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*STUDIES IN OLD TESTAMENT MINISTRY*
* *
Bristol Road 27th October 2004
*MICAIAH – MAN OF VISION*
*I Kings 22*
“Some say John the Baptist; others say *Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
** **Matthew 16 v 14*
MICAIAH is a prophet in the mould of Elijah – but the narrative about him is much shorter.
You should be aware that Josephus identifies him with the anonymous prophet in 1 Ki.
20:35-43.
If that is the case then it is quite possible that when Ahab sent for Micaiah – he already had him in prison.
35 By the word of the Lord one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, “Strike me with your weapon,” but the man refused.
36 So the prophet said, “Because you have not obeyed the Lord, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you.”
And after the man went away, a lion found him and killed him.
37 The prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please.”
So the man struck him and wounded him.
38 Then the prophet went and stood by the road waiting for the king.
He disguised himself with his headband down over his eyes.
39 As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and someone came to me with a captive and said, ‘Guard this man.
If he is missing, it will be your life for his life, or you must pay a talent of silver.’
40 While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.”
“That is your sentence,” the king of Israel said.
“You have pronounced it yourself.”
41 Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognised him as one of the prophets.
42 He said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have set free a man I had determined should die.
Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.’
” 43 Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went to his palace in Samaria.
But although the narrative is short it is very dramatic.
As a pattern for the prophets we notice too that his namesake *MICAH* quotes at the beginning of his prophecy from the words of Micaiah:[i]
*1* The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
*2** **Hear, O peoples, all of you, 1 Kings 22 v 28*
listen, O earth and all who are in it,
that the Sovereign Lord may witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
28 Micaiah declared, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.”
Then he added, “Mark my words, all you people!”
This allusion is not accidental – but an intentional quotation by MICAH to associate himself with the uncompromising stand taken by his earlier namesake.
MICAIAH then is marked out by these things:
He is UNCOMPROMISING and unpopular
He will not be diverted from the word God gives him
NO amount of pressure from Ahab or subtle suggestion by Ahab’s messenger will divert him from that truth
His prophecies are marked by VISIONS
He has every confidence that the word of the Lord will be fulfilled.
Such a high standard is surely a good role model for a leader in the church of today – when so many suggest that the message be made more palatable and the truth be bent so as to please the hearers.
Micaiah’s words also raise certain DIFFICULTIES.
So I want to set out for you this morning these main strands of his ministry:
*1.
**A comparison with John the Baptist and Elijah*
*2. **A ministry characterized by refusal to compromise*
*3. **A ministry characterized by vision*
*4. **A ministry that provokes confrontation*
*5. **A particular problem v 22*
MICAIAH, ELIJAH and JOHN THE BAPTIST
You will be familiar with the association in the minds of the people of Jesus’ day between John the Baptist and Elijah.
We remember that Jesus Himself directly associated the two.
Micaiah also comes from that NOBLE TRADITION – like Elijah, whose ministry took place at the same time – Micaiah is not afraid to talk out, he has a profound influence on the rulers of the day.
The formula used by Elijah:
*17* Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”
is an echo of the almost universal “Thus says the Lord” but with a particular emphasis.
The prophet knows his position in the grand scheme of things, he is not afraid to speak to kings – and he certainly expects that the Lord’s words spoken by him will be fulfilled.
14 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.”
You will notice the absolute authority of the prophet is the authority of his Lord.
That is a very good rule for leadership styles today.
The comparison with John the Baptist is also clear: Like John, Micaiah is imprisoned – and like John, Micaiah is respected in that strange way in which both Ahab and Herod respected the prophets of their day.
MARK 6
17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison.
He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married.
18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him.
But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man.
When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.
Herod’s ambivalence reminds us of the way in which God’s spokesmen have been regarded down through the ages.
Many are quick to dismiss their words – but somehow fascinated by the bearing and power with which they minister.
Ahab knows what kind of word Micaiah will bring:
8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can enquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad.
He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
“The king should not say that,” Jehoshaphat replied.
Jehoshaphat was not taken in by the unison prophecy of Ahab’s prophets and he suggests that there must be a prophet of the Lord who might be consulted.
A MINISTRY THAT REFUSES TO COMPROMISE
5 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord.”
6 So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”
“Go,” they answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can enquire of?”
Ahab may regard his own prophets as authoritative – but I suspect he knows what we know, that they are Yes-men ready to tell it not as it is but as the king wants to hear it.
Ahab KNOWS what kind of word Micaiah will bring.
8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can enquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad.
He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
12 All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing.
“Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious,” they said, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
13 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, as one man the other prophets are predicting success for the king.
Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favourably.”
14 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.”
15 When he arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”
“Attack and be victorious,” he answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
16 The king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”
*There are two very revealing statements here:*
· Micaiah’s refusal to tell anything but the truth God gave him
· Ahab’s recognition that Micaiah was teasing him
TRUTH is a more valuable commodity than comfortable words.
/The mark of divine authority is on the messenger – and recognised by the unbelieving Ahab./
We also notice the stark contrast between the performing prophets and Micaiah.
I suggest to you that a faithful minister of the Word will be known not by eloquence or by the way in which his ministry is easy to hear – but by the measure of its TRUTH and ITS REFUSAL TO BEND.
That will not make for EASY LISTENING – but it will certainly be immensely POWERFUL.
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