the legacy of Micaiah: "Proclaiming God’s truth"
I Kings 22:14 “But Micaiah replied, “As surely as the Lord lives, I will say only what the Lord tells me to say.”
this is a story of how Ahab desires to go to war and he ask the king of Judah (Jehosaphat) to join him. Ahab consults his prophets that tell him what he wants to hear; they speak pleasing thoughts to Ahab and affirm that he should go to war. Jehosaphat then suggests that they consult another prophet (Micaiah) about the situation. Ahab doesn’t want to hear from Micaiah because he always prophesizes against Ahab. Sure enough, Micaiah prophesizes against Ahab and speaks of his death. There is this sense that many “claim to be spokesman for God” are actually speaking words that are pleasing to men instead of speaking the truth of God. There is also this call to pick up the mantle of Micaiah to be a person that speaks truth even when it is not the popular thing to do.
What a poignant word for my culture today and especially for pastors. Everywhere I look it seems to be Ahab prophets proclaiming sermons that are pleasing to the ear. Time and time again, I hear preachers proclaim words that feed right in to what the world wants to hear all in the name of Jesus but really for the result of popularity, approval, money, etc. I wonder where the Micaiah’s are today. In a broken world that rationalizes its brokenness through the likes of Joel Olsteen and others I sense that God is desperate for the Micaiah’s to step up and proclaim what the Lord desires. I desire to be a proclaimer of what God desires and desperately pray that God protects me from falling into the temptation to be an Ahab prophet. I hope with all that I am that God will give me the grace to speak for Him and His truth in spite of the world and so that the world may hear His truth and come to repentance.
Lord, I pray that you will give me the grace to follow in the foot steps of Micaiah and not give into the temptation to be of the likes of Ahab’s prophets. I pray Lord that your grace would inspire all proclaimers of your Word today to speak truth that is pleasing to you and not speak words to please the world. Give proclaimers of your Word the assurance that speaking your truth is what matters regardless of how the world reacts. Give proclaimers of your word the conviction of knowing that speaking words that are pleasing to the ear only leads to death for the listener as with Ahab. May we be proclaimers of your truth that leads to life. Amen.
God’s invited me to join in the legacy of Micaiah
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