1 Kings 22:1-18

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Ahab’s Final Battle With the Syrians

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. The unbelieving world hates believers because of their message of truth.

  2. The unbeliever would rather feel good than hear the truth.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Don’t make foolish alliances.

  2. Watch out for the world’s pressure to conform you to their way of thinking.

QUESTIONS

  1. What happened after Ahab’s victory in the two battles against Ben- Hadad?

  2. Who was the true prophet of the Lord during this incident? Why did Ahab dislike him?

  3. Good King Jehoshaphat made an alliance with wicked King Ahab. What is the lesson here for us?

  4. What kind of pressure was put on Micaiah, the true prophet of the Lord?

  5. What was Ahab’s reaction when Micaiah told him the truth? What are the implications for us today?

  6. Micaiah resisted the pressure to conform to the world. How does this truth affect us?

ANSWERS

  1. Ahab made a treaty with the enemy and granted him amnesty. Ben-Hadad reneged on the treaty, so Ahab decided to regain Ramoth Gilead by fighting for it. Ahab asked King Jehoshaphat of Judah to fight with him.

  2. Micaiah. His message was one of truth, and as such, his prophecy was not good concerning Ahab. Ahab wanted to hear only what he wanted to hear. The unbelieving world hates believers because of their message of truth, that there is only one way to God, and that is through His Son Jesus Christ.

  3. Re-read 1 Kings 22:4 and compare it with the parallel passage in 2 Chronicles 19:2. Jehoshaphat blindly and naively walked into a situation declared by God to be wrong, and he helped those who hated the Lord. As believers, we can make foolish alliances with unbelievers, but we live to regret them. This is especially true concerning marriage vows. See 2 Corinthians 6:14.

  4. The false prophets were telling the king what he wanted to hear, and they pressured Micaiah to do the same. Also, he knew that the king hated his messages of truth.

  5. He turned to the King of Judah, saying, “Didn’t I tell you that he would not prophecy good unto me, but evil?” (1 Kings 22:18). He didn’t want to hear the truth, and the same is true today. People would rather hear pleasant things than the truth, especially concerning hell.

  6. Even the religious world will try to pressure you into its own way of thinking. Do not capitulate to erroneous doctrines that would conform you to the world’s way of thinking.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. When God gives you a victory, do you thank Him?

  2. Have you ever hated the word of God because it convicts you? What did you do about it?

  3. Have you ever entered into an unholy alliance? What were the results?

CHALLENGE

  1. Are you prone to fall in with the crowd concerning popular beliefs? Or are you able to stand for Christ? Read Romans 12:2.

KEY VERSES

  • “‘Is there a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of him?’ ‘There is, but I hate him because he does not prophecy good concerning me’” 1 Kings 22:7-8

  • “All the prophets prophesied, ‘Go up and prosper.” 1 Kings 22:12

  • “Micaiah said, ‘As the Lord lives, whatever He says to me, that will I speak.” 1 Kings 22:14

1 Kings, Old Testament, TalksRon Reid1 KINGS 22:1-18