King Jehoshaphat of Judah makes peace with Ahab, the King of Israel, during his reign. He stopped the fighting between the two divisions of ancient Israel.
Ahab asks Jehoshaphat if he will join him in fighting the king of Syria, and he agrees, which he will be faulted for, but he does ask that they inquire of the Lord. Ahab hadn’t thought of that. Those seeking the Lord remember to seek Him! If you aren’t remembering to seek Him, then check your heart and ask God to show you if you are seeking after other things.
Ahab’s prophets all tell him to go and that he’ll be successful. But Judah’s king wants to know if there is a prophet of the Lord that they can inquire of. There’s one and he comes before them. He tells a fascinating story. It’s another glimpse, like what we see in Job, of spirits presenting themselves before God.
I noticed that the spirits are on his right hand and on his left. That reminded me of the sheep and the goats, and I wondered if the angels were on his right and the demons on his left.
God’s word against Ahab is going to be carried out. That is God’s justice being done. God is not plotting evil.
Make sure you never accuse God of wrongdoing. He’s incapable of doing wrong. He is right and true and just.
God doesn’t come up with the plan, though He approves it.
A spirit says that he’ll speak a lie to all the prophets to tell Ahab to go into battle. God tells the spirit that he will succeed. That doesn’t mean that God is going to warp Ahab’s heart to make sure he follows the wrong spirit.
Ahab has been following after the wrong spirits for his whole reign. God knows Ahab has not repented even when given evidence after evidence of God’s supremacy.
God knows that Ahab will listen to the lying the spirit. God knows what’s in Ahab’s heart. God’s not tricking Ahab. Ahab is getting exactly what he wants.
He loves his lying prophets and hates God’s prophet.
This bring us right back to the earlier comment about making sure you are seeking God. If God will let you find what you seek, make sure it’s Him!