Devotional - June 20, 2004

There were four hundred of them - prophets, that is. In concert, they advised Ahab the king of Israel to go to war against the king of Aram. But Jehoshaphat doubted their counsel, as he felt they were telling Ahab only what he wanted to hear. So what does a king do when he really needs a word from God? Don't ask Ahab; he hadn't a clue!

When he was forced to bring up Micaiah's name, it must have really irritated Ahab. It's almost like he purposefully avoided that prophet's counsel because he hated being reminded that his own opinion was seldom in line with God's.

Isn't that the way it is with us? After all, who wants to be reminded of the right thing to do when you've got your mind set on doing the wrong thing? Who likes to hear some guy tell us what you already know and have tried to avoid hearing? Don't you just hate guys that only see things like God does? That can be so irritating when you've got your life set on cruise control.

In Psalm 138, David wrote, "May all the kings of the earth praise you, O Lord, when they hear the words of your mouth." (Vs. 4) Ahab and Jehoshaphat weren't just kings of the earth, but kings over God's people. One would think getting a word from God would be the driving motivation in their life, but not so; these kings wanted confirmation.

Are you seeking a word from God or simply looking for confirmation for your own plans? May we learn a lesson from Ahab who may have tried to stop his ears from hearing God's word but found he could run but he couldn't hide.

1 Developed from Read the Bible Thru ( 1 Ki. 22:1-53 Ac. 13:16-41 Ps. 138:1-8 Pr. 17:17-18 )
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society