I Kings 22

Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to join him verse 1- 5

And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel

and it came to pass in the third year

that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down

to the king of Israel

And the king of Israel said to his servants

Know you that Ramoth in Gilead is ours – and we be still

and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria?

And he said to Jehoshaphat

Will you go with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead?

And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel

I am as you are – my people as your people

my horses as your horses

And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel

Inquire – I pray you – at the word of the LORD today

Jehoshaphat wanted to hear from the prophets verse 6- 9

Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together

about four hundred men – and said to them

Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle

or shall I forbear?

And they said

Go up – for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king

And Jehoshaphat said

Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides

that we might inquire of him?

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat

There is yet one man – Micaiah the son of Imiah

by whom we may inquire of the LORD

BUT I hate him – for he does not prophesy good

concerning me BUT evil

And Jehoshaphat said

Let not the king say so

Then the king of Israel called an officer

and said

Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imiah

False prophets of Ahab agreed verse 10- 12

And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah

sat each on his throne having put on their robes

in the void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria

and all the prophets prophesied before them

And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron

and he said

Thus says the LORD

With these shall you push the Syrians

until you have consumed them

And all the prophets prophesied so

saying

Go up to Ramoth-gilead – and prosper

for the LORD shall deliver it into the king’s hand

Micaiah the true prophet of LORD verse 13- 18

And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spoke to him

saying

Behold now the words of the prophets declare good to the king

with one mouth – let your word – I pray you

be like the word of one of them

and speak that which is good

And Micaiah

said

As the LORD lives – what the LORD says to me

THAT will I speak

So he came to the king – and the king said to him

Micaiah – shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle

or shall we forbear?

And he answered him

Go and prosper

for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king

And the king said to him

How many times shall I adjure you that you tell me nothing

but that which is TRUE in the name of the LORD?

And he

said

I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills – as sheep that have not a shepherd

and the LORD said

These have no master

let them return every man to his house in peace

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat

Did I not tell you that he would prophesy no good

concerning me but evil?

Micaiah gives an illustration verse 19- 23

And he said

Hear you therefore the word of the LORD

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 Ramoth-gilead?

And one said on this manner – and another said on that manner

and there came forth a spirit – and stood before the LORD

and said – I will persuade him

And the LORD said to 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

You shall persuade him – and prevail also – go forth

and do so

Now – therefore – behold

the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets

and the LORD has spoken evil concerning you

False prophet slaps Micaiah verse 24

But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near

and smote Micaiah on the cheek

and said

Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me

to speak to you?

Micaiah give warning to false prophet verse 25

And Micaiah

said

BEHOLD – you shall see in that day

when you shall go into an inner chamber to hide yourself

Ahab has Micaiah arrested verse 26- 27

And the king of Israel

said

Take Micaiah

and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city

and to Joash the king’s son

And say

Thus says the king

Put this fellow in the prison

and feed him with bread of affliction

and with water of affliction

until I come in peace

Micaiah warns Ahab verse 28

And Micaiah said

IF you return at all in peace

the LORD has not spoken by me

And he said

Hearken – O people – every one of you

Ahab disguises himself verse 29- 30

So the king of Israel and Jerhoshaphat the king of Judah

went up to Ramoth-gilead

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat

I will disguise myself – and enter into the battle

BUT put you on your robes

And the king of Israel disguised himself

and went into the battle

King of Syria commands troops to go after Ahab verse 31- 33

BUT the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains

that had rule over his chariots saying

Fight neither with small nor great

save only with the king of Israel

And it came to pass

when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat

that they said

Surely it is the king of Israel

And they turned aside to fight against him

and Jehoshaphat cried out

And it came to pass – when the captains of the chariots

perceived that it was not the king of Israel

that they turned back from pursuing him

Syrian soldier shoots arrow randomly verse 34

And a certain man drew a bow at a venture

and smote the king of Israel

between the joints of the harness

Wherefore he said to the driver of his chariot

Turn your hand – and carry me out of the host

for I am wounded

Ahab dies verse 35- 40

And the battle increased that day

and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians

and died at even – and the blood ran out of the wound

into the midst of the chariot

And there went a proclamation throughout the host

about the going down of the sun

saying

Every man to his city – and every man to his own country

So the king died – and was brought to Samaria

and they buried the king of Samaria

and one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria

and the dogs licked up his blood

and they washed his armor

according unto the word of the LORD

which HE spoke

Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did

and the ivory house which he made

and all the cities that he built

Are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the

kings of Israel?

So Ahab slept with his fathers

and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead

History of reign of Jehoshaphat verse 41- 48

And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah

in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel

Jeshoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign

and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem

and his mother’s name

was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi

and he WALKED in all the ways of Asa his father

he turned not aside from it

doing that which was right

in the eyes of the LORD

nevertheless the high places were not taken away

for the people offered and burnt incense

yet in the high places

and Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel

Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat

and his might that he showed and how he warred

Are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the

kings of Judah?

And the remnant of the SODOMITES which remained

in the days of his father Asa – he took out of the land

There was then no king in Edom – a deputy was king

Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish

to go to Ophir for gold but they went not

for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber

Jehoshaphat refused request of Ahaziah verse 49

Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab to Jehoshaphat

Let my servants go with your servants in the ships

BUT Jehoshaphat would not

Jehoram reigns in Judah verse 50

And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers

and was buried with his fathers

in the city of David his father

and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead

Ahaziah – son of Ahab – did evil verse 51- 53

Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria

the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah

and reigned two years over Israel

And he did EVIL in the sight of the LORD

and WALKED in the way of his father

and in the way of his mother

and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat

who made Israel to sin

For he served Baal – and worshiped him

and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel

according to all that his father had done

COMMENTARY:

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers

: 8 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, there is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imiah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. (8130 “hate” [same’] means enemies, foes, to scorn, decrease in status, to dislike intensely, feel antipathy or aversion towards, or be unloved)

DEVOTION: Faithfulness should be appreciated but it is not always the case. Here we have the King of Israel telling the King of Judah that he hates someone who tells the truth from the perspective of God.

All the other prophets were false prophets who told him what he wanted to hear. They were not representing God but themselves. They wanted to please the king, so that, he would reward them. They were only interested in getting things from the king and not the truth that true prophets would be always want to say no matter whether they were paid or appreciated or not. Truth was the most important to them.

So we see that if the truth was told all the time it would not be appreciated. That was true then and continues to be true today. God wants us to speak the truth in love to those around us. They might not appreciate it but they will know that we are not just saying things that would please them.

We need to be more concerned with truth rather than the feelings of those who ask us for counsel regarding a problem they are having or something they think they should do that would make them happy but maybe not make God happy.

Those who preach today need to make sure that the Holy Spirit is guiding them in each sermon and each personal contact they make with people. It is the only way to please the LORD and genuinely help others.

Some people will be like King Ahab even after they have made a commitment to follow the LORD. Here we have a king that had repented but didn’t want to hear the truth from the LORD.

Our attitude needs to be always one of submission to the LORD. HIS word the Bible gives us all we need to grow in our knowledge of how God works today in our world. Our continual study of the Word of God each day gives us wisdom to know what the LORD expects of us and how we need to continue to walk the way HE wants us to in our world.

Sometimes what HE tells us to do is not pleasant but it is always the best way to handle any situation. Ahab wanted the easy road but the LORD doesn’t like us on the easy road because it leads away from HIM.

CHALLENGE: We need to take counsel from someone who will give us Biblical answers to our questions. Then we need to accept them as coming from the LORD.

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers

: 27 And say, Thus says the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. (3906 “affliction” [lachats] means oppression, minimal survival rations, a small fixed portion that is allotted during imprisonment, short ration, or sparingly)

DEVOTION: Micaiah went against the advice of four hundred false prophets in the court of Ahab. He told the truth even when he knew he was going to suffer for it. The other prophets wanted to tell Ahab what he wanted to hear while Micaiah told him what the LORD wanted him to hear.

There are many false prophets and teachers giving people what they want to hear because the Word of God states that there will be such leaders who will itch the ears of people where they want them itched and not tell the truth from the Word of God. Many churches are built on telling people what they want to hear rather than what the Word of God wants them to hear.

Micaiah was put in prison just like Peter, Paul and John were going to be put in prison because they were not preaching what society wanted to hear. They preached the truth that was found in the Word of God and the rulers of the Roman Empire wanted people to worship them alone.

Are our ears being tickled when we go to church each Sunday with words we want to hear? Are we told that because we come we will be blessed according to the amount of money we are giving? Are we told that the LORD will heal us because we are coming and giving to a church? Do we believe that God will bless us with money and health and those who aren’t coming to our church or believing our way will have problems with money and their health?

We have to watch what is being taught where we attend. We have to be sure that it is pleasing to the LORD rather than to ourselves. It should hurt at times when we hear the Word of God presented with power from above.

CHALLENGE: Many Biblical preachers and people have ended up in jail or dead because they dared to follow the LORD alone. We should be part of that crowd!!!

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: 34 And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. (8537 “venture” [tom] means randomly, without definite aim, unwittingly, innocence, simplicity, or uprightness)

DEVOTION: We find that the LORD judged the son of Ahab in the last chapter. Ahab and Jehoshaphat get together and Ahab wants to go to war with Syria. However, Jehoshaphat wants to know what the LORD wants them to do. He asks Ahab to call the prophets together to give them counsel of the LORD. Well Ahab has his own personal prophet who will say what he wants them to say. There are four hundred prophet who tell him that he will have victory when he goes to war.

Jehoshaphat is not satisfied and wants to know if there is another prophet of the LORD in the land. Ahab tells him of Micaiah but also informs him that he hates this prophet. Jehoshaphat wants him to send for him.

Well the message that was sent to Micaiah told him what the other prophets had said and told him to agree with them. Micaiah tells the messenger that he will only say what the LORD tells him to say.

Once he arrives in front of Ahab, he tells him what he wants to hear but Ahab doesn’t accept what he said. Ahab knows that he is just saying what is false – he wants the truth. Micaiah then tells him the truth – Ahab is going to die.

Zedekiah, a false prophet, hits Micaiah and tells him that the spirit of the LORD had spoken through him. Micaiah tell him that he will be going into hiding soon because his words are false.

Micaiah is sent to jail. Ahab says that when he returns he will deal with him. Micaiah says that he will not return alive.

Now Ahab and Jehoshaphat went to war with Syria. Ahab went to war disguised because Micaiah the prophet said that he would not come home from the war in peace.

While the battle was raging, they were looking for the king of Israel. They found Jehoshaphat and he cried out that he was not the king of Israel. They continued their search for the king of Israel who was in disguise. The LORD had a individual picked to kill Ahab. Here is a man shooting an arrow randomly into the air and hitting the king of Israel.

Ahab was wounded and finally died from the wound. God had predicted through a prophet that he would not come back from the battle in peace. The dogs were going to drink the blood of Ahab.

Ahab’s son became king and did evil just like his father. The LORD knew what his son was going to do before he did it because HE knows the future.

HE can judge with his foreknowledge. HE knows those who are going to be HIS children before the creation of the world. Can we understand this completely? NO!! Does the Bible teach it? YES!!! Can we hide from God? NO!

Nothing happens without God’s knowledge of it happening. HE knows before it happens. PRAISE HIS NAME. Let’s remember that nothing happens by chance or luck or karma. Everything is going along according to the plan of the LORD.

Don’t be intimidated by the majority. If the LORD is telling you to do something or say something do it or say it. It takes courage to confront evil in our world.

CHALLENGE: God can give courage. Remember that even when we speak the truth we can have affliction.

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

: 43 And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places. (3249 “turned not aside” [yacuwr] means to not change direction, to not retreat, to not change orientation or direction, to not go away, or to not revolt)

DEVOTION: Here we have the influence of parents for good. With this description of the reign of Jehoshaphat he followed the example of his father. His father had failed to remove places of worship to pagan gods. The high places were places where false worship went on in Judah.

The only place to worship was at the Temple where the sacrifices were supposed to be brought on a regular basis and the priests who were from the tribe of Levi were there to be faithful to the LORD.

The people found it easier to worship closer to home and chose to not follow the commands of the LORD. The king didn’t help the situation by taking away places where false worship could be done.

Too often people who think they are following the LORD are not really following the LORD. They are making up their own type of worship to please themselves. We are naturally lazy and whatever is easy even in the area of worshiping the LORD, we will do it. Some people find it easier to just watch television. Some people find it easier not to give their tithe to the local church to support their ministry and the missionaries they support. Some people find it easier to worship the LORD on the beach or in the woods.

It is not easy to worship the LORD in the local church where we are supposed to give our time, talent and treasures to the LORD on a weekly basis. It is hard to get along with fellow believers regularly. It is hard to follow the lead of the spiritual leaders the LORD has placed to help us grow in our knowledge and service to the LORD. If someone challenges us it is not easy to humble ourselves and do what is Biblical.

CHALLENGE: Are we doing what is pleasing in the sight of the LORD or just doing what is easy???

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: 52 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin (1980 “walked” [halak] means to behave in accordance, manner of life, proceed, to go along, conduct oneself, or flow with.)

DEVOTION: Parents have an influence on their children to a greater degree than anyone else during the growing up years. Children learn their habits in the first six years of their life. If there is proper discipline and training in accordance with the principles of the Word of God the children will understand what it means to be obedient to the LORD. If it is an improper time of discipline and training and there is no standard from the Word of God the children will act accordingly.

Here we find that Ahaziah was the son of Ahab and Jezebel. Both were worshipers of the false god Baal. He followed in his parent’s footsteps when he became king of Israel in Samaria. He did everything he could to provoke the LORD to anger.

Parenting is a awesome responsibility because our children show the world what kind of people we are as parents. Many times, we find that there are some children that rebel against the standards of the parents but usually it is because the parents were not consistent in their training. Rarely, the parents trained well and the children rebel because society had more of an influence than the parents. This does happen and it is sad but that is when parents have to use their influence while their adult children are raising grandchildren.

Our influence as parents and grandparents doesn’t end until we die. If we were not good as parents we can apologize to our children and help them with the grandchildren. If we tried and learned how to do it better as more mature adults we can still pray and use our influence to help our grandchildren to serve the LORD.

Children and grandchildren are going to conduct themselves in a manner that is pleasing to the LORD only if we never give up on maturing in our manner of life toward the LORD.

CHALLENGE: Never give up in the raising of your children and grandchildren. The world will not give up. Be a Biblical Christian in front of both groups.

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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)

SOUL

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Book of the chronicles verse 39, 45

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)

Jehoshaphat wants to inquire of the LORD verse 5, 7, 8

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)

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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)

Word of the LORD verse 5, 19, 38

Chronicles of the kings of Israel verse 39

Chronicles of the kings of Judah verse 45

God the Father (First person of the Godhead)

LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 5- 8, 11, 12, 14- 17, 19- 24, 28, 38, 43, 52, 53

Word of the LORD verse 5, 19, 38

Inquire of the LORD verse 8

Name of the LORD verse 16

Sitting on HIS throne verse 19

Sight of the LORD verse 52

God – Elohim (Creator) verse 53

LORD God of Israel verse 53

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Spirit of the LORD verse 24

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Host of heaven verse 19

Spirit verse 21

Lying spirit (evil angel) verse 22, 23

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)

Syria verse 1- 35

King of Syria verse 31

Told his men to fight only

with king of Israel

Edom verse 47

No king but a deputy was king

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)

False prophets verse 6, 23

Hate verse 8

Evil verse 8, 18, 23, 52

Lying spirit verse 23

High places verse 43

Sodomites verse 46

Walk in the way of father: Ahab verse 52

Sin verse 52

Worship Baal verse 53

Provoked LORD to anger verse 53

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)

Inquire of the LORD verse 5, 7

Deliverance verse 6, 12, 15

Prophet of the LORD verse 7

Prophecy truth (good) from the LORD verse 8 , 16

Speak what the LORD says verse 14, 16

Sheep verse 17

Bread of affliction verse 27

Water of affliction verse 27

Peace verse 28, 44

Walk in the ways of the LORD verse 43

Does right verse 43

Israel (Old Testament people of God)

Israel verse 1

War between Syria and Israel

Jehoshaphat – king of Judah verse 2 –32, 41- 50

Wanted to inquire of the LORD

In battle – cried out

Reigned 25 years in Jerusalem

Did what was right in the eyes of the LORD

Didn’t take high places away

Acts written in book fo the chronicles of kings

of Judah

Took sodomites out of Judah

Ahab – king of Israel verse 2 – 40

Gathered four hundred prophets (false)

Hated Micaiah – true prophet of LORD

Thinks what Micaiah says is evil

because it is not what he wants

to hear

Lying spirit in his prophets

Put Micaiah in prison

Bread of affliction

Water of affliction

Disguised himself in battle

Man drew a bow at a venture

Killed Ahab

Buried in Samaria

Dogs licked his blood

Acts written in book of chronicles of the

kings of Israel

Ramoth in Gilead verse 3 , 29

Micaiah – true prophet of LORD verse 7- 9, 13- 28

Inquire of the LORD

Only speak what LORD says

Prison

Told Ahab if he returns in peace

the LORD has not spoken to him

False prophet: Zedekiah son of Chenaanah verse 11, 24

Hit Micaiah

Amon the governor of the city verse 26

Ahaziah – son of Ahab became king verse 40, 44, 49, 51, 52

Jehoshaphat made peace with

Reigned two years

Did evil in sight of the LORD

Walked in the way of his father

Served Baal

Provoked the LORD to anger

Jehoram – son of Jehoshaphat verse 50

Reigned in Judah

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events)

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QUOTES regarding passage

As Micaiah was brought to the waiting kings, he was informed that the “other prophets” had all given a favorable prognostication and so was warned to be agreeable (v.13). Micaiah, being a true prophet of the Lord, replied that he could speak only what the Lord told him to say (v.14). (Patterson, R. D., & Austel, H. J. (1988). 1, 2 Kings. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, pp. 163–164). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)

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22:15–16. The king, probably Ahab the host, asked … Micaiah the same question he had asked the other prophets (v. 6). Micaiah seems to have been familiar with this procedure; he had probably been through it several times before. His reply was sarcastic, though probably not delivered in a sarcastic tone which would have been inappropriate for a man of his character. Ahab recognized at once what Micaiah was doing. His own reply was equally sarcastic. He had probably never told Micaiah to swear to tell him nothing but the truth before, as he did not need to. But Ahab’s saying that probably sounded good. (Constable, T. L. (1985). 1 Kings. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 534). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

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God didn’t lie to Ahab; quite the contrary, through the lips of Micaiah He told the truth and gave Ahab fair warning of what lay ahead. The fact that God warned Ahab before the battle clears the Lord of the charge of being guilty of his death. The reaction of Zedekiah proves that the four hundred false prophets didn’t believe Micaiah either. A much greater mystery is why a godly man like King Jehoshaphat went into the battle at all and risked his life. Ahab ordered the true prophet to be taken back to prison and given bread and water, as if punishing the prophet would change his message. The test of a true prophet was the actual fulfillment of his words (Deut. 18:17–22; Num. 16:29), and Micaiah knew this. That’s why his parting message to Ahab was, “If you ever return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me” (v. 28, nkjv). (Wiersbe, W. W. (2002). Be responsible (p. 167). Colorado Springs, CO: Victor.)

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22:15 Go up and succeed. Micaiah sarcastically repeated the message of the false prophets as he had been encouraged to do (v. 13). Ahab clearly sensed the sarcasm and demanded that Micaiah tell him the truth (v. 16). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (1 Ki 22:15). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

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22:11–16 Zedekiah tried to validate his prophetic pronouncement with symbolic magic. The horns symbolize great strength (Num. 24:8; Ps. 18:2), an idea reinforced by the use of iron. A goring horn is used elsewhere in Scripture to symbolize victorious power (Dan. 8:7). (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (p. 458). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers)

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Ver. 14. And Micaiah said, as the Lord liveth, &c.] He swore by the living God, for the confirmation of what he was about to say: what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak; truly and faithfully, keeping nothing back, nor adding anything, whether it be good or evil, pleasing or displeasing; it looks as if as yet he had no instruction from the Lord what to say, and yet the vision he after declares seems to have been had by him before, ver. 17, 19.

Ver. 15. So he came to the king, &c.] Being introduced by the officer: and the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go up against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? the same question in the same words that was put to the other prophets, ver. 6. only there he uses the singular number, here the plural, including Jehoshaphat with him: and he answered him, go, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the Icing; he answered not in the name of the Lord, saying, thus saith the Lord, nor did he speak his own sense and in his own words, nor seriously, but by way of derision; he took up the words of the prophets, and bantered them; it is as if he should say, the prophets bid you go, and tell you that you shall prosper, and that the city will he delivered into the king’s hand; do as they direct you, and see what the issue will be, no doubt it will be good, since they are all agreed; but he delivered the above words with such gestures, and such a tone, and with a contemptuous smile in his countenance, which shewed that be spoke not seriously, but sarcastically; and this the king plainly discovered, as appears by what follows. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 767). London: Mathews and Leigh.)

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FROM MY READING:

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)

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Nehemiah 5: The prospects for some of the returned exiles are bleak. There are deficient rains and poor harvests. As a result, the farmers mortgage their lands to their wealthier brethren and, in extreme cases, sell their children into slavery to pay the king’s taxes. The rich Jews, rather than helping out, are capitalizing on the situation to line their own pockets. This is inexcusable! Few things bring on more reproach to the cause of the Lord than the worldliness and hard-heartedness of those who claim to follow Him. Unselfish dedication to the common welfare of others in Christ is our spiritual obligation. (Daily Walk devotional July 9, 2014)

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“AN UNCERTAIN SOUND” by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, p.50)

For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
1 Corinthians 14:8
The apostle Paul says to the Corinthians, “If the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” If the sound is uncertain, then we shall add to the confusion. And that is why nothing is more important than that we should be perfectly clear in our minds as to what this Christian message really is. What does Christianity offer to people; what is it? How can we become Christians? These are the questions that we must answer.
Furthermore, what makes this terrible confusion so utterly inexcusable, of course, is that we have an open Bible before us, and we have it in a language that we can understand. If we had no Bible but merely some oral tradition, then there would be some excuse for the confusion. Or if we only had the Bible in a language that we
could not understand, again there would be considerable excuse. But that is not our position at all. So why is there any confusion? And there is only one answer to that question. It is because men and women, instead of taking the message as it is in the Bible, are imposing their own message upon it. They are approaching it with their philosophies, their theories, their ideas, and their attempts to understand; and they are bypassing what is stated in this Book that is open before them in a language that all can understand.
So my plea is that in all honesty, apart from anything else, we must come back to the Bible. Here are the documents of the early Church; here are the records of how Christianity came into being, of what the Church taught at the beginning and something of what happened as the result of that. In particular we must come back to the words and to the teaching and the message of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
A Thought to Ponder: We must come back to the Bible.

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John 13

Jesus meets with His disciples and institutes the Lord’s Supper.

INSIGHT

More than 2000 years ago, the Lord Jesus Christ ate a ceremonial meal with His disciples. This meal originated in the Passover and pictured Christ’s death, our need to receive Him personally for our salvation, and the fact that all those who are His people are a communion of saints. During the meal, He instructed His disciples to observe this ceremony regularly and with gladness until His return.
And so, whether called the Lord’s Supper, Communion, or the Lord’s Table, Christians today observe a solemn but joyous ceremonial meal which looks back to the redemption of the Cross and forward to the glory of the Second Coming. (Quiet Walk)

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For years, abortion rights activists have attempted to downplay or even deny that Margaret Sanger was motivated by racism. Planned Parenthood, the organization Sanger founded, widely celebrated her, as if her troubling words and actions could be somehow separated from the causes she championed. To be clear, Sanger considered abortion to be barbaric, but the organization that carries on her vision has embraced it as their primary strategy and largest source of revenue.

In the wake of the “racial reckoning” of the past year, denying what the historical record plainly reveals about Sanger is no longer tenable. After all, many others, including those with a far less damning paper trail, have been denounced as racists. Sanger’s re-evaluation was long past due.

In a recent New York Times’ op-ed, Planned Parenthood president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson acknowledged Sanger’s sordid history of racism, white supremacy, and eugenics. She confessed that “Sanger spoke to the women’s auxiliary of the Ku Klux Klan at a rally in New Jersey to generate support for birth control.” She admitted that Sanger supported the Supreme Court’s decision in Buck v. Bell, which upheld mandatory sterilization for those deemed “unfit” and which infamously proclaimed that “three generations of imbeciles is enough.”

She told her readers about something a colleague of mine knows as family lore: “The first human trials of the birth control pill — a project that was Sanger’s passion later in her life — were conducted with her backing in Puerto Rico, where as many as 1,500 women were not told that the drug was experimental or that they might experience dangerous side effects.”

It’s past time, Johnson wrote, to “take responsibility for the harm that Sanger caused to generations of people with disabilities and Black, Latino, Asian-American, and Indigenous people.” However, wouldn’t “taking responsibility” necessarily include evaluating whether Sanger’s racist disdain for people of color and the marginalized lives on in Planned Parenthood’s work?

It does. In fact, Planned Parenthood is the most obvious example there is of systemic racism, a concept many people reject out of hand but shouldn’t. Certainly, the idea of “systemic” or “institutional racism” is controversial. Too often, the accusation is a convenient blanket condemnation for anything a pundit or politician doesn’t like, a way to demand policy changes, or to subvert debate.

Theologically speaking, it shouldn’t be controversial to suggest that sin can take systemic or structural forms. That much is obvious throughout the Scripture and human history. Systems and structures often operate, with either intention or inertia, in such a way that certain groups are harmed. This is possible even if no one associated with the “systems and structures” harbors any ill will towards these groups.

In the same way, just because Ms. Johnson is an African American or workers at Planned Parenthood aren’t personally racist doesn’t mean the organization isn’t systemically and structurally targeting people of color. The abortion rate for African American women is nearly three times as high as that of white women. The rate for Hispanic women is nearly two times as high.

By one estimate, 79 percent of Planned Parenthood facilities are located within walking distance of African American or Hispanic neighborhoods. Whereas the average white woman might live her whole life without coming within 25 miles of one of these facilities, for many women of color, it’s far easier to find an abortion clinic than a bank branch or a decent grocery store. Whether by design or not, it reveals a system or structure that disadvantages people of color in the most basic way possible, by depriving them of life.

I can’t say it any better than did former NFL star and human rights advocate Benjamin Watson:

“Whether they personally identify with Sanger’s ideology or not, they continue to carry out her mission, by serving as the leading executioner of our children. The same Sanger they claim to disavow would applaud their efforts and results, as a disproportionate percentage of Black children have been killed in Planned Parenthood’s abortion clinics. Acknowledging a racist history does not absolve them of the blood on their hands, as they continue to take full advantage of victims of the racism they decry. Quite frankly, how much of a racist or eugenicist Sanger was or wasn’t is of no real consequence right now as children die daily. The issue is that the profitability of abortion makes it a difficult cash cow to forgo. I urge Planned Parenthood to continue this ‘reckoning,’ not simply by calling out racism and combating white supremacy, but by using their wealth to meet the needs of mothers and their influence to halt, not perpetuate, the ultimate goal of a eugenic agenda, extermination of an undesirable’s offspring.”

He’s right. If Planned Parenthood is truly serious about eradicating Sanger’s sordid legacy, it must abandon abortion. Otherwise, what Harpers called “The Racial Reckoning Within Planned Parenthood” is little more than posturing and public relations, which, I suspect, would please its founder.

Publication date: April 22, 2021

BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can’t find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today’s news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.

John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.

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THE CROSS AND JUSTIFICATION

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1
The cross is the door that leads to all blessings. Without it there is nothing. Without the cross and all it means, we have no blessings from God at all. But the cross opens the possibility to all of the endless blessings of the glorious God.
What are they? The apostle Paul never got tired of saying these things. Read what he says in Romans. He puts it like this: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “Justified by faith” means that the moment you believe in what happened on the cross and see that is God’s way of reconciling you unto Himself, you are immediately regarded as just, your sins are all forgiven and blotted out, and you are clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
“Therefore,” says Paul, “being justified by faith, we have peace with God.” That is the first thing that comes out of this belief. There is no more important word in the letter of Paul than the word therefore. Note it. He always brings in this word “therefore” at a point of this kind. He has been laying down the doctrine, and especially the doctrine of the cross, and then he says, “therefore”—in the light of that, because of that, this is what follows.
And here is the first thing that follows. “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God.” Do you realize what that means? Do you realize that is the most important and most wonderful thing that can ever happen to you, that you are given peace and made at peace with God? All our troubles in this life as human beings are due to the fact that we are in the wrong relationship to God. It is as simple as that.
A Thought to Ponder: Being justified by faith means that the moment you believe in what happened on the cross, you are immediately regarded as just.
(From The Cross, pp. 178-179, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones).

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Accepted in the Beloved
“To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Ephesians 1:6)
This wonderful verse assures that all who have been saved by God’s grace have been “accepted” by the Lord. However, this is not just a marginal acceptability. The Greek word occurs only one other time in the New Testament, and there it appears in the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary. “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” (Luke 1:28). That is, we are not merely accepted, we are highly favored by God!
This is not because of our own personal merits, of course. It is because God sees us as in His Son; He loves us because He loves Him, and we are in Him.
Although Christ is called God’s “beloved Son” seven times in the New Testament (each time directly by the Father Himself), there is only one other time when He is spoken of simply as “the beloved.” This is in Matthew 12:18 (quoting Isaiah 42:1), “Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him.”
The love of God the Father for His beloved Son is the root source of every other love in the universe, for it is the one love that is eternal. “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). This is what it means to be highly favored in the beloved! This was the prayer of Christ on His way to Gethsemane the night before He went to the cross.
We who are in Him are predestined to be with Him in glory, to behold His glory, and forever, as redeemed sinners saved by grace through faith, to be “to the praise of the glory of his grace” (today’s text). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)

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