There is Yet One Man, Micaiah 1 Kings 22 6 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
King Ahab wanted to recover Ramothgilead. So he called Jehoshaphat to help him in the battle. Jehoshaphat asked Ahab to inquire of the Lord before undertaking the battle and so Ahab called together his 400 prophets and to the man they all encouraged him to fight and assured him that “the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king,” [1 Ki 22:6]. Jehoshaphat was suspicious and asked for a prophet of the Lord [v.7] and so Ahab called for Micaiah. He said, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord,” [v.8]. There was just one man he could think of who could give him the word of the Lord concerning this attack.
Micaiah was one man:
Who knew the word of God – 1 Ki 22:8, 19-22, 28 – all these other prophets could testify and even say, “Thus saith the Lord,” [v.11] but only Micaiah truly knew what God said. When someone you know needs a person who can answer for the Lord, be that person. Peter said, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God,” [1 Pet 4:11].
Whom the king hated – 1 Ki 22:8 – you don’t generally try to get on the bad side of the king. However, if the choice is between being the friend of King Ahab or King Jesus, be like Micaiah and be the friend of God even if it means that your earthly king will hate you. Jesus said, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you,” [Jn 15:18-19]. Remember that Ahab hated Elijah, too. The closer you get to God, the further you get from the world. The Christian life is not a popularity contest.
Who could preach “evil” – 1 Ki 22:8, 18 – there are all kinds of preachers who can preach “good.” But you must watch out for these guys [Rom 16:17-18]. A true preacher preaches about good and EVIL, heaven and HELL, life and DEATH, the streets of gold and the LAKE OF FIRE, salvation and SIN, liberty and RESPONSIBILITY, the grace of God and the WRATH OF GOD, rewards and LOSSES, mercy and JUDGMENT, and so forth. Micaiah’s prophecies were so contrary to Ahab’s wickedness that when Micaiah sarcastically imitated the other prophets, Ahab knew immediately that he wasn’t speaking the truth [1 Ki 22:12, 15, 16-18].
Whom the Lord trusted – 1 Ki 22:13-14 – when the messenger tried to convince Micaiah to compromise and preach like all the other guys, Micaiah retorted, “As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak.” That’s exactly the kind of preacher God is looking for. Paul knew that the Lord had trusted him with the gospel [1 Thes 2:4; 1 Tim 1:11] and he wasn’t about to disappoint the Lord by breaking that trust. This is a sacred trust!!
Who could stand up to the crowd – 1 Ki 22:23-25 – there was a lot of pressure brought to bear upon Micaiah by the other prophets and particularly by Zedekiah. Micaiah didn’t break under the “peer pressure.” You will find many preachers who preach what they preach based upon the company they keep. They are very much unlike Micaiah and the apostles [Acts 4:19-20; 5:29]. There were many Pharisees who believed Jesus but they couldn’t confess him because they were afraid of ridicule and rejection by their peers. Micaiah was not like them at all.
Who was right – 1 Ki 22:26-28 – of all the prophets who prophesied that day, Micaiah was the only one who was right. That’s because he stood on the word of the Lord and not on anything else. Anytime you stand on the prophetic words of God, no matter how much pressure they bring, no matter what they do to you, in the end you will be right and they will be wrong. They were wrong about Jesus the Messiah, they were wrong about the resurrection and they are wrong about his return.
Conclusion: Jesus is coming back again just like he said and anyone who has not trusted him will be damned. Only those who have received him will be saved. You may not like what I have to say about that and you may have heard another preacher who has convinced you to reject the truth just like Ahab did. In the end, you will be doomed just like Ahab was and I will be right. But that’s because I believe the words of God and you don’t!