Dear Church Family,
First Kings 22 tells the story of the beginning of the end of evil King Ahab’s life and reign. He’s preparing to go to war with Aram for the third time, but this time he gets some unexpected help. King Jehoshaphat of the southern kingdom of Judah unwisely (2 Chronicles 19:2) offers to join forces with Ahab and Israel to help secure victory. Though Jehoshaphat’s involvement with Ahab was ill-advised, at least he knew better than to go into battle without first securing the Lord’s favor (see I Samuel 23:1-4; II Samuel 2:1). So here’s how the exchange between the two kings goes as they begin the search for God’s blessing.
5 Jehoshaphat also said to Ahab, “But first we should ask if this is the Lord’s will.”
6 Ahab called about four hundred prophets together and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth in Gilead or not?” They answered, “Go, because the Lord will hand them over to you.”
7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord here? Let’s ask him what we should do.”
8 Then King Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “There is one other prophet. We could ask the Lord through him, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything good about me, but something bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
As the story goes, sure enough as Ahab predicted, Micaiah, the prophet of the Lord, told them they should not go into battle. He warned them that if they did, Ahab would die and, despite having joined forces, the Israel/Judah coalition would be defeated. Because they didn’t like the answer, they ignored it and went into battle anyway. And guess what: Micaiah was right. Aram won the battle decisively. Further, Ahab’s reign and life came to shameful end.
While there’s a myriad of lessons to be learned here, let me point out just a few that I pray will help you in some way in the near future:
- There are many voices out there that claim to be prophetic. Especially with the internet literally at your fingertips, you’ll run into numerous opinions. They will often be certified and respected. They will be loud. They will be convincing. And most of all, they will speak for the majority. None of that in any way means that they are right.
- There will always be someone who will tell you what you want to hear. Our inclination is to keep scrolling for opinions until we find one that suits us – you know, that agrees with us. The problem with this comes when it solidifies the wrong beliefs, actions, direction, or attitude that God is trying to save us from. Remember Paul’s warning to Timothy about this exact thing (II Timothy 4:3-4).
- There will be times when you will have to choose between what is right and what is popular. Ahab HATED Micaiah. Why? Because he kept doing the wrong thing? No, exactly the opposite. Because Micaiah insisted on doing and saying what was right.
- Popular or not, God’s Word will always be proven right. You may be tempted to go in a direction that seems successful or wise or right or normal or the list goes on. But my friends, if it goes against God’s Word, the consequences will be tragic. God and His Word has never been proven wrong. Don’t be foolish enough to think that you’ll do so now.