The Sanctified Naysayer (2 Chron 18:1- 20:30)

The following devotional post was initially written as a part of a men's Bible journaling group.

2 Chron. 18:4-7, 12-17 (also 1 Kings 22:10-51)

Ahab & Jehoshaphat

v.4-7 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” 

And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” 

But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” 

And the king of Israel [Ahab] said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil.” 

And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” 

v.12-17 And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.”

But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.”

And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” 

And he answered, “Go up and triumph; they will be given into your hand.”

But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 

And 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 home in peace.’”

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” 

There is a lot going on in this passage! 

Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went off-script by joining the wicked king of Israel (Ahab) on a military campaign against Syrian forces. He asked Ahab to consult the Lord first. I find it interesting to consider why he did this. If he knew God’s Word, then he would not have had to ask if he should follow Ahab’s lead. Ahab whose profound wickedness was already under the prophetic judgment of God would not turn from his ways. He was a man who judged the "goodness" of a message by whether it said what he wanted to hear.

What do we do when the message of the Lord to us is not what we want to hear? Do we hate the messenger, or do we heed the warning of the God who loves us? Ahab hated the Word of the Lord and despite his schemes and disguise…he takes a random arrow but not to the knee. It pierced his breastplate. and he bled out at sunset facing his enemies. He didn’t even take the merciful time that remained to him to repent and turn back to the Lord. In contrast, Jehoshaphat, though an imperfect king, “cried out” to the Lord in his fear “and the Lord helped him; and God drew them away from him.” (v.31)

I am forced to consider the dangers of a politically compromised faith. What happens when the government speaks to the prophet or when the prophets are complicit with and merely rubber-stamping the policies of a wicked government? In this passage, all the other prophets spoke the lies that Ahab wanted to hear. Where was the dissenting voice of truth? What does this mean for my ministry? Am I vulnerable to being owned by the status quo, by the current of popular thought, or will I seek the counter-intuitive and inconvenient but invaluable word of the Lord before I make decisions and before I risk what he has entrusted to me? Jehoshaphat had the good sense to seek, ask, and knock. Ahab, once pushed, also demanded the truth… however, he didn’t heed it but rather tried to circumvent it via disguise and distraction.

As pastors, and Christian leaders, do we have a Micaiah who will speak to us honestly in the face of strategic plans and personal passions? 

Do we have a sanctified nay-sayer who has been given permission to speak freely? Someone who can tell us when we are listening to the wrong voices? I hope so.

This is one of the tenets of the Cupbearers Initiative. It may have become trendy to “speak truth to power,” but who do we allow to speak the truth to our power? For the sake of the Kingdom of God am I willing to be teachable to the prophetic word of the Lord?

So, if I am to "bring it home," let me ask, will we persist in what we want, asking God to bless our imperfect ideas and desires, or will we sincerely seek the counsel of God? Further, when God speaks, will I harden my heart or in humility acknowledge my dependence upon him? When was the last time I let God change my plans?

Persisting in poor leadership decisions (without, or in spite of, good counsel) might not be the end of our lives (like it was for ancient kings), but it might be the end of our ministry. Our lapses in judgment, deficiencies in discernment, and failures in follow-through may result in the loss of many people’s potentially joyful participation in the restorative work of the kingdom.

Allow me to share one last rather haunting thought. Ahab, even when mortally wounded, persisted in his rebellion, slowly bleeding out as the daylight faded with his chariot facing the Syrians instead of turning towards Jerusalem seeking to make peace with the One true Lord...  

“And the battle continued that day, and the king of Israel was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening. Then at sunset, he died.” (v.34)

Some might say he was authentic, even brave, in refusing to repent. I call it stubbornly self-focused. Instead of making peace with the God who takes no delight in the death of the wicked, Ahab refused to repent. As it is written, 

“Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?" (Eze. 33:11)

Instead of Ahab finding personal peace in repentance, God provided some measure of national peace for Israel through the death of their wicked king. This was one case where “scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd” (v.16) was a good thing since their shepherd had been so evil. Each man could “return to his home in peace” instead of dying as pawns in Ahab’s wicked plans.

O, Lord, may our minds always seek your direction, and may our hearts heed your Word so that we might not fall for wicked appeals that would entice us from your goodness to follow a lie. May we not be persuaded to bend to the status quo just because everyone else is doing so. Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear and soften our hearts to joyfully respond to your loving plan, and may it result in blessing for many, and may your shalom come upon us. Amen.