Then he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight at Ramoth in Gilead?” Jehoshaphat told the king of Israel, “I will do what you do. My troops will do what your troops do. My horses will do what your horses do.”
So the king of Israel called 400 prophets together. He asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth in Gilead or not?” “Go,” they said. “The Lord will hand over Ramoth to you.”
Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah from Tishbe, “Meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and ask them, ‘Do you seek advice from Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, because ⌞you think⌟ there is no God in Israel?
But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord whom we could ask?” One of the officials of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here. He used to be Elijah’s assistant.”
So Saul died because of his unfaithfulness to the Lord: He did not obey the Lord’s word. He asked a medium to request information ⌞from a dead person⌟.
“Consult the Lord for us, because King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking us. Maybe the Lord will perform miracles for us so that Nebuchadnezzar will retreat.”
He will stand in front of the priest Eleazar, who will use the Urim to make decisions in the Lord’s presence. At his command Joshua and the whole community of Israel will go into battle. And at his command they will return.”
The Israelites went and cried in the presence of the Lord until evening. They asked the Lord, “Should we continue to wage war against our close relatives, the men of Benjamin?” The Lord answered, “Go fight them!”
Then David asked the Lord, “Should I pursue these troops? Will I catch up with them?” “Pursue them,” the Lord told him. “You will certainly catch up with them and rescue the captives.”