400 Others

In 1 Kings 22, King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were going to war against the king of Syria. Jehoshaphat suggested they inquire of the Lord first, so Ahab called together 400 men and they all said the same thing, "Go up, for the Lord will deliver [Ramoth Gilead] into the hand of the King." (If you're wondering, "What on earth does this have to do with being a mother someday?" ...bear with me. This will have everything to do with everything. It's foundational.)

One man went even further...

Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah 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."

Well, Jehoshaphat was unimpressed with the 400 prophets, so he asked if there were any prophets of the Lord. They sent for Micaiah. The messenger felt obligated to clue this poor guy into what had been going on so he wouldn't look like a fool or get in trouble with the king.

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."

So, basically he was advising Micaiah to just hop on the bandwagon and say the same as everyone else... whether it was the truth or not!

Micaiah was faced with a pretty serious choice. Would he hop on the bandwagon and go with what everyone else was saying? This certainly would seem most comfortable for a number of reasons. The king might punish him if he did not give a favorable answer (after all, we are dealing with Ahab!). Also, what about those other 400 prophets? He would either look dumb, or exceedingly prideful to contradict all of them! I mean, that's 400 against 1!

Listen to Micaiah's respose:

And Micaiah said, "As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak."

After telling the king the same thing as the other prophets (it seems, sarcastically), Micaiah delivered his message:

"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.' "

He chose to honor the word of the Lord despite what it might cost. Wow! Wouldn't we do the same?!

We're in a similar situation every day of our lives, except that the 400 others are billions! What am I talking about? Our culture. Do we choose to honor the word of the Lord over what's "normal"... what culture dictates? Are we willing to look weird? Are we willing to be labeled "legalistic," "oppressed," unfulfilled," "narrow-minded," etc.?

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

Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah 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?"

'Thus says the king: "Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I come in peace." ' "

Can we have our minds renewed, refreshed, and rejuvenated by the Word and discern where the deception in our culture is coming from?

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."

It all really comes down to this: to whom do you belong? Are you following the Lord (as revealed in His word), or the culture, the 400 others? Do you choose to honor the word of the Lord over what's "normal"... culture dictates?

Let us be like Micaiah.

Scripture selections from 1 Kings 22, NKJV