(REFLECTIONS ON 1 Kings 22:1-40)

As Jehoshaphat the king of Judah and the king of Israel came together, the king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat to work together to go to battle with the king of Aram.

Jehoshaphat wanted for them to first inquire for the word of the Lord to see if they would be victorious in this battle. We then learn that the prophets of the king of Israel spoke only good words, words that he wanted to hear,

12 All the prophets were prophesying thus, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and prosper, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

However, the prophet of the Lord, Micaiah, although speaking at first the message of the king of Israel’s prophets, finally spoke the truth of the Lord,

17 “I saw all Israel
Scattered on the mountains,
Like sheep which have no shepherd.
And the Lord said, ‘These have no master.
Let each of them return to his house in peace.'”

18 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

The king of Israel, interestingly not named until the end of today’s Scripture, decided what was good and evil based on if it benefited him or not. We know the king of Israel is Ahab, but he has lost his way so far that he seemingly has lost his name, his direction, and his heart.

Brothers and sisters, what is good and evil? Is good what benefits us, and evil anything that doesn’t benefit us? What do we want to hear from the Lord? Do we want to listen to prophets only when God’s word tells us good things?

Or do we want prophets to speak to us the truth of the Lord? Will the truth of the Lord always be to our benefit? Even if we have lost our name, our direction, and our faith? How did Israel treat those prophets that spoke the truth of the Lord? In the New Testament, how did they treat Jesus by hanging Him on the cross? How did they treat the apostle Paul by stoning him and leaving him for death?

Brothers and sisters, what do we want to hear from the Lord and His messengers? What do we want to hear in the Sunday sermons, and what do we desire the Bible to say to us? The truth of the Lord or what sounds good to our ears?

What then do we do if we hear the truth? Do we also sometimes want to turn on God’s servants, put away the Bible, and find a church that only tell us things we want to hear, or do we want the truth of the Lord?

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: 1 Kings 22