Day 180 – 1 Kings 22, 2 Chronicles 18

Talking Points

• Ahab, the king of Israel, seeks King Jehoshaphat’s help in battling the Arameans for a third time. Good King Jehoshaphat agrees, but leads them to seek God’s direction first. A true sign of a heart fully trusting God is that it will turn to Him quickly and before doing anything else. A lesson for us, today!
• Ahab assembles for himself prophets who will tell him what he wants to hear. He hates Micaiah, the true prophet committed to speaking God’s Word in integrity. Instead of recognizing the value of hearing the truth of God’s Word, Ahab joins the multitudes through all the ages who make the mistake of seeking words that would appease them.
• Micaiah is not moved, and holds true to the message God has given him. Praise the Lord for His servants through all the years who have handled His Word with care, reverence, and integrity — a great grace to all people.
• And, as always, God’s Word proves true. A “random” arrow finds an unlikely seam in a disguised warrior’s armor, and King Ahab is killed (1 Kings 22:34). Then, fulfilling God’s promise spoken through Elijah years earlier, dogs lap up his blood in God’s judgment of his wicked ways.

Thoughts

The account of the prophet Micaiah is inspiring to me. I read about the hatred people had for him, when all he did was speak the Words of God and act in great integrity, faithfulness, and obedience. I see the pressure put on him to just fit in, for once. I admire his boldness, in spite of political and peer pressure, when he says, “What the LORD says to me, that I will speak” (1 Kings 22:14). Even when he is persecuted for not telling the king what he wanted to hear, Micaiah doesn’t compromise. He, in his consistent character and in the kindness and mercy of God, warns King Ahab of the coming judgment, should Ahab move forward with his plan to go against Ramoth-gilead.

While we do know that every word Micaiah prophesied to Ahab came true, we don’t know what became of this “prophet of the LORD” (22:7). His last recorded words were, “Listen, all you people” (22:28). My prayer as I read this account of this real man, this true prophet, is that we would learn something from Micaiah’s last words. May we truly learn to listen to what the LORD has to say, instead of what we want to hear. May we resist the pressure to just fit in. May we be bold, no matter the cost, and be people who act in great integrity, faithfulness, and obedience. May we be uncompromising, to the glory of God, who is kind and merciful.