Today's daily lesson comes from 1 Kings chapter 22 verses 5 through 8:
5 And Jehoshaphat said to [Ahab] the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” 7 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” 8 And [Ahab] the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.”
Now this is one of the great all-time stories, and one many kings and rulers wished they might have heard and taken to heart before going off to war. Here we're talking about the minority report.
Jehoshaphat the king of Judah and Ahab the King of Israel want to go off to do battle against Syria for a place called Ramoth-gilead. Four hundred prophets said, "Green light, easy easy; go for it." But something must have set uneasy in Jehoshaphat's spirit. "Isn't there anyone else to prophesy?" he asked. "Yes, there's Micaiah, but he's never has anything good to say -- he's a real Debbie Downer. But okay, I guess."
A messenger runs to get Micaiah and tells him the four hundred other prophets have all spoken favorably and implies he ought to also. "I will speak what the LORD tells me to speak," Micaiah says.
But when he came to the king, Micaiah surprised everyone. "Go on; triumph," he said, "the LORD is on your side." Everyone was stunned and began to celebrate. Young men were rushing off to kiss their girlfriends goodbye and join up.
But this time something felt amiss in Ahab's spirit. "Tell me the truth, Micaiah," he said.
And it must not have set right with Micaiah either, because afterward he spoke his vision: “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.'" The meaning was clear. If Israel went to war it's soldiers would return without a king. For such a prophecy Micaiah was arrested and thrown into jail.
What courage it takes to speak our truth, especially when others are saying something else. Micaiah really had nothing to win in speaking his truth. Ahab wasn't going to change his mind. Israel was dead set on war. Micaiah had nothing to gain.
Nothing, that is, except his own soul.
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