Now three years passed without war between Syria and Israel. Then it came to pass, in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went down to visit the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, but we hesitate to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?” So he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go up with me to fight at Ramoth Gilead?” Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire for the word of the Lord today.” Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain?” So they said, “Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not still a prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of Him?” So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say such things!” Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, “Bring Micaiah the son of Imlah quickly!” The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, having put on their robes, sat each on his throne, at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made horns of iron for himself; and he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.’”And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king’s hand.” Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Please, let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.” And Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak” (1 Kings 22:1-14).

 

This is a very interesting story that communicates the principle of prophetic divergence very effectively. The king of Israel basically enlists the support of the king of Judah during his visit for a military campaign against Syria after a three-year period of peace between the two nations. His objective: To recover and reclaim Israel’s rightful territory (Ramoth-Gilead) that had been lost to them in battle against the Syrians. For all intents and purposes the mission appears to be an honorable one, so Jehoshaphat willingly agrees to give support, but wisely requests prophetic confirmation first. Ahab then gathers together a company of “prophets” numbering around 400 who all encourage them to go up to battle, claiming it would be a successful expedition. However, Jehoshaphat appears to be at least slightly suspicious of these prophets and presses Ahab to inquire of someone else; in this case, Micaiah, who had already gained a reputation for being anything but a yes-man for the king.

 

While Micaiah is being sent for (most likely from prison) the company of “prophets” continues prophesying to the kings at a threshing floor outside the gate of Samaria, being led by a man called Zedekiah (whose name means the righteousness or justice of Jehovah), who even goes so far as to “prophetically” act out his prophecy. All of the other prophets basically followed his lead and mimicked everything he said. When the messenger had finally gotten to Micaiah, it was intimated to him that there was already a very clear and unanimous consensus that Micaiah was expected to conform to. In fact, it would have been in his best interest to do just that and repeat what the others had said.

 

There are several key issues that become immediately apparent as we examine this passage of scripture in light of the divergent operating systems that define two opposing prophetic orders:

 

1) Issue of motivation (device drivers): You will notice in verse 3 that Ahab’s motivation for this military campaign was to take back by force what rightfully belonged to them. His use of the word “ours” in that verse coupled with my knowledge of the character of Ahab makes me doubt that this campaign was anything but personal and full of self-interest. Incidentally, this was the type of enterprise that the 400 prophets were giving full support and confirmation to.

 

How often have we heard the phrase, “I’m taking back what is mine!” either in song or personal or corporate declaration during a church gathering? The prophets ministering to Ahab back then were very similar to the ones today in declaring and waging war in order to take back what is “ours”. But the new prophetic order is not driven by selfish ambition or personal accruement. Their focus is not on reclaiming what is ours but on reclaiming what is God’s – Kingdom expansion!

 

2) Issue of authenticity (COA): There has been much speculation by various Bible scholars and expositors as to the origin of this “prophetic” company. Some have reasoned that since they numbered about 400 and were in the company of Ahab that they must be the prophets of Asherah who were favored by Jezebel (1 Kings 18:19). While this is definitely a strong possibility, it is beyond the scope of this article to explore its validity.

 

Beyond them being a shallow company of yes-men we know that Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, had a certain level of reservation or suspicion concerning them. And we also discover later on in the text that their prophecies were not issued from a genuine prophetic unction but from a lying spirit (vs. 20-23). We can, therefore, safely conclude that they were not genuine but a counterfeit prophetic order. Like Zedekiah, their leader, there was no genuine righteousness or justice of Jehovah. They only outwardly appeared righteous and just (or were so by name only), but in all actuality they were sons of Chenaanah or Canaan, which in this context represents a false religious system that is largely externalized in its emphasis, heavily influenced and corrupted by a pantheon of false gods among whom Baal and Asherah were the preeminent, and which was ultimately cursed (Gen. 9:25). Everything in the outward, even down to the way they prophesied appeared valid, but they were not the genuine article because their prophecies issued from the wrong source – a lying spirit.

 

In contrast, Micaiah’s name means who is like Jehovah? as if to proclaim that no counterfeit comes close to God or perhaps make the statement that he represented the genuine article. He was the son of Imlah which means fullness, whom God fills, and based on some sources, circumcision. In other words, Micaiah represented a prophetic company with a genuine certificate of authenticity. He was full of God which pre-suggests that he was empty of self (God can only fill you to the degree that you are empty of self). It also pre-suggests that he was full of internal substance and divine resource, unlike the 400 prophets of Ahab who were empty and shallow but only outwardly appeared righteous.

 

Micaiah also represents a prophetic ministry that was produced or birthed out of circumcision – covenant, purity, righteousness, accuracy and self-denial – which is indicative of an authentic Kingdom model.

 

3) Issue of popularity (brand): The company of (false) prophets gathered together by Ahab numbered around 400 while Micaiah stood alone (v. 6). In an earlier account, a few chapters prior to the one we are examining here (which we shall look at a bit later on), Elijah issued a challenge to a group of (false) prophets numbering more than twice that many while he stood alone (1 Kings 18:19). Over and over in Scripture we find this ratio to be the same: True prophets are more often than not vastly outnumbered by false prophets, especially during times of religious syncretism and apostasy. The reason for this is simple: False prophets are notorious for promoting or marketing themselves by telling people only what they want to hear by using flattering words. They thrive on acceptance and popularity, and are usually favored by false or corrupt leaders and churches (i.e. Ahabs and Jezebels) because they feed their egos and never challenge their lawlessness or hypocrisy.

 

You will notice that as soon as prophetic confirmation was requested for Ahab’s enterprise by Jehoshaphat, the group of yes-men that were probably the same ones on Jezebel’s payroll were the first he sought for (see 1 Kings 18:19). True to form they told him exactly what he wanted to hear.

 

Micaiah, on the other hand, was an afterthought; sent for only because Jehoshaphat was skeptical of the earlier company’s ministry and pressed him to seek fish from another pond. While the 400 prophets emerged from a place of prominence and acceptance, Micaiah emerged from a place of obscurity and rejection, having been imprisoned by Ahab for doing just the opposite (of the 400) and being hated for it (v. 8).

 

Truth is not necessarily found in the majority. In fact, more often than not, it isn’t! Because of our selfishness and diminished desire for the truth many have accepted the false and have become blinded by deception based primarily upon popularity (2 Tim. 4:3-4). We readily accept those who tell us what we want to hear, who wear flashy suits and promote a lifestyle of “prosperity”, who have “big” names, “big” ministries and a busy itinerary. Micaiah was called on because there was no one left to call. The only “itinerating” he was doing was in prison. He was a reject and an outcast, and if he was to be judged on the basis we use to judge success in this hour he would be described as an utter failure at best and a “false” prophet at worst, yet he represented that which was truly accurate.

 

4) Issue of false unity (networking): When Zedekiah, who was obviously the leader and senior “prophet” of the group, began prophesying, all of the other “prophets” basically followed his lead and prophesied the very same thing (vs. 11-12). This bears a striking resemblance to that which was practiced by the false prophets in Jeremiah’s day, where they would steal from one another words supposedly from me [God] and then regurgitate it as their own (Jer. 23:30 NIV). This made it all the easier for the lying spirit to infect and deceive the entire group. Corrupt the head and everyone connected or joined to it is corrupted also.

 

To put this in perspective, imagine this group of 400 “prophets” being led by Zedekiah and faithful to Jezebel and Ahab as a well established “apostolic-prophetic” network of significant size and influence. Every “prophet” who is a part of this network is expected to conform to the vision of Jezebel and Ahab, and to speak the same thing. This appears to be an accurate, unified model except for two things: The vision and apostolic leadership is corrupt, thus making the entire network false; and when the emphasis is placed on maintaining oneness instead of correctness (v. 13), and giving allegiance to a man, ministry, network or entity above God and what He really says, that system is corrupt also.

 

The “prophets” were more concerned about echoing their leader and protecting their interests (positions, credentials, salaries, etc.) than about hearing God for themselves. They were unwilling to rock the boat, but chose to blindly follow their leader and conform to a false sense of unity. True unity is not built upon blind, unquestionable allegiance to any leader. The apostle Paul said follow me as I follow Christ (1 Cor. 11:1), the implication being that our first allegiance is to Christ, and we’re not obligated to follow any leader as long as that leader deviates from following Christ.

 

The young prophet Samuel had to learn to hear the voice of God for himself while being mentored by corrupt leadership. Many emphasize the fact, and rightly so, that it was Eli who helped Samuel to recognize the voice of God and that God’s voice sounded like his earthly mentor and leadership (i.e. Eli), but the whole purpose of the message given to Samuel by God was to invalidate the ministry and leadership of Eli and his sons, and to confirm His judgment upon Eli’s household (1 Sam. 3:1-18).

 

When Micaiah was confronted and pressured with the choice of either conforming to the recognized and accepted popular opinion for the sake of “unity” or disregarding everything he had heard and not allowing anything to distract him (including his own interest of being released from prison) from accurately hearing what God was truly saying, he chose the latter.

 

5) Issue of design and architecture (platform, kernel, GUI): When Micaiah was met by the messenger from Ahab, he was told that all of the other “prophets,” with one accord, had spoken to encourage the king and that he should speak encouragement also (v. 13). Whenever a particular word or phrase is used more than once in the same verse or text, it is usually a good idea to take notice because it suggests that something is being emphasized. In this particular context the word being emphasized here is the Hebrew word ṭôb, which means good or pleasant, but is most likely being employed as a euphemism here for flattery or that which Ahab would have liked to hear. This basically describes the internal architecture and core value upon which the “prophetic” ministry of the 400 was established, and it is the greatest identifying characteristic of false prophets in Scripture.

 

Incidentally, this is the same architecture that defines most of what we label “prophetic ministry” today. Most of this error in architecture is due to an incorrect understanding of 1 Cor. 14:3 where the purpose of prophecy is outlined by Paul as being for edification, exhortation and comfort. This has been wrongly interpreted to mean that which sounds good and pleasant, or that which people would like to hear (flattery). But inherent in each of the Greek words that Paul uses is a very strong and undeniable building ethic which, unfortunately, is beyond the scope of this essay to examine or explore. This does not mean that prophecy has to be harsh, critical or offensive (which it generally shouldn’t), but it means that the underlying ethic behind all true prophetic activity should be to build according to God’s design.

 

God’s purpose is not to tickle your ears; God’s purpose is to get you accurately aligned. And true building or alignment often requires a seemingly “negative” (opposing) force or pressure that temporarily disrupts our immediate “comfort” or convenience as things are shifted, uncovered and removed in order for accurate building and alignment to take place (Jer. 1:10). The end result will be comfort, but the immediate effect may be anger and frustration.

 

Flattery blinds your eyes and draws you into a false sense of security without any adjustment. It may give you accurate specifics (words of knowledge) and leave you feeling good about yourself, but it is a false comfort (temporal and immediately gratifying, but otherwise superficial and unfruitful).

 

For example, if you went to a doctor or chiropractor with a dislocated arm and he sent you home with pain medication and a nice detailed report of your “good” health (blood pressure, blood sugar levels, etc., which may all be accurate), he did not truly comfort. If, however, he took your arm firmly in his hands and popped it back into place, you would immediately scream in pain, but the end result would be that you were truly comforted because he put your body back into its proper alignment and purpose. Everyone knows that the stuff that is good and beneficial to us doesn’t always taste or feel good (the opposite is also true), and it is the same with prophecy.

 

The architecture that Micaiah demonstrated in this instance was accurate in that he was not motivated by Ahab’s response, a desire to be recognized or accepted, or the false notion that he was obligated to speak that which others (i.e. Ahab) desired to hear (v. 14). His was a pure prophetic stream because he had no desire to please or seek the applause of man, even if that man was the king.

 

As if to punctuate the significance of this prophetic divergence, Scripture informs us that the gathering place where the prophets were called upon to discharge their ministries before the kings was at a threshing floor located at the entrance of the city gate (v. 10) – a place where the wheat was threshed (trampled by oxen or beaten) in order to loosen the grain from the stalks and then winnowed by using a fork to throw the grain into the air so that the breeze would separate the grain from the straw and the chaff; after which it was sifted in a sieve to remove the dirt and impurities. It represents a place of judgment, testing and separation, and is indicative of the fact that Micaiah represents the wheat as a true prophet, while the company of 400 represents the chaff (Jer. 23:28).

 

It is interesting to note also that Micaiah was given insight beyond the actual battle into a meeting that took place before the throne of God that involved the entire host of heaven, and which revealed the true spiritual workings and motivation behind Ahab’s desired campaign (vs. 17-23). This is what is defined by Prophet Scott Webster as elevated sight, and it is a vital component that is lacking among many prophets today. While the 400 were giving pat answers and (false) promises of military victory due, in part, to having their perspectives blurred by self-interest, false loyalty or allegiance, and an incorrect internal architecture, Micaiah was able to see not only the true outcome of the battle, but access intelligence information from the throne-room of God that revealed the spiritual underpinnings behind Ahab’s campaign and the prophets’ support of it, because he was operating from a place of elevated sight – a much higher prophetic dimension where he was able to see things from God’s divine perspective without the fuzz or static of human opinion, persuasion or assumption.

 

From the moment that Micaiah shared what he had seen regarding Ahab’s planned military campaign, which obviously conflicted with the unanimity of the other prophets and even cast them in a bad light, the divergence between these two opposing prophetic orders escalates into open hostility and conflict, with Micaiah being rudely slapped in the face by Zedekiah, the leader of the 400.

 

Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “Which way did the spirit from the Lord go from me to speak to you?” And Micaiah said, “Indeed, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide!” So the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son; and say, ‘Thus says the king: Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction until I come in peace (1 Kings 22:24-27).’”

 

In any culture a slap in the face, especially when it is dealt in the midst of a large public gathering, in the presence of two of the highest dignitaries, is one of the ultimate insults that can be inflicted upon a person. This, of course, demonstrates the severity of the hostility and attacks that will be directed towards those who are walking and operating in a true prophetic dimension by those who are a part of a false or inaccurate prophetic order.

 

You will notice that none of the kings, or anyone else that was a part of the gathering for that matter, issued any objection to Zedekiah’s contemptuous and violent behavior against Micaiah. As far as those gathered were concerned, it was probably justified. After all, by Micaiah’s pronouncement of the defeat of Ahab’s forces and his demise in battle, he would have appeared (at the very least) as less of a patriot to his nation or God’s chosen people. And by declaring that all (v. 23) of the other prophets were prophesying by a lying spirit, he was, in effect, saying that he was the only true prophet, thus making him appear arrogant, superior (elite) and separate (exclusive), which can sometimes be wrongly interpreted as cultic behavior, when in fact it represented the spirit of reformation and the presence of a reformer.

 

The irony of the situation is that the only real arrogance displayed here was from Zedekiah, who responded to Micaiah’s prophecy by sarcastically intimating that as the recognized and established senior prophet around, any true revelation from God must come through him first before any other prophet (v. 24), which is why the other “prophets” always followed his lead and echoed whatever he said. Some believe that Zedekiah is sarcastically referring to the lying spirit mentioned by Micaiah in his response, but whichever way one chooses to slice the cake, we are still confronted by the arrogance of Zedekiah who seeks to promote himself and his ministry above all others, including Micaiah.

 

Micaiah’s defense is that time will reveal who the true messenger of God is, because history will reveal which message truly came to pass. Many seem to forget that we have a responsibility to record what we have heard so that we can hold prophets accountable for words that do not come to pass. I hear a lot of prophecies from various “reputable” and recognized “prophetic” voices in our nation on a regular basis, and most of what I hear is either inaccurate or does not come to pass, yet masses still flock to their meetings and support their ministries because they tell people what they want to hear. Instead of judging the words that were previously given, we quickly forget about it and flock to receive a new one to compound the old.

 

I have had to unsubscribe myself from certain “prophetic” email lists that circulate more garbage than anything even remotely prophetic. And as arrogant as this may sound, most of these emails weren’t even worth the second of my time it would have taken to hit the delete button in my Inbox.

 

In the end, Micaiah’s ministry was rejected and he was led away captive to eat and drink the bread and water of affliction. Not only was he persecuted by the false but highly favored (by the king) and popular prophetic order, but he was rejected by the established (albeit corrupt) leadership as represented by King Ahab and sentenced to prison.

 

Like all true prophets, this new prophetic dimension is not one for those seeking earthly recognition and honor. On the contrary, as true reformers and those who will not compromise the truth, this new dimension demands great sacrifice and a readiness to be rejected, persecuted and afflicted by those who have no love for the truth.