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I've explained before that sometimes 
I take those Wednesday night messages and bring them on Sunday 
night because I think that some of it is so applicable and hopefully 
helpful for all of the people of God. And 1 Kings chapter 22 
is indeed one of those sections that shows the downfalls, the 
pitfalls of rejecting God's holy Word, and it certainly leads 
to the end of Ahab on the field of battle. So I want to read, 
beginning in chapter 22, 1 Kings 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 
400 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 Imlach, 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. Nezedekiah, the son of Canaanah, 
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 call 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. And 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 scattered 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? And 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?' 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. Micaiah said, if you ever return 
in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. And he said, take heed, 
all you people. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, 
the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth-Gilead. And the king of 
Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and go into battle, 
but you put on your robes. So the king of Israel disguised 
himself and went into battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded 
the 32 captains of his chariots saying, fight with no one small 
or great, but only with the king of Israel. So it was when the 
captains of the chariot saw Jehoshaphat that they said, surely it is 
the king of Israel. Therefore they turned aside to 
fight against him and Jehoshaphat cried out. And it happened when 
the captains of the chariot saw that it was not the king of Israel 
that they turned back from pursuing him. Now a certain man drew a 
bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the joints 
of his armor. So he said to the driver of his 
chariot, turn around and take me out of the battle for I am 
wounded." The battle increased that day and the king was propped 
up in his chariot facing the Syrians and died at evening. 
The blood ran out from the wound onto the floor of the chariot. 
Then as the sun was going down, a shout went throughout the army 
saying, every man to his city and every man to his own country. 
So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the 
king in Samaria. Then someone washed the chariot 
at a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood while 
the harlots bathed, according to the word of the Lord which 
he had spoken. The rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he 
did, the ivory house which he built and all the cities that 
he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles 
of the kings of Israel? So Ahab rested with his fathers, 
and Ahaziah, his son, reigned in his place." Amen. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you 
for the written word, we thank you for the history of Israel, 
your covenant people in the Old Testament, how we thank you that 
these things are written for our admonition, our encouragement, 
and for our hope. And God, may we learn the lessons 
that you would have for us. Cause us each to refuse to be 
an Ahab, to be a wretched man that wants to gather up preachers 
that simply tell him what he wants to hear. Give us grace 
to love the truth of Holy Scripture. Give us grace to receive that 
truth and to act upon that truth. And may you indeed enable us 
by the Holy Spirit to do these things. Send forth the Spirit 
now. Guide us as we consider this 
passage. Do forgive us for our sins and 
our transgressions. Certainly, God, as we have full 
Bibles, as we have churches, as we have so many good resources, 
certainly our knowledge of you ought to be continually growing. 
help us in this, we pray, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, this won't be as detailed 
as it was the last two Wednesday nights, but I do want to draw 
out a few lessons, the first of which is Ahab. Ahab has indeed 
started his decline. He started his decline in chapter 
20. Remember that Ahab, well, actually, he started his decline 
the moment he took the throne. When he initially took the throne, 
he married Jezebel, who was indeed a Jezebel, a woman of renown 
for wickedness and evil and vileness. Jezebel was a Baal worshiper. 
And so initially Ahab goes with her to her region to worship 
Baal. And then Ahab builds a temple 
and an altar to Baal right there in the northern kingdom of Israel. So we see his downfall start 
as soon as he assumes the throne. But it really ramps up here at 
the end of 1 Kings, specifically in chapter 20. God gave him two 
victories over Syria, specifically led by Ben-Hadad. He had Ben-Hadad 
in his grasp, and he let that man go. An unnamed prophet, some 
suppose that it was this self-same Micaiah, condemns him for that 
activity at the end of chapter 20. He tells him very specifically, 
as a result of this you are going to die. And then in chapter 21 
we see that Ahab wants to enlarge his property holdings. In other 
words, he wants to take Naboth's vineyard, he seizes it from him 
via Jezebel and her wickedness so that he can have a vegetable 
garden. Certainly the prophet Elijah comes now and condemns 
him for this activity and promises as well judgment, death, and 
destruction. And here in chapter 22, we see 
that ultimately he dies on battle because he rejects the word of 
God. Now, we all reject the Word of God every time we sin, and 
there are certain pitfalls to that kind of a rejection. It 
may not mean death on the field of battle at Ramoth Gilead, but 
we should learn, with reference to Ahab here, how to value, how 
to prize, how to delight in the Word of Truth, and how to put 
it into practice. We have here in chapter 22 a 
case of Ahab rejecting the true prophet of Yahweh and accepting 
the false prophet. So let's look quickly, or not 
quickly, probably not too long though, at three things in this 
section. First, the alliance between Israel 
and Judah. verses 1 to 12. Secondly, the 
rejection of the true prophet of God in verses 13 to 28. And 
then the death of Ahab on the field of battle in verses 29 
to 40. But note specifically the setting 
of this alliance. Now Jehoshaphat is a godly king. We saw that on Wednesday night. 
We summarized the book of 1 Kings. It ends with a reference to Jehoshaphat. He walked in the ways of the 
Lord. He was consistent. He was faithful. He wasn't, however, 
perfect. And one of those imperfections 
is seen here in his going arm in arm with Ahab into the field 
of battle. So good piety is not always mingled 
with good sense. Godliness does not always mean 
that somebody possesses a good approach to a particular situation. Now God in his grace delivers 
him as a result of God's grace, but it's not because of Jehoshaphat's 
It's in spite of Jehoshaphat and not because of Jehoshaphat. So notice this alliance. Essentially 
what had happened is that there had been three years peace between 
the two kingdoms, North and South. And then Ahab says to Jehoshaphat, 
we never took back Ramoth-Gilead. When Ahab dealt with Ben-Hadad, 
they had made a treaty, and Ben-Hadad said that he was going to return 
these properties. So Ahab says, we haven't got 
this back. I want to go into battle for 
Ramoth-Gilead. Would you join me? And then Ahab 
wisely says, well, yes, but let's seek counsel from the Lord. Notice 
specifically in verse 5. Jehoshaphat said to the king 
of Israel, please inquire for the word of the Lord today. So 
we definitely give him credit for that. Entering into this 
alliance, not good sense. Godliness, piety, righteousness, 
but nevertheless not good sense. But he does have this commitment 
to Yahweh so that he wants to find out the word of the Lord 
with reference to this particular battle. So note then in verse 
six the prophetic guidance for this alliance. 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? Now these were prophets that 
were indeed false. They gave him bad counsel. They 
gave him bad instruction. But they weren't prophets of 
Baal. They weren't prophets of Asherah. They were prophets that 
sought to prophesy in the name of the Lord. You see that in 
verse 11. They speak in Yahweh's name. They claim to have Yahweh's 
spirit, according to verse 24. They promise Yahweh's success, 
verses 12 and 6, and apparently can deliver Yahweh's word. So 
we ought to appreciate that these were men, not Baalists, not Asherah 
worshippers, not prophets of false gods, but prophets of the 
true God, but nevertheless false prophets. So they give this information 
to Ahab on the eve of battle. Notice in verse 6, Now, look 
at what Ahab, or rather Jehoshaphat, does. Something doesn't sat right 
with him. There's a niggling feeling in 
Jehoshaphat that he hasn't got the whole picture. I think that's 
behind verse 7. Is there not still a prophet 
of the Lord here that we may inquire of him? It's mentioned 
on the Wednesday night. Perhaps it was too tidy. Perhaps 
it was too uniform. Perhaps it was too consistent 
that everyone, to a man, out of 400 men, said, go ahead into 
battle, Ahab. Everything's going to go all 
right. It wasn't even a majority. It was unanimity. And so, Jehoshaphat 
says, is there not still a prophet of the Lord here that we may 
inquire of him? Now, notice what Ahab says. Verse 8, 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. Now, brethren, 
if this is not a picture of much of modern evangelicalism, and 
perhaps even of some reformed churches, I really don't know 
what is. Here is a man that wants the 
prophets to coddle him, to cater to him, to tailor their message 
for his personal benefit. They don't want the truth. They 
don't want what does the Lord God say to a specific issue. 
Notice he says, I hate him. I'm not happy with him. He's 
not my favorite of the prophets, but I actually genuinely despise 
this man and the reason given because he does not prophesy 
good concerning me, but evil. Now, according to Micaiah in 
verse 14, he only prophesies what the Lord tells him. So, 
what is Ahab's admission? I hate God because He doesn't 
always do the things and say the things that are good concerning 
me, but rather He says those things that are evil to me. Now, 
if you are thinking in your New Covenant sort of mind, this is 
very similar to what Paul says in 2 Timothy 4, verses 3 and 
4. You'll remember the context. 
You've heard it specified many times from this very pulpit. 
Paul's last statement to the church in terms of a command 
for ongoing conduct, he says to Timothy, preach the word. 
Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort 
with all longsuffering and teaching. He then gives two reasons why. 
One, he's going to die, but the first reason is this, and it 
sounds akin to what Ahab says here. 2 Timothy 4, 3 and 4, 4, 
the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. That's Ahab, isn't it? He doesn't 
want sound doctrine. He doesn't want truth concerning 
the battlefield. He wants that which is good concerning 
him. It's a paradox, isn't it? We crave a message that tailors 
to us. We crave a message that administers 
therapeutic moral deism. We crave a message that coddles 
us, but then we find ourselves under the very judgment of God 
Most High. It is simply insanity. Timothy, 
or rather Paul to Timothy, continues, the time will come when they 
will not endure sound doctrine, 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. That is precisely what's happening. Jehoshaphat says, isn't there 
one prophet left? Isn't there one more that may 
give us a message? Oh yeah, there's a prophet to 
be sure. But I hate him because he doesn't coddle me. He doesn't 
pander to me. He doesn't give in to my felt 
needs. He doesn't tickle my ears. He 
doesn't lead me in the way that I want to go. He tells me things 
that are contrary. He tells me things that are upsetting. 
He tells me things that get under my skin. He tells me things that 
make me sad. and I don't want anybody in my 
life that will ever make me sad. This is exactly the situation 
that we face today. Brethren, we ought to love the 
truth of God's word, even when it doesn't cuddle us, even when 
it doesn't pander to us, even when it doesn't treat us with 
kid gloves or treat us the way that we want to be treated. What 
is more important, God treating us the way he knows we need it 
or us being treated the way that we want it? You have children. You know how dangerous it is 
to let your children call the shots. Don't you? Is everybody 
asleep here? I mean, think about it. We want 
God to perform for us. That's like handing your two-year-old 
sort of the crown rights to the royal throne at home. Okay, what 
would you like to do today, junior? Well, I'd like to sit and watch 
Paw Patrol all day. I'd like to sit and eat candy 
all day. I'd like to do this, that, and 
the other all day. Well, if you're a good parent, 
you will never allow such things. You will say, no, we're going 
to do what is more profitable for you. You see, we don't always 
get what it is we want. Ahab didn't like that arrangement. Ahab hated Micaiah because he 
does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. In other words, 
he's a killjoy. He's a downer Daniel. He's just the guy that brings 
everybody down, especially me. I don't want anything to do with 
him. Matthew Henry says, 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. I gotta 
say in my own prayer before the preaching tonight and my own 
thoughts concerning this passage, over a few weeks now, I can't 
come up here and say, you wretched people, I can't assume the position 
of a Micaiah and say, oh, you don't ever receive what I have. 
Brethren, you're a great body of people. It's an encouragement 
to be able to preach the word of God to people that actually 
want to hear it, to people that actually receive it. So receive 
this as an encouragement to excel still more, to abound more and 
more. I praise God that in the history 
of my time at this church for 20 long years, Seems like it's gone quick, but 
for 20 years, I have never felt hesitant to preach the truth 
of God's word. I have never feared, what are 
people gonna say? What are people gonna do? What 
are people gonna think? And I praise God for that, that 
there is a prevailing desire among the saints of Christ at 
Free Grace Baptist Church for the Bible, the truth of God's 
Word, 16 ounces to the pound. Now I'm not suggesting we're 
all blessed at obeying it and doing it and minding it and all 
of that sort of thing. But there's no Micaiah, Ahab 
sort of a resistance going on. I didn't come here tonight with 
that sort of an agenda as the downer Micaiah speaking to the 
Ahabs that want nothing to do with the Word of God. No, it's 
just the opposite. So I'm musing on this passage 
as I'm thinking about this congregation. I praise God, this isn't our 
relationship. I praise God that this isn't 
the way it is at this particular church. But I would be remiss 
not to point out it is like this elsewhere. Now that's not some 
cultic plea for you to always stay here. But brethren, be mindful 
of the fact that there are Ahabs in this world demand a certain 
type of preaching. And unfortunately, there are 
Zedekiahs in this world that will give them that kind of preaching. 
You see, when Paul says that to Timothy, when Paul says, the 
time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but 
according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, 
they will heap up for themselves teachers. The implication is 
they're able to do it. The implication is that there 
are men out there that will come to tickle your ears. The implication 
is they may not be a Joel Osteen in that context, but they were 
Joel Osteen-ish. They were the kinds of guys that 
would smile, and their teeth would gleam, and they would have 
the perfect hair, and the perfect tie, and tell you everything 
you wanted to hear. You see, there is no shortage 
of Zedekiahs in this world, with their horns, saying, let's go 
into battle, and let's destroy Ramoth Gilead. Brethren, there 
are always lying prophets. There are always lying pastors. 
We like to think that everybody's upright and good and pure and 
holy. It's an interesting statement that Paul gives in Galatians 
1 when he opens up this condemnation, if you will, for those who turn 
away from the gospel of Jesus Christ. He says there are some 
who want to distort it. There are actually men out there 
that want to distort the truth of God's holy word. And there 
are Ahabs out there that want them to distort it, to feed them 
this pablum, to feed them this drivel, to feed them this garbage 
that's ultimately going to get them killed on the field of battle. 
Again, the paradox. It's the truth that preserves. 
It's the truth that keeps. It is Micaiah's message that 
would have prevailed with Ahab on the field of battle. Now, 
I know God's sovereign. Absolutely so. We're going to 
see that as we move through the passage tonight. But humanly 
speaking, in terms of responsibility, Ahab hitched his wagon to the 
wrong horse. He chose the false prophets. Now, notice this throne scene, 
verses 10 to 12. Essentially, what you have is 
Zedekiah, the son of Canaanah, leading these 400 false prophets, 
gets these iron horns. It's sort of an acted parable. 
And he says, this is what's going to happen at Ramoth Gilead. It's 
going to be this way. We're going to go and gore them. 
We're going to go and destroy them. We're going to get Ramoth 
Gilead back. Now note, the rejection of the 
true prophet of God in verses 13 to 28. The true prophet and 
the messenger, verses 13 and 14. The messenger who had gone 
to call Micah 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. This 
is terrible. Absolutely terrible. I mean, 
it's bad enough that there are Ahabs, but then there are Ahab-enablers. There are servants of Ahab that 
go to faithful preachers and say, you know, you upset my boss 
when you say such things, so tone it down. You upset the king 
when you come with your sort of downer mode and tell him evil 
things, so go ahead and lie to him alongside these 400 false 
prophets. That's what the messenger is 
doing here. Some have suggested, and I think 
they're right, this could have been the same unnamed prophet, 
Micaiah, from chapter 20. Ahab knows exactly where Micaiah 
is. Probably he's in prison already. 
When he's slapped by Zedekiah at the end of the chapter and 
he's sent to prison, it's probably back to prison at that particular 
juncture. But look at the mealy-mouthed 
sort of a thing that this backbone-less man says. 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. 
You see, that was a society like ours. What's the big crime today? It's making people feel bad. 
Can't make anybody feel bad. That's just terrible. It's all 
got to be peppy. It's all got to be up. It's all 
got to be positive. Why do you think the health, 
wealth, and prosperity preachers are so prevalent and so popular? Because people don't want to 
hear they're wretched. People don't want to hear they're 
hellbound. People don't want to come on 
a Sunday night on a hot day and hear some guy rant on about how 
important God's word is, and if you reject it and resist it, 
you're going to go to hell forever. I mean, that's not a very encouraging 
thing, is it? See, these men are popular because 
the message of God is unpopular. And so Ahab's messenger comes 
alongside of Micaiah and says, you know, just back it down, 
tone it down. Now note verse 14 of Micaiah's 
insistence upon the truth. As Yahweh lives, whatever the 
Lord says to me, that I will speak. That's what we look for 
in a man of God, isn't it? Isn't that what we want, a man 
of God? Not he's the most polished, he has the most coffee with people, 
he's the most courteous, the nicest. Every faithful man of 
God is gonna be the nicest human being on the face of the earth. 
Some will be very nice, to be sure. But that's not the point. The point is a man who is committed 
to the truth of Scripture. The point is a 1 Kings 22, 14 
kind of man. What is Micaiah saying? I cannot 
be bought, I cannot be paid for, I cannot be manipulated, I cannot 
be encouraged to be an encourager. I am going to speak the word 
of truth. 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. Ahab's remark in verse 
8 implies that Micaiah didn't have to be such a purveyor of 
doomsaying, 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 Micaiah's position, which he states in verse 14. 
Now listen, this is Micaiah's position. He is in bondage to 
the word of God. You see, when Paul tells Timothy, 
2 Timothy 4.2, preach the word, Paul means it. See, we have produced 
a professional class of pastors that are more akin to Fortune 
500 CEOs than preachers of the Word. Pastoring isn't simply 
about managing the various groups in the context of the church. 
Pastoring is about 2 Timothy 4.2. How do you think pastors 
pastor? It isn't to come into your house 
and tell you which kind of wallpaper to purchase. It isn't to micromanage 
the ins and outs of your daily life. It is to preach the word 
so that you know God's mind on what you ought to be doing in 
the details of your life. Pastoring is through the word 
of truth. Pastoring is through faithful 
exposition of God's word, not just controlling the environment, 
manipulating the situation, making sure that everything is engineered, 
making sure the production on Sunday is good. That's just not 
2 Timothy 4.2. Do you know why Dale Ralph Davis 
is my favorite living preacher? I'm sure I've said that before. 
Because he's not polished. It's not like he just came out 
of a machine with every hair in place. I'm not suggesting 
he's, you know, messed up, but polished. So precise, so controlled, 
so engineered. Timothy, preach the word. That may mean sometimes that 
spit flies out of your mouth. That may mean sometimes your 
hair's sticking up. That may mean sometimes your 
tie gets messed up. Preach the word. If people want 
hair and no spit and perfect ties, there's a lot of places 
outside the church that offer that very sort of thing. Preach 
the word. Davis, to continue. He is in, 
Micaiah, 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. We know that intuitively as God's 
people, don't we? We know that instinctively as 
God's people. We know that through the revelatory 
Word itself, and yet there are God's people today, I'm not doubting 
their confession of faith, that sit under purveyors of encouragement 
to the detriment of their own souls. Brethren, I'm not suggesting 
there's no encouragement to be had in the Word, but what's more 
encouraging than the truth? What's more encouraging than 
being laid low only so that God can raise you up? What's more 
encouraging than the balm of Gilead for a broken, battered, 
bruised soul? What's more encouraging? To have 
some gleaming-toothed guy tell you lies just so you're happy, 
peppy, and up? It's terrible. Well, notice there's 
the true prophet and the king, essentially what we have in verses 
15 and 16. Sometimes people sort of miss 
this here. Notice at verse 15, 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. One commentator says that Micaiah lies there. 
He's not lying. He's got tongue firmly planted 
in cheek. He's speaking ironically. We 
know that because the way Ahab responds to him in verse 16. So the king said to him, how 
many times? This indicates that this wasn't 
their first rodeo. Micah knows that Ahab doesn't 
like him. Micah knows the reason why Ahab 
doesn't like him. And so it's the old song and 
dance. Whenever Ahab calls on the prophet to come and give 
him the prophetic word, probably the first few times, he told 
him the truth, only to see an incensed and outraged Ahab. So 
now Micah has adopted irony. Micah has adopted the tongue 
in the cheek method. Micah has adopted this sort of 
a means. Go ahead, go into battle, go 
in with the rest of them. And this is why the king says, 
how many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing 
but the truth in the name of the Lord? You gotta see the parallels 
between this and what we're doing in Matthew. Isn't this exactly 
what the high priest does after the testimony of the witnesses? 
Don't you answer anything? Jesus doesn't answer anything. 
We're supposed to think Isaiah 53. And then he adjures him. He puts him under oath. He sounds 
Ahabian in verse 16, in order to provoke the prophet to speak. Now here is where the prophet 
tells him. Verse 17, I saw all Israel scattered 
on the mountains, a sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord 
said, these have no master. Let each return to his house 
in peace. Well, I guess you know now why Ahab doesn't like the 
prophet Micaiah. He has just told him, you're 
going to die. That's what that means. When 
he says, I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains as sheep that 
have no shepherd. That means that Israel will be 
scattered on the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd. 
Their shepherd is Ahab. That they have no shepherd means 
that Ahab dies on the field of battle. He's telling him specifically 
what's going to happen at Ramoth Gilead. He's telling him something 
that is specifically negative in terms of Ahab's concern. This is the discouraging message. 
This is the evil. This is the thing that he does. 
And that is precisely how Ahab responds to Jehoshaphat in verse 
18. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, 
did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me but 
evil? Didn't I tell you he's this way? He's got this sort 
of rugged individualism. He's going to stand up against 
these 400 prophets. He is going to be the lone wolf 
that is contrary to these 400 men, led by Zedekiah with his 
iron horns and everything. He always tells me things I don't 
want to hear. We know how the story ends. If we were there, we'd grab Ahab 
by the scruff of the neck and give him a good shake and say, 
Micah is the only man in your kingdom that is telling you the 
truth. If you continue to resist him, you continue to reject him, 
and you continue to follow these false prophets, you are going 
to die on the field of battle. That's why there is a need to 
point out error in other churches, to point out error in other communions, 
to point out error because it's this sort of a situation. We 
can't physically grab persons by the neck and give them a good 
shake and a good slap and say, why would you continue to go 
to Joel Osteen's place when there's preaching that is faithful and 
upright and godly? Brethren, by pointing out things 
and by emphasizing sound theology, by pointing persons to the Word 
of God and to our good confession of faith, the idea is to inoculate 
ourselves. The idea is to promote that health 
and that wholeness so that we don't fall prey to that kind 
of garbage. I mean, I don't know if you've 
noticed out there, but those kinds of churches are packed. 
I mean, everybody's up, everybody's happy, everybody's happy. You 
know, it's like a big, you know, love fest. But without the truth, 
it's a terrible situation. Now, Micaiah has a bit of a throne 
scene, and here he reveals to us something concerning God. 
Now, this is a bit of a tricky passage that we find here in 
verses 19 to 23. We need to keep in mind that 
it's a vision that Micaiah receives. It's a vision that displays how 
God is dealing in this current situation. We're not to suppose 
that this is spoken properly. Those who come on Saturday mornings 
will know what that means. Basically what we have here is 
a vision given to us in the manner of men. It is describing something 
to us that really just doesn't happen. God doesn't confer with 
creatures. God doesn't plan with creatures. 
God doesn't enter into arrangements with creatures. But what Micaiah 
is doing is revealing to Ahab the situation that is taking 
place here before Ramoth, Gilead. Matthew Poole comments, 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. 
See, that's how the vision comes to us. It's in the manner of 
men. God isn't going through several 
options. It's not one of those stories 
that you had when you were a kid. Choose your own adventure. How 
does the story end? Is it A? Is it B? Is it C? That's 
not how God operates. This is revelatory to us in the 
manner of men. He is lisping information so 
that we can receive it. And Poole says this idea that 
God taking counsel, sort of weighing the options, he says, all which 
it is ridiculous to imagine concerning a God of perfect and infinite 
knowledge, but only to bring down divine things to our shallow 
capacities. That's the purpose for the vision. 
He is telling Ahab something true concerning God, but using 
this sort of anthropomorphic language. He goes on to say, 
to express the various means which God has to execute his 
own designs. Matthew Henry concurs this matter 
is here represented after the manner of men. Now there has 
been some or have been some that say, well, God's lying here. If God authorizes a lying spirit, 
then that must mean that God Himself is lying. We need to 
ask the question, what does this vision communicate? Well, it 
communicates three things to us. In the first place, it's 
a condemnation of the false prophets. It is a condemnation of the false 
prophets because what Micaiah is saying is that Zedekiah and 
his 399 cronies, or toadies, are under the influence of a 
lying prophet, or a lying spirit. So it's a condemnation of these 
false prophets. Secondly, there is absolutely 
no way God could be accused of lying here. Remember that he 
is giving this information to Ahab prior to the battle at Ramoth 
Gilead. What does that mean? It means 
that God in His grace is still reaching out, and I speak in 
the manner of man, to Ahab via Micaiah. What's the best possible 
option here? For Ahab to say, wow, these guys 
are fakes. Yeah, these guys are under the 
influence of a lying spirit. I ought to stop, I ought to submit, 
I ought to take heed to the truth of God, and I ought not to go 
into battle at Ramoth Gilead. Not only is God not deceiving 
him, but he is actually revealing to him the very specific situation 
that is confronting Ahab. And then thirdly, it demonstrates 
the absolute, unrivaled, unparalleled sovereignty of God. He is over 
all things, and this vision indicates that. So how does this all turn 
out for the true prophet? Certainly, he's taken out for 
dinner. Ahab says, let's go out to the 
keg, You've earned it, you've kept me from going to Ramoth 
Gilead and losing my bacon on the field of battle. No. Zedekiah 
gives him a good smack, puts him in prison, and gives him 
bare, bare minimal for rations. But Micaiah gets the last word. 
The true prophet of God, he's got to open his mouth, he's got 
to speak up. Notice verse 28, well verse 27, 
thus says the king, put this fellow in prison, 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. If you ever return in peace, 
the Lord has not spoken by me. Micaiah ups the ante here. Micaiah 
says this is the test of a true prophet. Micaiah affirms what 
we find in the book of Deuteronomy. The measure of a true prophet 
is that the prophecy comes true. And Micaiah puts up. Micaiah 
puts up, he says, if you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken 
by me. Take heed, all you people. You 
measure, you see, you witness. Now finally, in conclusion, basically 
what we have is Ahab does go into battle. I mean, some people 
just are really hard-hearted and thick-headed, aren't they? 
You can tell them good things day in, day out. You can tell 
them you have the vision of God and this whole prophetic or spiritual 
thing, and these men are operating under the influence of lying 
spirits, and they'll still, still resist and reject the word. Well, 
that's what happens here. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, 
the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth Gilead. We kind of get 
why Ahab did, but it's pretty still illustrative of Jehoshaphat's 
lack of good sense. I mean, these 400 prophets, the 
false ones, prevailed upon him. Ahab's whining about Micaiah 
in verse 18 prevailed upon him. Jehoshaphat locks arms and goes 
into this battle with Ahab. Now, note what Ahab does. He 
disguises himself. If you've been reading or studying 
the former prophets, you'll note that that typically doesn't end 
well. You see Saul disguise himself in 1 Samuel 28 when he goes and 
seeks out a witch. You see this happen in Jeroboam's 
time in 1 Kings 14. The fact that he's disguising 
himself also shows or demonstrates that he's hedging his bets. If 
Micaiah is a fake, why would you disguise yourself? If the 
400 are true, ride victoriously into battle and destroy these 
Syrians. He's hedging his bets. But notice 
the treachery involved with reference to Jehoshaphat. Somehow Ahab 
had intel that Ben-Hadad was gunning for him. Why that is, 
I'm not certain, because he let Ben-Hadad go at the end of chapter 
20. Perhaps Ben-Hadad just has an 
axe to grind, some long-seated enmity. But Ben-Hadad commands 
his troops go after the king of Israel. I don't think it means 
him alone. I think it means him and his 
people. Break the northerners' back and the southerners will 
flee as well. So he has Jehoshaphat wear the 
royal robes. So now Jehoshaphat becomes the 
royal target. This is terrible. I mentioned 
Matthew Henry, he said something to the effect, if a man isn't 
true to God, he's not gonna be true to his friends. If Ahab 
treats the living and true God the way that Ahab treats him, 
he's not gonna treat Jehoshaphat well. He's not gonna say, I wanna 
protect you, I wanna make sure that you're okay at Ramoth, Gilead. 
No, you wear the royal robes so that when these guys in their 
animosity and anger are searching for me, they're gonna end up 
killing you. Now, ultimately, this becomes 
clear to Jehoshaphat. The parallel passage in 2 Chronicles 
18 tells us, when he cries out, the text tells us this here, 
that he cried out, but specifically in 2 Chronicles 18, and the Lord 
heard, and the Lord delivered him. You see, God comes even 
in the midst of our bad sense. Good piety ought to be mingled 
with good sense. Sometimes good piety is mingled 
with bad sense, and even in the midst of that, God delivers us. 
Now, I'm not saying that as a blanket approval to go out and have bad 
sense. You should pursue good sense. You should pursue wisdom. You should pursue making alliances 
with persons that are godly and upright and not wretched, rebellious 
Ahabs in this world. But marvel at the grace of God 
in this particular section. Jehoshaphat does a foolish thing, 
and God is there to swoop him up and protect him from these 
Syrians. God is really good. God is really, really good. And the Old Testament continuously 
sets that forth before our eyes. So He's disguised the plan of 
the Syrians. Now note this verse 34. Now a 
certain man drew a bow at random. Now we do need to understand 
the random here probably wasn't just a willy nilly. He's in battle. He's shooting at a human being. 
That's what you do in battle. You try to kill people and break 
things. So he shoots though at random 
at a particular soldier or soldiers. But notice in the providence 
of God he hits the specific one in the specific place. If you 
don't see sovereignty behind verse 34 or appreciate divine 
providence at verse 34, you haven't understood providence. A certain 
man drew a bow at random and struck the king of Israel between 
the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his 
chariot, turn around and take me out of the battle for I am 
wounded. Look at the lengths to which Ahab went to try and 
avoid this very thing. He disguises himself and he puts 
on a coat of armor. This man draws a bow at random 
and it finds the right man in the right place. I mean, it really 
is an incredible display of God's sovereignty. "'No armor,' said 
Matthew Henry, "'is of proof against the darts of divine vengeance. "'Case the criminal in steel, 
and it is all one. "'He that made him can make his 
sword to approach him. "'That which to us seems altogether 
casual "'is done by the determinant counsel "'and foreknowledge of 
God.'" That random arrow shot finds its mark in the specific 
target of God's vengeance in the specific place where his 
armor didn't fit tightly together. Divine providence drove that 
arrow. Divine providence sent that arrow. Divine providence executed the 
will of God Almighty. You see, Ahab, you can run, you 
can hide, you can send Jehoshaphat like a lamb to the slaughter 
in your place. But the prophecy in chapter 20, 
the prophecy in chapter 21, the prophecy reiterated here in chapter 
22 is that you're going to die. You cannot stay the vengeance 
of God. You cannot stay the hand of God. 
As we close, I want to draw out just a couple of lessons and 
then we go. First, the rejection of the true word. I think Ahab 
displays for us symptoms of a modern tendency. First, the desire to 
only hear what we want to hear. I guess that probably happens 
even in the best of churches. That's our default setting, isn't 
it? We don't like it when people 
tell us things that we don't like. And you ever like it when 
your spouse says, you know, I got a real bone to pick with you? 
Do you say, oh, great. Again, thank you. Another one. We just don't like that, do we? 
We like to just move along unsorta messed with. It's a default setting, 
brethren, but we cannot feed that default setting. We cannot 
feed or crave that desire to only hear what we want to hear. 
As well, the desire to encourage the prophet to speak what we 
want to hear. I think in some respects, this 
messenger in verse 13, he just really bothers me. I mean, Ahab's 
a wretch and he's known for that for 22 long years of wretchedness 
and Baalism and Jezebel as his wife. This guy in verse 13 is 
just offensive. I mean, could you imagine if 
we hadn't actually recorded what was going on in Micah's heart 
at the time? Are you kidding me? You actually 
think I'm going to kowtow first to Ahab and to you? You think 
I can be bought and paid for? You think I can be manipulated? 
You think you're going to prevail on me that I'm going to tailor 
the message of the true and living God to settle or to satisfy this 
wretched man who has taken the northern kingdom and plunged 
it into Baal worship? You've got to be out of your 
mind, as well, the desire to listen to false prophets who 
tell us what we want to hear. Verses 10 to 12. I mean, even 
the horns, the whole theatrics, the Zedekiahs prevail. He probably 
had the nice tie and the good hair and the gleaming teeth as 
he's doing the horn thing. He smiles for a photo op, and 
it just wins the day with old Ahab. charlatans, hucksters, 
slicksters. People are hoodwinked by these 
kinds of men, and we need to guard against such things. And 
the desire to be rid of the true prophets of God, here specifically 
through physical violence and through imprisonment. Again, 
if you don't see the link between what we have in our Lord in Matthew 
26, physical violence. Ultimately, not imprisonment 
for him, but crucifixion. We want to silence the true word 
of God at whatever cost. Secondly, we ought to appreciate 
the integrity of the true prophet of God. He is committed to speaking 
whatever the Lord says. He doesn't shape the message, 
he doesn't tailor the message, he certainly doesn't pervert 
the message, he simply declares the message. Secondly, he is 
committed to speaking the truth of God, not catering to the felt 
needs of his hearers. I don't think that it's wrong 
for a pastor or elders to speak to things that are going on in 
the life of the church. A pastor kind of, you know, on 
his visits or talks with people sees that a lot of people got 
a lot of carnal anxiety and just depression and sorrows and woes. 
It's not wrong to preach on Matthew 6. It's not wrong to go to Elijah 
under the broom tree. It's not wrong to bring the Word 
of God to bear upon specific situations. That's not what I'm 
talking about. but catering the message or tailoring 
the message for the felt needs of people. In other words, what 
they want. I just want encouragement. I 
just want happiness. I just want this. No, you're 
going to get what God has to say. Thirdly, he is committed 
to speaking the truth of God, notwithstanding the pressure 
to do otherwise. I mean, look at Micaiah. He knows 
what's going on. If he is the unnamed prophet 
from chapter 20, he's already been sitting in a prison cell. 
He's already been in jail for this very thing, and now this 
messenger comes, trots him out, and wants to bring him to Ahab, 
and gives him a little pep talk, don't bring him your downer stuff, 
but rather give him those things. He knows the score. How many 
times Ahab has said to him, this isn't their first song and dance. 
He knows what's happening, the pressure is strong, there are 
400 men that are testifying, the very opposite to what he 
has to say, but he doesn't knuckle under. He stands firm to the 
truth. Fourthly, he is committed to 
suffering physical violence, imprisonment, and even death 
itself instead of compromising the truth of God. That's the 
kind of men we need. It's the kind of men we pray 
for. This kind of man you ought to pray, Mike Kirkpatrick is. 
Brethren, we have hopes and desires to see a church planted in South 
Surrey. We want to move that direction, 
pray for the brother. I can testify of a truth that 
when you first start a church, I mean, there is a lot of challenges. As I mentioned on the Wednesday 
night when we covered this material, I think First Kings is a great 
chapter, a great book for young aspiring ministers to read. Because 
young aspiring ministers have this view, I've got to confess, 
when I came up here, I thought, man, I'm going to just start 
preaching and we're going to see, you know, oodles and scads 
of people get saved. It's going to be great. Wow. That wore off quick, like 20 
seconds, I think. First Kings is a better depiction 
of the way it really is. What happens in First Kings? 
Jezebel kills a hundred prophets of God. What happens in First 
Kings? Elijah's sitting underneath the 
broom tree saying, can you take me now? What happens in First 
Kings? Micaiah gets a whack on the face 
and imprisonment with little to no food. Brethren, it is tough 
work. If a man is going to actually 
speak the truth of God in this society, it is going to be difficult. And they need prayer. They need 
encouragement. You know how many times Paul 
in his epistle says, Brethren, pray for us. Why? Because Paul is an egocentric 
narcissist that just thrives on being the center of attention? 
No, because it's a spiritual work that involves a great deal 
of vigor and commitment and discipline and diligence. To handle accurately 
the Word of God is no small thing, brethren, especially when you're 
facing 400 men that are going to just tell people what they 
want to hear. Micaiah stands fast, and he speaks the word 
of Almighty God, and he does so, even when his own life is 
in jeopardy. Well, brethren, again, I praise 
God for the prevailing spirit of a willingness to hear scripture 
in our church. As Paul said to the Thessalonians, 
he encouraged them, he acknowledged them, he recognized their faithfulness, 
and yet he said to them, excel still more. I think that our 
love for the Word, our appreciation for the Word will be evident 
and will be manifested in the way that we live, both privately 
and corporately. If we love the truth, it's not 
going to be the case that our Bibles sit on the shelves and 
collect dust. It's not going to be the case 
that we don't know the people at our own church because we 
are so infrequent attending to the public means of grace. If 
we love this Word, if we are anti-Ahabian, it will reflect 
itself in our private habits and in our corporate habits. 
We will be where God's Word is, because that is ultimately what 
we crave. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your Word, and we thank you for this passage 
in 1 Kings, for all of 1 Kings, and the many, many good lessons 
we have received from the study of it. We ask God that you would 
bless Mike. We pray that you'd continue to 
prepare his heart, his mind, Give grace to both he and Jessica 
as they continue down this path. May we be a praying church for 
them, and may you indeed open up these doors. May it be the 
case that there would be a faithful gospel witness there in South 
Surrey, that our witness in our community here would grow, and 
that, Father, we would indeed hold fast to the truth of God's 
holy word. Go with us, watch over us, grant 
us grace to glorify, to honor, and to praise you in this coming 
week, and help us to resist the tendency to be an Ahab, and help 
us to be lovers of your truth. And we pray these things through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a brief 
time of meditation and then be dismissed.