Standing for Truth or Falling for Lies
Ahab was king of Israel. He was wicked. He wanted property belonging to a neighbor named Naboth. Naboth refused to sell. Ahab and his wife Jezebel had Naboth falsely accused of blasphemy and stoned to death. Then they seized his property. Government takeover. Wicked people with power do wicked things with power. Elijah the prophet told him God would avenge Naboth’s death on him and Jezebel.
Later Ahab wanted to fight against the Syrians at Ramothgilead. He asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to help. Jehoshaphat said, “Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day.” (1 Kings 22:5) That is what people with power should do when making decisions: pray and seek guidance from God’s word. Ahab called his four hundred prophets and asked if he should fight. They all claimed to be speaking for God. They said, “Go up; for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.” (1 Kings 22:5)
Jehosaphat was suspicious, and wisely so. He asked, “Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might inquire of him?” (1 Kings 22:7) Ahab said there was a man named Micaiah, but he added, “…I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” (1 Kings 22:8) Yet Jehoshaphat insisted that Micaiah come. Again, good leadership on Jehoshaphat’s part. Ahab called for Micaiah.
Meanwhile Zedekiah, one of Ahab’s prophets, made horns of iron and said, “Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them.” (1 Kings 22:11) The messenger who went to get Micaiah told him the other prophets spoke good to the king, and asked that Micaiah do the same. He replied, “As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak.” (1 Kings 22:14)
Micaiah came before the kings. Ahab asked if he should go to battle. Micaiah said, “Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.” (1 Kings 22:15) It was as if to say, “The others told you what to do. Why are you asking me?” Ahab replied, “How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD?” (1 Kings 22:16) That question was just a show for Jehoshaphat. Ahab didn’t want the truth. Yet he asked for it, so Micaiah gave it to him.
Micaiah said, “I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead?” (1 Kings 22:19) Then one came and said he would persuade Ahab. “And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.” (1 Kings 22:22)
Ahab didn’t want truth from God, so God let a lying spirit guide his prophets. Zedekiah was furious at Micaiah’s words and struck him on the face. He had no spiritual power from God, so he used violence. Ahab had Micaiah put into prison and given bread and water until, as Ahab said, “…I come in peace.” (1 Kings 22:27) Ahab did not return in peace. His yes men were his destruction. He was killed in the battle.
Religious lies are the worst kind of lies. They destroy souls. People can claim to speak for God, but “…if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:20) Truth may be tough to take at first, but as Jesus said, “…the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)
Truth also does not need force or violence to back it up. The gospel has a persuasive power of truth and love all its own. To see how to have your sins forgiven and eternal life by receiving Jesus as your personal Saviour, please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “Helpful Links,” then “How Do I Go to Heaven?”
Brian Miller 3/2/2026