So Jehoshaphat was unimpressed with Ahab's prophets.
King Ahab then tells him that there was one (yes, only one) prophet of the Lord in the vicinity, a guy named Micaiah. In a moment of brutal honesty, Ahab shares his truest feelings about ole Mikey. "I hate him," Ahab says, "he never prophesies anything but bad news for me!" (v. 7)
I chuckled as I typed that. I get the impression that Ahab's understanding of the prophetic ministry was somewhat lacking. He wanted yes-men, someone who would tell him what he wanted to hear. A religious stamp of approval, if you will.
A shrewd politician, that Ahab. Make a decision and then have a bunch of religious guys tell the people that God guarantees success. Great method of crowd control. This kind of thing is what Karl Marx was talking about when he called religion was "the opiate of the people." (not to get off track but the same thing happens today, even in the Christian church)
Ahab used prophecy as a means of justifying what he wanted. I'm sure that his "prophets" were well taken care of, as long as they said the right things. But there was one guy (and this "one" thing is compelling to me), one guy wasn't on the take and he stuck out like a sore thumb. Micaiah.
Micaiah is referred to as a prophet "of the Lord". What made him unique in the eyes of Ahab was that his messages were....ummm....negative. I can't think of a pretty way of saying it. He told the truth. He challenged Ahab (often, it seems) and shared the heart and will of God. Micaiah's message is typical of the kind of messages delivered by all the prophets of the Old Testament: a call to renewed faith in Almighty God.
I guess that might be the best way to package the prophets' message--it's a call to renewed faith. It sounds a whole lot better than "negative", but even that implies that something is wrong, that the status quo must change.
Now relax, just because I am describing the prophets message as negative, that doesn't mean it was bad. Not at all. As a matter of fact it was life-giving. It's intention is to draw a person closer to God. But Ahab wasn't interested in that. He wasn't interested in being told he needed to change. When you think you are always right, having someone who constantly tells you that you need to change gets old pretty fast.
Jehoshaphat, on the other hand, appears to have been a man of God. My guess is that he was familiar with, and maybe even appreciated a "real" prophetic message when he heard one. He seems sympathetic to Micaiah in giving a slight rebuke to Ahab for his unkind words:
“That’s not the way a king should talk!" Jehoshaphat says, "Let’s hear what he has to say.”
Tune in tomorrow to find out what happens to Micaiah.
PR 15:31 He who listens to a life-giving rebuke
will be at home among the wise.
PR 26:28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.
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On a personal note:
--my son Nathanael is sick with a fever. Usually he's super active. It's odd to see him so lethargic.
--I might do my first bus driving gig on Friday (it will actually be a van but who's counting)
--Tom M. and myself enjoyed the great privilege of leading a man to Christ at the Lehigh Prison on Sunday night. His name is Juan.
--I think I'm to preach on judgement on Sunday. Put your seat belts on.
--It's windy. Cold and windy.
--I hope the Cardinals win the super bowl.
--I am incredibly disappointed in my sim-team of old negro leaguers. Consider this an official call out of Buck Leonard. Pick up a bat or I'm picking up George Giles!
grace & blessings
pjim
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I read somewhere that what made 2 of our Presidents such great leaders was they purposely surrounded themselves with people who held opposing views on many issues. These 2 Presidents were Abraham Lincoln & Franklin Roosevelt. Because of this fact, their presidencies were filled with many emotionally charged debates. They didn't surround themselves with "yes" men. They wanted conflict. They wanted people who could articulate opposing views. These Presidents openly encouraged debate and were willingly to listen to and possibly change their view if someone could convince them to do so. I wonder how many of us (including myself) willingly encourage people to challenge our views. How many of us are secure enough to surround ourselves with people who differ with our views? Diversity is a good thing. I've seen executives who say they want diversity, who say they want people to feel free to express themselves and openly disagree....but deep down it's all just hollow words. I've experienced first hand and have suffered the consequences for speaking out, for not being a "yes" man and expressing what others are thinking but are afraid to say for fear of retribution. Some of you may have been told yourself (as I was), Don't dare ask that because it's a "career ending question." I lost a great paying job because I openly disagreed with the direction things were going in the company I worked for. It cost me and my family greatly. But God is good and He is sovereign. And He can redeem bad situations and teach one vital lessons along the way. I am so fortunate that my God came to my rescue and gave me a new career (it took 1 1/2 years to happen)and has given me more influence and satisfaction than ever before. And I am grateful every day for that.
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