Suffering and Deliverance (Part 23) - Micaiah

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19. Micaiah A. Ahab king of Israel wanted to go to war with Ramoth-gilead (1Ki 22:1-3). B. Ahab talked Jehoshaphat king of Judah into going to war with him against them (1Ki 22:4). C. But before going to war, Jehoshaphat wanted to enquire of the LORD (1Ki 22:5). i. He wanted to have wise counsel before he made war (Pro 24:6). ii. He wanted to enquire at the word of the LORD because the scriptures are the best counselors (Psa 119:24). D. Ahab gathered 400 prophets and asked them if he should go to war with Ramoth-gilead. They all with one consent said that the LORD would deliver them into his hand (1Ki 22:6). E. Jehoshaphat was not satisfied with the response of the "yes men," so he asked if there was a prophet of the LORD to enquire of (1Ki 22:7). i. Jehoshaphat knew that the prophets had not spoken from the mouth of the LORD but from their own hearts (Jer 23:16). ii. He didn't want to follow a multitude to do evil (Exo 23:2). iii. He wanted a second opinion (or a 401st opinion in this case) because he knew that in the multitude of counselors there is safety (Pro 11:14). F. Ahab admits that there is one more prophet, Micaiah, but he hated him before he always prophesied evil against him (the truth, in other words) (1Ki 22:8). i. Ahab liked the prophets who prophesied smooth things to him (Isa 30:10; Jer 5:31; Mic 2:11). ii. He hated him who reproved him (Amo 5:10; Pro 9:8; Pro 15:12). G. Ahab sent for Micaiah (1Ki 22:9). H. In the mean time, all of the false prophets were prophesying smooth things to the kings of Israel and Judah (1Ki 22:10-12). I. The messenger told Micaiah that all the other prophets declared good to the king and encouraged him to do likewise (1Ki 22:13). i. The peer pressure is intense. ii. He is outnumbered 400:1. J. Micaiah was undeterred by the pressure and declared that he would speak whatever the LORD told him to speak (1Ki 22:14). i. We ought to obey God rather than men (Act 4:19-20; Act 5:29). ii. Preachers must preach the word in season and out of season (2Ti 4:2). a. Season n. - III. Phrases with prep. 15. in season. a. At the right and proper time, opportunely. 16. out of season. a. Unseasonably, inopportunely; predicatively, unseasonable, inopportune. 17. in season and out of season: at all times, without regard to what is considered opportune. b. It doesn't matter if it seems to be an inopportune time; preachers must declare the word of God regardless. iii. They must not hold back (Isa 58:1). K. Micaiah initially mocks the king when he asked him if he would go to war against Ramoth-gilead (1Ki 22:15). i. It is apparent that he was mocking the king because of the king's response (1Ki 22:16). ii. Micaiah was mocking the other prophets by repeating their foolish words (1Ki 22:6, 12). iii. He was being sarcastic like Elijah was with the prophets of Baal (1Ki 18:27). iv. Micaiah was answering the king according to his folly (Pro 26:5). L. After sarcastically answering the king and being commanded by the king to tell him the truth, Micaiah tells him to send his armies home (1Ki 22:17). M. After hearing the truth, Ahab essentially says to Jehoshaphat "See, I told you so!", being irritated that Micaiah once again prophesied evil concerning him (1Ki 22:18). i. Micaiah was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. ii. Ahab rebuked him for telling him what he wanted to hear and hated him for telling him the truth that he didn't want to hear. N. Micaiah then explains that the reason the 400 prophets had prophesied a lie to Ahab was because God wanted to deceive him so that he would go to war and die, and to accomplish this the LORD sent a willing, lying spirit into the mouths of Ahab's prophets to tell him what he wanted to hear (1Ki 22:19-23). i. God will send strong delusion to those who love not the truth so that they will believe a lie (2Th 2:10-12). ii. If people want to believe a lie, God will accommodate them (Isa 66:4; Eze 14:4-9). O. Telling the truth got Micaiah punched in the face (1Ki 22:24-25). P. Ahab then commands that Micaiah be put in prison and fed with the bread and water of affliction until Ahab returned in peace from the battle (1Ki 22:26-27). Q. Micaiah told Ahab that if he returned in peace the LORD had not spoken by him (1Ki 22:28). i. Rather than beg for his life or his freedom, Micaiah doubled down on preaching the truth to the king. ii. Declaring the word of God was more important to Micaiah than his personal comfort. R. Ahab died in the battle, just as the LORD had intended (1Ki 22:34-35). S. The armies returned home in defeat just like Micaiah had told them to (1Ki 22:36 c/w 1Ki 22:17). T. There is no mention of what happened to Micaiah after Ahab was killed in battle. i. In fact, there is no mention of his name again in scripture. ii. We can assume that he was released from prison, but we don't know. iii. He may have never been released, or he could even have been executed after his prophecy of the demise of Ahab came true. U. There are some lessons we can learn from this. i. People who want to do wicked or stupid things generally don't seek counsel from the LORD before plowing ahead. ii. When it is suggested to them that they should seek counsel before moving forward, they will go to people who will tell them what they want to hear. iii. Be wary of advisors who all agree with each other with no dissent from the group. iv. Stupid people hate those who will tell them the truth about their foolish plans. v. Those who are called on to advise a leader will often be pressured to go along with the leader's plans and with the other advice he has received. vi. There is nothing wrong with mocking fools who don't want to hear the truth you have to tell them. vii. Truth-tellers will usually be hated and persecuted by those in power. viii. People will not appreciate a man who tells them the truth, but will often hate him for it (Gal 4:16). ix. Physical assault and imprisonment are sometimes the result of telling the truth uncompromisingly. x. Never back down from telling the truth and doing the right thing, even in the face of persecution. xi. It is worth it to stand up for God's truth even if we don't know what the outcome will be of doing so. xii. Taking a stand for the truth is always right even if we don't receive recognition for it in this life. xiii. If we are not rewarded for it in this life, we will be in the next life (2Ti 4:7-8; Mat 25:21).