MICAIAH PROPHESIES AGAINST AHAB

Reading from 1 kings Ch. 22 vs 13-28

Sometimes when I read the word of God I get afraid and also deeply humbled. There’s things that make me wonder and fear that really, we don’t understand the sovereignty of God but I suppose that’s the point, so we learn and understand that he is the one truly in control. The context of this passage was Ahab the king of Israel had asked Jehoshaphat the king of Judah to help him fight Syria to get Ramoth-gilead back as their territory. Now Jehoshaphat says to Ahab that they should first inquire of the lord and hear what he says whether they’d triumph or not. Ahab gathered 400 prophets and they all prophesied that they’d win the battle but Jehoshaphat asked if there was any other prophet who they could ask on the same. I liked how he didn’t just settle because hundreds of prophets agreed, he needed to really be sure and we should be the same. So Ahab reveals that there’s a prophet Micaiah who they could ask but that he hates him for he never prophesies anything good about him only evil. Jehoshaphat like encourages him and they send for him and that’s where this passage starts.

The guy who was sent to call Micaiah starts by telling him like all the prophets have with one accord prophesied favourably towards the king so let your words be like one of them. And Micaiah just says as the lord lives he’ll only say what God says to him, I look at this and I think about peer pressure or just fear of punishment for not conforming. Sometimes we will be put in situations where we are like forced to side with what everybody else says but like Micaiah we should rely on the truth and only speak what we believe is right. In the cases of our faith we should only speak what God has actually said whether in his word or through other means. So Micaiah goes to the kings and he is asked the same thing, like should we go to battle for Ramoth-gilead and will we win and he says yes go you will triumph. Now Ahab says to him that how many times shall I make you swear to speak nothing but the truth in the name of God. I looked at this and it was like banter, I’ve been seeing the shady or sarcastic remarks usually when Ahab interacts with Elijah but I saw it here. I appreciated that Ahab was able to question and not just receive the positive word, he understood how Micaiah was and knew that even though it wasn’t always a favourable thing when he spoke, it was a true thing. May we be known to speak truth or just have integrity in every situation, people don’t forget such things.

Micaiah then said what he actually saw, he started by saying he saw Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd and that God said they have no master and should each return to their homes in peace. This doesn’t look like Israel was winning the battle if they went but that’s what Micaiah actually saw and it wasn’t positive like the other prophets. Ahab then says to Jehoshaphat that see didn’t I tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me? It’s interesting to me how we often want a positive word from God without considering our actions or really why he might say the opposite of what we want. Ahab was supposed to asking himself the question as to why it was that every time Micaiah spoke about him it was always negative. It was the same with Elijah, why only these prophets but his own prophets would always speak positive towards him. We need to critically look at things, just because those in our circle say good things towards us doesn’t mean that’s the truth. Sometimes people just fear how you might react to a truth that isn’t favourable to you or even worse they don’t know any better and you’re just blind people leading more blind. Now what Micaiah begins to say next is what actually shifted me, I don’t think I’ve ever read this passage but it’s an interesting one.

He says to them hear the word of the lord “I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord saying, ‘I will entice him’. And the Lord said to him, ‘by what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets’. And he said,’ You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so’.” And Micaiah says therefore the lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets, the lord has declared disaster for you. I sat with this and it’s a scary scene of heaven, Ahab is busy on earth planning to go fight for something kanshi the whole time it’s really like a set up for his destruction. I looked at that scene and I was humbled, we really believe that we have control and that it’s up to us how things go. There was literally a whole discussion on ways to make Ahab go and fall and God approved, I know it doesn’t seem good but we must understand that Ahab was evil and this judgement was even soft compared to some of the things he used to do to others. But in as much as I was surprised by how some decisions are made and of how Gods will ends up playing out within or is intertwined with our plans/lives, I also understand that it can be looked at positively too.

Think of that conversation among the heavenly host and it’s about how can we make so and so flourish in this thing, God is sovereign and can do or rather control how outcomes turn out and this can be in your favour. I of course can’t get the scene out of my head, how we as men can think we are hearing from God kanshi it’s a spirit sent to mislead or cause us to lie so a certain outcome happens, we should always pray about the words we receive. Regardless the truth about everything was it was time for disaster to come to Ahab and this was a just thing. Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaaniah came near and like struck or I’m thinking slapped Micaiah and says to him that how did the spirit of the lord go from him to speak to him? I look at that and it depicts how some of us in the faith can be so mislead, this guy was so sure that God speaks through him, that others with a different word were wrong. We shouldn’t be so self-righteous or confident thinking our ways or what we think we’ve heard or that what we advise is from God, we must test every spirit. It’s funny how because Micaiahs word was not like the other prophets then it was wrong, as if God can only give yes’ to the things we request or inquire of him. We should beware of thinking this way, when we ask God for something or inquire of him over something. We should be ready for any kind of response not just the one we hope to hear, God is all seeing and all knowing, what we can’t see or understand he is certain of and we should trust his word.

Micaiah just said to Zedekiah that he’d see on that day when he would go hiding in an inner chamber, sometimes we don’t need to fight to convince people to hear what we have to say. A time will come when they’ll be faced with the truth of what we’ve said or have been doing or rather what God has actually said about things. They seized Micaiah and sent him to the governor Amon and Joash the kings son and said for him to be put in prison and given meagre rations of bread and water until basically Ahab returned in peace from the battle. And I found it so funny but also so cool because Micaiah just interrupts and says if Ahab returns in peace then the Lord has not spoken by him and he said for all the people to hear that. That’s a man who knows what God has said and stands by it regardless of the consequence, he communicated the truth but Ahab wanted to go with what seemed good. Some things that seem good for us are not actually good, we can be fighting for certain things or people and they are the very things that will lead to our destruction.

We like Micaiah should always speak the truth even when it doesn’t sit well with people, whether we will be judged or our freedoms lost. We must also really deeply understand that God is in control of all things, nothing happens without his awareness. We need to pray and read his word and be sure we are walking with him, even when it might not be looking very good, its better that than going after something that he hasn’t approved of or something that would lead to our destruction. Imagine if Ahab actually listened to Micaiahs preview of the situation, he’d have said hmm this seems serious maybe I shouldn’t go, he’d have saved his life. The thing about God is he can give you all the information even if you’re the one in the wrong and its really up to you to decide what you’ll do with it. Will you speak that truth? Will you listen to the warning or instruction? I’m not sure what you might do but please pray over everything and don’t be so stuck on your way or plans being how things go, there’s always better with God. Remember Jesus loves you always!