What makes a good leader? In 1 Kings 22 we see two very different leaders. The difference is in how they treat God.
When a decision has to be made Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah seeks God (v5). He wants to know and obey what the Lord says. This is what we should look for in our leaders, and how we should live ourselves. When you have to make a decision, seek God’s will. Jehoshaphat does this by seeking God’s Word through a prophet, we now have God’s Word in the Bible, each one of us can open it and discover what God says. It would be amazing if leaders of countries would listen to what the King of kings says. It is vital that church leaders listen to what God says and seek his will.
Ahab, King of Israel reluctantly agrees to seek God’s will, but tries to manipulate things by using false prophets. He gathers around him 400 prophets who always tell him what he wants to hear! Jehoshaphat sees right through this. He asks if there’s anyone else they can ask, and Ahab admits that there’s another prophet – Micaiah, but he never tells him what he wants to hear so he doesn’t like to listen to him! King Ahab does not want to listen to what God says. But with Jehoshaphat standing by, he has to agree to send for Micaiah. What a godly influence Jehoshaphat is, he encourages another king to listen to God’s Word.
Micaiah tells the king what he doesn’t want to hear, he will not win the battle! How did Micaiah have the courage to speak God’s Word, when all the false prophets were saying something different? When he knew it may be costly to speak the truth? It’s because he was looking at another king, he saw the glory of the Lord (v19), why fear man when you see the glory of the Lord! He’s the one to seek to please.
Ahab should have listened to God’s Word, instead he chose to try and ignore what God says. How does that go? Well at first it goes all right, first he seeks to silence God’s Word by locking up the true prophet. Micaiah suffers for speaking the truth. Next Ahab decides to go to war in fancy dress (or non-fancy dress as the case may be)! He knows deep down that he’s in danger for not listening to God’s Word, but he thinks he’ll be safe if he doesn’t look like the king (v30). He tells Jehoshaphat to wear his royal robes, while Ahab went in casual clothing! What a friend we have in Ahab! He only cares for himself, he’s happy to let the king of Judah take the blow instead!
But do you really think he can hide from God? Can you hide from the sovereign Lord? Ahab thought so, but when a random arrow goes astray and pierces his chest he discovers the truth of God’s Word too late.
What are we to learn from this? Do not reject God’s Word. It is far better to suffer for sticking to God’s Word like Micaiah, than it is to ignore God’s Word and seek to get around it. Micaiah, the suffering prophet and Jehoshaphat the king who willingly went to battle knowing he may take the wrath aimed at the king both point us forward to our king Jesus. The one who suffered for the truth and died in our place taking the wrath that should rightly be aimed at us.
You cannot escape God’s Word, today look to the King of kings in whatever decisions you seek to make, don’t fear man, don’t just go with popular opinion, God’s Word will not fail. Make sure you belong to a church with leaders who stick with what God says.
Light and Momentary Troubles 
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