The Lying Spirit and the Lion of Judah Text: 1 Kings 22:13-28
Introduction: The Lust for Affirmation
We live in a soft age, an age that despises the jagged edges of truth. Men want to be told what they want to hear. They want prophets who will prophesy smooth things, who will tell them of wine and strong drink. They want counselors who will affirm their chosen course of action, not question it. They want a god who is a celestial butler, always on hand to bless their plans, but never to disrupt them. This is the very essence of idolatry. It is the desire to have a god who is manageable, predictable, and, above all, agreeable.
King Ahab was the poster child for this kind of rebellion. He had surrounded himself with an entire department of "yes men," four hundred prophets who were on the royal payroll. Their job was not to speak for Yahweh, but to speak for Ahab, while dressing it up in the language of Yahweh. They were spiritual flatterers, court chaplains whose function was to provide a religious justification for whatever the king had already decided to do. They were not shepherds; they were cheerleaders. And Ahab loved it. He loved it because he, like all unregenerate men, was in love with himself. He wanted his own will done, and he wanted God's stamp of approval on it.
But the true God is not a tame lion. He is not a mascot for the state. He is the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth, and He does not audition for the role of court prophet. He speaks what is true, whether kings like it or not. And when a man is so determined in his rebellion that he will not listen to the truth, God has ways of confirming him in his delusion. This passage is a stark and terrifying look into the heavenly council room, showing us how God deals with a king who has hardened his own heart. It is a lesson in the difference between true and false prophets, the cost of speaking faithfully, and the terrifying sovereignty of God over all things, even over the lies of men and devils.
We must not read this as some dusty artifact of ancient history. The spirit of Ahab is alive and well. The demand for prophets who will tickle our ears is a booming industry. And the need for men like Micaiah, who will say, "As Yahweh lives, what Yahweh says to me, that I shall speak," is as desperate as it has ever been.
The Text
Now the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold now, the words of the prophets, as if from one mouth, are good towards the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good.” But Micaiah said, “As Yahweh lives, what Yahweh says to me, that I shall speak.” Then he came to the king, and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” And he said to him, “Go up and succeed, and Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king.” Then the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear that you will speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?” So he said, “I saw all Israel Scattered on the mountains, Like sheep which have no shepherd. And Yahweh said, ‘These have no master. Let each of them return to his house in peace.’ ” Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not say to you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” Then Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of Yahweh. I saw Yahweh sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. And Yahweh said, ‘Who will entice Ahab so that he will go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said this while another said that. Then a spirit came forward and stood before Yahweh and said, ‘I will entice him.’ And Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You shall entice him and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ So now, behold, Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; but Yahweh has spoken calamity against you.” Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of Yahweh pass from me to speak to you?” And Micaiah said, “Behold, you will see on that day when you enter an inner room to hide.” Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the commander of the city and to Joash the king’s son; and say, ‘Thus says the king, “Put this man in prison and feed him sparingly with bread and water until I come back safely.” ’ ” And Micaiah said, “If you indeed return safely, Yahweh has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Listen, all you people.”
(1 Kings 22:13-28 LSB)
The Pressure to Conform (vv. 13-14)
We begin with the immense pressure placed on the true prophet to get with the program.
"Now the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, 'Behold now, the words of the prophets, as if from one mouth, are good towards the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good.' But Micaiah said, 'As Yahweh lives, what Yahweh says to me, that I shall speak.'" (1 Kings 22:13-14)
The messenger is a bureaucrat. He is a pragmatist. He is not concerned with what is true, but with what is smooth. His advice to Micaiah is simple political calculus: "Look, everyone is on the same page. The consensus is overwhelming. Four hundred men agree. Don't be the guy who rocks the boat. Don't be a contrarian. Just say what the king wants to hear. It's easier for everyone." This is the temptation of man-pleasing. It is the temptation to value unity over truth, and comfort over faithfulness.
Notice the appeal is to consensus. "The words of the prophets, as if from one mouth..." When four hundred men are saying the same thing, it can appear to be the very voice of God. But truth is not determined by a majority vote. God is not a democrat. The lone man standing against the four hundred is often the only one standing with God. This is a lesson we must burn into our minds. The crowd is almost always wrong. The pressure to conform, to be reasonable, to not make waves, is one of the devil's most effective tools against the church.
Micaiah's response is the creed of every faithful minister of the Word. "As Yahweh lives, what Yahweh says to me, that I shall speak." This is a solemn oath. Micaiah's loyalty is not to the king, not to the consensus, and not to his own personal safety. His loyalty is to the living God. He is a messenger, and a messenger does not get to edit the message. His job is to deliver it, verbatim. This is the heart of the prophetic and pastoral office. We are men under authority. We are stewards of the mysteries of God, and it is required of stewards that they be found faithful, not popular.
Sarcasm for a Hardened Heart (vv. 15-18)
Micaiah is brought before the king, and his first response is dripping with sarcasm. It is a test to see if Ahab has any desire for the truth at all.
"Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?" And he said to him, "Go up and succeed, and Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king." Then the king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear that you will speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?" (1 Kings 22:15-16)
Micaiah gives Ahab exactly what the four hundred court prophets had given him. He parrots their empty optimism. "Go up and succeed!" You can almost hear the mocking tone in his voice. And Ahab, to his credit, catches it. He knows Micaiah. He knows this isn't his real message. Ahab's problem was not that he couldn't recognize the truth; his problem was that he hated it. He says, "How many times must I make you swear...?" This reveals the sham of the whole enterprise. Ahab doesn't want the truth. He wants Micaiah to say the lie, but to say it convincingly.
This is a picture of a man who is playing religious games. He wants the form of seeking God's counsel without any intention of submitting to it. He wants to be able to say he consulted a prophet of Yahweh, but he has already determined his course. So Micaiah, under oath, drops the sarcasm and delivers the devastating truth.
"I saw all Israel Scattered on the mountains, Like sheep which have no shepherd. And Yahweh said, 'These have no master. Let each of them return to his house in peace.'" (1 Kings 22:17)
The vision is stark. Israel will be defeated. Their king, their shepherd, will be killed, and the army will be scattered. This is a prophecy of Ahab's death. And Ahab's response is not repentance, but a bitter "I told you so" to Jehoshaphat. "Did I not say to you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?" Ahab defines "good" as "what I want to hear" and "evil" as "what I don't want to hear." He has made himself the center of the universe. The truth is not the issue; his personal comfort is. This is the heart of a fool.
The Heavenly Council and the Lying Spirit (vv. 19-23)
This is the heart of the passage, and it is one of the most theologically challenging scenes in all of Scripture. Micaiah pulls back the curtain of heaven to show Ahab not only what will happen, but why it will happen.
"Therefore, hear the word of Yahweh. I saw Yahweh sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left... Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; but Yahweh has spoken calamity against you." (1 Kings 22:19, 23)
First, notice the absolute sovereignty of God. Yahweh is on His throne. He is not wringing His hands. He is not reacting to events. He is presiding over them. All the host of heaven, angels and spirits, are standing at attention, awaiting His command. This is the central reality of the universe: God is in complete and utter control.
The question is posed in the heavenly court: "Who will entice Ahab so that he will go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?" God has already decreed the end. Ahab is going to fall. The question is about the means. How will this be accomplished? This is crucial. God is not the author of sin. He is holy and cannot lie. But He is sovereign over sin and lies. A spirit, a fallen spirit, volunteers for the mission. He will be a "lying spirit" in the mouth of Ahab's prophets.
Now, does this make God unjust? Not at all. We must distinguish between God's decretive will (what He decrees to happen) and His preceptive will (what He commands us to do). God commands all men to speak the truth. The lying spirit and the false prophets are violating God's preceptive will. They are sinning. But in their sin, they are accomplishing God's decretive will. This is the mystery of providence. God uses the sinful actions of His creatures to bring about His own righteous ends, without being culpable for their sin. Think of the cross. The Romans and the Jews sinned grievously in crucifying Jesus, yet they did only what God's hand and plan had predestined to take place (Acts 4:27-28).
This is a judicial act of God. Ahab has rejected the truth time and time again. He loves the lie. He has cultivated a garden of lies with his four hundred prophets. So God, in His righteous judgment, gives him over to the lie. He sends him a strong delusion, so that he will believe what is false (cf. 2 Thess. 2:11). God is giving Ahab what Ahab has been asking for. He wanted to be deceived, and God is going to make sure he is deceived, thoroughly and fatally. God is not tricking an innocent man. He is ensnaring a rebellious fool in a trap of his own making.
The Cost of Faithfulness (vv. 24-28)
The response to Micaiah's true prophecy is immediate and violent. Truth is never neutral. It either converts or it enrages.
"Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, 'How did the Spirit of Yahweh pass from me to speak to you?'... Then the king of Israel said, 'Put this man in prison and feed him sparingly with bread and water until I come back safely.'" (1 Kings 22:24, 27)
Zedekiah, the leader of the false prophets, responds with physical assault and spiritual mockery. The slap is a mark of contempt. The question, "How did the Spirit of Yahweh pass from me to speak to you?" is a sneer. Zedekiah is so confident in his own delusion that he cannot conceive he might be wrong. When you are part of a four-hundred-man consensus, it feels like the Spirit of God must be with you. But he is about to find out. Micaiah's reply is chilling: "Behold, you will see on that day when you enter an inner room to hide." When the battle goes south and the news of Ahab's death arrives, Zedekiah will be running for his life, and in that moment of terror, he will know who the true prophet was.
Ahab's response is tyranny. He cannot refute the message, so he imprisons the messenger. He orders Micaiah to be put on a diet of bread and water of affliction until he returns "safely." The word "safely" is a final act of defiance against God's word. Ahab is setting his will directly against Yahweh's.
Micaiah gets the last word, and it is a word of ultimate confidence in God. It is a final, public test.
"And Micaiah said, 'If you indeed return safely, Yahweh has not spoken by me.' And he said, 'Listen, all you people.'" (1 Kings 22:28)
This is the test of a true prophet (Deut. 18:22). Micaiah stakes everything on the truth of his word. He is not hedging his bets. He calls everyone present to be a witness. The outcome of the battle will vindicate either him or the four hundred. There is no middle ground. And we know how the story ends. A random arrow, shot with no particular target in mind, finds the one tiny gap in Ahab's armor, and the king who rejected God's word bleeds to death in his chariot, just as God had decreed.
Conclusion: Whose Report Will You Believe?
This story confronts us with a fundamental question: Do we want God, or do we want a god of our own making? Do we want the truth, even when it hurts, or do we want lies that soothe?
Ahab wanted to be lied to. He paid four hundred men to do it. And when he insisted, God Himself sealed the deal. God gave him exactly what his wicked heart craved, and it led him to his destruction. This is a terrifying thought. If we persist in loving the lie, God may judicially give us over to it. If we surround ourselves with counselors who only tell us what we want to hear, if we only read books and listen to sermons that confirm our biases, if we refuse to hear hard words of correction, we are walking the path of Ahab.
The faithful Christian must cultivate a love for the truth, no matter the cost. We must be people who, like Micaiah, are resolved to speak what God speaks and to hear what God speaks. This will put us at odds with the world. It will bring scorn, mockery, and perhaps even persecution. You will be slapped. You may be imprisoned. You will be told you are unloving, divisive, and a troublemaker. But you will be standing with God.
The ultimate prophet whom Micaiah prefigures is the Lord Jesus Christ. He came and spoke the unvarnished truth to a generation that hated Him for it. They struck Him. They imprisoned Him. They killed Him. But God vindicated Him by raising Him from the dead. He is the ultimate Word of God, the one who did not just see Israel scattered like sheep without a shepherd, but who is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep.
Ahab died because he listened to a lying spirit. We are saved because we listen to the Holy Spirit, who testifies to the truth of Jesus Christ. The choice is the same for us as it was for Ahab. Will we listen to the 401 lying spirits of our age who promise success and affirmation in our sin? Or will we listen to the one true voice of the Shepherd, take up our cross, and follow Him, even if it leads to a diet of bread and water? Whose report will you believe?