(REFLECTIONS ON 1 Kings 22:41-53)

47 Now there was no king in Edom; a deputy was king. 48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. 49 Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat was not willing.

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, tried to sail to Ophir for gold, just as his great-grandfather Solomon did. In 1 Kings 9:26-28, we read,

26 King Solomon also built a fleet of ships in Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 And Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, sailors who knew the sea, along with the servants of Solomon. 28 They went to Ophir and took four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there and brought it to King Solomon.

Things seemed ripe for a similar venture because there was no king in Edom, and a deputy from Judah was serving as king. Ezion-geber was therefore under the control of the southern kingdom of Judah. We read, however, that they did not go, for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber.

Why were the ships broken? In 2 Chronicles 20:35-37, it is recorded,

35 After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. He acted wickedly in so doing. 36 So he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber. 37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works.” So the ships were broken and could not go to Tarshish.

In today’s Scripture, after Ahaziah said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships,” Jehoshaphat was not willing. By that point, however, the Lord had already destroyed the ships because of Jehoshaphat’s alliance with Ahaziah. That the ships were broken remind us that no matter how great our plans may be, even if they are to revive past greatness, everything is ultimately in the hands of the Lord.

Proverbs 16:9 states,

The mind of man plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps.

Yes, we plan, we do the best we can with what we have, and we seek to be in alignment with God’s will. But in the end, it is the Lord who directs our steps. Let us devote more time to Spirit-led worship, prayer, and the reading of His Word so that we may be better aligned with God’s heart. And let us move forward humbly in Him, remembering that it is the Lord who directs our steps.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: 1 Kings 22