Micaiah, son of Imlah. Remember the name. 1 Kings 22:1-38 tells the story of this solitary prophet contradicting 400 other ‘prophets’ in King Ahab’s court. What happens next carries important life lessons for us all.

Several characters feature in this fast-paced story. Ahab, the wicked king of Israel was starting a war with Aram. Jehoshaphat, the wimpy king of Judah, was urged to join him. 400 prophets in Ahab’s court prophesied that God gave his blessings to go to war and that they would be victorious. One of them, Zedekiah, even showed off a prophetic sign to the effect.

Really? Jehoshaphat wasn’t all convinced and asked if there was any other prophet they could consult. Enter a nameless messenger who was tasked to bring the prophet Micaiah, whom Ahab disliked. The messenger told Micaiah what the 400 court-appointed prophets have prophesied and advised Micaiah that he should just go along with them. In effect, he told Micaiah not to rock the boat, to join the king’s elite band of yes-men and just climb the corporate ladder. After all, Micaiah, do you really think you alone are smarter than 400 others?

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Lessons from the Lone Prophet

Can you feel the pressure? Can you imagine the consequences if Micaiah didn’t play their game? But dauntless, Micaiah was determined to say only what God reveals.

Before the 2 kings and the 400 prophets, Micaiah reveals that the war will end in disaster for them and that Ahab himself will die in battle. For prophesying God’s true message, which Ahab loathed, Micaiah was thrown into prison till Ahab returned from battle. Alas, Ahab was indeed killed in battle and never returned. And thus, though unwritten, Micaiah was left to die in prison. One prophet who prophesied truth, versus 400 who spoke lies, suffered while the rest went on their jolly way. “Super unfair”, one might say. So then, we ask ourselves. What would we have done in Micaiah’s shoes, or what can we learn from this lone prophet whom we never hear of again? What can we learn from the other characters?

First, be courageous with your (godly) convictions and do not compromise. Many are the allures and enticements if we would just “go with the flow”. Privileges, “unity”, even “peace”. But no integrity. We do not seek to be sore thumbs but we must stand up for truth, especially God’s truth. Yes, even if it is only one voice against 400 others!

Second, doing right might land us in hot soup. Ahab said Micaiah will be freed from prison only when he returned from war. Micaiah knew Ahab would never return, and thus, he would never be freed. Yet he didn’t back down and he suffered for it. The one who is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (Jn 14:6) and who is also “full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14) didn’t back down from the hard road of doing God’s will too. Doing the God-thing can invite brickbats, not bouquets. Do it anyway.

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All in or all out

Ahab played both sides. He wanted his war but he didn’t entirely dismiss Micaiah’s words either. So, he disguised himself without his regalia in the battle, hoping the enemy wouldn’t target him. In this way, he explored Micaiah’s prophecy “just in case”, but he didn’t embrace it. And just as prophesied, he was killed in battle. You see, merely sampling God’s truth, or sitting on the fence, or “standing in two boats” 脚踩两只船, isn’t smart at all. You’re all in, or you’re all out.

May we be courageous and unflinching in godliness and in upholding God’s word and his truth. May we persevere and rejoice even if we suffer as a consequence. And may his Spirit plant us firmly and wholly in his kingdom.

Blessings.

This blog post is authored by KH Mok.