Hearing What We Want

In 1 Kings 22, three years have gone by after Ben-Hadad was spared by Ahab because he promised to return the land he had taken. Three years later and Ben-Hadad has not come through on his promise. Now Ahab grows weary of waiting and seeks both help from Jehosaphat, king of Judah and the council of his prophets as to whether or not he should make war to regain Ramoth-Gilead.

1 Kings 22:5–6 (ESV) And Jehoshaphat said to 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.”

Jehoshaphat is ready to help but he wants to hear from the Lord first. Ahab calls his own prophets who seek to please him and they assure him of total victory. Jehoshaphat is not impressed. He wants to know if there's a prophet of the Lord. Ahab's response is telling:

1 Kings 22:7–8 (ESV) But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the LORD of whom we may inquire?” 8 And 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.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”

Ahab knows that the true prophets of Israel will not tell him what he wants to hear. In comes Miciah who has already been pressured to shill for the king. He seems to do so at first.

1 Kings 22:15 (ESV) And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go up and triumph; the LORD will give it into the hand of the king.”

Ahab's response again defies logic:

1 Kings 22:16 (ESV) But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?”

Ahab knows he only has "yes men" in his prophet line-up. Ahab knows he only seeks the word of the Lord for what he can manipulate it to say that he likes. This kind of self-delusion is rather funny. At Ahab's insistence for truth, Micaiah responds...

1 Kings 22:17–18 (ESV) And 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 return to his home in peace.’ ” 18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

After hearing the negative report from Micaiah, Ahab reminds Jehoshaphat of how he knew this would be the response. It's rather hilarious. 

Why is this passage in the Bible? Why are we being asked to see Ahab's self-delusional approach to "hearing from God?" Because as I shared in the last post, Ahab is a symbol of the human condition in all of us. We all tend to surround ourselves with what we want to hear. We like messages that build us up and fail to challenge our sacred self-serving idols. Then, like Ahab, deep down, we all know we do this. We all know we have a part of our lives that remains in rebellion to the Lord and we would rather not let someone challenge it in us. 

This is why we must go through all the scriptures. Slowly and steadily to hear what we may not want to hear. If Ahab had listened to Micaiah and repented instead of complaining to Jehoshaphat, he would have lived. 

When God confronts an area of your life where you're living in delusion or denial, it is for your good. We do well to learn from Ahab, humble ourselves, confess our sin and let the Word of God, like a two-edged sword, demolish our self-assurance so that we can find God's grace and power to change us.