The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
1 Kings 22, 2 Chronicles 18-20
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 6:Kings and Prophets: God divides the kingdom people.
Background Information: 1 Kings 22, 2 Chronicles 18-20
Ahab is thoroughly foolish. He gathers a large number of false prophets who will tell him exactly what he wants to hear. Jehosophat is suspicious; somehow he can tell that they are not true prophets of God. When pressed, Ahab admits that there is one true prophet of the Lord left, but he has been sidelined because he only tells the truth. What are we to make of Micaiah, the seemingly equivocating prophet of God? It is likely that he was applying the wisdom of Proverbs 26:4,5 to his situation. There, in successive verses, we are told to not answer a fool according to his folly, then we are told to answer a fool according to his folly. How we answer a fool depends on the type of fool and the circumstances. When Micaiah was told, “tell us what we want to hear,” he replied sarcastically, “Ok, I’ll do just that.” Later, when pressed, he finally told them the unwanted truth. As they proceed in battle in spite of the Lord’s warning, Ahab will be killed by a divinely guided arrow. Jehosophat will be saved in battle, but his salvation will require God’s intervention. Ahab’s final legacy is void of any good, while Jehosaphat’s legacy is mixed. There are better and worse kings, but there are no perfectly good kings in Israel or Judah– not yet at least.
It may be hard to imagine how someone could become so hardened and foolish that they only want to hear good news and not the truth. This is actually quite common. We should see Ahab as a potential mirror for our own lives. We are all prone to believe things that we want to hear and disregard the facts that we don’t prefer. Wisdom wants the truth no matter what it is. Paul warns about the time when people will turn against the truth and gather teachers who will tell them only what they want to hear. The antidote to this disastrous folly is the preaching of the Word of God (2 Timothy 4:1-5). The gospel is the only cure for human folly.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Pray that the youth would have the heart and courage to share Christ with their unchurched friends as they come home from camp.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.