Let's pray together, shall we? Well, we thank you that we get
to be here as a family. This hunger for the word, this
thirst for righteousness, it comes from you.
And the fact that we get to sit here out of a desire, with joy
and anticipation, we give you the glory for that because we
know what we're capable of. We know, some of us know what we
were like before we were saved and what our appetites were and
what our longings and passions were.
But Lord, you changed us. And we pray, Lord, that you
would continue to change us tonight as we come to these
concluding verses of this amazing book in your book.
So, Lord, we ask that you would apprehend every way we're
thought, every rebellious conviction, anything that would
grieve the Spirit. We pray that all of that would
be dealt with by the fire, the water, the sword of Your word.
We want to know the full power that this word has to give to a
willing vessel. So we yield to you.
Now we do ask that in this delivery that there would be
liberty, that there would be unction, that there would be a
grace so that Christ would be exalted, and that our hearts
would be drawn to Him individually and as a as a
whole. We ask these things in Jesus
name. Amen.
Mimi, please, in First Kings chapter 22 and today in our time
together, we will be covering verse 13 down to verse 28.
So meet me at verse 13. And if you are a student of the
Bible, you know this very well, that there are many instances in
the Scriptures where we catch a glimpse of how our world
parallels with an unseen realm, a spiritual realm to be exact.
And based on what the Word of God declares, this spiritual
realm not only exists, but it interacts with and it influences
events and people in this physical world.
And there are staggering examples of this throughout the
Bible. And one of the strongest samples
of the supernatural colliding with the natural is here in this
very chapter. And at times this realm works in
obvious ways, ways that are undeniable, ways in which we
with these senses perceive. But one thing is for certain,
whether we perceive what is happening or not, there is
always a functioning, there is always an operation that is
behind the scenes. And the framing of that, the
window in which we're going to be able to look through to
perceive that reality is provided here in summary as a
platform in verse 10. We've touched on this last week,
but let's look at verse 10 once again.
We read now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of
Judah. We're sitting on their Thrones
arrayed in robes at the threshing floor at the entrance
of the gate of Samaria. And all the prophets were
prophesying before them. You and I, with the king of
Israel and the king of Judah, await the arrival of another
prophet, a man by the name of Micaiah.
Micaiah had a special reputation.
He was known as a true prophet of the Lord and he had a
tendency of speaking what Ahab did not like to hear, not for
any other reason other than that he spoke with the Lord, told him
to speak, and nothing else. And we're going to learn a lot
of things about this man of God named Makaya, including what you
just heard at the introduction of this study, that there is an
unseen realm that is very real and very relevant to our
day-to-day experience. So let's begin by reading the
1st 5 verses of this portion of Scripture and then we will do
what we always do and take time to explore every verse in
detail. And the messenger who went to
summon Micaiah said to him, Behold, the words of the
prophets with one accord are favourable to the king, let your
word be like the word of one of them and speak favourably.
But Micaiah said, As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me
that I will speak. And when he had come to the
king, the king said to Micaiah, Shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to
battle, or shall we refrain? And he answered him, Go up and
triumph, the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.
But the king said to him, How many times shall I make you
swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the
name of the Lord? And he said, I saw all Israel
scattered on the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd.
And the Lord said, These have no master.
Let each return to his home in peace.
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you
that he would not prophecy good concerning me, but evil?
Let's stop there. Have you wondered in studying
this text that when Jehoshaphat inquired about a true prophet of
the Lord, that Ahab did not bring up Elijah?
Did that ever cross your mind? Why didn't he include Elijah as
a possible prophet to bring a true word from the true God?
I think the best explanation is this, that Ahab can never figure
out where Elijah was, right? He just arrives unannounced and
shortly after he disappears for an undisclosed period of time,
then he arrives again. So Elijah was very difficult to
locate and that was purposely done.
So I believe the reason why Ahab brings up Mikaya is because he
knew exactly where Mikaya was. Where was he?
Well, you're going to discover in the same study that Mikaya
was apprehended by Ahab, more likely that he was under house
arrest and then he would later be put into jail because of his
unpopular sermon as we're about to study together.
And so Mikaya was the choice servant to bring a word, a word
from the Lord. And on his way, after this
messenger was sent to Mikaya, this unnamed individual attempts
to persuade Mikaya. Hey, look, you're going to head
into this atmosphere and there are 400 prophets who are all
saying the same thing, and you're going to see the king of
Israel and the king of Judah sitting on their Thrones and
their splendor. I suggest that you you say what
these other messengers are saying.
And we paused on that thought, wondering, is this scene going
to bend Makaya in another direction?
Will the pressure of these prophets finally persuade him to
cave? Will the pomp and the grandeur
of these kings as they sat there with their their robes sway him?
And we're going to discover that it's not going to move him an
inch. You see, the temptation that
Makaya is facing here is not a unique, it's not a unique
temptation. It is a temptation that every
single individual who believes and shares the truth will face
at one point in their lives with a variety of pressure with it,
different degrees of intimidation and persecution or
even persuasion. And this request that this one
individual makes to Makaya actually ends up becoming a
national request of the people of Israel in the days of Isaiah.
I want you to see it in Isaiah chapter 30 and look here at
verse nine of Isaiah 30. They're going to be a lot of
jumping around here with different references.
I couldn't help it just to see how the Bible complements every
passage is so moving to me and so I want you to see it with me
and Isaiah 30 is one place in verse nine.
Look at the Holy Spirit says about that particular
generation. Are you there with me?
Good. For they are a rebellious
people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the
instruction of the Lord, who say to the seers.
Seers is another word for prophets do not see, and who say
to the prophets do not prophesied to us what is right?
Speak to us. Smooth things, prophecy,
illusions. Leave the way, turn aside from
the path. Let us here know more about the
Holy One of Israel. There's so many things to draw
out of this devastating commentary.
The 1st is what caught my attention is how the Prophet by
the Spirit identifies this generation as lying children.
What are they lying about? I believe the context tells us
exactly what they're lying about, That they claim to
acknowledge God, but they refuse to know Him and to understand
Him the way he desires to be understood.
They claim allegiance, but they refuse to apply how he presents
himself in his true form. And it's complete character.
They're liars because notice here that their protest is not
that they didn't want to hear from the prophets at all.
Is that what they said? Look here again at verse 10, who
say to the seers do not see, and to the prophets do not Prophecy
doesn't stop there. Do not prophecy to us what is
right. So the issue here is not with
preaching, it's what's being preached.
It's not the fact that there's a presence of a messenger.
It's the message, it's the content, and that is why they
requested for a specific subject matter to be omitted from the
prophets message. What is it?
Do not tell us any more about the Holy One of Israel.
Even up to this point, God has identified Himself and
manifested himself in many ways as a Father, as a savior,
Redeemer, rock provider, miracle worker, so many ways.
But there is one particular message that these people did
not want to hear about. And I say it's the same message
that people don't want to hear about today, the holiness of
God. The holiness of God.
We don't want to hear about how He is transcendent and different
and pure. We don't want to hear it.
We don't want our sin to be exposed in light of His
character being expounded and declared.
We don't want to hear, in other words, don't disturb our
consciences, speak to us smooth things.
You know, there are entire ministries who operate under
that philosophy that we just want to give smooth things and
let people leave here coddled and and encouraged purely and
not even a true encouragement. And this is what they're asking
for. Give that to us.
That's what we want in this menu.
That's what we want from these profits.
Has the demand change in 2024? It hasn't.
You know this passage very well. In Second Timothy 4 three where
Paul prophecies, he tells Timothy was a pastor.
There is coming a time, Timothy where a people will not endure
sound teaching. That that tells me something
that at one point they were able to endure it.
At one point they were listening to it, but they'll come to a
point where they can no longer endure it.
Enough is enough. And what would they do as a
result of that? They themselves will accumulate
teachers to suit their own passions.
You know, people know this verse, but they misinterpreted.
Generally, people tend to think that what Paul's saying here is
that there's coming a time where prophets will arise, false
prophets, and they will persuade people away from the truth into
myths. That's not what Paul is talking
about. Paul is not pointing the finger
at wolves on platforms who are going to deceive the masses.
He's actually condemning a people who out of their desire,
out of their wanting to be deceived, further encouraging
false prophets to arise. They will ask for these.
Have you ever watched something, a ministry that you know is
questionable, it's heretical, and you think, how are so many
people in attendance? Why is there an audience?
And we would think, oh, because they're naive and because of the
the charisma and the false promises and the false signs and
wonders. That's why.
Not always the case. Paul indicates that, yes, in
other places, some are duped because of their naivety, but
others are there because they want to be there.
They want that. They want exactly what's being
preached. Though it's false, it caters to
exactly what they desire. And so as much as the Bible
condemns false teachers, the Bible also condemns a people who
make false teachers successful. Who are these false preachers?
If they didn't have an audience? The only reason why they get the
continuous people still send their money, they still sit in
those meetings, they still support them in various ways.
And Paul speaks about a time where people will make a demand
to be cemented in their deception, and there is no
shortage of people who will help make that possible.
We come back here and we realize that Makaya was not one who
would bend to any demand that calls for doctrinal dilution.
I mean, with all the disappointment in the Book of
Kings, this man is exhilarating and he's refreshing, is he not?
Here's this individual telling him, listen, just just say what
they have to say. And he goes, I'm only going to
say what God tells me to say. And the integrity of this
individual, I believe, is expounded upon by Paul and his
teachings. There is a particular place in
an epistle where Paul tells us the motives that a man of God
will reject in his ministry in order to be effective and
pleasing to God and truly fruitful to those who would
benefit under his ministry. And in three sequential verses,
you have 3 motives that Paul spells out.
That a true leader in the church, a true man of God, will
denounce, will fight, will resist, will reject.
And though the context applies to preaching and preachers, it
can be applied by any of us who serve the Lord in any capacity.
Would you like to know the three motives that a man of God will
reject as he stands in integrity before God and God's people?
It's in First Thessalonians chapter 21 is found in verse
four and other is found in verse five, and the other is found in
verse six. And what's interesting is that
following that, Paul speaks in the positive and he says these
these are the qualities that a man of God will adopt, but we
don't have time to go into the positive.
Let's just deal with the negative.
What will, like Micaiah, a true servant of God, reject and his
faithful service to the Lord? Let's read beginning in verse 4.
But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted
with the gospel, so we speak not to please man, but to please God
who tests our hearts. That's the first thing.
The first motive that a man of God will reject is the ambition
to please man. And what Paul is speaking about
here is an all out absorption, a priority to satisfy the wishes
of others at any cost, even at the expense of disappointing
God. But a true man of God will have
the goal of satisfying God's heart.
Ultimately, that's going to be his drive and what he prepares
to speak and how he deals with God's people, how he manages the
resources of the ministry, how he lives with his family
privately before the unbelieving world.
What drives him in the morning, The energy of his soul is I want
to please my God, even if it means I'm going to drive other
people away. As a result, he will know total
contentment in that. That will be where he finds his
true pleasure in the decision that he makes and whatever he
accomplishes, he knows that this brought true delight to God.
Whether people smile as a as a result of that or whether they
frown is no concern to the true servant of the Lord.
That doesn't that doesn't influence him because he's
absolutely intoxicated by this one goal and that is making sure
that his God and his will was made true.
That's not the only thing. Look at the second thing, verse
5. For we never came with words of
flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed.
So the first thing that a man of God will reject and maintaining
the integrity of his ministry is he's not going to please man as
his ambition. The second thing is that he will
not use ministry as a means to become wealthy.
He will not have this aspiration to become rich through his
ministry. Notice that flattery is
mentioned in the same breath, right?
He speaks about not using words of flattery, and then he talks
about not coming with the pretext for greed, indicating
that there are some who put on a mask of kindness, who will lace
their words with unusual encouragement and uplifting
comments as a deceptive tactic to gain some support from others
on an individual basis, in simple conversation and even
from a public stance where they they preach in a manner in which
they know that they will win more support, they will win more
financial support more specifically.
And a true man of God listen to this very carefully when he
enrolls in ministry and when he endures the ministry, his
ambition is not money, it's not promotion, it's not a salary,
it's not royalty fees. It's none of that.
It's the salvation of souls and the glory of God.
That's what he's consumed by. And a true man of God, at the
same time as he surrenders in his service to the Lord, will be
completely at rest and trusting in God's providential provision
for him. I could testify on a personal
basis, God has taken care of me all these years.
God has taken care of me and I've seen Him taking care of so
many others. And it's true for you whether
you're in full time ministry or not, is it not?
But this is specifically about those who fall into the
temptation of catering to the donors in the church, especially
the bigger donors, or to his salary to try to impress the
board. He will never allow such
influences to alter his allegiance to the Word of God.
Never. If he's if he's going to speak
somewhere, he's never going to allow the amount of an
honorarium, whether that is even given in the 1st place, to
determine the degree of his sacrifice as he serves.
In that context, money doesn't move a man of God.
It doesn't. If it's there, it's there.
If it's not there, it's not there.
What consumes him are eternal things.
And the greatest men of God, the men of God who have been free
from scandal and who had the greatest empowerment of God upon
their ministries, were those who knew how to have appropriate
understanding and relations with this thing called money.
That's not the only thing that a man of God will reject in order
to maintain the integrity of His ministry to be effective for God
and fruitful for God's people. Look at verse six.
Nor did we seek glory from people, echoing what He says in
verse 4. But there's something else here,
whether from you or from others. Though we could have made
demands as apostles of Christ. So where Bible study?
I have every right to ask these questions.
What is the first thing that a man of God will reject as he
serves the Lord in order to maintain the integrity of his
ministry? He will not seek to please man.
What's the second thing? He will not use his ministry or
his gifts to satisfy his greed. He will not allow the aspiration
to become wealthier to influence his service to the Lord.
And the third thing is this. A man of God will reject
leveraging his authority to make burdensome demands on the people
that he is called to serve. In other words, a man of God
will reject the lust for power, the lust for power.
And it's a very real lust. You think the lust for money is,
is a real temptation for ministers.
No, power is up there. Power is up there.
And, and there are some who, when they are entrusted with the
gospel, they taste the respect that they get from people.
They begin to realize the admiration that comes just by
virtue of their position, and they now manipulate others
through it. And some do so through spiritual
abuse, some by guilt tripping. But the real way that a servant
of God will encourage people in any direction is through
humility, is through humility. I can't help about one instance
where Paul spoke to an individual named Philemon.
Philemon had a servant named Anusimus.
An SMS escaped him, he hurt Philemon.
He became a believer under Paul's preaching and Paul's
writing to Philemon encouraging him to receive his servant
again. And he says this in Philemon
verse eight. There are no chapters in verse
8:00 and 9:00. This just echoes Paul's attitude
and what he says here in First Thessalonians 26.
This isn't, this isn't part of the Bible study, but it came to
mind. And Philemon verse 8, I want you
to see what he says to this man. If it's not going to come up
there, then we'll just read it here.
Accordingly, though, I am bold enough in Christ to command you
to do what is required. You see what he's saying there.
As an apostle, I can write to you with a different tone, and I
can demand. I can command you to comply with
my desires, with my leadership. But what does he say instead?
Look at verse 9. Yet for Love's sake, I prefer to
appeal to you. I'm not going to twist your arm.
I'm not going to threaten you. I'm not going to intimidate you,
but I'm going to appeal to you. Do you see how he lowers
himself? Do you see that he doesn't
utilize his authority? I mean, an apostle, one of the
apostles who would lay the foundation of the church.
And this is how he is speaking to others.
I, Paul, an old man. I love that.
An old man, old man. And he's a prisoner.
If God makes me an old man, I don't mind having the same
future as Paul. For the gospel sake.
You see that? Yeah.
For Love's sake, I prefer to appeal to you, to appeal to you.
Remember at the end of there in Corinthians when he, he asked
Apollos to visit the Corinthian church and Apollo said, I don't
want to go. And Paul says there at the end
of the letter, I I didn't force him to go.
He'll come when he's ready. That's a true leader.
He's a push and shove. He doesn't stand above.
He comes down and he serves and he appeals, and he persuades
with gentleness and humility. But not all ministers operate
that way. And Paul says we didn't come to
you in this manner. And he says our demands even
influence our refusal to request glory from you.
You know, there are people who, when they're introduced, they
want all the accolades they want.
They want just this amazing kind of presentation.
And Paul, we weren't like that. We didn't.
We don't want anything from you. We're not fishing for anything.
We're not moved by your praise or lack of praise.
We don't care about titles and what you call us and listening
about what we've accomplished and telling other people about
it. We do not care.
My satisfaction is from the Lord alone.
And we can continue to discuss the positives, but we have to
come back to our main text so we can finish.
So we come back to First Kings 22, right?
And we read here in verse 14 what Makaya says.
I believe the New Testament expounds on this kind of
mindset. And Makaya finally arrives,
verse 15. And when he had come to the
king, the king said to him, Makaya, shall we go to Ramoth
Gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?
And he answered him, go up and triumph.
The Lord will give it into the hand of the King.
Do you think Makani is being serious here?
No, he's being sarcastic. I wonder how he said it.
This is one of the places where I wish there was an audio
version of it. The original audio.
How did he say it? I wonder if it was like go up
and triumph. The Lord will give it to the
hand of the king. However, he said it Ahab and had
enough sense to realize that he wasn't meaning what he was
saying because of his response. He says, but the king said to
him, how many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me?
Nothing but the truth and the name of the Lord?
How many times? You know what that indicates?
This isn't the first time Makai has spoken to the king in this
way. So already we have an idea of
his personality. He has a humorous personality.
So Makai has pulled this stunt off before where he's like, I
know what you want to hear, so let me just tell you what you
want to hear and he just cuts him off.
There he goes. How many times do we got to tell
you? Now look at this.
Whatever you feel about Micaiah's strategy here, it
exposes something about Ahab and Ahab's answer.
He indirectly confesses something terrible about
himself, right? Because he says, how many times
shall I make you swear you speak to me?
Nothing but the truth. This is why we have to read our
Bible slowly. Do you see what he's saying
here? I'm asking you to speak to me
the truth in the name of the Lord.
So let's step back here. Micaiah initially echoes what
the 400 false prophets said, And they all said go up to battle in
Ramoth Gilead. When Ahab hears it, he rejects
it and he says, I'm asking you to speak the truth to me,
Micaiah. So what's the equation?
Based on this demand, he is obviously implying that what the
false prophets are saying was false, right?
Which tells me that Ahab knew it was false and he still wanted to
abide by what was false. Some people are naive,
unlearned, simple, and they get deceived.
Other people are deceived because they want to be
deceived. I know that's hard for you to
imagine, but it's it's not it's not.
You see instances of it in the Scriptures.
And it's only become going to become increasingly true as we
approach the culmination of the age.
And if you doubt that this is how Ahab is thinking, Scroll
down to verse 30 very quickly. And this is when him and
Jehoshaphat and the armies of Israel are ready to go to
battle. And notice what King Ahab says
to Jehoshaphat. And we'll explore this next
week. And the king of Israel said to
Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and go into battle.
But you wear your robes. And the king of Israel disguised
himself and went into battle. What a snake.
So you dress up as a king, Joe Osifat?
I'm going to dress up as a soldier.
So I'm camouflage more. And if they're obviously going
to be looking for the king, it'll be harder to find me.
Now, why would you do this unless something about what
Makaya said resonated with you down deep inside, you knew that
there was something true about Micaiah's prophecy, as we're
about to read in a moment here, essentially where he says if you
go to battle, you're going to die.
So Ahab and his pride still goes into Ramoth Gilead, but he feels
as though I got, I got to do something to make sure that what
the Lord said about my faith will not come to pass.
So you're essentially admitting that it's true.
It's true. There are many who are in their
sin. There are many who are also in
false beliefs, and they know it. And for a variety of reasons,
whether that be pride, whether that be persecution, whether
that be pleasure, they are willing to stay in that sin.
They are willing to remain in that false belief even if it
kills them, even if it kills them.
And so don't look at Ahab as just a unique case, as an
anomaly. No millions are thinking the
same way Ahab is thinking. So he says speak to me the
truth. You want the truth, Ahab, you're
going to get the truth. Look what he says in verse 17,
Makaya and he said I saw all Israel scattered on the
mountains as sheep that have no shepherd.
Does that sound familiar to you? Should I saw Israel, all Israel,
scattered on the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd?
And the Lord said these have no master.
Let each return to his home in peace, pawns.
Micaiah now switches from sarcasm to seriousness, and he's
going to answer Ahab's request for truth by giving two visions.
The first one is what we just read here.
The next one is going to explain the reason for why this parable
is going to be fulfilled. And the parable is very obvious,
is it not? He says.
I see the people scattered like sheep without a shepherd,
without a leader. And Ahab was smart enough to
understand what Makai was trying to convey.
Israel will be scattered, though.
They're going to be OK though, right?
Because they're going to be able to go home in peace.
Israel will be scattered, but they will have no master.
So what's the code? Why will they have no master?
Why will they have no leader? Because he's going to die.
He's going to be removed from the scene.
And that's why I right after this he goes, see, then I tell
you, George about this guy doesn't say anything nice about
me. So he understood what he was
saying here. And we find similar language
being used about the condition of the nation of Israel during
the days of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's found in Matthew 936. If you write down these
references, but let me just read it to you to remind you.
Says here in Matthew 936, when he saw the crowds, he had
compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless like
sheep without a shepherd. Just as Ahab's death would
create an instability for the people of Israel, the spiritual
deadness of the religious leaders in Jesus Day would have
clear consequences and a significant impact on the people
as well. What's more dangerous?
What's more dangerous when you have weak politicians who leave
the people vulnerable in the natural or when you have
spiritually dead leaders who endanger the souls of people?
I hope you know the right answer.
And I I argue that a nation is in greater peril not when they
have inadequate people in the White House, but when you have
inadequate leaders in God's house, when you have hirelings
instead of true shepherds. Because whatever is happening in
this election year, in the future elections to come only
deals with this life and this life alone.
What happens with the truth being heralded and explained or
lack thereof deals with your eternity.
So like sheep without a shepherd.
In the context of of First Kings 22, though there is an element
of spirituality there because they were a theocracy mainly
speaks about a king being removed and now the people
feeling the obvious consequences of that.
When Jesus saw the people the the nation of Israel, his heart
was moved with compassion because they had no spiritual
leadership or guidance. And that has far greater
ramifications than if you don't have somebody at all in or as
the commander in chief. I don't want my heart to be less
stirred about what's happening in the spiritual aspect of this
nation than what's happening in the political world.
Micaiah gives us first parable. He says, look, you're, you're
going to be out of here very soon.
And how does he answer? Look at verse 18.
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, did I not tell you
that he would not prophesied good concerning me about evil?
Well, you asked for it. You asked for the truth.
Are you willing to receive the truth no matter how it makes you
feel? Now there are some people who
say, I want biblical exposition. I want verse by verse.
And then when that Sunday comes along where they speak about
something that affects you personally, then then you're
upset, right? If you're if you're going to
want the truth, you have to take the whole truth.
But now he comes to his second vision.
And this is not a parable. This is a real event that's
going to explain why what's about to happen is going to
happen. Let's read it in its entirety
from verse 18 or 19 rather down to 23.
And Micaiah said, Therefore hear the word of the Lord.
I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of
heaven standing beside him, on his right hand, and on his left.
And the Lord said, Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up
and fall at Ramoth Gilead? And one said one thing, and
another said another. Then a spirit came forward and
stood before the Lord, saying, I will entice him.
And the Lord said to him, By what means?
And he said, I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth
of all his prophets. Notice that he's saying all his
prophets, they're not God's prophets.
And he said, you are to entice him, and you shall succeed.
Go out and do so. Now therefore, behold, the Lord
has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your
prophets. They're not my prophets, your
prophets. The Lord has declared disaster
for you. There are many ways to go about
this very staggering picture, this vision.
I want to approach it by providing for vital
observations. For vital observations.
There are many others, but I want to just present for, for
the sake of time, the first thing that you and I can take.
First truth that we can take from this passage is obvious.
It speaks about the sovereignty of God.
So here's Micaiah, right? And he's standing before 2 kings
sitting in their portable Thrones at the gate at Samaria.
And the first thing that he says here in verse 19, I saw the Lord
sitting on his throne. I'm speaking to you, but I'm
telling you that I appealed to and I saw a throne greater than
yours. The one sitting on that throne
is greater. The throne itself is greater.
And so right away he makes this call and He reminds these two
kings that there is one who sits above them, and there is one who
demands and governs whether they agree or not.
I'm reminded of Isaiah 6. What happened in Isaiah 6, the
year that King Uzziah died? Isaiah has a vision of one who
is sitting upon the throne, and he is high and lifted up.
And he had that vision in the Revelation of what when King
Uzziah was brought down, when he was removed from the throne.
And that's a picture of God being in control.
Even when leaders that we depend on fall, he's still in control,
but now Makaya, Not Isaiah, but Makaya.
He sees the same Lord on the same throne, but in a different
context. Not when Thrones were vacant,
but when evil, incompetent, compromising kings were ruling.
And as much as God was in control when there was no one on
the throne, God is just as much in control when people who
shouldn't be on the throne are on the throne.
He's sovereign all the way through.
When leaders are living the way they should be living.
When they're not, or when there are no leaders, He's still on
his throne. So the first vision, the first
thing from this vision is the truth of God's sovereignty.
But that's not the only thing. Secondly, we learn about the
wide range of Gods resources and instruments and executing his
will. So Makaya has this vision of
what really heavenly counsel he walked into this heavenly board
meeting, so to speak. And interestingly, he, he sees
the Lord on his throne and he sees a vast amount of angelic
beings on his right and a vast amount of angelic beings to his
left. And he wants to summon an agent
to be the means of judgement against Ahab.
So he asked who will do it? And some are talking and there's
conversation happening. Finally, one spirit, we're told,
approaches the throne and he says, I'll entice him.
And the Lord says by what means I'll, I'll be a, a lying spirit.
He was a lying spirit. But I, I will put these lies in
the mouths of His prophets, and they will convince him to his
own demise. What do we make of this?
Here's what we make of it. First things first, this is not
the Lord, and this would be a terrible way to apply this text.
This is not the Lord showing that He requires the counsel of
others, even if they're supernatural creatures.
Why? Because the Bible testifies
otherwise. This is the reference that came
to mind when I was reading this. If anybody would try to use this
as ammunition against the omniscience of God, they don't
know their Bibles because in Isaiah 40 verse 13 and 14,
here's what the Spirit says about the Spirit of the Lord.
Who is God? Who has measured?
He's who has measured the Spirit of the Lord?
Who or what man shows him his counsel?
Isaiah 40 verse 14, Whom did he consult and who made him
understand? Who taught him the path of
justice and taught him knowledge and showed him the way of
understanding? Answer No one, no one, no one
can tell God something that he doesn't know.
Nobody can give God instruction. He knows everything.
He knows how to do everything perfectly.
And so the idea that God is there in heaven because he's
missing some information or he feels like he doesn't know how
to deal with this AHAB issue, it's totally wrong.
It's erroneous. It's crazy.
Instead, what you do see here is that God, as the Lofty One, is
sovereign and supreme over all things seen and unseen, holy
angels and demons, because these are not all holy angels in His
presence. You understand that, right?
You have a mixed attendance. You have some who are holy
creatures and you have some who are evil.
And that kind of baffles people's imaginations because
they think, how can evil beings be in the presence of God?
Tell me a book where that's that happened.
Exactly, Job. And that is continually going to
be the case where you have Satan and his minions access to the
throne until you read the Book of Revelation where they're
going to be cast to the earth and they're going to know that
their time is short. And so his venom is only going
to intensify before we come to the return of Christ.
So you have this demonic being saying, I will be a lying spirit
in the mouth of his prophets. And the Lord, not the author of
sin, the Lord, not the author of evil, will often allow evil to
be a means to a righteous end. And so he permits it.
And if you think this is the only time that God will do
something like this, there is coming a time that Paul
prophesied about in another place, when the Antichrist will
come and the masses will be deceived.
And you think people are deceived now you have no idea
the confusion and the spiritual anarchy that's coming.
Why? Can I tell you why?
Because Paul said in 2nd Thessalonians 211.
Therefore God, God sends them a strong delusion.
Who permits the strong delusion? God.
Is God a deceiver? No God.
God is pure, He's light, He's holy.
That's what you have to interpret the Bible carefully.
God will send him a strong delusion so that they may
believe what is false. Why would God do that?
Does he want all men to be saved?
He does all want all men to be saved.
But there's a reason why. In order that all may be
condemned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure and
unrighteousness. So this is God's response to a
continual hardening against the truth, where what they
ultimately desire will be given by God as an act of vengeance
and judgement. Which is the third observation
of our passage in First Kings 22.
The first one being God's sovereignty, the second one
being the vast way, the wide spectrum of God's sovereign will
being executed on the earth. But thirdly, God will give men
what they want. Is this the first time that God
is dealing with Ahab? No.
We've studied week after week after week of how much Ahab
witnessed the manifestations of God's goodness, His power
proving himself over and over. I'm the truth.
Your beliefs and your behavior are way off, Ahab.
And Ahab continually stiffened his neck and refused to
surrender to the Lord. And we discovered about Ahab
that by his own admission, what these false prophets are saying
was untrue, and he's still willing to believe them.
So God says you want to be deceived, Here's some more
deception. You want to reject me over and
over again. You want to refuse to repent,
though my light has shone favorably upon you time after
time after time. If you want to live in a lie, if
you want to still live in that place of darkness, then here you
go. What this teaches us is that God
will eventually give men over to their desires.
And that's not a gracious thing, that's an act of judgment.
And that's in part why church discipline is church discipline
the way it is, that if a person is unrepentant in the church and
they want to remain in that state, though they've been
approached by 1 believer, then a set of believers, then the
church, what does Jesus say? If they don't want to embrace
the law of the Kingdom of God, then let him go into the domain
of darkness and let them see what it's like to be in that
domain of darkness. Ultimately for them to repent.
And unfortunately, some people don't repent.
So it's, it's his law in the way God works with man that he is
intensely gracious and merciful and he persuades and he pulls
and sometimes he moves in power. But when you continue to say no,
no, no, OK, if you don't want me, here's your alternative
option. If you don't want truth, here's
lies. If you don't want holiness,
here's unholiness. That's why when you read the
Book of Revelation, near the end, he says, let him who is
filthy still be filthy. Have you ever read that verse?
Let him who is holy remain holy as though at the end of the
book, at the end of describing the end of all things.
If a man has been exposed to all those things and still wants to
be in sin, OK, then stay in sin, stay in unrighteousness.
But the 4th and final point of this passage that I want to draw
for you and I is that God is merciful.
How would you, how would you explain God's mercy in this
proclamation of judgement against Ahab?
Any idea he's still alive? He's still alive.
Sure, He warned him. He's telling him what's about to
happen. He's he's telling him.
I had a vision of the Lord. These are the false prophets.
There's a demon operating through them.
Like Ahab is hearing this and they're going to convince you to
your own detriment, Ahab. So Ahab is Ahab is receiving one
final appeal from God. Don't miss that.
The Lord could have executed this plan without Ahab's
knowledge. But instead he pulls away the
curtain and he says, I'm showing you what this is really about.
I'm letting you know that your fate has been sealed.
But will this move you in any way, Ahab?
Like imagine of a true prophet coming to you saying this
afternoon, you're going to die because of your sins.
You love lies. So God's going to give you over
to a lie that will actually kill you.
If that's being conveyed to you, that's that's meant to stir you,
surely. So what?
What's Ahab going to do? How is he going to respond?
Because as much as you see the Lord seated on his transcendent
throne, governing both the scene and the unseen, you also see a
God of immense grace communicating to Ahab even in
this extending mercy. Because God, God gets more
pleasure in extending mercy than than thundering his judgement.
You would think like you're almost like exhausted with Ahab.
I am. At least it's it's Ahab and
Saul. Those two are still on the top
of my list of guys that just they take my breath away, not in
a good way. So you think, OK, after this,
after this vision is wrapped up, Ahab's going to fall to his
knees. He's going to rip his robe.
He's going to cry out to God. No, look at verse 24.
Then Zedekiah the son of Canaan came near and struck Makaya on
the cheek and said, how did the spirit of the Lord go from me to
speak to you? And Makaya said, behold, you
shall see on that day when you go in in a inner chamber and to
hide yourself. So that's what he tells
Zedekiah. So imagine like you, you just
share what the Lord told you to speak.
And somebody gets out of the Pew and they extend their arms and
you think they're going to give you a hug and instead they slap
you in the face and composed. He looks at Zedekiah and he
goes, You're going to realize that what I said is true, and
you're going to find yourself in fetal position in the corner of
your inner chamber. How does Ahab respond?
Verse 26 And the king of Israel said, seize Makaya and take him
back to aiming the governor of the city and to Josh, the King's
son, and say, thus says the king, put this fellow in prison
and feed him meager rations of bread and water until I come in
peace. I can just envision this, this
last part. And Micaiah said, if you return
in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.
And he said here, all you peoples.
I wonder if he said that while he was being dragged by the
heels and dust is flying up in the air, but go back again to
what he originally said to him in verse 26.
And the king said, seize Micaiah and take him back, take him back
to him and the governor of the city and to Jewish, the King's
son. So he came from somewhere.
So he was obviously apprehended. He was obviously being
supervised by this administration.
And he's not telling him only go back.
He's saying when he goes back, put him in worse conditions and
make sure he gets meager rations.
That's going to be his payment for this prophecy.
Now if that is the case where Makai was already arrested and
under unpleasant circumstances and he came out because he's
supposed to give a word to Ahab, that just adds to this man's
integrity and credibility and character.
Because on top of the pressure of the false prophets were
saying go and you will devour, you will win, you will subdue
and the presence of these kings, you also had the potential
opportunity of escaping house arrest.
So it's not just those two things.
It's not just the prophets and the kings, it's your present
circumstances where now you have this little window of
opportunity to just say what they all are saying and to
reinforce it, even if he doesn't believe you at 1st and
potentially Ahab would say Micaiah, this is the first time
that you said something that I like.
Tell Amon and tell my son to release Micaiah.
He's free to go. I wonder if that's swirled in
his mind at any point. But it doesn't influence him one
bit. None of those.
The fact that after he gives us prophecy, he says you're
actually going to go into a real jail and this is what your daily
diet is going to look like. You would think that somebody
who receives even a worse sentence would say, did I say
that was a vision from the Lord? Actually, no, no, no.
Go up to Rhemoth, Gilead, King Ahab.
Imagine being in jail for two years and then you have a chance
to stand before the judge and after what you said is to go to
jail for 20 years now, now you feel a little bit more.
It's not just a Sunday school story.
Feel it. Put yourself in his shoes.
How is he able to do this? How is he able to endure despite
all the external, even internal potential struggle?
How is he able to still with boldness and courage and
faithfulness, say this is what the Lord said?
I'm going to stick with it no matter what it costs me.
Can I tell you what I believe? One major contribution is the
vision he had. Surely that played something.
Surely that influenced him as much as it was supposed to
influence his audience. The Lord sitting upon his
throne. He's the one who ultimately
determines the fate of this whole thing.
He's the one who writes the story, not these kings.
And that's true for Israel and the people of Israel.
Surely it's true for me as an individual servant of his.
Listen, I'm ending here. Your perception of God will
influence absolutely everything, even how you suffer, how you
experience the suffering, how you endure the suffering, what
will make all the differences, how you see the one that you
serve. This man saw the Lord sitting on
the throne. And so when more punishment was
granted to him, it didn't push him, didn't pull him.
He was exactly where he was when this thing all started.
And so the way to end this Bible study is to ask the Lord to
sharpen our perception of Him for that to really have an
impact and not to give you a greater chance at winning Bible
trivia to actually have it move your soul to the point where
when you're visited by persecution problems,
prosperity, even I serve God doesn't move me.
All for men and even woman of God like that in this day.
In the same way Makaya was refreshing to us.
We need great refreshment in this time and hour.
That's going to ultimately derive from servants of God who
say what the Lord says. That's what I'm going to do.
Whether it comes with reward or not, whether I feel like it or
not, it does not make a difference to me.
Oh, that there would be more of such in this place and beyond.
Let's pray as you have your head bowed and
your heart bound, before the Lord can ask you a question, a
reflective question. What part of the Bible study
touched you? What part spoke to you?
Now identify that and then pray it.
Identify that and then pray it. Pray it to be true of you.
Pray for it to be not true in you.
Lord, we ask you tonight that you would make us like this man,
immovable and steadfast. Lord, perhaps for some of us in
here, all it takes is the opinion of our fathers, our
mothers or siblings to make us doubt our faith.
For others, it's a certain amount of money that will cause
us to dwindle in our devotion. Lord, for others, humble service
is unattractive and we want position and power and authority
because we couldn't get in the world.
We might take advantage of the church to satisfy our our
desires or just wash over us. Please cleanse us and make us
clean, completely clean. Lord, in the same way Paul could
say, God is my witness, God, who tests our hearts.
Regardless of what men may say or not say, may you be able to
look upon us and be pleased. Thank You that your son's
righteousness is ours. But Lord, we want to live out
His righteousness. Make it possible for us.
Finally, Lord, help us see that you are high above all else.
Help us believe that not just over the affairs of this world,
the politics, the banks, the education system, the wars
happening in this very day and hour, though we're asking for
our own lives. Help us really believe that
you're got you're governing every single aspect of who we
are. And for this we rejoice in Jesus
name, Amen. Amen.
Let's stand together. Let's worship the Lord Almighty.