In II Kings 1, King Ahaziah, who had fallen and become ill, sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether he would recover. In :3, Elijah confronts the messengers and proclaims: “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?”
This question surely applies to many of us today as well:
There is a vital missing ingredient in the lives of many American Christians today. Colossians 3:16 says: “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another …”. Those words “one another” are a key.
I Kings 22:14 should be the commitment of every Christian preacher and teacher: “But Micaiah said, ‘As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I shall speak.'” He spoke these words in the specific context of :13, where King Ahab’s messenger told him to “go along” with all the other prophets and tell the king what he wanted to hear: something favorable.
You might not think that just “putting up” with someone was a very godly thing to do — but it is actually the literal translation of a Bible word in Colossians 3:13. The New American Standard translates it “bearing with one another, but the Greek Bible word is “anexomenoi” — literally, “putting up” with one another”. Yep, sometimes that’s just what you have to do!
Colossians 3:15 commands: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful.” Those last two words are very instructive: “Be thankful.” In Greek the word “be” is “ginesthe” — literallly, “become” thankful. This teaches us a couple of important things:
The prophets of Baal were not the only false prophets in Israel in the days of Elijah, as we see in I Kings 22. As Ahab and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were seeking guidance before a potential battle, :11 says “Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, ‘Thus says YHWH, “With these you will gore the Arameans until they are consumed.”‘” So Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah was not a prophet of Baal, but supposedly a prophet of YHWH. (We see the same thing from other false prophets in :12 too) So the problem in Israel in the days of Ahab was not only the prophets of Baal, but supposed prophets of YHWH who spoke falsehood instead of His truth. We have the same basic problem today.
We all have times when we need advice. But almost as important as the decision you are making is that you get your advice from the right sources. In I Kings 22, Jehoshaphat and Ahab were about to go to war with the King of Aram, and they were getting counsel (advice) from the prophets. What unfolded should serve as an example for us when we are seeking advice:
The Bible describes Ahab, the King of Israel during the time of Elijah the prophet, as one of the most wicked kings ever. I Kings 21:25 summarizes his life by saying that he “sold himself to do evil in the sight of YHWH” and “acted very abominably in following idols.” Yet Ahab’s response to his rebuke from God brought a surprising result:
“Have you murdered and also taken possession?” This is the question Elijah asked King Ahab in I Kings 21:19, after Ahab had killed Naboth and stolen his vineyard. The prophet also foretold the disaster that was come upon Ahab because of his sin. It might occur to one that the sentence of Elijah could have applied, word for word, to King David. What was the difference?
I'm a retired Southern Baptist pastor of almost 40 years. My wife Cheryl & I moved to Norman, OK in March of 2025. I share a weekly overview for Sunday School teachers of the weekly Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, as well as texts of my sermons and other articles.
shawnethomas 