2 Chronicles 18:14–15: “Then [Micaiah] came to [King Ahab]; and the king said to him, ‘Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?’ And he said, ‘Go and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand!’ So the king said to him, ‘How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?'”

October 5th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

King Ahab of Israel wanted King Jehoshaphat of Judah to go to war with him against the Syrians, but Jehoshaphat wanted to ask a prophet of the Lord if they should. Ahab had many false prophets who told him whatever he wanted to hear. But there was one man of God who truly heard from the Lord, and Ahab disliked him.

This is one of those places in Scripture where the tone of voice must have conveyed more than the actual words used. We can’t tell from the words but the king’s reaction to them suggests they must have sounded very sarcastic, perhaps something like, “Oh yeah, go right ahead, King. It will be fine!” It seems that just because this prophet of God, Micaiah, actually agreed with the false prophets, King Ahab was convinced he couldn’t possibly be speaking the truth.

The reason Micaiah never had anything good to say about Ahab was because Ahab was living a life that was filled with sin and idolatry. The principle here is that we should listen carefully to what godly people say about the people we are connecting our lives to. We need to pay attention and not ignore wise, spiritual counsel that warns us against some binding relationship that might be displeasing to God. We need to beware of the self-centered person, because we can be assured that they plan to take care of themselves, as Ahab did here. “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; / But in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Prov. 11:14).

“LORD, please give us discernment and don’t let us be deceived as we walk in the counsel of Your word this day.”