Micaiah's News

This week, the topic is 1 Kings 22. Where we pick up, Ahab and Jehoshaphat are contemplating going to war to retake Ramoth Gilead. You’ll remember Ahab from weeks past. Jehoshaphat is the King of Judah. So, he’s approximately Ahab’s counterpart.

Together, they’re scheming and trying to decide if they’re going to attack Ramoth Gilead or not. As one does when you’re an ancient king, you consult the oracles and the prophets before making massively consequential decisions. When they decided to do this, all the prophets they talked to told them to go for it because the Lord would give them victory. Yet for some reason they hesitate. They seem to know that the prophets they’re talking to aren’t real prophets.

Jehoshaphat asks Ahab if there are any real prophets of the Lord they can talk to about the situation. Ahab answers, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”

I find this phrase interesting because it exemplifies bad leadership once again on the part of Ahab. Moreover, this applies to each and every one of us in our own personal lives as well. Ahab doesn’t want to hear from Micaiah because Micaiah always tells him what he doesn’t want to hear. However, we know that Micaiah was a prophet which means what he’s telling Ahab is simply the truth. Therefore, Ahab is ultimately running from the truth which is a good way to destroy your organization or yourself, depending on what level of responsibility you’re acting upon.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the truth always wins. This is an absolute and irrefutable fact of reality. Therefore, you want to be on the side of truth. In the case of Ahab here, we’ll see the consequences of his decision to avoid being on the side of truth.

Jehoshaphat and Ahab send off a messenger to track down Micaiah. The messenger finds the prophet. Being a bit of an astute character, the messenger tells Micaiah, “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.”

To this, Micaiah says, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.”

This here is a mic drop moment and it further confirms the comment I had above about Ahab running from the truth which Micaiah speaks.

At any rate, Micaiah goes and tells Ahab and Jehoshaphat to go ahead with the attack. However, Ahab gets a sense that Micaiah is lying to him, so he demands the truth. Micaiah then predicts the death of the king. Ahab gets worked up about this. While he’s complaining to Jehoshaphat about Micaiah, Micaiah adds to the prophecy by giving us a glimpse into heaven. Similar to the glimpse we get in Job.

Micaiah says, “I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’ One suggested this, another suggested that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ ‘By what means?’ the Lord asked. ‘I will go and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ said the spirit. ‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord, ‘Go and do it.’”

After saying that, Micaiah got slapped in the face by Zedekiah. Then he got tossed in prison with orders for him to be given nothing but bread and water until Ahab returned safely.

To that Micaiah declared, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.”

So, Ahab then decided to go do what he was going to do. He and Jehoshaphat went off to wager war against Ramoth Gilead. As a precaution, Ahab persuaded Jehoshaphat to go into battle wearing his royal robes, however, Ahab wore a disguise in the battle. In 1 Kings 22:34, some random guy drew back his bow and hit Ahab, the king of Israel, between the sections of his armor.

They got him out of the battle. He bled out on the floor of his chariot. They then took the chariot to a pool in Samaria, where prostitutes bathed, to wash it out. Dogs licked up his blood just as Elijah foretold back in 1 Kings 21:19.

The takeaway from this is that one cannot run from God, nor can one defy God. Ahab dawned a disguise to avoid being killed in the battle, yet he was struck by a random arrow in a spot where he didn’t have armor. You don’t believe me? Well, here’s some supporting evidence from the Bible:

Proverbs 16:3 - "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans."

Proverbs 16:9 - "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps."

Proverbs 19:21 - "Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails."

Proverbs 21:30 - "There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord."

Proverbs 21:31 - "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord."

Psalm 33:10-11 - "The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations."

Psalm 127:1 - "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain."

Isaiah 14:27 - "For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?"

Jeremiah 10:23 - "Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps."

James 4:13-15 - "Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’"

The common theme is pretty clear. One does not simply defy God. You can ignore the truth but that’s not going to stop it from sticking you like an arrow to the ribs.