A Lying Spirit

1 Kings 22:19-23;

"Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. And the Lord said, 'Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?' So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, 'I will persuade him.' The Lord said to him, 'In what way?' So he said, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.'

And the Lord said, 'You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.' Therefore look! The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you."

Would you go into a battle that was sure to be lost?

The word of the Lord from Micaiah in 1 Kings retells a story about a king who wanted to go out to battle to regain lost territory, but the Lord forewarned that it will bring disaster. The king did not want to hear that he would fail, but wanted to hear that he would prevail. The king's prophets prophesied that he would go to battle and prevail. But there was one, Micaiah, who declared the truth:

"...I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, 'These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.'"

But a lying spirit was sent to the king through his prophets because the king had already determined in his heart that he wanted to go to war - no matter the outcome. For he said:

"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."

In other words, the king just wanted to hear what he liked. He wanted to hear that good would happen to him, no matter what he chose. He despised those prophets who differed from his views and desires. He just wanted to hear a word of prosperity.

The Lord did not hide the truth from him. He declared to him what was going to happen. The Lord advised that it would be best to "return to [the] house in peace." But seeing that the king did not desire to take heed to that advice, Micaiah declared a deeper truth: that the Lord had sent a lying spirit to the king's prophets - all because the king only desired to hear that he would prosper in every one of his decisions.

Take heed to God's warnings. Do not be deceived. What may seem the best, may not actually the best. Wait and be still. God has given advice, has declared the truth, and has given His warning.

Persevere and endure to the end.