Scripture:
2 Chronicles 18:4-8 ESV
[4] And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” [5] Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-Gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” [6] But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” [7] 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 always evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” [8] Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.”
Observation:
As I was reading this morning. I got to thinking, why did Jehoshaphat not trust what the prophets that had spoken for Ahab? Taking a mental journey backward through the Bible. I remembered that when Elijah had his show down on the mountaintop, there was a total of 850 prophets. 450 for Baal and 400 for another god. Elijah killed the 450, but the 400 were not there or were not part of the fight. Either way, Jehoshaphat did not trust what they had said. His heart did not sit right with it. So he inquired about another prophet. Turns out it was a good idea. As we read on, we find that a lying spirit had been placed in the mouth of those 400 prophets. They were not to be trusted. You might say they were speaking a feel-good message. The men that Ahab trusted were only telling him what he wanted to hear. Therefore, he went to them and stayed away from the one who spoke the truth. Jehoshaphat was right to question what had been said. These 400 prophets had been deceived. But how did Jehoshaphat know that why did he question them? Was it because of their character, or did it have something to do with Ahab? Maybe it was because Jehoshaphat spent time with the one true GOD and FATHER. When we read the character description of Jehoshaphat. We see that he had a heart much like King David. His desire was for the right thing. So he wanted the guidance of YAHWAH and would settle for nothing less.
Application:
We have to make sure that what we hear is from the Bible… and not some fancy spin on it. We have to remember that Satan knows the word probably better than we do. When we spend time with GOD in HIS word, it’s harder to get misled. I’m not saying it still doesn’t happen, but it’s a lot harder. Sometimes, we can read the bible and mislead ourselves. It’s easy to find the fluffy verses that pertain to what we are facing and use them to justify what we want to do. I can not specify the importance of wise counsel. However, not much can replace personal time with the FATHER. Time in HIS word and in prayer. I would have to say the 3 most important things I have in my life are GOD’S living word an active prayer life and men I trust to speak truth whether I want to hear it or not. We can not run to the people who tell us what we want to hear. That is not how we grow. In fact, that’s how we continue to require milk and not meat. I’m telling you something there is nothing better than a nice juicy stake right out of GOD’S word. One more thing, then we can pray. There is a warning in GOD’S word about running to those who tickle our ears. If we are sitting under a pastor, that does not challenge us to do better. We might consider that. If your pastor does not strike your heart, maybe just maybe he is tickling your ears and that my friend can lead to a headlong fall over the cliff he should have warned you about.
Prayer:
Father, I know these SOAPs come from you. Honestly, I just don’t have the education to do this. I want to thank you for the desire you placed in my heart to seek your truth. It’s what I want my life to line up with. I’m asking you with all my heart not to let me be deceived by what I want on this earth. Honestly, all I really want is what you want for me. That being said. I know how easy it is to let your heart mislead us. It’s easy to look at your word and find one or two spots that confirm what we want and not consider the whole counsel that you have given. We do not want to be deceived. We do not want to follow our hearts. We want our hearts to be led by YOU. Lead us Father as a shepherd does HIS flock. We know that is the only way to true peace and fulfillment. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.