But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the LORD of whom we may inquire?” And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”
2 Chronicles 18:6-7 (ESV)
Jehoshaphat went to visit Ahab and was invited to participate in a battle. Jehoshaphat agreed, but wanted to hear from the Lord first. So Ahab’s 400 court prophets were summoned, and with one voice, they predicted success. They told Ahab what he wanted to hear.
But Jehoshaphat wanted another voice. He realized that these 400 prophets did not speak with the voice of the Lord. So he asked Ahab if there was not a prophet of the Lord they could ask.
And there was. Micaiah, the son of Imhal, was a prophet of the Lord. The problem with Micaiah, as with other true prophets of the Lord, is that rather than telling us what we want to hear, they tell us what God wants us to hear. And Ahab, like many of us today, preferred to listen to a positive message from God. If it did not appeal to him, he was not interested.
Micaiah told Ahab that he was going to his death in this battle, but Ahab went anyway. He rejected the unpleasant message. And it cost him his life.
We like to hear that God loves us, that Jesus died for us, and that when we believe in Him, we are forgiven and have heaven to look forward to. But how often are we less excited about hearing a message of self-denial, taking up our cross, rejoicing in suffering for the Lord, etc.?
We need to listen to the whole word of God. Not just those portions that appeal to us. And don’t just listen, like Ahab, and ignore what it says. Do what it says, even when it is hard. That is the path to blessing and growth (Jam. 1:22-25).
