Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Apr 25th, 2023 Micaiah, the Prophet of the Lord by Derek Woodrum

Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 22 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Luke 5 – 6; Proverbs 25; Psalms 121 – 125

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Isaiah 51:11

Read the “0425 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon

 Read a previous post from this passage – “Shouldn’t We Be Different?”

“7 And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him? 8 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.” (1 Kings 22:7-8)

There is so much going on in this chapter that I could write a month’s worth of daily devotions. However, one person stands out and is an example for all of us to follow. The man Micaiah! 

The king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, has gone to the king of Israel presumably because he was asked to come (2 Chronicles 18: 1-2). He is a good king, and he leads his people during a time when the nation of Israel is split. There is much sin throughout both nations as the kings before these two have allowed idolatry, Baal worship, and spiritualism (this refers to the groves and burning of incense in high places) to flourish instead of turning the hearts of the people to God.

The king of Israel, Ahab the husband of Jezebel, has asked Jehoshaphat to help him take back the city of Ramoth in Gilead. He says, hey let’s go fight against the king of Syria and take back the city of Ramoth because it is ours. He is driven of his own desires and is set against God in all that he does. 

So, the king of Judah says, ok, we will fight against the king of Syria together, but before we do, let’s find a prophet to tell us if God thinks this is a good idea. This was a common practice of the day, and Ahab says, no problem I have about 400 prophets here and they are all for us going into this battle. But wise Jehoshaphat says, is there not a prophet of the Lord besides these guys, probably because he had heard what happened in chapter 21 of 1 Kings! So, Ahab says reluctantly, yeah there is one guy, but I hate him because he always gives me bad news and is always against me. Jehoshaphat is like, yep let’s talk to him!

So, they go and get Micaiah and bring him back to these two kings and they ask him, shall we go and fight this battle? Micaiah says, sure, go, the Lord be with you. Now Ahab, knowing that Micaiah was telling him what he wanted to hear, says, come on man, tell me the truth what does God say? And this is where we are going to focus because Micaiah is the man.

From the story we know that Micaiah lives in a time when there is rampant sin. There are false prophets everywhere and leaders are listening to them. When he tells people what the Lord says, they hate him for it because they think he is being mean to them. He is physically attacked by these religious leaders for speaking against them, but one thing is certain, everyone knows that Micaiah is a prophet of the Lord!

Does this sound familiar? Does it sound like the days we are in? There is rampant sin and idolatry in our country today. Right is wrong and wrong is right. You are demonized as being a radical and railed upon by other “Christians” when you call them out for their sin. You are told that you are a hater because you will not accept people that want to live differently than you. You are told that that old book that you hold is archaic and outdated. That the translation is bad and that you should get a new one. That the book doesn’t really say what you can clearly read. That these days are different, and that God is love so don’t be a hater.

Here is the question, will you stand up for God or will you conform to the world?

In Ephesians 6:13 -14 we are told:

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;”

We are not told to go out into battle with the armour of God, we are told to stand. We are to stand against the depravity of this world. Stand against the complacency of sin. Stand against the false prophets of our day and the acceptance of everything that is against God. This is exactly what Micaiah did. He didn’t argue with the king; he told him exactly what God was going to do. He knew this because he had a personal relationship with God. He knew the words of the Lord and he believed them.

Will you “hold the line”? Will you be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who standing before Nebuchadnezzar, with all the powerful elite in attendance watching them, say: 

            “… O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” (Dan 3:16-18)

Our actions speak to the world that is watching. People are watching to see what you will stand for and what you bow down to. Micaiah was willing to stand for God when it was not convenient. When the so called “religious” people around him were all bowing down to the whims of the king, he stood for God. When he knew his words were not pleasant to hear; he spoke them anyways and did so with conviction. These two chapters (1 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 18) are the only chapters where we see Micaiah, but they are some of the most intense passages on standing up for your faith! Be Micaiah in these days and see what God will do!