Did King Jehoshaphat want to hear the truth rather than popular, lying flattery? Should we follow the crowd or God and His Word like Micaiah? Let’s look at 1 Kings 22.
Did a large number of false prophets encourage Ahab contrary to God’s will? Are there false church leaders today who would encourage us against God’s will?
For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel. Then during the third year, King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to visit King Ahab of Israel. During the visit, the king of Israel said to his officials, “Do you realize that the town of Ramoth-gilead belongs to us? And yet we’ve done nothing to recapture it from the king of Aram!” Then he turned to Jehoshaphat and asked, “Will you join me in battle to recover Ramoth-gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “Why, of course! You and I are as one. My troops are your troops, and my horses are your horses.” Then Jehoshaphat added, “But first let’s find out what the Lord says.” So the king of Israel summoned the prophets, about 400 of them, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold back?” They all replied, “Yes, go right ahead! The Lord will give the king victory.” (1 Kings 22:1-6 NLT)
Was Jehoshaphat king of Judah, wise enough to ask a true prophet of the Lord?
But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there here a prophet of Yahweh, that we may inquire of him?” The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” Jehoshaphat said, “Don’t let the king say so.” Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, “Quickly get Micaiah the son of Imlah.” (1 Kings 22:7-9 WEB)
Did all the other prophets encourage Micaiah to say the same thing as the majority? Must we sometimes stand apart from popular opinion?
Now Israel’s king and Judah’s King Jehoshaphat were sitting on their thrones, dressed in their royal robes at the threshing floor beside the entrance to the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were prophesying in front of them. Zedekiah, Chenaanah’s son, made iron horns for himself and said, “This is what the Lord says: With these horns you will gore the Arameans until there’s nothing left of them!” All the other prophets agreed: “Attack Ramoth-gilead and win! The Lord will hand it over to the king!” Meanwhile, the messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Listen, the prophets all agree that the king will succeed. You should say the same thing they say and prophesy success.” (1 Kings 22:10-13 CEB)
Was Micaiah tempted to just go along with the crowd? Did he ultimately tell the Lord’s will?
“I'll say whatever the living Lord tells me to say,” Micaiah replied. Then Micaiah went to Ahab, and Ahab asked, “Micaiah, should I attack the Syrians at Ramoth?” “Yes!” Micaiah answered. “The Lord will help you defeat them.” “Micaiah, I've told you over and over to tell me the truth!” Ahab shouted. “What does the Lord really say?” He answered, “In a vision I saw Israelite soldiers walking around in the hills like sheep without a shepherd to guide them. The Lord said, ‘This army has no leader. They should go home and not fight.’ ” (1 Kings 22:14-17 CEV)
Are truth tellers sometimes accused of being negative? Should we be cautious of those who always seem to predict good fortune? Did God allow an evil, lying spirit to influence Ahab?
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” And Micaiah said, “Therefore 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.’ Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.” (1 Kings 22:18-23 ESV)
When powerful leaders want us to be sycophants and flatter them with lies, will telling the truth sometimes put our life in danger? What would be your choice, safe lies or dangerous truth?
Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up, hit Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Did the Spirit of the Lord leave me to speak to you?” Micaiah replied, “You will soon see when you go to hide yourself in an inner chamber on that day.” Then the king of Israel ordered, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, the king’s son, and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this guy in prison and feed him only bread and water until I come back safely.’” But Micaiah said, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he said, “Listen, all you people!” (1 Kings 22:24-28 HCSB)
Did Ahab go into battle in disguise as a precaution, but was God’s judgment fulfilled anyway?
So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah both attacked Ramoth-gilead. The king of Israel suggested to Jehoshaphat, “I’ll go into battle in disguise, but you keep your royal uniform on.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and they both went into the battle. Meanwhile, the king of Aram had issued these orders to 32 of his chariot commanders: “Don’t attack unimportant soldiers or ranking officers. Go after only the king of Israel.” So when the chariot commanders observed Jehoshaphat, they said by mistake, “It’s the king of Israel!” and they turned aside to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out. When the chariot commanders saw that their target was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him. Meanwhile, somebody drew his bow aimlessly and struck the king of Israel between the scales where his armor breastplates joined, so he instructed his chariot driver, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, because I’ve been severely wounded.” The battle continued on for the rest of the day while the king of Israel was propped up in front of the Arameans until the sun set, at which time he died. The blood from Ahab’s wound ran down into the bottom of the chariot. (1 Kings 22:29-35 ISV)
What prophecies were fulfilled at the death of Ahab? Who succeeded him as king?
And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country. So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria. And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the Lord which he spake. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead. (1 Kings 22:36-40 KJV)
Was Jehoshaphat basically a good king of Judah? What did he do well and where did he fail?
Now Jehoshaphat the son of Asa became king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. And he walked in all the way of Asa his father; he did not turn away from it, doing what is right in the sight of Yahweh. However, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense on the high places. Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might which he showed and how he warred, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And the remnant of the male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa, he purged from the land. Now there was no king in Edom; a deputy was king. Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat was not willing. And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David, and Jehoram his son became king in his place. (1 Kings 22:41-50 LSB)
Who succeeded Ahab? Did he also do evil in the Lord’s sight?
Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel for two years. He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who misled Israel into sin. So he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done. (1 Kings 22:51-53 NASB)
How can we begin to sort out the truth from popular lies all around us? The truth may not always be convenient, but what does it promise?
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32 NIV)
Did King Jehoshaphat want to hear the truth rather than popular, lying flattery? Should we follow the crowd or God and His Word like Micaiah? You decide!
