God Over People and Things - Pt. 2

Then he turned to Jehoshaphat and asked, “Will you join me in battle to recover Ramoth-gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “Why, of course! You and I are as one. My troops are your troops, and my horses are your horses.” Then Jehoshaphat added, “But first let’s find out what the Lord says.” —1 Kings 22:4-5 NLT

After King Asa of Judah, there was his son, King Jehoshaphat. The difference between Jehoshaphat and the kings before him was that Jehoshaphat was the first king of Judah who was at peace with the king of Israel. Now the king of Israel at the time was King Ahab. He was a king who worshiped Baal and other gods. His wife (Jezebel) had all the Lord’s prophets killed throughout Israel (keeping only the prophets of Baal in Israel) and, with the help of his wife’s influence, many evil and wicked things were done under Ahab’s authority and during his reign as king. This gives a bit of context to our reference verses today, which are a snapshot of a conversation between King Ahab of Israel and the reigning king of Judah at the time, King Jehoshaphat. Ahab wanted Jehoshaphat to partner with him and go to war against the king of Aram, over a piece of land. Despite the fact that they were friends, Jehoshaphat suggested he and King Ahab should find out what God’s will was concerning the matter. It was a wise decision on King Jehoshaphat’s part to seek God’s will, considering his role as king. This shows us a continued example of the importance of seeking God’s guidance over and above our camaraderie with others.

The story gets a little bit funny, in my opinion, when Ahab called all his prophets to seek their guidance on the matter of going to war. Not surprisingly, they all said it would be fine for Ahab and Jehoshaphat to go to war against the king of Aram. However, Jehoshaphat wanted to know if any of the Lord’s prophets were available to be consulted on the same matter. 1 Kings 22:8 says, “The king of Israel replied to Jehoshaphat, “There is one more man who could consult the Lord for us, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but trouble for me! His name is Micaiah....” Nevertheless, they brought in the prophet who Ahab hated, asking him to consult the Lord about the matter for them. The Bible says in 2 Kings 22:13-14 that, “the messenger who went to get Micaiah said to him, “Look, all the prophets are promising victory for the king. Be sure that you agree with them and promise success.” But Micaiah replied, “As surely as the Lord lives, I will say only what the Lord tells me to say.” Also not surprisingly, Micaiah then prophesied the opposite of what the rest of the prophets said. He spoke that the King of Israel would die in the battle and that God had sent a deceptive “spirit” to speak to the other prophets. However, Ahab chose not to believe Micaiah and ended up losing his life in the battle against the people of Aram.

The lesson we can gain from this story is that it is important to seek the sincerity of God’s will above everything else. We see the difference between the outcomes of those in 1 King 22 who placed their need for God’s wisdom over their own will, versus King Ahab who chose to take God’s word lightly. We often remember that truth does not become any less true during times when we do not wish to hear it. In the passage we spoke of today, King Jehoshaphat shows a good example of one who sought God’s truth and guidance above his own will and over the camaraderie of a friend. The prophet, Micaiah, shows us a good example of what it means to align with God’s truth and guidance, over and above the desire to fit in with others. May we always stick with seeking and standing by God’s guidance, even if it ever means standing alone or standing out like a sore thumb! Proverbs 3:15 says, “Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.”

Lots of Love, XO