CENTRAL THOUGHT
God’s word will always prevail over falsehood.
HYMN: When we walk with the Lord.
TEXT: 1 KINGS 22:1-37
INTRODUCTION:
In the time of the reign of Ahab, the king of Israel, he requested the assistance of Jehosphaphat, the king of Judah to fight a war against the Syrians. Jehoshaphat suggested that before embarking on the war, they should first seek the will of God concerning the matter. The encounter of the two kings with prophet Micaiah will be examined in this study.
LESSON OBJECTIVES:
- By the end of this study, the believer should be able to:
- Identify who prophet Micaiah was:
- State the message of the prophets:
- Explain the content of the true message declared by prophet Micaiah:
- Discuss how the prophecy of Micaiah was fulfilled: and
- Highlight the lessons derived from this study.
BIBLE TRUTH:
QUESTION 1.) WHO WAS PROPHET MICAIAH?
1 KINGS 22:8, 14
Micaiah was the son of Imlah, a prophet in the land of Israel during the period of the reign of Ahab as king. He was a prophet of the Lord.
King Ahab hated prophet Micaiah because the king believed that Micaiah never prophesied good concerning him but evil. However, Micaiah always prophesied whatever God asked him to say.
QUESTION 2A.) WHAT WAS THE MESSAGE OF THE PROPHETS? (1 KINGS 22:12; 20-23)
The prophets (about 400 of them) prophesied in unison “saying, Go up to Ramon-gilead, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the King’s hand” (1 Kings 22:12). By the revelation God gave Micaiah, we understand that God put a lying spirit in the mouths of the prophets to prophesy a lie unto Ahab. God was not pleased with the King because of the fact that he had forsaken the God of Israel, the true God and was serving Baal and other idols. God permitted Ahab to be deceived by this false message so that he would fall at Ramoth-gilead.
QUESTION 2B.) COMMENT ON THE ADVICE OF THE MESSENGER SENT TO CALL MICAIAH AND THE PROPHET’S REPLY. 1 KINGS 22:13-14
The messenger sent to call Micaiah tried to persuade him to declare ‘good’ to the King just like the other prophets who declared “good unto the King with one mouth”. Using the exact words of the messenger to Micaiah sounds like this “let thy word I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good”. The truth of the word of God cannot be thwarted or compromised. Whatever is determined by God cannot be changed. Prophet Micaiah replied the messenger thus “As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that which I speak” (1 Kings 22:14). A true prophet of God must be ready to deliver the message given to him by God exactly how he received it without adding to or subtracting from it.
QUESTION 3.) EXPLAIN THE CONTENT OF THE TRUE MESSAGE DECLARED BY PROPHET MICAIAH. 1 KINGS 22:15, 17-23
Initially, Prophet Micaiah spoke like the other prophets. However, Ahab was not convinced that Micaiah was telling the truth. Little wonder Ahab said to him “how many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” (1 Kings 22:16). Then Prophet Micaiah declared the true message to King Ahab. Micaiah said that he saw all the people of Israel scattered on the mountains as sheep that had no shepherd. God told him that the Israelites had no master and that each of them should return to his home in peace. Micaiah continued his message by declaring what he saw. He saw the Lord sitting on His throne and all the host of heaven standing beside him on His right hand and on His left. The Lord was seeking who would entice Ahab so that he might go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead. A spirit came forward and stood before the Lord saying that he would go and entice Ahab by being a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. God had declared disaster for Ahab. God was not happy with Ahab and was determined to destroy him. “God is angry with the wicked everyday” (Ps.7:11b).
QUESTION 4A.) WHAT HAPPENED TO MICAIAH AFTER HE DECLARED THE TRUTH?
1 KINGS 22:24-27
After Micaiah declared the truth, Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah, one of the other prophets came near and struck him on the cheek. In addition to that, the King commanded that Micaiah should be seized and taken back to the governor of the city and to the King’s son. He was to put in prison, fed with “bread of affliction” until the king returned in peace. King Ahab returned from the battle. He fell at Ramoth-gilead according to the word of the Lord. “God is not a man, that he should lie, neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Num. 23:19). God always watches over His word to perform it, His word will surely come to pass.
QUESTION 4B.) HOW WAS THE PROPHECY OF MICAIAH FULFILLED? 1 KINGS 22:30-36
God’s word never fails. The prophecy of Micaiah was fulfilled. When they were entering into the battle, Ahab the king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah who came to assist him in the battle against Ramoth-gilead that he, Ahab was going to disguise himself but that Jehoshaphat should put on his robe. Meanwhile the king of Syria had instructed his captains that they should not fight with anyone whether great or small to save the king of Israel. When the Syrian captains saw Jehoshaphat wearing his royal robe, they turned aside to fight against him because they mistook him for the king of Israel. Jehoshaphat cried out immediately and when the captains perceived that he was not the king of Israel they turned from pursing him. 2 Chron.18:31 says “.. and the Lord helped him; and God moved them to depart from him.” However, one of the soldiers shot an arrow at random (in his innocence) and the arrow hit the king of Israel, he immediately asked the driver of his chariot to carry him out of the battlefield because he was wounded. The battle increased that day while Ahab remained on his chariot and died later in the evening of the same day. That was how the battle ended as “there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, every man to his city, and everyone to his own country” (1 Kings 22:36). Every word of God will never fail, it must surely come to pass whether people believe it or not.
QUESTION 5.) HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE LESSONS DERIVED FROM THIS STUDY
1 JOHN 4:1; DEUT.18:22
We must realize that a prophet is duty bound to declare the counsel of God in all circumstances. Being conscious and knowing the voice of God makes us obedient to His counsel.
In every endeavor we should seek first the mind of God as Jehoshaphat urged King Ahad to do. Prov.29:1 teaches us, “He who is often rebuked and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy”. In spite of the series of Godly rebukes Ahab received during his reign as King, he refused to repent/ change from his wicked ways; this led to his destruction. The protection received by Jehoshaphat and Micaiah reveals that God will always protect the righteous.
DAILY LIVING APPLICATION:
Anything we want to do, let us seek God’s counsel before proceeding. Any counsel received must be weighed with the word of God. The believer should be led by the Holy Spirit in all life endeavors and be governed by His word.
MEMORY VERSE:
1 KINGS 22:14
“….As the Lord liveth. What the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak.”
DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE:
Mon: Seek to know God’s will always. 1 Kings 22:1-5.
Tue: The righteous facing persecution. 1 Kings 22:6-8.
Wed: Be weary of majority opinion. 1 Kings 22:10-13.
Thu: 1 Kings 22:14-16- Danger of compromise of standard.
Fri: Prophet Micaiah declares the true message from God on Ahab. 1 Kings 22:19-23.
Sat: Attempted disguise futile; God’s word fulfilled. 1 Kings 22:29-38.