They said to Jeremiah, “Pray to the Lord for us. Ask him what will happen. We want to know, because King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking us. Maybe the Lord will do great things for us, as he did in the past. Maybe he will make Nebuchadnezzar stop attacking us and leave.”
But Jehoshaphat said, “Surely one of the Lord’s prophets is here. Let’s ask the prophet what the Lord says we should do.” One of the servants of the king of Israel said, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. Elisha was Elijah’s servant.”
If Joshua needs to make a decision, he will go to Eleazar the priest. Eleazar will use the Urim to learn the Lord’s answer. Then Joshua and all the Israelites will do the things God says. If he says, ‘go to war,’ they will go to war. And if he says, ‘go home,’ they will go home.”
“Son of man, these men came to talk to you. But they still have their filthy idols. They kept the things that made them sin. They still worship those statues, so why do they come to me for advice? Should I answer their questions?
But the Lord’s angel said to Elijah the Tishbite, “King Ahaziah has sent some messengers from Samaria. Go meet those men and ask them, ‘There is a God in Israel, so why are you men going to ask questions of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?
Then David prayed to the Lord. “Should I chase the people who took our families? Will I catch them?” The Lord answered, “Chase them. You will catch them, and you will save your families.”
The Israelites went up to the city of Bethel. At Bethel they asked God, “Which tribe will be first to attack the tribe of Benjamin?” The Lord answered, “The tribe of Judah will go first.”
So Ahab asked King Jehoshaphat, “Will you join with us to go fight the Arameans at Ramoth Gilead?” Jehoshaphat answered, “Yes, you and I will be as one—my men and my horses will be as yours.
So Ahab called a meeting of the prophets. There were about 400 prophets at that time. Ahab asked the prophets, “Should I go and attack the Arameans at Ramoth Gilead or not?” The prophets answered Ahab, “Yes, because the Lord will let you defeat Ramoth Gilead.”
