BaptistWay Bible Series for July 24: Micaiah: Telling the hard truth

It is good to be the king. As king, you are accountable to no one and have power most people only can try to imagine. Your checkbook is unlimited, even by funds; remember, you are the king—just create more money.  Your lavish accommodations and limitless toys cause you to be the envy of all who gaze upon your throne.

Money can buy many things, but money does not always buy power. Thankfully for you, power comes with the package of being king.

A king has the power to impact a large number of people, for good or for bad. The people of your kingdom are at your beckoning call. Most of them will follow your orders without question—whether they are motivated by loyalty or fear. The power you wield as king puts you in position to achieve great fame or great infamy. This is where the difficulty of being a king rears its ugly head. How will you be remembered?  

The king of Israel, Ahab, understood the importance of legacy, and he wanted to retake part of the kingdom that had been lost and receive glory and honor. From all appearances, this decision was not based on what God desired, but on what the king of Israel desired.

When he asked King Jehoshaphat of Judah to help him, Jehoshaphat urged him to seek the council of the Lord. King Ahab did this by seeking the wisdom and guidance of 400 “yes men,” who were posing as prophets of the Lord. You see, Ahab wanted to give the impression that he cared about the Lord’s opinion as well as other people’s opinions. In reality, Ahab cared nothing about anyone’s opinion if their opinion countered his own. As king, he had the power to surround himself with spineless and feeble advisers who only affirmed his desires.

Clearly, Jehoshaphat saw through Ahab’s seeking of wise counsel and asked if there was one prophet not on the king’s payroll. Ahab quickly began to act like a selfish toddler and mocked the prophet Micaiah because Micaiah did not tell Ahab only what he wanted to hear. The king’s whining was humorous and led to an encounter with Micaiah filled with sarcasm and tension.

The pouting King Ahab listened to Micaiah share what the Lord had told him. Micaiah’s words are of victory, but the delivery of the message must have said something different. Ahab clearly felt Micaiah was mocking him and pushed him to tell the whole truth. Micaiah shared with the king that he would die. The king responded with a childish, “I told you so response,” and sent Micaiah to prison.

King Ahab despised Micaiah so much he thought he could overcome his words of doom and went into battle anyway. He entered the battle in disguise, thinking he could outwit Micaiah’s prediction. This was not to be the case: A random arrow struck him between the armor plates, and he bled to death.

I am left to wonder whether Micaiah ever got out of prison. Ahab had ordered him there until he returned safely, and obviously, that did not happen. Micaiah had to know that by delivering the words of the Lord, he would be attacked by this selfish and power-hungry king.  

Micaiah was not impressed or influenced by the lavish accommodations or power of King Ahab. Micaiah saw the king as just another person and did not succumb to the pressures of the king’s influence. Micaiah spoke the truth, even when speaking the truth was the last thing expected of him.
Micaiah’s willingness to speak the truth was rooted in his devotion and loyalty to the one, true God.  His loyalty to his earthly king was limited by his devotion to God.  How often do we let our devotion and loyalty to earthy things keep us from speaking the truth?  Sure, we may not lie, but do we simply stand by and be silent because we do not want to offend those who may have power?
As Christians, we should never be blinded by earthly things so that we do not see the sin and injustice in the world.  We must speak the truth in the face of sin and injustice.  The truth is not always popular and may fly against cultural norms, but we should still be willing to speak the truth just like Micaiah; even when that truth brings unpopularity and negative consequences.

I hope we never let the influence of others, because of their power and position, keep us from speaking the truth of Christ. There may be consequences for doing and saying what is right, but if our allegiance is to our Heavenly Father and not some earthly kingdom, we should be able to overcome the fear of speaking truth.  

If we have trouble proclaiming the truth of Christ, maybe we should reevaluate where our deep loyalties lie. Let us put our loyalty only in Christ, and he will guide our actions and our words just as God did with Micaiah.