Micaiah Withstands False Prophets

GOLDEN TEXT: “And Micaiah said, As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak.” —I Kings 22:14

I KINGS 22:5-8, 13-18, 26-28

TODAY’S lesson finds King Ahab of Israel in another role which reveals his lack of heart loyalty to God and to righteousness. Because he had already demonstrated his unworthiness of divine favor, this lesson reveals that God allowed him to be deceived in order that he might be led to his death. God maintains his protective hold upon his servants, even in their waywardness, until it becomes apparent that further efforts to recover them from their sin would be of no avail; then he allows them to take the course which their own hearts willfully dictate.

King Ahab suggested to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, that they join forces to fight the king of Syria for possession of Ramoth in Gilead. Jehoshaphat was willing but requested that Ahab consult the Lord in the matter in order to determine the divine will, and whether or not they could expect to be victorious.

Ahab agreed to this, and summoned about four hundred men who posed as prophets of the Lord and asked them for an opinion. The true God of Israel was not in the habit of speaking to the nations through so great a number of prophets. Not long before this, at the instigation of Elijah, four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal had been slain, and perhaps now these other four hundred had been appointed by the king to take their places, not as representatives of Baal, but allegedly, of Israel’s God.

These four hundred rendered a favorable decision, assuring Ahab and Jehoshaphat that they would be victorious against the king of Syria. But Jehoshaphat was not thoroughly convinced. Evidently he was suspicious of the ability and authority of these four hundred prophets who seemed so favorable to Ahab. He asked if there was not another, prophet in Israel that could be consulted.

Ahab replied that there was. He said, “There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” (vs. 8) It seems clear from this that the four hundred prophets were specially chosen by Ahab because they could be depended upon to prophesy in keeping with his own wishes, but this was not true of Micaiah. As our Golden Text indicates, Micaiah prophesied only as the Lord gave him authority to speak.

Because of this, Ahab said of Micaiah, “I hate him.” For the same reason he said to Elijah when the prophet found him in the vineyard of Naboth, to whose murder he had consented: “Halt thou found me, O mine enemy?” Those who are pure of heart welcome the corrections and rebukes which come to them at the hands of the Lord’s servants. If we hate those who warn us when we are doing wrong, or consider as enemies those who, in their love, endeavor to help us walk in the path of righteousness, we may conclude that we are spiritually very ill, that our hearts need to be cleansed and mellowed.

As feared by Ahab, Micaiah prophesied evil concerning him. He described a vision in which he saw the people of Israel scattered upon hills without a shepherd, with everyone bidden to return home in peace. Ahab properly interpreted this to mean that he would be killed.

The account is sketchy and somewhat vague, but it would seem that Ahab discounted the veracity of this prophecy on the ground that nothing else could be expected from one whom he had reason to hate, whereupon Micaiah offered an explanation of why the four hundred prophets had spoken as they did. He took Ahab behind the scenes, as it were, and revealed to him that God had allowed a lying spirit to deceive the four hundred.

We need not suppose that the Lord connived with evil spirits to deceive Ahab, but rather that he permitted the king to be deceived in order that the death sentence might be carried out against him as a result of his own willfulness in opposing the true voice of the Lord as heard through Micaiah. It is not so important for us to understand in detail just what occurred in the spirit realm in this connection, as it is to note Ahab’s wicked course, that we might be on guard against the encroachment of any similarly evil state of mind or heart taking possession of us.

Ahab not only refused to be guided by Micaiah’s prophecy, but instead, gave instructions that he be taken to Amon and put in prison and fed “with bread of affliction and water of affliction,” until, he said, “I come in peace.” (vs. 27) He seemed to think that if Micaiah, who had prophesied against him, was imprisoned far behind the lines, his prophecy would be defeated. But he was wrong. Micaiah was vindicated and Ahab did not return from the battle alive. His wicked course came to an end at Ramoth-gilead.

QUESTIONS

When does God withdraw his protection from those who profess to serve him?

What may we infer from the large number of prophets who served Ahab?

Why did Ahab hate Micaiah?

What is the “lying spirit” referred to in the lesson?

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