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"And Jehoshaphat said, ‘Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides,
that we might enquire of him?’" 1Kings 22:7 (KJS)
It was a time of great degeneracy in Israel. King Ahab and Jezebel had
established Baal worship and severely persecuted all the godly people
in the country. King Jehoshaphat, who was reigning in Judah, was a
good king with one striking flaw: he was prone to making alliances with
the ungodly. Ahab knew that Jehoshaphat was weak in this area,
and he needed Jehoshaphat’s army to help in a campaign against
Ramoth Gilead. Jehoshaphat may have been tempted because
Ramoth Gilead did truly belong to Israel (See Deuteronomy 4:43).
However, serious trouble befalls the believer who compromises
because he or she thinks that the end justifies the means.
Jezebel’s four hundred prophets of Baal were the religious elite
of the day, and
they had gathered together to prognosticate the future for Ahab.
Of course it was
a little late, since the decision was already made to attack, but
Jezebel’s prophets were well aware that they were not to
"rock the boat," and so became the cheerleaders for the upcoming
skirmish. One was even rather resourceful in copying the manner
in which the true prophets acted out prophecies. Zedekiah made
iron horns, and declared that Ahab’s army would gore the Syrians
until they were
destroyed. Nevertheless, amid all the glowing predictions of success, Jehoshaphat turned to Ahab
and asked, "Is there not here
a prophet of the LORD besides,
that we might enquire of him?" Ahab answered, "There is yet one
man…but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me,
but evil."
It is interesting that at least
there was one man. There
may not be many godly men
(or women) in situations such
as these,
but thank God that there
may be one, unpopular as he may be, reviled as he may be,
who will speak the truth. That person may not be a prophet
– the title of truth-teller will suffice. Ahab evidently knew that Micaiah was
a truth-teller, and that is the very reason he hated him. Does this not bring to our remembrance another who was hated for truthfulness, who said in John 7:7
"The world…hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil."? Jeremiah revealed this problem in Israel when he uttered the following inspired words.
"An astonishing and horrible thing has been committed in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power; and My people love
to have it so. But what will you do in the end?" Jeremiah 5:30-31 (NKJV)
Standing When There is Pressure to Lie
The prophets of Baal were unanimous in their approval, for we read in
1Kings 22:12 (NKJV) that, "…all the prophets prophesied so, saying,
‘Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the
king's hand.’" Let us not become cynical,
but is there not some cause for suspicion when so many heartily agree
to something that the leaders have already determined they want?
How many bad decisions have been made because a cadre of
"yes" men have surrounded a pastor, especially if the
church is large and there are many who curry favor? How many deeds
that should have been punished have been swept under the rug, because
there was no "Nathan" to call out the sin? How many leaders and other
Christians have slipped deeper and deeper into sin because
no one cared enough to
confront them? How
desperately the church and the world need prophets who are willing
to pay the
price of standing up for the truth, especially as it becomes more and more
unpopular in a decadent world.
Politicians generally dislike prophets, and Ahab was no exception. However,
another group usually hates them even more – religious hypocrites. In Acts 7:52 (NKJV) Stephen said to
the Pharisees, "Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?
And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One…" In this case Micaiah faced an interesting mix of both – leaders who
claimed a pagan brand of religion. He is warned of how he should
answer as the messenger confronts him in 1Kings 22:13 (NKJV)
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." But to this the prophet boldly answers,
Oh, that Christians would take this to heart! That when ungodly acts are
done in the church, the first to confront the perpetrators would be the
believers who attend there. That church discipline would be reinstated
to the extent that child molesters would fear to walk into a church for
any other reason except for deliverance. That children would be taught
reverence for God in the church, and shame would once again come
upon parents who fail to discipline their offspring. That Christians
on secular talk shows would not equivocate when asked if the
non-believers are facing an eternity of torment in hell without Christ,
but would rather proclaim the truth in love. That parents would not
"candy-coat" the Word of God for their children and teenagers,
but teach them the full counsel of God.
If Micaiah Were a Pastor Today
What a breath of
You could actually trust him to tell the truth. He was
coveting no man’s pulpit. His desires did not include being popular
when the denomination met with all the leaders. He had no agenda to gain
a leadership position that would be decided by men. He was used to being
called hard and judgmental even though he secretly cried over the sins
he saw in the congregation. He did not water down the Word of God in
the hopes that he would appear so tolerant and so nice that no one would
ever be offended in his church. He realized
that his preaching against
sin in the church was
because unless the people were reminded of their true condition,
they would not appreciate God’s forgiveness, and would become
unrepentant and self-righteous.
Other churches might try gimmicks to bring people in, like cranking
up the amplifier to attract the youth, but Micaiah instead strove to
maintain the church as a solemn house of prayer and worship.
In fact, instead of seeking the newest worldly methods to enlarge his church,
he spent time in prayer and fasting and confessing his own sins before
God, because he knew that only the Holy Spirit could do the work
necessary to strengthen his congregation. He understood that
"Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it…
" Psalm 127:1 (NKJV).
Persecution for Those
Who Speak for God
Next Micaiah is ushered in to the presence of Ahab and Jehoshaphat.
The four hundred prophets probably looked over at him with
disdain and contempt.
Ahab asked pointedly, "‘Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead,
or shall we refrain?’ And he answered him, ‘Go and prosper, for the Lord
Micaiah’s sarcasm reveals his ironic sense of humor,
but he did not speak simply to spoof King Ahab. Rather, he said what he did in order to reveal the fact that Ahab, by his reaction to the statement
, deep down already knew the truth. Ahab responds with a nasty insinuation which questions Micaiah’s
past veracity. 16 "So the king 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?’"
Instantly, Micaiah declares God’s counsel, the lone voice against four hundred.
The one "negative" voice in an assembly
that has to this point all been "positive." The one
troublemaker, of whom it might be said,
as it was of the prophet Amos, "The land is not able to bear all his
words." Amos 7:10. The one intolerant person who was ruining the
wonderful dreams of the assembly. The overbearing moralizer
with the audacity to tell two kings and an assembly room full of prophets that they were wrong. The teller of truth.
"Then he 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."’" 1Kings 22:17 (NKJV)
In the answer that Ahab gives next, he misses the point that Micaiah’s warning
is not an evil prophesy,
but one full of mercy. For if he will refrain
from his plans, he can easily escape the pronounced doom. If he will
acknowledge the truth, and take
seriously the words of God, his kingdom and he himself will be saved.
((( Ahab given incredible mercy to listen to the Prophet of God)))
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you he would
not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?" Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word
of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne,
and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand
and on His left. "And the Lord said, `Who will
persuade Ahab to go up,
that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?' So one spoke in this manner, and another
spoke in that manner. "Then a spirit came forward and stood before
the Lord, and said, `I will persuade him.' "The Lord
said to him,
`In what way?' So he said, `I will go out and be a
lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And the Lord said,
`You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.'
"Therefore look! The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all
these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you."
1Kings 22:18-23 (NKJV)
What a remarkable insight this is into the spiritual world. But who would want
to state it before such an audience? Who would choose to be the lone dissenter among this crowd? And what
will be the reward for this brave man who tells the truth
even when there is no one else (except God)
to support him? Let us consider what happens next.
Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near and struck Micaiah on the
cheek, and said, "Which way did the spirit from the Lord go from me to
speak to you?" And Micaiah said, "Indeed, you shall see on that day when
you go into an inner chamber
to hide!" So the king of Israel said, "Take Micaiah, and return him to
Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son; "and say,
`Thus says the king: "Put this fellow in prison, and feed him
with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I come in peace.
" ' " But Micaiah said, "If you ever return in peace, the Lord has not
spoken by me." And he said, "Take heed,
all you people!" 1Kings 22:24-28 (NKJV)
Bread and water is not a wonderful prize for being forthright in declaring
God’s truth. However, there has always been a price to pay for telling the truth.
Jesus paid the
most costly price for espousing it – but that price has set us free from sin.
Similarly, when we tell the unpopular truth,
many will be set free. Lies bring forth death,
This is always the case, even if the
immediate effect of truth-telling
may be only pain and discouragement.
The Uncompromising
Servant of God
In a corrupt court, Micaiah’s presence is not welcome.
When he walks in and speaks, the echoing back of what the kings
want to hear is suddenly broken. It is no different
today in the church. When the true words of God are spoken, instead of the
words the congregation wants to hear, some
people become intolerant. Upsetting them will cost the pastor, not only
in terms of social friction, but also in monetary terms. However, if they are
only told what they
want to hear, and receive a mild and pleasing sermon that causes them no introspection, nor conviction by the Holy Spirit, a travesty of justice has occurred. The great cloud of witnesses who watch from the portals of heaven are struck with sadness. Angels are disquieted and sigh,
and the Holy Spirit flutters
away like a skittish dove escaping a foul environment.
The foundations begin to crack and weaken, because they have not been
built on the foundational truths of the Word of God. When the messages
that seem basic but are so necessary are not heard, the basic
Christian instincts of the congregation are eroded.
For as we read in Psalms 11:3, "If the foundations are destroyed, what can
the righteous do?"
In such places, deep truths are discarded, and messages against
gambling or drunkenness and covetousness are not extolled. Fornication,
adultery, lying, divorce and bigotry are not mentioned, and if people ask
"why" they are told that "everyone knows these things." Convicting words
against self-indulgence, selfishness, and gluttony are rarely or never
spoken. Two-income families, who are working to have a larger house
and newer cars, are not admonished to stop sacrificing their children to
the god of materialism, nor warned that they and their children will face years
of grief in the future if they let someone else do their parenting job. In an attempt
not to offend,
the bad language of believers is overlooked, and Christians are not questioned for engaging in coarse jesting and using curse words.
The idol of entertainment is conveniently forgotten, so instead of using
television only for educational purposes or not at all, the family is constantly
inculcated with the filth of the world – and then, ironically, they wonder
why they have such difficulty living for God, and why their children have no
desire for holiness and purity. Teenagers and adolescents go out on dates
with pagans or weak believers, and then parents complain how God failed
them when pregnancies occur. Little is said regarding movies that
Christians are devouring which contain foul language, nudity, sex
and violence. Challenges are rarely made for believers to make prayer
time and Bible study priorities in their lives, and separation from the
world is a foreign concept. Without admonishment, Christians feel
"comfortable" on beaches with people who are scantily clad, or in
casinos caught up in the lust of the world. In fact, success in the
world is highly esteemed among many Christians,
but spiritual depth is a vague concept. The whole idea of "denying self" and "taking up the cross daily" (Matthew 16:24) is reserved for religious fanatics, and "present your
bodies a living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1) is only for Christians in countries
less civilized and advanced than ours.
What risky business it is to preach such things! Nevertheless,
A.W. Tozer has some advice on this very matter, in an excerpt from the book "God Tells the Man Who Cares":
"The focus of his attention must be God and not men. He must let
everything dear to him ride out on each sermon. He must so preach
as to jeopardize his future, his ministry, even his life itself.
He must make God responsible for the consequences
and speak as one who will not have long to speak before he is
called to judgment.
Then the people will know that they are hearing a voice instead
of a mere echo."
What then is the purpose of preaching in this manner? Is it to portray
God as a hard taskmaster who is constantly niggling us, even though
He knows that the
body of Christ cannot live up to His perfection? No, not at all. Rather, it is
"that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing
of water by the word,"
Ephesians 5:26 (NKJV). For when sin is not called out by the shepherds,
the people tend not to acknowledge it and seek forgiveness
and deliverance from it, and the church becomes indistinguishable
from the world.
Jehoshaphat is a Type of the Church Today
Today as in Micaiah’s time, the softening of the truth so that we can be inclusive is the message of the hour. We dare not offend anyone with the gospel; rather we must find some clever way of presenting it that is non-confrontational. Never mind that without the confrontation of sin in our own lives, we cannot be born again, or mature after we are spiritually regenerated.
We may well understand how an Ahab could ignore the message that Micaiah had given. Ahab had already had Naboth killed to steal his vineyard, and his sins were legendary. But what about Jehoshaphat? He knew that Micaiah was a man of God,
and yet he still ignored his prophecy, which was fulfilled when Israel and Judah
were slaughtered on the battlefield and a "stray" arrow killed Ahab. In fact, Jehoshaphat almost lost his life as a result of his collusion in this ungodly
adventure, but God
spared him. Later, however, he was confronted by another prophet.
"And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, ‘Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord?
Therefore the wrath of the Lord is upon you. Nevertheless good things
are found in you, in that you have removed the wooden images from the land,
and have prepared your heart to seek God.’" 2Chronicles 19:2-3 (NKJV)
It is not that we, like Jehoshaphat, are not men and women of God. It is rather that we are mixing with the world, which is dulling our sensitivity to the truth.
And without the proper discipline regarding the truth, we find ourselves
lulled by a spirit of compromise. The culture around us,
which now disdains any disturbance the truth might provoke, has also
become a powerful force in the church and is blinding many believers.
A world church is coming together even as the nations of Europe are
reuniting to form a final one-world ruling kingdom, preceded by the issuing of a common currency.
Accordingly, Ahab and Jehoshaphat still attempt to march together in the interest
of "Christian unity." However, this is only a guise
for the establishment of a lukewarm, New Age, doctrinally corrupt institution that Christ can only spew out of His mouth. It comes upon the church as a listless mental attitude, a moral inertia which attempts to unify everyone under a canopy of false love, all at the expense of basic truth. It is a vague, but attractive religion for
those who fall for a form of Christianity without its power. It is even the harbinger
of the false, harlot church, and speaking against it is becoming increasingly
unpopular and may soon become even dangerous. Christian, practice the specific truths of the Bible, or you may merge into this fog of amiable stupor that has enveloped many believers. That fog will soon become a deadly miasma of demonic influence, like the lying spirits who invaded the prophets of Baal. In fact, if Micaiah were here today, perhaps he would shout at all of us, "Take heed, all you people!"1Kings 22:28.
Saul enquires of Samuel
Now the Lord called Sameul and not one of his words fell the ground and we see in Samuel that he knew the Lord as the rock of Salvation so let keep the lord in mind each time a prophet of the lord is enquired of because again the Lord oversees every enquiring of his prophets for his name's sake and his words to be spoken through the mouth of that prophet
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And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not. |
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And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us. |
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And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go. |
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Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we? |
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And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way. |
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(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.) |
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Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was. |
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Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying, |
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To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me. |
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And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people. |
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Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is. |
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And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me to day, and to morrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart. |
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And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house? |
We see here that saul got his answer and reason he had it in his heart as far as saul knew to enquire of Samuel but we clearly see the Lord's point of view for bringing saul to Samuel - Saul had no idea he had been chosen to be King over Israel and we later see the Lord reject saul
So saul began with favor ((( the Lord arranged the meeting for his purpose ))))
Saul did not know the lord as the rock of
his salvation he barely knew him and Saul assummed his way was better than the lord we see later
I will stop here it is always about Pleasing
the Lord and I believe you can clearly see this in this study
Jesus is the Prophet of the Prophets
He looks on the heart and the motive behind each enquiry of him through his prophets or any of his servants and he looks on the heart of the servants to obey his training for his name to be Hallowed and for the Kingdom
of God to be furthered with Jesus as the way the Truth and the Life
And the Lord being exalted as the Rock
of our salvation in each situation
Ezekiel 20
The Lord said these that came shall not inquire of him
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And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the LORD, and sat before me. |
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Then came the word of the LORD unto me, saying, |
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Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you. |
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You can turn to this chapter and see why the Lord gives exact reasons why he said as he live He would not be enquired of by them
wooooooooooooo
This is for sure not the favor of the Lord upon these people
We must fear the Lord
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
O God for the wisdom to inquire of you in Jesus name
When any one inquires of a prophet they
are seeking to hear from God not the man
And God's desire is that his name be Hallowed inside of man
so When you inquire of a prophet nothing is hidden from God and a very key and humble prayer is What is polluting the HOLIness of your name being manifested inside of me
We come humbly just as we are seeking for the Lord to make us as white as snow
and in the fear of the Lord and we know there is no end to the fear of the Lord he is eternal
All knowing all Present and All Powerful
God bless your understanding on the inquiry of a prophet
And Blessed be the Name of God
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