmosphere of doubt and material-mindedness.
How are we to deal with expediency? If we wish to attain to spiritual consciousness, we must have done with expediency as well as every other form of falseness.
How can we free ourselves from sophistry and flattery? Perfect freedom in these matters comes only through complete loyalty to the Christ mind.
July 4, 1948: I Kings 22:5-9
In this lesson how are spiritual judgment and false intellectual judgment symbolized? Spiritual judgment is symbolized by the good king Jehoshaphat, false intellectual judgment by the evil king Ahab.
What stirs up in us a desire to foresee the course of the future? The urge in us to overcome the limitations of time and space and see by the light of Truth rather than by the light of the intellect.
When shall we be able to do this? When we have learned to judge cause and effect in their proper relation and to control effect by setting cause in motion according to our enlightened will and desire.
Can we effectually separate our spiritual judgment from our false intellectual judgment? We can effectually separate them, only when we follow the guidance of Spirit and refuse to entertain or to justify our personal desires.
Can prophecy be learned as one learns a science? Yes. Prophecy or true foresight can be learned as one learns any exact science, namely by mastering the laws that govern it. These laws have to do with cause and effect and with the quickening of the individual's response to the mind of Spirit.
Metaphysically Interpreting I Kings 22:13-28
22:13And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak thou good. 22:14And Micaiah said, As Jehovah liveth, what Jehovah saith unto me, that will I speak. 22:15And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go up and prosper; and Jehovah will deliver it into the hand of the king. 22:16And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou speak unto me nothing but the truth in the name of Jehovah? 22:17And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and Jehovah said, These have no master; let them return every man to his house in peace. 22:18And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?
22:19And Micaiah said, Therefore hear thou the word of Jehovah: I saw Jehovah sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. 22:20And Jehovah said, Who shall entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner; and another said on that manner. 22:21And there came forth a spirit, and stood before Jehovah, and said, I will entice him. 22:22And Jehovah said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also: go forth, and do so. 22:23Now therefore, behold, Jehovah hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets; and Jehovah hath spoken evil concerning thee.
22:24Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of Jehovah from me to speak unto thee? 22:25And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. 22:26And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son; 22:27and say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. 22:28And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, Jehovah hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hear, ye peoples, all of you.
July 4, 1948: I Kings 22:13-18
Can anyone become responsive to the guidance of Spirit? Anyone who earnestly desires the guidance of Spirit can become responsive to it, if he will faithfully follow the measure of guidance that comes to him day by day; that is, if he always does the best that he knows from an inner conviction that he is acting rightly, and desires to know still more of Truth.
In our search for guidance should expediency be taken into consideration? No. The mind and heart should be single, devoted to the Truth only as it concerns us. “As Jehovah liveth, what Jehovah saith unto me, that will I speak.”
What quality enables us to find the sure foundation of our success? Integrity reveals the Truth of God to us, convincing us of the nothingness of flattery, deceit, and sophistry.
Metaphysically Interpreting I Kings 22:29-40
22:29So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 22:30And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and go into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle. 22:31Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty and two captains of his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. 22:32And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel; and they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out. 22:33And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. 22:34And a certain man drew his bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the armor: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am sore wounded. 22:35And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even; and the blood ran out of the wound into the bottom of the chariot. 22:36And there went a cry throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his country.
22:37So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria. 22:38And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood (now the harlots washed themselves there); according unto the word of Jehovah which he spake. 22:39Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 22:40So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
Metaphysically Interpreting I Kings 22:41-50
22:41And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 22:42Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 22:43And he walked in all the way of Asa his father; He turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah: howbeit the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places. 22:44And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
22:45Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 22:46And the remnant of the sodomites, that remained in the days of his father Asa, he put away out of the land.
22:47And there was no king in Edom: a deputy was king. 22:48Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. 22:49Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not. 22:50And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.
Metaphysically Interpreting I Kings 22:51-53
22:51Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel. 22:52And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherein he made Israel to sin. 22:53And he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger Jehovah, the God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 02-06-2014