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Turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings, 
chapter 22. 1 Kings, chapter 22. Coming to 
the end of the life of Ahab. It's a long chapter, so we'll 
take up the first half this week, and God willing, finish the chapter 
next Wednesday night. beginning in 1 Kings chapter 
22 at verse 1. Now three years passed without 
war between Syria and Israel. Then it came to pass in the third 
year that Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went down to visit 
the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said to 
his servants, Do you know that Ramoth and Gilead is ours? But 
we hesitate to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria. 
So he said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to fight at Ramoth-Gilead? Jehoshaphat said to the king 
of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses 
as your horses. Also Jehoshaphat said to the 
king of Israel, Please inquire for the word of the Lord today. 
Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about 
four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramoth 
Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain? So they said, Go up, for the 
Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king. And Jehoshaphat 
said, Is there not still a prophet of the Lord here, that we may 
inquire of him? So the king of Israel said to 
Jehoshaphat, there is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, 
by whom we may inquire of the Lord. But I hate him, because 
he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat 
said, let not the king say such things. Then the king of Israel 
called an officer and said, bring Micaiah the son of Imlah quickly. the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, 
the king of Judah, having put on their robes, sat each on his 
throne at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, 
and all the prophets prophesied before them. Now Zedekiah, the 
son of Canaan, had made horns of iron for himself, and he said, 
Thus says the Lord, With these you shall gore the Syrians until 
they are destroyed. And all the prophets prophesied 
so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-Gilead and prosper, for the Lord will 
deliver it into the king's hand. Then the messenger who had gone 
to tell Micaiah spoke to him, 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. Micaiah said, As the Lord lives, 
whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak. Then he came 
to the king, and the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go 
to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall we refrain? And he answered 
him, Go and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the 
hand of the king. 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? Then he said, I saw all Israel 
gathered 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. 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. Zedekiah, the son of Canaanah, 
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 Ammon, 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 the 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. Amen. Well, certainly 
the centrality of God's word is the primary emphasis in this 
section, namely the word from Micaiah the prophet to Ahab concerning 
this battle that he wanted to wage with reference to Syria. 
Certainly it was a wrong move for him to follow these false 
prophets, but certainly this is the means by which God's will, 
God's providence is being fleshed out. And in the life of Ahab, 
certainly his decline can be traced relative to his response 
or his lack of response to the truth of God's Word. Remember 
that in chapter 20, an unnamed prophet, some speculate it was 
this Micaiah in chapter 20, prophesied the death of Ahab. Last week 
we saw in chapter 21, specifically verses 17 to 29, Elijah the prophet 
condemns him and here Micaiah pronounces doom upon him in chapter 
22 verses 17 and following. So we see and we understand that 
Ahab had a problem with God's Word. And I think there's a great 
deal of information here that would hopefully encourage us 
not to be Ahabs, not to engage in this sort of treatment with 
the Word of God, but to receive it, to submit to it, and to walk 
according to it. So there's two broad sections 
here. I want to look first at the alliance between Israel and 
Judah in verses 1 to 12. Remember the divided kingdom 
in chapter 12, and there were seasons and periods of time where 
there was civil war between the north and the south in Israel. So there is an alliance formed 
here between Ahab and Jehoshaphat. And then secondly, the rejection 
of the true prophet of God in verses 13 to 28. But note first 
the setting of the alliance in verses 1 to 4. It says, three 
years passed without war between Syria and Israel. This no doubt 
refers to what we read or what we find in chapter 20. Remember 
in chapter 20, God gives Israel victory over the Syrians on two 
separate occasions. And the chapter basically ends 
with a condemnation for Ahab, because Ahab made a peace treaty 
with Ben-Hadad. The design of God, the preceptive 
will of God, or revealed will, was that Ahab kill Ben-Hadad. wrapped him, gift-wrapped him, 
handed him to him twice, but on that second occasion Ahab 
lets him go. So this unnamed prophet denounces 
him and prophesies his ultimate doom, but Ben-Hadad did make 
a promise according to chapter 20, verse 34. says, the cities 
which my father took from your father I will restore and you 
may set up marketplaces for yourself in Damascus as my father did 
in Samaria. Then Ahab said, I will send you 
away with this treaty. So he made a treaty with him 
and sent him away. So that brings us to chapter 
22. It's three years later. And Ahab says, Benadad did not 
make good on that because Ramoth Gilead is no longer under our 
control. Now, it probably wasn't so much 
in terms of the treaty and it probably wasn't so much in terms 
of it as the inheritance of Israel as it was in terms that it was 
a very important trade route. and so more than likely Ahab 
saw the potential for money-making capability in that particular 
city and so he concocts this plan with Jehoshaphat to go and 
seize Ramoth-Gilead. Now notice, specifically we see 
that the emphasis has been on the northern kingdom for most 
of the the section here. The north has been covered in 
chapter 15, 25, all the way now to chapter 22, where Jehoshaphat, 
a king of the south, is introduced. Now he's going to get more time 
at the end of the chapter to explain that he was in fact the 
son of Esau, that he was a righteous and a godly man, he wasn't the 
brightest bulb in the chandelier, but nevertheless he was a pious 
man, a godly man, but this sort of alliance with Ahab was certainly 
not one of the high points of his career. The situation as 
well, Ahab and Jehoshaphat were allied by marriage. Jehoshaphat's 
son Jehoram was married to Ahab's daughter Adaliah. Now, Adaliah 
was just a wretch of a woman, if not the physical offspring 
of Jezebel, it could have been from another wife, certainly 
the spiritual offspring of Jezebel. She was that caliber of a woman, 
a godless wretch. We notice in this chapter, when 
it does describe Jehoshaphat to us, in verse 44, it says he 
made peace with the king of Israel. Again, probably because of that 
marriage alliance, probably as well because civil war gets old 
and tedious, and Jehoshaphat wanted to make peace and finish 
that situation. So what we have here is this 
alliance form. Now notice, before they enter 
into the particular battle, godly Jehoshaphat. Now I'm calling 
that based on 2243. It says, he walked in all the 
ways of his father Esau. He did not turn aside from them, 
doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Nevertheless, the 
high places were not taken away, for the people offered sacrifices 
and burned incense on the high places. Much like when we've 
studied other good or godly kings, they weren't perfect kings. The 
Bible can give an overarching assessment on their fidelity 
as having been those who did what was right in the sight of 
the Lord. And nevertheless, the high places weren't removed. 
Nevertheless, there were these deficiencies. The truth of the 
matter is, there will never be any save the Lord Jesus that 
will get a perfect bill, a perfect score, a perfect record, and 
we need to appreciate that and understand that nevertheless 
the overarching concern of his life was that it was pleasing 
to the Lord. But so we see back in chapter 
22 at verse 5, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, please 
inquire for the word of the Lord today. If we have successfully 
followed Ahab's career up until this point, we would probably 
observe He wouldn't have done this. He wouldn't care one bit 
about this. He may go offer sacrifice to 
Baal and seek direction from pagan deities, but he wouldn't 
seek the living and true God. But in this alliance, Jehoshaphat's 
word runs supreme, and then we see that this happens. Verse 
6, the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about 
400 men, and said to them, shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to 
fight or shall I refrain?" It's a similar situation in chapter 
18 verses 19 and 20, where Elijah is going to take on the false 
prophets of Baal, and Ahab gathers them together unto himself for 
the particular cause. Now, I was under the impression 
that the 400 were probably the 400 leftovers from the contest 
at Carmel. Remember, there were 450 prophets 
of Baal, and there were 400 prophets of Asherah. And I assume that 
those 400 prophets of Asherah were most likely these particular 
prophets. I think Davis argues convincingly 
that these were prophets of Yahweh. And the text indicates that. 
They speak in Yahweh's name, according to verse 11. they claim 
to have Yahweh's spirit in verse 24. The New King James has a 
small s or a lowercase s in the word spirit. It's probably a 
capital S. What Canaanah is claiming is 
that he has the spirit of Yahweh, but it's supposedly or allegedly 
passed over to Micaiah at this particular time. As well, they 
promise Yahweh's success, according to verse 12, and they can apparently 
deliver Yahweh's work. So Jehoshaphat asks this question, 
and these 400 prophets are trotted out. Now, even though they are 
prophets of Yahweh, they're not necessarily true prophets. There are false prophets. of Yahweh, or false prophets 
that claim allegiance to Yahweh. So these aren't necessarily prophets 
of Baal or prophets of Asherah. They at least go under the guise 
of being God's prophets, but they are nevertheless false prophets. Now notice their response in 
verse 6. Go up, for the Lord will deliver 
it into the hand of the king. Now, Gil points out, and I think 
correctly, that this is ambiguous. You ever gone to a Chinese restaurant 
and you've opened up the fortune cookie? It's a study in ambiguity, 
isn't it? You're gonna have a good day 
this week. OK, what does that really mean? Or good things are coming in 
your future. My brother-in-law and I used 
to say, there ought to be misfortune cookies that are just the opposite. Today is going to be miserable. 
You're going to have a wretched next week and that sort of thing. 
Really, really give the Chinese food feasters a real good way 
to end their particular meal. But notice, go up, for the Lord 
will deliver it into the hand of the king. There it's not Yahweh, 
it's Adonai, which could also be master, which is a word by 
which Baal is often identified. Go up, for the Lord will deliver 
it into the hand of the king. Well, certainly that's going 
to happen in a battle. One party or one army is going 
to win, so it will be delivered up into the hand of the king. 
So it's a very ambiguous statement, certainly open for interpretation. 
Ahab obviously takes it as the encouragement to go into battle, 
and that will be further reinforced in verses 10 to 12. But notice 
something doesn't sit right with Jehoshaphat. You know, there 
was just that sort of niggling feeling that, no, we got to find 
someone else. I mean, 400 prophets, that quick, 
answer that specifically? It was too tidy. It was too perfect. It was too, you know, just quick. And so Jehoshaphat is troubled 
and he says, is there not still a prophet of Yahweh here that 
we may inquire of him? Now note Ahab's statement concerning 
this man Micaiah. It says, there is still one man, 
Micaiah the son of Imlah, which actually occurs at the end of 
the verse. It's almost like he doesn't want to say the name. He doesn't want to taste it on 
his lips. It's just disgusting to Ahab 
that there is one man out there that doesn't cater to my needs. There is one man out there that 
doesn't tell me what I want to hear. There is one man out there 
that is not a yes man. There is one man out there that 
doesn't always speak encouragement to me. There's one out there 
and he really, really bothers me, Jehoshaphat. In fact, in 
verse 8, Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning 
me, but evil? Remember the sort of disposition 
that Ahab manifests. He's a sullen and a displeased 
sort of a fellow. If you go back to chapter 20 
at verse 43. Now I'm not blaming him here. 
I guess if a prophet, an unnamed prophet, prophesied my doom, 
I would probably go home sullen and displeased. That's exactly 
what the text says in 20.43. But in chapter 21, specifically 
at verse 4, when he doesn't get Naboth's vineyard so that he 
can plant a new vegetable garden, The same sort of thing overtakes 
him. He goes into his house sullen 
and displeased. He's sort of a pouty character. 
He's sort of a moody fellow. He's the sort of guy that takes 
offense easily. He's the sort of a guy that probably 
has a thin skin. And here, as he is talking about 
this Micaiah, it really does bother him. He says, there is 
still one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord But I hate 
him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. Now, before we move on and just 
see how wretched Ahab is, we ought to appreciate how gracious 
and merciful God is. We have noted this in Ahab's 
career, that even in the midst of his departure from the Lord, 
even in the midst of his rebellion against God, even in the midst 
of his completely foolish decisions, God nevertheless is extending 
to him gracious opportunities. We saw it in chapter 18, the 
contest at Carmel. That was as much for Ahab as 
it was for everybody else. The idea being is that when that 
fire comes down and consumes that bolek, that everyone would 
confess truly that Yahweh is the living and true God. And 
Ahab goes back to his house, he tells Jezebel what had transpired. She basically says, so what, 
and wants to go and murder Elijah. We saw it last time, we saw it 
in chapter 20, when God gives Ahab victory twice over the Syrians. I mean, brethren, that is just 
unheard of in terms of, you know, natural providence. This is supernatural 
providence wherein God overrules and gives the victory to Israel 
when they didn't deserve it. And they were outgunned and out 
militarily savvied by the Syrian armies. And nevertheless, God 
gives him this gift. We saw it in chapter 21, after 
God's dealings with Ahab through the prophet Elijah, and we see 
Ahab humble himself, and God says, did you see that, Elijah? He actually humbled himself. 
So the fact that there is still one man that communicates the 
truth of God to a wretch like Ahab is an indicator of the grace 
and the mercy and the kindness of God. that there is still a 
word for Ahab. You see, brethren, the problem 
comes when there is no more word from the living God. The prophet 
Amos prophesied of such times. There will be a famine in the 
land. Not a famine of food or a famine of water, but a famine 
of hearing the word of God. You see, this is a mercy and 
this is a grace, but we notice why Ahab despises it. I hate him because he does not 
prophesy good concerning me, but evil." Boy, he'd love the 
likes of Joel Osteen. He would love the likes of Benny 
Hinn. He would be all over this health, wealth, and prosperity 
movement. He would be giving or sending in his money and receiving 
his prayer cloths or his vials of oil or whatever it was. He 
would be all over the sort of religion that coddles people 
that caters to people, that panders to people, and that never challenges 
people with the truth of God's holy word. This man is a wretch. He does not prophesy good concerning 
me, but evil. Perhaps you are reminded, as 
I was, of 2 Timothy 4, 3-4. Remember Paul's final Corporate 
charge to the church, specifically to Timothy, but representative 
of the church. The final corporate command is 
not cuddle people. Cater to people. Find out their 
felt needs and pander to them. Make sure you have wonderful 
entertainment in your church. Make sure you have the most wonderful 
nursery or whatever service for the kids. Not any of that. The emphasis by Paul in 2 Timothy 
4-2 is to preach the word. Be ready in season and out of 
season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with 
all longsuffering and teaching. I think that text and I think 
passages like these go to demonstrate to us what is the measure of 
a Christian man? What is the measure of a true 
church? The measure is their allegiance to and their love 
for the word of the living God. I don't care how wonderful everything 
else might be. If there is absence of the truth 
of God's Word in that place, it is not a church. Paul describes 
it in 1 Timothy 3 as the pillar and ground of the what? The truth. Why have we given this up? Why 
have we adopted everything other than faithful exposition of God's 
Word? Brethren, look at what he says 
there. He does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. Paul's 
first reason for the command to preach the word is this. 4. 
The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. 
I'm going to add a gloss here. Especially when it upsets them, 
or doesn't coddle them, or doesn't cater to their felt needs. But 
according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, 
they will heap up for themselves teachers, and they will turn 
their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables. 
Could anything be more appropriate to the church today than 1 Kings 
22, verse 8? I mean, this is the modern churchgoer, 
isn't it? I don't want to go to that church 
because they're so negative. I don't want to go to that church 
because it's such a downer. I don't want to go to that church 
because all they ever talk about is sin and hell and damnation 
and all that sort of thing. I don't want to be there because, 
you know, it just sort of makes me down and depressed. Do you 
realize that the way to build high is to start low? The way 
to gain any sort of comfort in the Christian life is to embrace 
your lot and confess with Scripture that you are a sinner before 
a holy God, because it's then that you see the graciousness 
of a glorious Christ. Matthew Henry made this comment, 
he said, those are wretchedly hardened in sin and are ripening 
apace for ruin who hate God's ministers because they deal plainly 
with them and faithfully warn them of their misery and danger 
by reason of sin and reckon those their enemies that tell them 
the truth. You know, the church is not like 
any other organization. You don't hate your doctor because 
he diagnoses you with cancer. You thank him because he's then 
going to prescribe the remedy or the treatment. But you come 
into the church and a pastor there tells you that what you're 
doing is wrong, you get upset, you get mad. Oh, you can't say 
that. It doesn't make me feel good. 
It doesn't encourage me. He does not prophesy good concerning 
me, but evil. They even have their yes-men 
to go alongside. This wretched messenger in verse 
13. Hey, all the other false prophets have told him a lie, 
so go ahead and tell him that too. Because it really makes 
him feel good. You see, the true prophet of 
God doesn't care, really, whether people feel good or not. What 
he cares about is that God's Word has been faithfully proclaimed, 
and that persons hear it. Because God uses His truth. He doesn't use lies. He doesn't 
use us pandering to felt needs. He uses the scripture. He uses 
the word of truth. Now, before we move on into the 
rejection of the true prophet of God, note this throne scene. And there is a contrast between 
verses 10 to 12 and verses 19 to 23. There are two throne scenes. One is the false prophets before 
the throne of Ahab and Jehoshaphat. The second throne scene is the 
true prophet, Micaiah, before the throne of Almighty God. Don't 
miss the contrast. Don't miss what's in view in 
this particular instance. But what I think verses 10 to 
12 do is that they really increase the pressure upon Micaiah. I mean, this is going to be a 
tough thing for him. Just backing up a bit, Jehoshaphat, 
again a religious fellow, a pious fellow, after Ahab makes this 
statement concerning Micaiah, he says, let not the king say 
such things. Then the king of Israel called an officer and 
said, bring Micaiah, the son of Imlah, quickly. Trey said 
it like that, this sullen, displeased, thin-skinned, sort of a pouty, 
moody guy. He doesn't want to see Micaiah. 
It's going to bring him down. It's going to make him unhappy. 
Certainly we don't want to be around people that bring us down 
and make us unhappy with the truth. Now, there's downers and 
unhappiness by people that aren't necessarily speaking the truth. 
Don't go hang out with them. People bring you down and they're 
not prophets or pastors. You don't have to hang out with 
them. But if the truth is what brings you down, maybe you need 
to be brought down. The truth is humbling to you 
or causes you a bit of outrage. Maybe you need to repent and 
forsake your sin and deal with the God of that truth. So anyways, 
back to the throne scene. Notice in verses 10 to 12, King 
of Israel and Jehoshaphat. King of Israel always, for the 
most part, in this chapter. Typically he's referred to as 
Ahab everywhere else in his story, but King of Israel seems to be 
the emphasis here, except for the particular verses escaping 
me here where he is called Ahab. But notice, the king of Israel 
and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, having put on their robes, 
sat each on his throne at a threshing floor at the entrance of the 
gate of Samaria. And all the prophets prophesied 
before them. Now Zedekiah, the son of Canaanah, had made horns 
of iron for himself." Now, we have seen in the life and ministry 
of our Lord Jesus, or any time we've reflected on Old Testament 
prophets, sometimes they engage in sort of acted parables. Sometimes 
they use signs or they use symbols to communicate the truth. You 
see that in the prophet Ezekiel. You see that in the prophet Isaiah. 
You see the true prophets of God oftentimes using such things. 
Now, Canaanah had these horns of iron to sort of demonstrate 
what it would be like in terms of battle. The king of Ahab would 
be that goring ox or that bull that would go and run roughshod 
over Syria. It's a means by which he's saying, 
go ahead, go after him, go for it. Matthew Poole makes this 
beautiful observation. He says, The devil is God's ape, 
and the false prophets sometimes imitating the true, who when 
they declared God's mind by words, did also oftentimes confirm it 
by sensible signs. So it's something a true prophet 
would do. And there might even be some scriptural warrant for 
this particular message from Deuteronomy 33, 17. The sons 
of Joseph, Ephraim, and Manasseh are basically told that they 
are going to have horns to be able to devastate their enemies. 
Now, Ephraim and Manasseh is the heart of the area where the 
Northern Kingdom is. This is the central sort of hub 
of the Northern Kingdom. So it might be the case that 
Canaanah has some scriptural authority even for this particular 
false prophecy. Now again, it's not scriptural 
authority to speak false prophecy, but more often than not, false 
teachers invoke scripture, don't they? The devil invokes scripture 
when he tempts the Lord Jesus Christ. Citing scripture is not 
the same thing as understanding or knowing or interpreting scripture. When Jesus says, go and learn 
what this means, and he points the religious leaders of his 
day to Hosea 6-6. They knew exactly what it said. 
They knew it backwards and forwards in terms of memory. But they 
didn't understand it. They didn't know the meaning 
of it. They didn't know the truth of it. And so this man engages 
in this particular activity. Thus says the Lord, with these 
you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed. And all the 
prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, 
for the Lord will deliver it into the king's hand. That is 
the essence of false prophecy. They're all rallied up, they're 
all charged up, we got the horn thing going on, and now we see 
this tremendous pressure upon Micaiah, and that brings us to 
the rejection of the true prophet of God in verses 13 to 28. Note the true prophet and the 
messenger in verses 13 and 14. than the messenger who had gone 
to call Micaiah that spoke to him." Now, this is intriguing, 
and Gil argues this, I think, convincingly, that Micaiah was 
already in prison. He knew exactly where to find 
him, and he sends a particular message to go and get him. If 
we ask the question, why was he possibly in prison? Because 
he's more than likely the unnamed prophet of chapter 20 who prophesied 
the death of Ahab. I mean, Ahab, again, he's sullen 
and displeased when things don't go his way. If an unnamed prophet 
tells him you're going to die, I don't think it's out of his 
wheelhouse to put that unnamed prophet into prison. So it could 
be the case. And again, John Gill argues, 
I think convincingly, he's already in prison. The messenger who 
had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him saying, now listen, you 
can almost hear this guy. I mean, it's so weak and so feeble 
and so mealy-mouthed and so effeminate. You know, the false is just so 
non-courageous. He says, 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. That could be sort of a backhanded 
way to try and manipulate Micaiah. It's obviously or evidently a 
yes-man who doesn't want poor little Ahab to be sullen and 
displeased. When a king surrounds himself 
with such people, he ought to fail, he ought to fall, he ought 
to be destroyed. Kings ought to surround themselves 
with people that are honest, people that are truthful, and 
people that will say, look, if you go into that battle, you're 
going to lose miserably. Don't go anywhere near it. Brethren, 
that's a blessing in our lives to have some contrary voices 
from time to time. Faithful are the wounds of a 
friend, the Proverbs say, but deceitful are the kisses of the 
enemy. Why do we gravitate toward the 
enemy's kisses and we don't like the faithful wounds of our friends? 
It's because we're wretches. I mean, let's not mistake it. 
Let's not, you know, dance around. Well, you know, no, it's because 
we don't like the truth more often than not. If it gets under 
our skin, if it shows us out to be the kinds of people that 
the Bible actually describes, we don't like that. It's a little 
bit too close for my comfort. Don't want anything like that. 
Please, let your word be like the word of one of them and speak 
encouragement. I, in fact, hear it in Joel Osteen's 
voice as I read it. this passive, smiling, gleaming 
teeth. The messenger comes along and 
says, Micaiah, don't upset the apple cart. We don't want a scene. We don't want an incident. We've 
got 400 prophets led by Canaanah. He had the horns. He told about 
the victory, the goring of the Syrians. It was rousing. It was 
riveting. It was wonderful. So, Micaiah, 
let's not Let's not sort of blow the scene here. Let's not bring 
everybody down. You've kind of got a reputation 
as that guy, and I don't want you to be that guy today. Don't 
you love what Micah says? Verse 14, as the Lord lives, 
whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak. That's the 
essence of the prophet of God. He doesn't care about Ahab. He 
doesn't care about the 400 prophets of... Actually, later in verse 
23, they're identified as prophets of yours. It's not Yahweh's prophets. They're prophets of yours. They 
are in your pocket. They are on your payroll. They 
eat at your table. They are men on a mission, and 
that is to please their king. Not so Micaiah. Verse 14, as 
Yahweh lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak. Ralph Davis says, Micaiah has 
just nailed something which neither Ahab nor his messenger understands. Look back at Ahab's words in 
verse 8 and the messenger's in verse 13. What do both assume 
about the word of Yahweh? They assume that the prophet 
controls or can control that word. That's a fundamental problem 
when we think we control the Word of God. When we think we 
control the Word of God. He says, Ahab's remark in verse 
8 implies that Micaiah didn't have to be such a purveyor of 
doom-saying, anti-Ahabian sentiment. If he wanted to, he could speak 
a kinder, gentler word. The messenger assumes that Micaiah 
could agree with the prophetic caucus if only he would. They 
do not understand Micah's position, which he states in verse 14. 
He is in bondage to the Word of God. Hence, the Word of God 
is free and cannot be manipulated by kings or messengers or even 
slick prophets. Whatever word Yahweh gives a 
prophet, that is what the prophet must speak. The prophet is not 
at liberty to massage or shape or bend, let alone pervert, that 
word. Again, I don't know how more 
appropriate 1 Kings 22 is to our modern situation. It's almost 
daily you're saying some new group, some new, what was once 
conservative voice, embracing things in the name of either 
Christian liberty, or no, the Bible doesn't actually teach 
that, which has been historically the position of the church for 
20 centuries. It is grievous to see the limp-wristed 
approach to the truth that we have in our day. You know that 
limp wrist? You ever shake somebody's hand 
and it feels like they handed you a wet noodle? It's like, 
grab my hand and grip it, man. That's not the way we're supposed 
to traffic with the Word of God. I've mentioned before there's 
a place in Southern California called Six Flags Magic Mountain, 
and they describe their rides as white knucklers. That means 
you hold on so tight that you can see the whiteness of your 
knuckles. That's the way the church needs to approach the 
truth, not limp-wristed, not, well, we're going to let this 
go, we're going to let that go, we're going to let this go. We just 
want to love each other. We just want to know Jesus. I'm 
sorry, you don't know Jesus if you reject his truth. You got 
a Jesus of your own imagination, you got a Jesus that may be akin 
to Baal, you got a Jesus that may be similar to whatever pagan 
deity you want to call him, but that ain't the Jesus of the Bible. 
Without the truth, we don't have the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, notice 
the true prophet and the king, verses 15 to 23, the first interchange. Verse 15 is intriguing, isn't 
it? Then he came to the king, and 
the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth 
Gilead, or shall we refrain? And he answered him, Go and prosper, 
for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king. Didn't 
you just say, as the Lord lives, whatever He says to me, that 
I will speak? And now you're parroting the 
false prophets? This is precisely what Canaanites 
said. This is precisely what the other 399 said. My care, 
where do you get off saying, as the Lord lives, whatever He 
says, that's what I'll say. Verse 15 is irony. Verse 15 is sarcasm. Verse 15 
is the prophet picking on Ahab. And verse 16 indicates that this 
wasn't the first time. Notice, verse 16, the king said 
to him, how many times shall I make you swear? This wasn't 
their first rodeo. You can see the situation. Ahab 
calls to Micaiah. Micaiah tells him the truth. 
Ahab rejects it. Next time he calls Micaiah, Micaiah 
just parrots whatever the false prophets are saying, and Ahab 
can recognize that. Perhaps he made a facial gesture, 
perhaps by his body language, and he says, okay, tell me the 
truth. It is intriguing as well, that even though men reject the 
truth, at some core level they want to know the truth. Everybody 
wants to know the truth at some point or other. Pilate's, what 
is truth? I don't think it was some ironic, 
or what is truth? I think he's standing before 
truth incarnate, and when he says what is truth, there is 
a genuine perplexity going on in the mind and heart of Pilate. 
And here we see that with Ahab. But this, go and prosper, for 
the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king. As he so 
often does, John Gill nails it. He says, he answered, not in 
the name of the Lord saying, thus saith the Lord, nor did 
he speak his own sense and in his own words, nor seriously, 
but by way of derision. He took up the words of the prophets 
and bantered them, but he delivered the above words with such gestures 
and such a tone, and with a contemptuous smile in his countenance, which 
showed that he spoke not seriously, but sarcastically, and this king 
plainly discovered, as appears by what follows." The response 
of Ahab in verse 16 indicates that he knew that Micaiah wasn't 
serious. Why would he press him like that? 
And the fact that he says, how many times do we have to go through 
this old song and dance? So essentially what I think Micaiah 
is doing is, I'm going to tell you exactly what the false prophet 
said, because you don't care about the truth. We've been down 
this road before, Ahab. I have seen you do foolish things 
before. I have seen you reject the Word of the Living God. You 
have, by your actions and by your history, demonstrated you 
care not one whit for the Word of God, so I'm not going to tell 
you. I'll just stand in line with the rest of those other 
fools. I'll stand behind Canaanah as he's got his iron horns, and 
I'll say, go right into battle. But that's not what we find in 
terms of Ahab's response. He wants the truth. Now he gives 
him the truth. Verse 17. This is the second 
interchange. Notice, then I saw all Israel 
scattered on the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd. 
Now, that's a blessed statement in Matthew chapter 9. Jesus looked 
upon the multitudes because they were like sheep having no shepherd. 
I think it's also used with reference to Moses and perhaps Joshua as 
leaders of God's people. Here, it's talking about Ahab's 
death. When Micaiah says, I saw all 
Israel scattered like sheep without a shepherd, that means in my 
vision, Ahab, you're not there. In my vision, you're dead. In 
my vision, the people of Israel have no shepherd. That's the 
truth that Ahab desperately does not want to hear. And then notice 
what he goes on to say. He says, and the Lord said, these 
have no master. Let each return to his house 
in peace. Look at the implication. Davis 
says, note the biting implication. When Ahab is dead, Israel can 
have peace. Once you're out of the picture, 
Ahab, Israel's going to return back to their individual houses 
and they're going to have peace. Boy, what a terrible commentary 
on the rule and the reign of Ahab. Now note the word of Ahab 
to Jehoshaphat, the sullen and displeased one, said, Did I not 
tell you? He would not prophesy good concerning 
me, but evil. He's pouty. He doesn't like confrontation 
with the truth of God's Word. He doesn't like to be told no. He is like so many churchmen 
in our day that don't want to be told no. I like messages that 
help me to have a better life, but I don't want to hear anything. 
about the necessity of holiness or sanctification. Give me principles 
on how to effectively keep my children in some degree of managed 
state and my wife happy and I'm okay. Anything beyond that, that's 
for you wingnuts, that's for you wackos, that's for the real 
zealots among the Christians. You hear that at times, don't 
you? Oh, he's really one of those guys, he's really enthusiastic. What, because I want to do what 
God says? I mean, that's what it is today 
to be an enthusiast is to just want to do what God says. It's 
legalism to take seriously the admonition of our Lord. If you 
love me, you will keep my commandments. Oh no, we're not under the law, 
saith everyone who hates the law. It's not because the Bible 
tells us that. If they invoke Romans 6.14, it 
just demonstrates they don't understand Romans 6.14, which 
says we're not under the law, but we're under grace. That doesn't 
mean go out and commit adultery. That doesn't mean go out and 
steal. It doesn't mean go out and commit idolatry. That's not 
what Paul means there. He means probably the law as 
a covenant of works. In other words, we are under 
grace, we've come to God through Christ, the law still abides 
for our sanctification. You see, brethren, we need to 
understand that these things are not confined to 1 Kings chapter 
22. Now we move to this second throne scene in verses 19 to 
23. Now there's a lot of intriguing things going on in this particular 
section, not least of which is what appears to be dialogue from 
Yahweh with these sort of angelic spirits or this lying spirit. 
Now, we need to remember, in the language of Matthew Henry, 
this matter is here represented after the manner of men. In other 
words, what 19 to 23 does is describe God's unfolding providence 
in a way that you and I can get our minds wrapped around. Matthew 
Poole elaborates. He says, this is not to be grossly 
understood as if God did ask and take counsel from his creatures 
or were at a loss to find out an expedient to accomplish his 
own will. Did consider several ways and 
then close with that which upon debate appeared to be the best. 
You see, what Matthew Poole is saying, this is not to be understood 
the way it's written literally. It is designed to teach us something 
concerning the unfolding of God's providence. It is not designed 
to say that God takes in information from the creature, tries to evaluate, 
and then settles on the best option. That's not our God. That 
is not the way our God is. Notice, he goes on to say, all 
which it is ridiculous to imagine concerning a God of perfect and 
infinite knowledge, but it's only to bring down divine things 
to our shallow capacities, and to express the various means 
which God has to execute His own designs. That's the purpose. It's not so we can say, wow, 
there's actually this divine counsel in heaven. God is conferring 
with angelic spirits. This lying spirit rises up and 
says, I'll take the town. OK, you go ahead. No, it's spoken 
in the manner of men to communicate to us the unfolding of God's 
providence. Now, this passage troubles people. Some suggest that God is behind 
the lie. I mean, if God said or sanctioned 
this lying prophet to go in and fill Canaanah and these others, 
then, you know, that must mean that God is over this or behind 
this lie. You know, this vision teaches 
three things specifically, and this is what we ought to focus 
on. First, the vision denounces the false prophets. They are 
moved by a lying spirit. In fact, this is a theological 
explanation for false prophecy. How does false prophecy operate? Well, there's lying spirits. 
There's deceiving spirits. There's these spirits that are 
moving in the hearts of people to move them to prophesy falsely. The vision declares the will 
of God. Now, some, as I said, will say 
that God is ultimately behind this lie. Consider what's happening 
here. God is telling Ahab prior to 
the battle what disaster lay ahead for him if he goes into 
battle. Not only is this not a lie, it 
is an absolute revelation of Ahab's truth. Everything Ahab 
needs to know to make the proper decisions is revealed to him 
by God before the battle. You see, he still hasn't made 
the decision. It's not until later that he 
goes into battle. Which, intriguingly, if Micaiah 
was a false prophet, why the disguise, Ahab? If Michael was 
a fake, why would you disguise yourself going on to the field 
of battle? And if he is true, why would 
you disguise yourself? Because you're dead. In his vision, 
I saw Israel, they were scattered, and you weren't there. But back 
to our text, the text is not indicating that somehow God is 
responsible for the lie. He specifically tells Ahab what 
is going to happen prior to the battle. The vision thirdly demonstrates 
what? absolute sovereignty of God. There is nothing that occurs 
in this world, even the evil acts of man, that are not under 
God's providence. He governs all his creatures 
and all their actions to accomplish his purpose, the good of his 
people, justice and judgment for those who oppose and rebel 
against him. That's the essence of the vision. Now notice, the true prophet 
and his punishment, verses 24 to 28. Now, you'd think that 
the man who actually told the truth would be the man who's 
applauded, the man who's congratulated, the man who is welcomed and warmed 
unto. Verse 24, Zedekiah the son of 
Canaanah 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? He smacks him out of anger and 
then ridicules him. He says, I have the Holy Spirit. 
What I have told Ahab is true. Supposing that you're a prophet, 
how did the Spirit or when did the Spirit come to you so that 
you could speak completely contrary to what I have to say? Notice, 
he says to him, I love Micaiah, he doesn't kowtow, he doesn't 
say, well, you know, I've done my bit with Ahab. No, I'm going 
to lay into you too, Kanaanah. Indeed, you shall see on that 
day when you go into an inner chamber to hide. Either he's 
going to go out with Ahab to battle, and when the battle gets 
hard, he's going to run and hide. Or when Ahab, or not Ahab, but 
when Israel comes back and says Ahab is dead, what are they going 
to think of the false prophets who sent him into battle? Hey, 
good for you. No, they're going to say, why 
would you tell him to go into battle? That was obviously a 
false prophecy. So he's going to run and hide. 
Similar language to 2030, when Ben Hadad runs and hides in an 
inner chamber. Now notice, the prophet is in 
prison, verses 26 and 27. Take Micaiah, 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 the bread of affliction and water of affliction. until 
I come in peace." That means bare minimum, just barely enough 
to sustain his life. Now, I think if we understand 
the passage correctly, Michael would have never got out. Because 
he never came in peace. Ahab dies on the field of battle. 
There's no more Ahab. So hopefully they would have 
said, well, you know, Ahab's gone. Let's let Micaiah out. 
The Bible narrative doesn't go on to say, and Micaiah got out, 
and he went and played golf, and he lived happily ever after 
with his wife. It just doesn't do that. But if we take the text 
as it stands, we have to conclude that things didn't go well for 
Micaiah. But Micaiah doesn't let it end 
there. I love this. The prophet always gets the last 
word. God is going to get the last word. If you ever return 
in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. And he said, take heed 
all you people. He doesn't affirm his veracity 
by making a claim to inspiration or by saying the Lord spoke to 
him or by assuming an authoritative tone. He affirms it by a wait 
and see. What's the true test of a prophet? 
If the prophecy comes to pass. Micah says, I got time. Just 
wait and see what happens. See, this is where the rubber 
meets the road for the prophet of God. I mean, Davis says it'd 
be great if there was some potion you could pour on the prophet 
to say, well, blue is good, red is bad. It would have been better 
for Micaiah because it would have evidenced that he was indeed 
the true prophet. I mean, this whole idea of testing 
prophecy by waiting to see if it actually comes true meant 
prison for Micaiah on a very meager ration of bread and water. 
You see, this is his affirmation of the prophetic word. Micaiah 
willingly submits himself, this is Davis, to the prophetic test. 
If a prophet speaks in Yahweh's name and the prediction does 
not come to pass, Yahweh has not spoken by that prophet. Deuteronomy 
18. So he underscores his veracity. 
He tells everybody, take heed, all you people, which, interestingly, 
is the way the prophet Micah begins. The prophet Micah is 
about 150 years later, but it does provide sort of a unique 
link between Micah here in 1 Kings 22 and the prophet Micah in the 
Minor Prophet. Well, just a couple of thoughts 
in conclusion. First, the rejection of the true Word of God. the 
rejection of the true Word of God. There are particular characteristics 
in this passage of those who reject the Word of God. In the 
first place, there is this desire to only hear what we want to 
hear. Verses 8 and 18. That is a rejection of the Word 
of God. You cannot claim to be a faithful Christian if you like, 
you know, 70% of God's Word. I only want to hear what I want 
to hear. Evidence is that things are not 
well with your soul. Secondly, the desire to encourage 
the prophet to go along with the rest. Don't get so animated, 
don't get so fired up, don't bang the pulpit, don't say the 
things that you do because you make people feel uncomfortable, 
Micaiah. Go along with the 400, get behind 
the horns, and we'll call it a day. Trying to encourage the 
true prophet of God not to speak the word of God. That is diabolical. And that it happens in the church 
today that faithful preachers are basically silenced by unfaithful 
people is just a crime. Thirdly, the desire to listen 
to the false prophets who tell us what we want to hear. There's 
always going to be false prophets, right? There's going to be 400. They're going to outnumber the 
true prophets from time to time. Now, I think that also underscores 
that truth is not based on democracy. If 400 people say this is true, 
that doesn't necessarily make it so. I'm sure you could find 
400 people out there that would affirm 2 plus 2 equals 5. That 
doesn't make it so. You see, truth is not decided 
democratically. We learned that at Carmel as 
well. The 450 false prophets of Baal. Fail! Because they don't have 
the truth. As well, fourthly, the desire 
to be rid of the true prophets of God, here in our passage, 
through physical violence and through imprisonment. I mean, 
that's one way of silencing the mouthpiece of God. Smack them 
around. Put them in prison. Kill them. 
Fire them. Get rid of them. be, you know, 
all sorts of ways untoward toward them, and just dismiss them. 
Notice, secondly, the integrity of the true prophet of God. I 
think there's a great lesson here for would-be ministers. 
I was thinking today, boy, Mike ought to read 1 Kings, because 
it'll scare him off, wanting to be a pastor. I mean, it's 
a terrifying book when it comes to the prophetic ministry. The 
integrity of the true prophet of God. First, he is committed 
to speaking whatever the Lord says. Verse 14, he's not on his 
own personal quest for realization. He's not on his own personal 
quest for friendship or camaraderie or to have his own kingdom or 
to build his own cult. No, as Yahweh lives, whatever 
he has said, that's what I'm going to preach. That's got to 
be the commitment to our pastors. He is secondly committed to speaking 
the truth of God, not catering to the felt needs of his hearers. 
I think there's nothing more criminal. Well, there's probably 
some things more criminal, but moralizing certain passages of 
Scripture that have no business being moralized, moralizing Gethsemane, 
moralizing the sufferings of our Savior, that's criminal. 
Brethren, gaze and wonder and marvel and adore. That's the 
lesson of Gethsemane. Not, you can suffer right there 
alongside of Jesus. No, that's moralism and it reeks 
to high heaven. We're not to take the Bible and 
in the first place turn it into a book of principles on how to 
live our life. That has done more damage to 
the truth of Scripture than a whole host of other things. Well, it's 
just a collection of principles on how I live my life. How's 
that going to go for you? Pattern yourself after King David. 
Go out and commit adultery and murder. Pattern yourself after 
Peter. Go out and deny your Savior. 
Pattern yourself after any human being in the Scripture. Take 
your moral cues from them and you're going to fail. Go out 
and try to live like Jesus. What's going to happen? You're 
going to fail. Jesus is an example to be sure, 
but the primary emphasis, according to Paul, is that we preach Christ 
crucified. We need a Savior. We need a Redeemer. We need precious blood. We need 
an imputed righteousness. That's the central thrust of 
Scripture. Now again, corollarily, There 
are principles for a happy life, provided we're obeying God's 
holy law. Thirdly, he is committed to speaking 
the truth of God, notwithstanding the pressure to do otherwise. 
When the messenger comes along and says, well, just tow the 
party line and go with the 400, the true prophet's going to say, 
no, as Yahweh lives, whatever he said, that's what I'm going 
to speak. Fourth, He is committed to suffering, physical violence, 
imprisonment, and even death instead of compromising the truth 
of God. Micaiah understands John 18, 
22, doesn't he? In that passage, our Lord Jesus 
gets smacked on the face. Micaiah would enter in to Acts 
23, 2 and 3. That's where Paul, the apostle, 
is smacked on the face. You see, this is how true servants 
of God are treated in the Bible. Again, who would want this? I 
don't know, man. You really ought to pray through 1 Kings. Just 
kidding. And then he is committed to speaking 
the truth of God, notwithstanding, now I'm highlighting this, the 
apparent failure of doing so. When you look at the ministry 
of the word in 1 Kings, what do you get? Chapter 18, verse 
4, Jezebel kills a hundred prophets. Wow, sign me up. Elijah is victorious. He's the winner on Mount Carmel. Humanly speaking, Yahweh is the 
winner, but Elijah represents Yahweh, so score the W for Elijah 
there. Where do we find him in 19.4? 
Under a broom tree asking God to take his life. Sign me up. We get to this particular chapter. Micah is the only voice of reason 
in the entire chapter. What does he get? Smacked on 
the face in prison. I mean, that's the prophetic 
ministry in Old Covenant Israel if it is conducted faithfully. Notice, finally, the continuing, 
well, there were a couple other lessons. The sovereignty of God, 
I think, chapter 5, paragraph 4, in our confession of faith 
is a great illustration, or a great explanation, rather, of what 
we find in verses 19 to 23. The Lord God Most High is behind 
all things in His providence. And then don't forget the continuing 
mercy of God, the fact that there was still one man. the fact that the Lord in his 
mercy was extending grace to Ahab. And it's a paradox, isn't 
it? Ahab is attracted to false prophecy, 
which brings his disaster. He is repelled by the truth, 
which would bring life and blessing and joy. I mean, isn't that the 
state and condition of the unregenerate man? They seek out that which 
makes them feel good and ends in destruction. They don't want 
that which challenges them and may cut them deep and may wound 
them and hurt them, but will ultimately bring the salve of 
eternal life. We don't want that. I want happiness 
now. I want happiness now. I want 
happiness now. Brethren, if that is the attitude, 
that is what our Lord speaks to. If anyone loves his life, 
he's going to lose it. You lose your life for my sake, 
you will find it. That's the blessing of being 
in Christ. Well, let's close in a word of 
prayer. Father, we thank you for your Word, and Father, we 
pray that you would help us to have a love for the Word. I think 
most Christians, probably every Christian I've ever seen, would 
confess a love for the Word, a love for the truth. Certainly, 
God, if it is true in our hearts, it will evidence itself in the 
way that we live as individuals, as families, and as churches. And I pray, God, that this love 
of truth would be revived in our spirits, it would be awakened 
among those dead in trespasses and sins, and that you would 
cause us not to follow the path of a wretch like Ahab. Help us 
not to harden our hearts, help us not to resist your truth, 
but help us to welcome the wounds of a friend. And we pray these 
things through Christ our Lord. Amen.