GOOD START - BAD END. 1st Kings 22 Israel's unity under David's reign was a time of blessing, and the nation was at peace as Solomon started his reign. Civil war divided the country by the end of the book of 1st Kings. The most wicked of the kings, Ahab, ruled the northern ten tribes, and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, had his son Jehoram marry Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Men's attempts to bring peace and prosperity to a nation by forming a compromising alliance without divine authority are doomed to failure.
Confusion caused by compromise and the ongoing sinfulness of people whom wicked men lead gives the enemy of souls a free hand to bring people down to hell. Occasional wrong-doing gradually turns into a way of life. Then, an evil lifestyle affects others until the whole nation is infected with sin, which only the judgment of God can deal with. Keeping peace based on an alliance with that which is wrong is never in the mind of God, no matter how expedient it may seem to us at the time. "What fellowship hath light with darkness" makes it plain that it is never right to set aside God's word to please those who are enemies of God.
The Assyrian threat and attacks against Israel had stopped for three years. When Jehoshaphat went to visit Ahab, Ahab saw an opportunity to get back Ramoth-Gilead, which had been given to him by Ben-Hadad by treaty and then retaken by invasion. Jehoshaphat, whose name means "The Lord judges/rules," was willing to assist Ahab in this venture for some reason. Twelve times, Jehoshaphat is named in this account. In contrast, Ahab is named only once, emphasizing that the Lord rules and judges the affairs of men. Those in authority are not the final authority in charge of the history of a nation - God is.
Four hundred false prophets remained after four hundred and fifty were slain at Mt. Carmel. Satan has many people under his control who will say what people want to hear, not necessarily what is the truth. After hearing the predictions of victory from four hundred prophets who agreed in their desire to please the two kings, Jehoshaphat still wanted to listen to what a prophet of the Lord would say. He was not willing to go into battle without hearing the word of God about the matter.
An essential principle in decision-making helps us be careful: "When in doubt, don't." A person of faith can discern between those who tell the truth and those who want to please the majority. However, when we know what is right, if we disregard that and ignore God's warning message, there are consequences to be paid.
The two Jewish kings, each sitting on a throne on the elevated threshing floor by the city gate, sought to impress the people with their position of leadership, their unity, and then their plan of going to war against Syria. The decision was already made by the two kings who paid attention to the "lying spirit" in the self-serving false prophets. When Micaiah, the prophet of the Lord, was called, he sarcastically mimicked the predictions of the false prophets. Even Ahab could sense that Micaiah was pretending and demanding a true prophecy, so the prophet did so, even though it was totally contradictory to what the kings had heard and wanted to hear. Both kings rejected Micaiah's honest warning, and even when a false prophet slapped Micaiah in the face, he remained faithful to the word of the Lord. The dire consequences the prophet of the Lord gave were taken seriously - but rejected.
When truth hurts or makes us uncomfortable, we may seek a reason to ignore and reject it. That does not change the truth in any way, and it will not change the outcome either. We cannot make people repent and believe the Gospel, but we can warn them and leave the results and consequences to the Lord. Some people would rather live by a known lie than accept a genuine message that does not show them in a good light.
Micaiah's prophecy was given with divine authority, as he was told by illustration how the Lord would bring his predictions to pass. His imprisonment with only bread and water to sustain him did not stop God's man from saying what was right and giving a final warning.
To understand the way evil works and how God allows it, we need to remember that God is good and evil came into the world because of man's sin. Sin and its consequences are man's fault. When people say, "Why does God allow sin and evil to run rampant in the world?" they are challenging God to do something about the consequences man's actions have brought on himself. In the future, God will bring about "A new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness."
God is stronger than the powers and actions of evil. He did not create evil but has control over it and will use it to pass His will in judgment in the same way He uses that which is good. God hates evil and will someday do away with it forever. But He allows it at times now to bring deserved judgment to evil-doers. We may not understand all the "whys and wherefores" of the working of the Lord, but we do have confidence that He is in control of people and events. When the word of the Lord is given about a matter, it can be counted on to come to pass.
Ahab sought to avoid detection by having Jehoshaphat dress in his clothes, but the "bow at a venture" carried out the prophecy, and Ahab died that evening. Jehoshaphat lived because he wore Ahab's clothes. As Elijah had prophesied, Ahab's blood was washed out of the chariot, and the dogs were there to lick up his blood. The reign of Ahab was a dark day in Israel's history.
In Judah, Asa, who “Did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord,” was at the same time followed by his son Jehoshaphat, who led those tribes in the right ways of the Lord for the most part. However, a fundamental mistake was made when sacrifices and incense were burned in the wrong places. Also, to make an alliance with Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, was not right, and Jehoshaphat did not want to go into the shipping business with him. All the expenses they went to were for nothing when God had a storm wreck the whole project.
Our motives might seem promising when we seek to engage in a project, but we need to be sure God is in it rather than just a scheme devised for profit between two consenting parties. Doing much of what is right does not excuse doing what is wrong. We are always thankful for those who do right and will not go along with what is wrong no matter who does it.
The sad history of the nation of Israel's "historical drift" should teach us to call a halt in our lives when we know things are going wrong. Repentance of sin and turning to God in genuine faith can bring about the desired result and save an individual, an assembly, and a nation.
The word is out: There is one man around who is willing to tell the truth despite the consequences that might fall on him. Others don’t like him because he tells it like it is, and the majority want things differently. To go against the crowd is more than it’s worth to many who try to avoid confrontation and commitment to the truth of God. So, to please those who lead in the way of convenience and compromise and those who follow them, they are willing to tell a lie. After all, what is so bad about pleasing a leader who you know does not love the Lord, nor does he want the clear Gospel preached because it would undermine his so-called authority? What is so seriously wrong about trying to be tolerant and keeping back from him a truth that will make him and his people sad?
So often, some are so afraid of the frown of men that they won’t tell the truth that comes from God. I am thankful that generally, in every place and every assembly, there is yet one man who has instilled in him a holy fear of the Lord. When others fall or keep silent, in his firm and quiet voice, he speaks the truth and tells its final consequence to all who will not obey the voice of God through His word. He lays it out before the people who must choose between the plain and unmistakable Word of God and spiritual common sense or the lack of value and outcome of compromising and rejecting what we know is right.
I have known such men and know some who, even now, despite the times, will oppose the trend of pleasing the people so that larger numbers will attend the assembly meetings by seeking to be accommodating and “seeker-friendly.” They know they won’t be popular, but they will not bow to what is wrong, no matter what the others choose. I would like to think I could be such a man who would stand fast and promote God’s truth even though we are few in number and older in age. I have resolved to do what I can to help others learn what obeying God is worth to me and will be worth it to them in view of the judgment seat of Christ.