1Ki 22:6) And the king of Israel gathered the prophets, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramoth in Gilead to battle, or shall I hold back? And they said, Go up! For Jehovah shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
1Ki 22:20) And Jehovah said, Who shall entice Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth in Gilead? And one said this way, and another said that way.
(1Ki 22:22) And Jehovah said to him, With what? And he said, I will go forth and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said, You shall entice him and succeed also. Go forth and do so.
The King of Israel approaches the King of Judah as to whether he would join forces with him against their common enemy. Jehoshaphat the King of Judah agrees to help Ahab King of Israel.
However he wants to be assured that God will be with them and that all will go well.
Ahab has 400 prophets who tell them that God is with them and all will go well.
However Jehoshaphat is not satisfied and still wants to hear from another prophet.
The prophet Micaiah gives Ahab news that he does not want to hear. He informs Ahab that there is a lying spirit in the mouths of the prophets and that in fact he will not win but lose the battle. For his prophesying the truth Micaiah is put into prison. However he is vindicated because not only does Ahab lose the battle he also loses his life.
There are times in life that all we get is bad news. This becomes so frustrating that we will try anything or go anywhere to hear something good. Often times our local pastor or minister will be blunt and honest about our situation. However we do not want to hear that. So we leave that church or we stop being friends with those who do not agree with us or tell us what we want to hear. In our text Ahab had the opportunity to repent he could have heard the word of the Lord and changed his ways. Yet he listens to the lies of 400 prophets instead of the voice of the one with the word from God.
Our society today does not want to hear any bad news. We want to do what we want to do and not suffer the consequences of being disobedient to God.
How many times do we hear stories of both young and old who do not heed the words of truth? They pursue their own course fulfilling their own desires only to wind up in destruction. God desires good for us not evil. It is up to us how we handle bad news. God always wants and knows what's best for us, ours is to obey and repent of our short comings. Something we all have. Heed the voice of the Lord today, not to do so may spell disaster.