In the first chapter of this book, we learnt about a war which started in heaven and was fought by celestial beings. In this chapter, we shall consider another war which happened on planet earth involving humans and is recorded in 1st Kings Chapter 22.
Jehoshaphat the king of Judah visited his counterpart Ahab the king of Israel. While on that trip Ahab asked Jehoshaphat if he could join him in a war he wanted to make against the Syrians to take the land of Ramoth-Gilead from them. Ahab didn’t want to fight his battle alone, he wanted to invite Jehoshaphat to join him. Jehoshaphat responded to this invitation with the words: "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses. Please inquire for the word of the LORD today." (1 Kings 22:4).
Hear what God has to say
Though the king of Judah had soldiers under his command, though he had horses to use during the war, he was not content with just going to this fight without first hearing what the word of the Lord had to say about this.
“The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But deliverance is of the LORD”. Proverbs 21:31
He knew that though you might have horses prepared and ready for war, though you might have the good soldiers on your side, deliverance (victory) comes from the Lord. So he dared not to venture into the war without first hearing what the word of the Lord had to say. He wanted to know whether it’s going to be an AYE or NAY from The Lord. In all that we do, let us seek to know what the word of God says first before embarking on that thing, lest we do something which is not sanctioned by God or we fail to do what God requires us to do and we end up in sin. Don’t just get into things because someone has invited you into it and you have the resources to do so but consult God first, pray to Him, read His word, seek counsel from those who fear God.
Beware of Counterfeits
When Ahab learnt that Jehoshaphat wanted to hear the word of the Lord first before embarking on this battle, he gathered about four hundred prophets. These were not servants of the true Lord who Jehoshaphat had desired to know His word but these were all false prophets. Let us be watchful of the likes of Ahab whom when we desire to hear the word of God they bring to us counterfeits in their numbers to mislead us. To these four hundred false prophets, Ahab asked: "Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain?" And they are replied from the same page, "Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king." (1 Kings 22:6). Imagine four hundred prophets all saying the same thing, you would be tempted to think that they are speaking the truth. It would have been normal to see Jehoshaphat appreciating this good message coming from these prophets, but instead, he says “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of Him?" (1 Kings 22:7).
Wait a minute, what is Jehoshaphat suggesting here? He still wants to hear from the prophet of the Lord yet he has just heard four hundred prophets speak? It’s clear, Jehoshaphat is not deceived, he knows very well that these prophets who just spoke are not prophets of the true God hence he wants to hear from a prophet of the true Lord. The numbers did not convince him. No matter how many people might preach lies, no matter how popular they might be, lies remain lies. A lie will not change into truth because it has been preached by many people. Don’t follow a lie simply because it is being preached or practised by many people, but follow after the truth no matter how unpopular it might be.
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14
Notice something in the King of Judah’s request, "Is there not still a PROPHET of the LORD here…”, he uses the word Prophet (singular) and not prophets (plural) meaning that he was going to be satisfied if he was to hear just one true prophet of the Lord than the four hundred fake prophets. Truth is truth though presented by a few and lies are lies even if presented by hundreds. So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil." (1 Kings 22:8)
It gets more interesting when other prophets were called in by Ahab. He did not invite one prophet by the name of Micaiah because he hated him. This prophet was despised because he was not like the other four hundred prophets who prophesied “good stuff” to please the king, but Micaiah spoke the truth which Ahab did not consider to be good to his understanding or misunderstanding thereof. Some folks hate those who preach the truth of God because it seems not good to them, they want something which excites them, they want a gospel which does not speak against their evil deeds but want to hear that which promises them prosperity. Ahab wanted to hear prosperity prophecies from the four hundred prophets rather than the truth from Micaiah. Even in these last days, it is so.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers. 2 Timothy 4:3
It’s better to listen to one Micaiah who seems not to bring good news to your ears but will lead you to Jesus than to listen to four hundred false prophets who tell you exciting things but lead you to Satan.
Insist on the truth
In response to what Ahab had said about Micaiah, Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say such things!” The king of Judah still wanted to hear what Micaiah had to say despite being discredited by Ahab. Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, "Bring Micaiah the son of Imlah quickly!" (1 Kings 22:8-9).
While they awaited for Micaiah to come in, the false prophets continued to prophesy before the two kings saying "Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the king's hand." Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, "Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Please, let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement." (1 Kings 22:10-13)
Micaiah is being asked to join the bandwagon of the false prophets, he is being asked to go with the flow. Resist the temptation of joining wrong things because everyone is doing it. This is a popular strategy which is used by Satan to tempt people, he whispers into the ears of many, just do what everyone else is doing, everyone is breaking the law of God, just do the same, everyone is sinning, so why not join them. But Christ is looking for those who choose to stand out and do what is right regardless of what everyone else is doing.
“You shall not follow a crowd to do evil.” Exodus 23:2 (a)
To this temptation, Micaiah responds "As the LORD lives, whatever the LORD says to me, that I will speak.” (1 Kings 22:14) This man is not going to follow what others are doing but he will follow what The Lord will tell him. Such should be a principle of those who fear God, they must do what the Lord says rather than what the world does. Micaiah comes in before the two kings and is asked whether they should go to Ramoth Gilead, or whether they should refrain? Surprisingly he answered, "Go and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king!" (1 Kings 22:15).
It seems like Micaiah has also joined the movement of the four hundred charlatans. The messenger who was sent to call Micaiah must have been excited that this prophet has followed his advice to speak good things to Ahab, the other four hundred prophets must have been excited also to see that Micaiah is now singing from the same hymn as them, but is this so? Was Micaiah sincere? From where I come from, it is very common that when a child accidentally breaks a drinking glass or any other fragile utensil in the kitchen and the mother hears it, she will shout “break everything, your father will buy”. To a foolish child, it would appear as if the mother is happy with what has just been done and is encouraging him to continue with that ‘good work’ of breaking things, but to a wise child (s)he knows that the mother is not happy at all.
Ahab knew this very well, he knew that Micaiah was not telling him the truth so he said to him, "How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?" (1 Kings 22:16). Ahab wanted to know the truth from the Lord and he knew Micaiah was the man who can do so, not the four hundred prophets.
God reveals the end result
Micaiah then said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, "These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace." (1 Kings 22:17).
The war had not yet been fought, but Micaiah was already seeing its end, how is this possible? It’s because he serves the Lord who sees the end from the beginning, the Alpha and the Omega who knows what will happen in the future before it even happens. God has revealed to Micaiah that Israel will lose this war. The results of this war are already known, if it were in the sporting world we would say that this was a dead rubber, it’s a lost battle as the title of the sermon.
When God who knows the future and does not lie foretells the results of the war, you would expect those who care to listen to take heed to that message and cancel their intended pursuit. Why should you go on to fight when God has already said that you will lose, do you think you can overcome what God has said? It is foolish to think that a mere human being with his power can outwit what God has said. If Ahab was wise he could have called it a day and cancelled this battle but what does he do, he first sends Micaiah to prison and then continues with the battle against the Syrians. Micaiah was jailed for speaking the truth of God.
All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12
Don’t be stubborn
The king of Israel proceeded to go to war despite being told that he was going to die in that battle. He even disguised his identity by putting away his kingly robes. Probably he said to himself ‘if I can hide my identity by wearing something else, the enemy forces will not know me and I can get away with it’. Does this work? Are you able to fight against what God has said by making an outward change of how you look? It doesn’t work. Spiritual issues cannot be escaped using physical methods, what is required here is a change of heart not a change of garments. What Ahab needed was to repent before the Lord and be saved than to just change his clothes, probably the story could