May 12, 2003
LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for May 25
God is trustworthy during times of pressure
___1 Kings 22:13-17, 19-23, 28
___By Jim Perkins
___Madison Hills Baptist Church, San Antonio
___Pressure exerted in a contained, directed manner can propel a rocket to the moon. On the other hand, pressure contained and directed for destructive purposes can produce a bomb capable of inflicting severe damage. So also with the personal pressures we face every day in life: They can propel us toward noble adventures or severely damage our faith-walk with our Lord.
___Experiencing pressure
___In order to understand fully the suffocating and potentially life-threatening pressure Micaiah faced, the reader needs only refer back to the description of Ahab's character and actions in chapter 21. Ahab's juvenile desire for the new "toy" of Naboth's land, the king's abdication of regal power to his pagan and murderous wife, Jezebel, and the description of Ahab's life in 21:25-26 (he had "sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord ... . He behaved in the vilest manner") present ample reasons why any person would feel intimidated and pressured in his presence--and especially a prophet of the Lord.
___Chapter 22 introduces a new setting: Ahab attempted to secure assistance from King Jehoshaphat of Judah in order to retake Ramoth Gilead by engaging in war against Aram (Syria). Before entering this battle, though, Jehoshaphat insisted the kings must seek direction from a true "prophet of the Lord" (22:7), and not the pagan, pandering false-prophets of the Israelite royal court.
___Within this setting, then, it becomes obvious Micaiah faced enormous pressure. Even the first words from Ahab's messenger illustrate the daunting task God's prophet would endure: "Look, as one man the other prophets are predicting success. ... Let your word agree with theirs" (22:13).
___Acknowledging pressure
___Little imagination is needed to see Micaiah recognized this intense "pressure to perform" as he answered King Ahab in a manner that was probably both mocking and sarcastic. Perhaps with a sweep of the hand toward the pagan prophets, Micaiah made his reply simply a summary of their deluded statements: "Attack and be victorious" (22:15).
___Mingled with Micaiah's spoken message, however, was the content of an unspoken one. God's prophet had been pressured unmercifully to agree with man's agenda, yet both Ahab and Micaiah knew the true danger and disaster incipient in this ill-advised venture.
___Resisting pressure
___Micaiah refused to buckle under the weight of this pressure to offer emptied-of-God false prophesies (concerning false prophets, see Ezekiel 13:2-3). Even though Ahab whined with a puny attempt to discourage God's prophet--"he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad" (22:18)--Micaiah chose to stay faithful in relaying a true word from the Lord.
___The prophetic message of disaster God sent through Micaiah included a direct warning to King Ahab (22:19-23). Remember, Ahab had rejected God's message through this messenger before, in previous prophecies (22:18). Now God warned the king through Micaiah's current prophecy that the 400 pagan prophets spoke lies that would lead Ahab down a path to disaster at Ramoth Gilead if the king chose to follow them. The choice was Ahab's; he had the opportunity and bore the responsibility to choose wisely--to choose God's way.
___Standing on God's word
___God's prophet faced two challenges to his loyalty to the word of the Lord. First, the false prophet Zedekiah attempted to ridicule Micaiah by physically assaulting and publicly challenging him: How did the Spirit of the Lord get from him to Micaiah (22:24)? Micaiah responded forthrightly that Zedekiah would hide in terror as he experienced the truth that God's Spirit had spoken through Micaiah and not the payroll prophets of Ahab's royal court.
___Second, Ahab challenged the courage of Micaiah as the king autocratically assigned the prophet a prison sentence of undetermined length: "Until I return safely" (22:27).
___Now the public statements of the prophet could influence both his hopes for freedom and even his longevity. Micaiah was undeterred, however, and demonstrated his loyalty to the word of the Lord and his belief in the veracity of God's prophecy. Placing himself under the stern Mosaic standards for a prophet of God--the prophecy must come true (Deuteronomy 18:21-22)--Micaiah pronounced that if the king returned safely, then the Lord had not spoken through him (22:28).
___Questions for discussion
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