“…first let’s consult the Lord.”
So Ahab called in the prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked them, “Should I go and attack Ramoth, or not?”
“Attack it,” they answered. “The Lord will give you victory.”
But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there another prophet through whom we can consult the Lord?”
Ahab answered, “There is one more, Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me; it’s always something bad.”
“You shouldn’t say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.
Ahab received the request to consult the Lord with all the same “enthousiasm” as Saül (1 Samuel 14:36). How to distinguish between the prophets? Jeremiah 23:28-29.
…Zedekiah son of Chenaanah, made iron horns and said to Ahab, “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these you will fight the Syrians and totally defeat them.’”
May I never let myself be impressed by the show put on by many, Lord (1 Kings 18:26-29).
Meanwhile, the official who had gone to get Micaiah said to him, “All the other prophets have prophesied success for the king, and you had better do the same.”
But Micaiah answered, “By the living Lord I promise that I will say what he tells me to!”
May I always respond like Micaiah here, Lord!
When he appeared before King Ahab, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should King Jehoshaphat and I go and attack Ramoth, or not?”
“Attack!” Micaiah answered. “Of course you’ll win. The Lord will give you victory.”
But Ahab replied, “When you speak to me in the name of the Lord, tell the truth! How many times do I have to tell you that?”
Micaiah was obviously speaking in a sacarstic tone of voice. He saw it for the circus that it was.
Micaiah answered, “I can see the army of Israel scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These men have no leader; let them go home in peace.’”
Jehoshaphat will still press ahead despite the prophecy he just heard. Why? James 1:22-24.