11/29/2015 A Word To Be Trusted – I Kings 22 Pastor Josh Sheldon

First, from Acts chapter 17, verses 10 through 15, which is found on page 747 of your

Pew Bibles. And then first page, chapter 22, beginning at verse 1, which is found on page 252 of your

Pew Bibles. So when you've arrived at Acts chapter 17, verse 10, please stand if you're able for the reading of God's Word.

This is the Word of the Lord. Acts chapter 17, beginning at verse 10. Then the brethren immediately sent

Paul and Silas away by night to Korea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of Bethlehem.

These were more fair -minded than those of Bethlehem. In that they received the Word with all readiness, and searched the

Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the

Jews, prominent women as well as men. But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the

Word of God was preached by Paul at Korea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds.

Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away to go by the sea, and Silas and Timothy remained there.

So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens, and receiving the command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.

And now 1 Kings chapter 22, beginning at verse 1. Which again is on page 223.

1 Kings chapter 22, beginning at verse 1. Now three years passed without war between Syria and Israel.

Then it came to pass in the third year that Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went down to visit the king of Israel.

And the king of Israel said to his servants, Do you know that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, but we hesitate to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?

So he said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to fight at Ramoth Gilead? Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my forces as your forces.

And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Please inquire for the word of the Lord today. And the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them,

Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain? So they said,

Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king. And Jehoshaphat said,

Is there not still a prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of him? So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is still one man,

Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord. But I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.

And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say such things. Then the king of Israel called an officer and said,

Bring Micaiah the son of Imlah quickly. The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, having put on their robes, sat each on his throne, at a threshing floor, at the entrance of the gate of Samaria.

And all the prophets prophesied before them. Now Micaiah the son of Canaan had made horns of iron for himself.

And he said, Thus says the Lord, With these you shall bore the Syrians until they are destroyed.

And the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the

Lord will deliver it into the king's hand. Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying,

Now listen, the words of all the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragingly.

And Micaiah said, As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak. Then he came to the king and said to him,

Micaiah, Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall we refrain? And he answered him,

Go and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king. So the king said to him,

How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord? Then he said,

I saw all Israel standing on their knees as sheep that have no shepherd. And the

Lord said, These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?

Then Micaiah said, Therefore hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the hosts 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 and be a lion 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 lion spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the

Lord has declared disaster against you. Now Zedekiah, the son of Ternah, went near and struck

Micaiah on the cheek and said, Which way could the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?

And Micaiah said, Indeed, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide.

So the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah and return him to Ammon, the governor of the city, and Joash, the king's son, and say,

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.

But Micaiah said, If you ever return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. And he said,

Take heed, all you people. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went off and ran off to the end.

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you put on your robes.

So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty -two captains of his chariots, saying,

Fight with no one, small or great, but only with the king of Israel. So it was when the captains of the chariots saw

Jehoshaphat that they said, Surely this is the king of Israel. Therefore they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out.

And it happened when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel that they turned back from pursuing him.

Now a certain man drew a bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor.

So he said to the driver of his chariot, Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded. The battle increased that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the

Syrians and died that evening. The blood ran out from the wound onto the floor of the chariot.

Then as the sun was going down, a shout went throughout the army, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country.

So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. Then someone washed the chariot out of fuel in Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood while the harlots bathed, according to the word of the

Lord which he had spoken. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, the ivory house which he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

So Ahab rested with his fathers. Then Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.

Dear Heavenly Father, in Jesus' name we thank you for your precious word. Father, we confess our native deafness and dumbness and blindness at hearing your word and letting it penetrate deep into our hearts.

And so we now humbly ask that you pour out your Holy Spirit on Josh and grant him an anointing from on high by your

Holy Spirit, that his words may be clear and concise, Father, and they may be accurate, that they may be clothed with power from on high to change us, to conform us all into the image of your

Son. Open our eyes, we pray, that we might see wondrous things from your word, especially that we might see the face of your

Son, Jesus Christ. And we just confess again our inadequacy and humbly ask again that you'll pour out your truth -testifying and merciful

Spirit, and that you'll make these things come to pass for all our good and for your glory. And we ask these things in Jesus' name.

Amen. Thank you, Steve. Please be seated. Well, we've been going through this series on the prophet

Elijah, and the Lord has seen us through the end of 1

Kings and now into chapter 22, having started 11 sermons ago in chapter 17.

We find Ahab dying much as he lived, don't we? Ahab died as he lived, with God's prophecies before him and his evil desires overruling him.

This man, this king, this most wicked of all kings, is one who did more evil than all who came before him.

And those who came before him, if you read the account, 1 Kings 1 -16, which is where we first meet

Ahab, that's quite a lot of evil. This king who did more wickedness than all those kings who came before him.

And he lived with this constancy of prophets of God, true prophets of God, before him, telling him the true word of God.

And Ahab, happily accepting that word when it pleased him, when he heard something that granted him success, as we saw in the chapter where he went to fight the

Syrians, chapter 20. And before each of those two battles, a prophet came before him and said,

You're going to have success. Go, for the Lord will deliver them into your hand. And he happily went, enjoying that word of God.

And yet, as he himself says, when the prophet gives him a word that is less convenient than that, he hates that prophet.

Certainly he hated Elijah, another prophet contemporary with this one, Micaiah, who we only meet for this short time here in the passage that Steve just read to you.

He hated Elijah because he gave him the true word of God that convicted his soul. And yet he resisted that conviction.

He dies as he lives. God's word before him.

His evil desires overruling him. His responses to that word were uneven, but predictable.

If it was a good word, he was happy with it. If it was a bad word, as here, what did he say?

Put this man in prison. Feed him the bread of affliction. Now in chapter 22,

Ahab is again surrounded by prophets. Brought in at the request of his guest, this

King Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat of Judah. And Ahab asked them to inquire of the

Lord as to whether they should go ahead with their plan to recapture

Ramoth -Gilead from the Syrians. And it was Jehoshaphat who said, well we must inquire of the

Lord first, following in the footsteps of David. As the scripture says, Jehoshaphat did. One out of the 20 kings of Judah after Solomon.

Jehoshaphat being one of the eight that is well regarded by the inspired author. He was a good king.

He did what was right in the sight of the Lord. He did as his father David did. And so he said, let us inquire of the

Lord. And Ahab brings in 40 prophets. Well of course, despite what they say, despite the good, convenient, encouraging word that Ahab is hearing from them, this

Ahab constantly surrounded with prophets, and yet in God's grace, sometimes true prophets.

Despite what they say, we know this venture will be an unmitigated disaster.

Syria will win the day. Jehoshaphat will return safely, but without any success in the venture, he will return safely to Jerusalem.

Ahab of course, as you just heard, will die in the battle. These kings fair warned by the one true prophet of God that stood and told them the truth.

They forged ahead despite what Micaiah said. There's a lot for us to learn here. There's an awful lot of warning here for us to take as this history is applied to our day and to us personally.

We must beware when God's word makes us feel comfortable.

We must beware when God's word does not do violence to our souls, to our plans, to our ambitions, to our desires.

We must beware when we hear the purported word of God and we leave the hearing of that word with confidence, with sureness in anything other than the person and work of our

Lord Jesus Christ. If you come away other than that, even from this place today, then either

I have misspoke or you have misheard. We must beware how we hear the word of God and then how we respond to it.

Now in the history that was just read to you, 1 Kings 22, it was just the first 40 verses, there's four main players here that we have to kind of get an introduction to, understand who they are.

There is of course Ahab, and by now we know him pretty well, this being the 11th in this series on the prophet

Elijah, but of course Ahab being the king throughout most of Elijah's ministry. So we have

Ahab, there's King Jehoshaphat visiting from the south from Judah, as I said, one of the few kings regarded as a good king by our inspired chroniclers.

There are the 400 prophets assembled at Ahab's command because of Jehoshaphat's request.

And then there's Micaiah, the son of Imlah, begrudgingly brought in by Ahab because Jehoshaphat simply did not trust this unanimous word of the 400 prophets.

In the first four verses, Ahab states his complaint to his own advisors, Ramoth -Gilead, a city on the east side of the

Jordan, has not been given back to Israel. Now you recall from chapter 20 when

Ahab had those two victories over Ben -Hadad, the king of Syria who had invaded Israel. After the second battle,

Ben -Hadad is wiped out. He's done. He has to make terms with Ahab under Ahab's terms, what

Ahab would want. And part of the treaty is, Ben -Hadad says, the cities that my father took from you

I return to you. Well, Ramoth -Gilead was one of those cities and had apparently not been returned to him yet.

So what does Ahab want? It sounds like he's in the right, doesn't it? He wants the treaty honored.

He won a victory over Ben -Hadad of Syria, a victory that God by a prophet, a true prophet, had promised him, a promise that God, always true to his word, kept and delivered

Syria into the hand of Ahab. And Ahab's only saying, we made an agreement. I let you live because we agreed to this treaty.

I want that city that was part of our negotiation there. That's all he's asking for, just what's right.

So he asks King Jehoshaphat if he'll help. And he hears this incredible answer.

I mean, this to me was incredible when I read this. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.

I think to myself, how can this be? How can it be? Not a single king of Israel was ever assessed in any way in the scripture other than he did what was evil in the sight of the

Lord. All the kings of the north had that same final assessment.

And of the 20 kings of Judah after Solomon, starting with Solomon's son Rehoboam to the end, there were 20 kings.

Only 8 of them were considered to be good kings. Jehoshaphat was one of those. How can he say to this idolater, this wicked man who had just murdered

Naboth, surely Jehoshaphat knew these things. This man who had put out a death warrant against Elijah.

And in Jehoshaphat's presence, sends Micaiah to prison.

How can a good king, a godly king, a king who sent the Levites, you read about this in 1

Chronicles 18, sent the Levites into the land and they taught the people about the scripture and about the

Lord. And the word of God spread and it says in the Chronicle that because of Jehoshaphat's administration being a good king, it says all the other peoples around Judah feared to cause him any trouble because of the word of God that was being spread and taught in the land.

How can that king look at Ahab and say I am as you are, my people as your people. The only thing they seem to have in common is that they both have physical descent from Abraham.

And yet he has this affinity for Ahab. It seems to me that they're so opposite.

And the inspired authors of our scripture would say they were opposites. Ahab did more evil than all the kings before him.

Jehoshaphat did what was right in the sight of the Lord. What is he doing in Samaria anyway?

Why is he agreeing to help a king who he had to know was an ungodly and vile man?

Well it turns out, and please don't check your smartphones on this, and don't even look in your

Bibles for a moment, because the names of the kings of Judah at this point and some of the kings that come after Ahab, they start sharing the same names.

So it gets a little hard to sort out. You don't want to do this at 10 o 'clock at night when you're starting to get tired because maybe if you're brighter than I am it won't, but it drove me crazy.

It took me a little while to sort this out because they start sharing names. But what it turns out is that Ahab and Jehoshaphat were related by marriage.

Ahab and Jezebel had a daughter named Athaliah. We'll meet her, Lord willing, when we get to 2

Kings and Elisha's ministry. And Jehoshaphat's son

Jehoram was married to her. So Jehoshaphat, one of the few good kings of Judah, Jehoshaphat, who did what was right in the sight of the

Lord, is related by marriage to Ahab, who could care less what was right in the sight of the

Lord. They're in -laws. So what was he doing in Israel?

It doesn't tell us why he came up. We can only speculate. Maybe it was a family gathering like what we had last

Thursday or Thanksgiving. Maybe there was some other family function. Maybe there was a regular time that these kings got together.

Most of this history, after the split of the kingdom, the northern and the southern were enemies.

There were a lot of wars between them. Yet there he is, in Judah, meeting with the king.

And immediately, it's in the text. Anyway, there must have been some formalities that occurred before this, but immediately he's asked to join in this venture.

Just help me do what was right. They made a treaty. He promised to return the cities to me. We need this one back.

So Jehoshaphat asks Ahab to bring a prophet so they can inquire of the Lord about the venture. Following in the footsteps of his father

David, who would read over and over before he moved, he inquired of the Lord. I think what is happening here, in the dialogue between Jehoshaphat and Ahab, I think these two men are kind of maneuvering around each other.

I think there's a little bit of court intrigue going on here. It's a bit of a game of chess. And I hesitate to bring any chess motif into this because there is, in the audience there, a chess expert.

So I immediately, right now, ask forgiveness. But I'm not going to get too deep into it. But these guys are maneuvering around each other.

There's a little bit of a check and then getting out of check. I don't know what you call that, but check. Now I'm safe. Now I've checked you.

There's a back and forth going on here. Jehoshaphat had to have been aware of the treatment of God's prophets at Ahab's and Jezebel's hands.

I think, and my speculation here fits the tone and the tenor, that he expected Ahab to admit that there are no prophets of Yahweh left.

There's none available. And then Jehoshaphat, I think what he intended, and I speculate just a little bit here, but I think he intended that Ahab would say,

No, there's just these 400. Aren't they good enough? And Jehoshaphat, who I don't think really wanted to get involved in this war against Syria, he'd say,

Really? That's too bad. I am as you are and so forth. I'd love to help out. Of course, you know

I'm ready to help, but I can't unless I have confirmation from God, from a true prophet of God. Sorry you don't have one available, but you know,

I have to have that before I can agree to join you. Well, Ahab's response to the first request was really,

You want prophets? Well, we've got prophets. We've got the best prophets money can buy. We've got 400 prophets.

You've got to see these guys. You've got to hear them when they get going. He gathers them together with one voice, all 400 of them.

Success. Go get it. The Lord will deliver it into your hand. So Ahab, in a way, is safe from Jehoshaphat's check, if you will.

This intriguing maneuver that he made, because he said, Here are the prophets. Did Jehoshaphat know that the 400 were phonies?

I mean, his question in verse 7 seems to say, Yes, he recognized that these were just court entertainers.

They're sycophants. They're spouting off whatever their benefactor wanted to hear. He says,

Is there not still a prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of him? In other words, yes, they're very impressive.

They're very encouraging. I like this word. Let's go have success. But they're not prophets of the Lord. They're not prophets of the

God I need to hear from. You know, an ear well trained in God's word is a discerning ear.

As Hebrews 5 .14 says, But solid food belongs to those who are full age, that is, those who by reason of use, meaning use of the word of God, study of the word of God, application of the word of God, discussing it with others, making sure you've got it right so when you hear it, you recognize it.

That sort of use. Those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

And I believe Jehoshaphat fell in here. You know, it's like bank tellers.

You know how they're trained to recognize counterfeits? By endlessly handling the real thing. This is a common illustration.

A lot of preachers use this and it's a very good one. They don't handle the phony stuff. They handle real bills over and over and over and over and over again.

And some of the real bills that they handle are crisp and new and some are crumbled like the ones that are usually in my wallet.

But they can always tell immediately. It's almost an unerring accuracy.

And you might say, well, what was wrong with that one? How did you know it was a fake bill? And the answer could very well be,

I can't tell you how I knew. It just felt wrong. And the Word of God is like that.

By way of practice. By way of application. By way, most importantly, of loving the

Lord who gave us the Word. Jesus Christ who is the Word of God. By that way of practice, knowing what's true, knowing what's right.

Being able to tell the counterfeit. I think that's where Jehoshaphat was here.

All 400 of them in his grand display. No, this is not the

Word of God. This is not the Word of God. I sent Levites out into my realm to teach the people. It sounds wonderful, but this is not the truth.

So check to Ahab. Can you produce an actual prophet? Can you give me a prophet who speaks the truth according to the

Word of God, by the Spirit of God? A prophet who God has ordained as a prophet. Because these guys, they ain't it.

I've studied God's Word. I've applied it to my life, to my kingdom, and I'm not hearing it. In fact, what

I'm hearing here is all about men. These 400 experts haven't even mentioned the name of the

Lord, which is a dead giveaway to their credibility. It's a dead giveaway to the

Joel Osteen -type doctrines, where what you're going to hear is about you, and you, and your best life now, and so forth.

And nary a word about the Lord Jesus Christ, about God his Father, about God the

Holy Spirit. He's not hearing that here. When they say the

Lord shall deliver, you know, it's an interesting word. Throughout 1

Kings so far, the Lord's name is his name Yahweh. Yahweh Tzva 'ot, the

Lord of hosts. When they say, these 400 say the Lord shall deliver, they use the word

Adonai. Now that's sometimes used for the true and living God. But that word, as opposed to, for example,

Yahweh or Elohim, that word Adonai can also be used in the generic way of a person whose station is simply higher than the one who you're talking to.

You would call him Adonai, Lord. That's what they said. They said, the Lord, Adonai, shall deliver.

They didn't use Yahweh. They didn't use the eternal, sovereign, self -existent name of God. Even these fakes dare not use that name in such a blasphemous way.

Jehoshaphat knew he was hearing wonderful words. He knew they were worthless words.

He knew that they weren't from God. I would suggest, by way of practice, read of Jehoshaphat's reign in 1

Kings, most of it in chapter 18, I believe. By way of practice, he knew he was hearing falsehood.

I want to encourage some of us, I want to encourage most of us hear about this for a moment and how

Jehoshaphat knew. You may not always be able to cite chapter and verse when you want to make a point, when something's bothering you.

You may not be able to put it all together systematically. Sometimes you can't connect the dots in a clear and logical way, but you know that what you just heard purported as God's Word is just plain wrong.

It's just wrong. You have a sense developed by study and practice. Now, I'm not suggesting we trust ourselves.

We must never trust ourselves in preference of God's Word. We must trust God and what

He has revealed in His Word. But I want to encourage you that just because you can't prove your case, just because you don't know the theological categories, even if you can't quote

Calvin or Owen or Baxter or Piper or MacArthur or any of these guys, if your logic is not sparkling clean, if it's easily disassembled by somebody who's better in rhetoric than you are, stand your ground.

Stand your ground. If by reason of use of God's Word, if by way of practice in its application to your life, if because you've read it and loved it and heard it preached, if you've discussed it with fellow believers, if the

Holy Spirit residing in you is giving you pause, if He's cautioning you, then feel free to join

Jehoshaphat and ask for a prophet of the Lord. Seek a brother or sister in the

Lord. Check things out with your pastor. But don't just cave if somebody who's got a better rhetorical skill than you, who's more theologically astute than you, can take apart your argument.

I mean, you might be wrong. It does happen, doesn't it? We could be wrong. Maybe it's just something you hadn't heard before.

Maybe it's just a new way of understanding a Bible passage and you'd always had it this different way since you were a kid. And what you're hearing that you think is wrong, that thing might be perfectly correct.

But don't be ashamed to join Jehoshaphat and be suspicious when your head is spinning. Because it might be

God. Because of the way you've, by reason of use, become familiar with His Word.

It might be Him giving you pause. Don't be bashful to join the Bereans and look to the

Scriptures to see if these things are really so. Don't be too proud to be wrong.

I think about this. I really want to work on this point for a moment with us. In this congregation, we have a high level of intellect, education.

Imagine for a moment if the fate of the Doctrine of the Lord's Supper rested on a debate.

Let's just say that there is one contest, the grand finale of the Doctrine of the

Lord's Table. Is it a simple, symbolic memorial? Or do we have transubstantiation?

Do you know what that term is? Transubstantiation, the Roman Catholic doctrine that the elements, the wine and the bread, become the literal, actual body and blood of Jesus Christ and we sacrifice

Him again by virtue of the priest's blessing. Now imagine, of course our view is the memorial view, that the table is a holy time, it's a special time, it was ordained by Jesus Christ as a continuing sacrament in the church.

But the bread and the wine, while they are symbolic of something fabulous and holy, they're just wine and bread.

Now if the fate of that doctrine rested on a debate and Pope Francis was going to be on the Roman Catholic side, they wouldn't have me defend the biblical view, the right view,

I think. Why? Because I'd be right, I'd be correct, I'd be standing on the

Bible in a correct way, but I'd lose the debate because I don't have his academic depth.

I don't have his rhetorical skill. Just on a plain intellectual basis, if it was a football game, he'd win.

So don't be afraid if you are one who has used God's word for a long time, loved God's word, you've applied it.

Don't be afraid to have that pause. And even if somebody, for one who you're saying, I think you're wrong, and they can take you apart intellectually, it's still

God's word that you have to fall back on. Jehoshaphat here was being treated to this very public, this very grand ceremony, and yet he insists on a true prophet, one who is unashamed to say, thus says

Yahweh the Lord. Well Ahab, as it turns out, of course, he knows one.

I don't know where Elijah is at this point. I think he's going to come up again fairly soon in the preaching, Lord willing. But Ahab confesses that he knows one, and it's one that he's apparently familiar with.

There's still one man, he says not prophet, he says man. He declines to give him his just due.

He says there's Micaiah, the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord, of Yahweh Lord.

But I hate him. And here's why, of course, he prefers the 400 prophets. Here's why he hates

Micaiah, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but only evil. The form of the verb prophecy speaks of a continuous and intensive action.

Ahab, it seems, had many dealings with Micaiah, though we only have this one recorded for us. Now before we look at Micaiah's prophecy,

I want to pause for a moment and think about why Ahab hates him. I mean, I think it's pretty clear just on the surface of the text, but the word he hears is a convicting word.

I mean, God pulls no punches when he points out our sin. One man says it this way.

He says, quote, God is not nice. He is not here to underwrite our projects, to ensure that our pursuit of money and fame and enterprise goes smoothly.

I mean, just ask the men of Babel in Genesis chapter 11. What Ahab hates is the conviction brought by the word of God, because the word of God is a sword, and swords are meant to do violence.

It may not be an easy process, but it's a good process. It may not be pleasant, but it works to our good as it forms us into the image of our

Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Why does Ahab hate the bearer of that word?

Why does Ahab hate this one prophet that he must confess to Joshua? Yes, there is a prophet of Yahweh the

Lord. There is just that one. Why does he hate him? Well, it's because he loves himself.

He loves his sin. He hates the conviction of God's word, so he hates the one who brings it to him.

One of the best indicators that he is a true prophet is this king's attitude towards him. I mean, can you count a man by his enemies?

Can we look and say, well, if Ahab hates this one, I think I want to be on his side, and where Ahab sets his love,

I think I want to run and depart and get on the other side of that border. If Ahab liked him, there'd be cause to worry.

And you know, the offense of the cross of Jesus Christ is like that. People will hate that message because they hate the very idea of sin.

And without sin, the cross makes no sense. Without the cross, sin makes no sense, we could say also.

People hate that idea. They hate what the cross represents. The offense it brings generates often violent reactions.

And often those violent reactions are against the bearer of the message, just as here in 1 Kings 22.

We say, so be it. So be it. So it has always been. What does

Jesus have to say about that? Therefore, whoever confesses me before men, him

I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, him

I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven. In this world you will have tribulation.

In this world you will have trouble and trial. Jesus promises it. James promises it.

Peter promises it. Paul promises it. All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Jesus speaks here of confessing before the Father. Those who have in life confessed him. And then the opposite is true.

To confess Jesus Christ you must know him. How do we know Jesus Christ? It's by faith.

It's by faith that God gives. It's by acknowledging your sin and pleading with him, falling down before him, going to the foot of cross and praying to God, give me a heart to believe.

Lord, only you can do this. To confess Jesus' name you have to know

Jesus Christ. Grow in the knowledge of him by prayer, by obedience, by the word he has given us.

To confess Jesus goes beyond simply telling others that you're a Christian. It means to speak rightly of him.

It means to know him from your scriptures, to study him, to say what the

Bible says about him. Well back to Ahab. He's cornered by Jehoshaphat's request.

It's this cat and mouse game. It's this intrigue in court politics. It's sort of a game of chess with Ahab the aggressor and Jehoshaphat at least seeking for a draw here.

He had brought in the prophets when he was asked and now he can hardly refuse this further request for an actual prophet.

We might note that Ahab doesn't plead that the 400 satisfied Jehoshaphat's request but he sends some servants to get

Micaiah. He doesn't even begin to argue that these 400 had any relationship at all to the

Lord that Jehoshaphat wanted inquired of. So he sends his servants to get

Micaiah and in the meantime verses 10 to 12 tell us that these two kings sat in great pomp and circumstances.

They're on their thrones, they're clothed in their royal robes. The prophets are continuing to prophesy before him.

We have the Isaaciah who made those iron horns and said here's an object lesson if you will.

Here's what you're going to do to the Syrians. It's just going on. Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper over and over and over again.

And you can just see Jehoshaphat going oh my goodness. Where is the prophet?

We need to put an end to this drivel. And into this scene enters the lone prophet

Micaiah. Just as at Carmel in 1

Kings 18 with the 450 prophets of Baal prophesying they probably were dressed magnificently.

It was probably a wonderful chorus, a symphony of voices if you will. Stands a lone prophet

Elijah. Well here comes Micaiah with these two kings on their thrones in their robes with the prophets before them.

He gets the same question the 400 had gotten. Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead?

And the answer is brief and it should have been pleasing. Go and prosper for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.

Virtually quoting what the other prophets said. So we have 401 prophets in attendance.

How many are in favor? 401 hands go up. How many prophets are opposed? No hands go up. Motion passed.

Where's lunch? Let's go to Syria. Let's go fight. Ahab. Of all people

Ahab recognizes that this is all false. He meant what he said that this man never said anything good to him.

Never prophesied anything good about him or for him. He is still

Ahab and this is still Micaiah. A word of comfort, a confirmation of plans made without reference to God, an affirming word was obviously out of place.

So Ahab is cornered. I think he's been outmaneuvered because he got this one true prophet.

He told Jehoshaphat, no, he never says anything good about me. What does Micaiah say? He says something good.

Go ahead. You will prosper. I joined the 400. Can I go home now? Sometimes people are troubled by a prophet apparently lying.

Micaiah did not lie. The true prophet of God, he did not lie.

He was forcing the truth to come out. He had put Ahab on the spot. Here's Jehoshaphat.

I thought you said he never said anything good about you. What's up with this? It's like that game of chess. Check. Ahab is trapped.

Now he has to challenge Micaiah. Ahab has to go to Micaiah and say, no, tell me the truth.

And Micaiah had been certified by Ahab as one who will deliver truth, capital T, capital

R, capital U, capital T, capital H. And what

Micaiah did here is like how Jesus so often turned his opponent's questions or challenges that were meant to entrap him, he turned them on their heads, like when he was asked about divorce or taxes.

Ahab, wicked king Ahab, must publicly demand the truth of God, of Yahweh God, from our true prophet of God, and I say this is checkmate.

He's trapped. So now these kings, one anxious for it, the other dreading it, will hear what is right.

First is disaster. Then he said, I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd, and the

Lord said, these have no master. Let each one return to his house in peace. The battle will be lost.

The opposite of what the 400 said. This is going to be a disaster. And in fact, the issue's been decided in a court whose verdict cannot be overturned or vacated.

It's been decided in the court of heaven. It's been decided by the true Lord, by Yahweh. Ahab insisted on hearing the truth.

He didn't really want to. I think Micaiah outmaneuvered him. Don't ever get it in your head that he was lying.

He outmaneuvered Ahab and forced Ahab to command him to tell the actual truth.

And now, incredibly, he confirms Micaiah again. He says, Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?

He doesn't deny the accuracy of what was said, only his distaste for it. You know, there's an undeniable, there's an irresistible power to God's word that forces even

God's enemies to acknowledge it. People know when the word of God has been set before them.

I don't mean know the word of God that they acknowledge the author of the word.

But I would suggest to you that sometimes the violent reactions we have against the conviction of the word, it's because people know that God has set

His glory in the heavens. His handiwork in the firmament. Paul says in Romans 1 that these things were done so that men could look and know that there is a

God and be held accountable. Thereby, God's word, this powerful

God's word, let's handle it carefully. Let's be sure that what we have in our hand, this two -edged sword, is a powerful and active word that does do violence to men's souls.

We need to handle it circumspectly and boldly and with knowledge, with Jesus' winsomeness and with His power and boldness.

It is a hard word to hear. This word tells you of your sin for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

It tells you that you were born in iniquity and sin. This book will find you when it describes your heart as imagining only evil continually as in Genesis chapter 6.

When it says that God looks down from heaven to see if there are any who do good who seek after God, when it says

He finds none, no, not one, that means you. That means you who are without faith and hope in Jesus Christ.

You do no good. Forget self -esteem. Forget feeling good about yourself.

The Bible says completely the opposite. This is a hard word to hear.

It means you when He says He sees a world devoid of any who are righteous or even decent.

This book says that to see the kingdom of heaven, to even acknowledge that it exists, you must be born again.

This is John chapter 3. Unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of heaven.

He doesn't even say get into the kingdom of heaven. That's a whole other issue that Jesus goes into.

Without faith, you can't see it. You can't acknowledge its existence. If you do acknowledge its existence, you have to acknowledge that that's

God's residence and He's a holy and perfect God and that not heaven is quite the opposite of all that.

You, it says, are dead in trespass and sin in which you now walk. This revelation, this

Bible we have says that only by trusting in Jesus Christ, by trusting what He did on the cross when He suffered

God's wrath for your sin, your sin personally, your sin specifically, your sin in the whole, as the hymn says, not the part but the whole, only by this can you be saved.

Only by that rebirth, by God's regeneration of your soul is this possible. Only then can this be an easy word to read because then we know the

God behind it. Then we know that we're not condemned by the sin it points out. We see the sin, we go to 1 John 1, 9, we confess our sin and God forgives us our sin and cleanses us from all unrighteousness because He is good and just and holy.

Only then is it a word that we can read without fear and trembling and doing violence. Without such faith, it's a terrifying word just like what

Ahab heard. To paraphrase Mr. Beaver, God isn't safe, but He is good.

The broken -hearted, penitent sinner, anyone who calls out to Him for forgiveness in the name of Jesus Christ, pleading what

He has done, He, Jesus Christ, adding nothing of their own, such a one will find a gentle Savior in whose arms there is safety.

This word tells us that the way to God was no easy road. It is a way carved in the rugged wood of the cross and written in the blood of our

Savior, Jesus Christ. Ahab was always looking for an easy way out, which as the old proverb goes, the easy way out usually leads where?

Right back in. The easy way we look for is to follow our own thoughts, our own inclinations.

We force the Scriptures to do what they were never intended to do, to join these 400 and to affirm me, to make me feel good about me.

Jesus' suffering tells us that the way to God was a hard way, a difficult road.

Oh, Jesus saw the cross set before Him as a joy, for the joy of the cross set before Him, says the author to the

Hebrews. It never says it was easy. And this is what we're called to do.

In this word of God, this word of God that Ahab hated, that I think the world in general hates because of what it says about them, this word of God tells us something that's not easy to listen to and maybe even more difficult to apply, but because of our faith, our trust in the

God who gave us this word, when Peter says in 1 Peter 4, 13, that we are to participate, we are to partake of the sufferings of Christ.

We know that it's for our good. It's for the glory of God, which is for our good. Let's finish with Micaiah's prophecy here.

I saw the Lord sitting on His throne and all the hosts of heaven standing by and on His right hand and on His left.

The Lord said, who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead? And of course, the one spirit who said,

I will get those 400 prophets to lie, I'll give them one voice of falsehood. And the

Lord says, Go, you will succeed. Therefore, look, the

Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours and the Lord has declared disaster against you.

These two, these two kings at the threshing floor, dressed in their robes, sitting on their thrones, surrounded by prophets and all this pomp and circumstance and ceremony.

It's such a dramatic scene. Now compare them to what Micaiah saw.

Compare these two pipsqueaks to what Micaiah was.

I saw the Lord. I saw Yahweh, think Isaiah 6, where the prophet saw the

Lord sitting on high and the train of His robe filled the temple. And there was thunder and there was lightning and there was the seraphim calling out,

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of His glory. And Isaiah looked and said,

I am ruined, for I'm a man of unclean lips. I come from a people of unclean lips and I've seen the

God of glory. That's where Micaiah was. He says,

I saw the Lord surrounded by the armies of heaven. I was in the courtroom of heaven with Yahweh the

Lord presiding. And this is what he said. How grand we must think ourselves to be.

Ahab, Jehoshaphat, with the 400 prophets around them, comparing that to what

Micaiah just saw. How puny we really are. What must God think when

He sees us down here promoting ourselves like that, waiting for a prophet of the true and living

God, sitting on thrones, in royal robes, full of authority.

Compare that to where Micaiah just was. For God, the true

Lord, calls out the armies of heaven and declares

His word. It is

God who allowed the 400 liars to lie. It is God who decreed what they would say. God looks down from heaven.

He finds 400 contradicting, more than 400, countless billions of people contradicting

Him. Doesn't Psalm 2 say that the Lord looks down from heaven and He will scoff at them?

He will laugh. What on earth are you thinking? What are you thinking?

What are we thinking? I see this comparison of these two kings in the threshing floor with their robes.

I see Micaiah trying to tell them where he received this word that he's delivering to them. And the question thunders at us from the

Scripture, from this word of God that Ahab hated and we love, the question thunders at us, we who believe in the

Lord Jesus Christ even. Who do we think we are? Do we have any idea who

God is? The glory, the majesty, the perfection, the holiness, the power, the righteousness, the justice of God?

The God who sent His Son to be God in the flesh.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the

Word was God. Speaking of Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, God the

Son. We think those kinds of thoughts? Let us never be sitting on a throne in our wonderful clothes thinking anything of ourselves.

Read this one over and over, where Micaiah came from. Let's get our perspective right.

Micaiah struck by Zedekiah, the horn craftsman, much as Jesus was at his trial. And the mocking is eerily similar.

Which way did the Spirit from the Lord go from to speak to you? Or how did you get this?

Who do you think you are, Micaiah? What makes you think you're better than us? Very much like what happened at Jesus' trial.

Matthew 26, they spat in his face and beat him. Others struck him with the palms of their hands saying, prophesy to us

Christ. Who is the one who struck you? Remember that he at the time was blindfolded. Maybe the world's rage against God's Word is evidence that they do understand it.

They just don't like it. But the rage they show might just mean that they do get it. They do understand what it says about God, holiness, sin, judgment, self -control, most of all about Jesus Christ.

And conviction hurts. We who believe in Jesus Christ does not conviction hurt. We see our sin before us.

We read Scripture. You might be reading Psalm just in your morning devotion. You're reminded of something.

And the conviction just tears your spirit apart. Thank God for Jesus Christ. We can fall on our knees and repent.

And knowing God will forgive. This is a hard word. And without Jesus Christ is only going to generate rage against it.

Why did these two go ahead then and fight? I find that question much harder to answer than this idea of Micaiah supposedly lying.

I think Ahab went ahead because he was, well he was Ahab. He never was disposed to obey

God's Word. Jehoshaphat's much harder. The text offers little if anything to go by. So I hold this lightly.

But I sort of feel like I have to answer it. I think he went because of how public this all was. He was

Ahab's daughter's father -in -law. And Ahab was the same for his son. He couldn't deny his help here and save face.

He already said yes when he so eloquently said I am as you are and all the rest of that. I think it would have been disgraceful to go back out now.

It would have been a breach of good manners to not keep his Word. I think Jehoshaphat's just in a tough spot here.

That's all speculation. I just can't figure out why good King Jehoshaphat after having heard from the prophet of the

Lord of Yahweh, the Lord, would still go ahead. In the end though, it's all because of God's decree.

After Ahab murdered Naboth, Elijah said I will bring calamity on you. I will take away your posterity.

I will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel bond and free. Ahab had to go into battle because that was

God's will. When he disguised himself as someone other than the king, he was again trying to do what he'd always done, overruling

God's Word. He was showing what he actually believed, though somewhat superstitiously.

He did believe that God's Word meant you're going to die in that battle. He's just trying to circumvent it.

Well, we're going to come to a close here. That random arrow found the joint in his armor.

We know, of course, it wasn't random. By shot at random, it just means one of the archers shooting in general towards the enemy

Israelites. It found that one crack in his armor, and Ahab was killed.

Every man to his city, every man to his own country. The battle's over. They lost. There's nothing to do but go home.

They must go it alone because just as Micaiah had said, they had no leader. They are scattered.

The leader was dead, and the army is dispersed. So Ahab had what he wanted when the 400 spoke with one voice.

Go up, for the Lord will deliver you into the hand of the king. But God's Word is not that easy to digest, is it?

Does God's Word simply rubber stamp and promise us success for everything we put forth?

The Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than a two -edged sword, piercing even the division of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

It wasn't given to make us comfortable. It wasn't given to rubber stamp our plans. Most of this

Holy Word is downright uncomfortable, destroys our self -confidence. Jesus said,

Without me, you can do nothing, and he meant nothing. He didn't mean you can't do nothing except spiritual things.

He meant you can do nothing. Ahab's end.

The king died and was brought to Samaria and they buried the king in Samaria. Then someone washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria and the dogs licked up his blood while the harlots bathed, according to the word of the

Lord which he had spoken. Going back to 1 Kings 21 after he murdered Naboth.

I like dogs, but the ancient Jews did not. They were considered to be filthy mongrels.

This man who sold himself to do evil is bid farewell as harlots who sell themselves to do evil wash themselves in his blood.

The picture just could not be more wretched. His life was one of idolatry and sin.

He hated the word of God and he hated the God of the word. We're done with Ahab.

We're done with Ahab, but not with his family. His entire line will be destroyed and we'll pick that up with God's help in 2

Kings as we continue. Ahab was estranged from God.

He was an enemy of God. Even if he had repented and turned to God in the last minutes of his life though,

Ahab would be alive now with God in his presence. He didn't.

The hard to digest truth is he didn't. Ahab is in hell. He's eternally separated from God.

And I ask you, how is it with you? How is it with your soul?

Whether you're young, whether you're middle aged, whether you're old, how is it with you? If you're without God today, today can be a day of salvation.

If this word that I've preached, which is a word of Jesus Christ, not about Ahab, ultimately it's about Jesus Christ and the redemption we have in him.

If this word has done damage to your soul and you recognize your sin, that can be hard.

But it could be the Spirit of God regenerating your heart to believe yourself a sinner.

And Jesus Christ is the only answer for that. Jesus Christ, God's righteous one. Turn to Christ.

Turn to Christ as, I believe, Micaiah was pleading with Ahab to do. Turn to Christ now.

Doesn't mean that life becomes fun and joyful all the time. It means that life is filled with joy and peace of the

Holy Spirit because of faith and confidence in Jesus Christ and him alone.

Turn to him. That's all I can say. Amen? Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for this word that you have given us.

We thank you, Father, for the example that we have in Ahab and the warnings that we take from this king and his life and his attitude towards you and your word.

I pray, Lord, that we would be people of the word. I pray, Lord, that you would open our eyes, even as was prayed earlier, to the wonderful truths of your word, that we may grow in holiness and sanctification, become more like your

Son, Jesus Christ. In his name we pray, amen. Amen.