1 Kings 22:19-40

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Micaiah's Description of the Lying Spirit

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. God permits but controls the activities of evil spirits at the present time.

  2. God uses random events to accomplish His purposes.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Watch out for false prophets who claim to speak by the Spirit of God.

  2. How stupid can you get?

QUESTIONS

  1. Why was Micaiah thrown into prison?

  2. Micaiah saw in a vision all the host of heaven standing before the Lord. This included good and bad angels. He said that one of the angels came forward and put a lying spirit in the mouth of Ahab’s false prophets, persuading Ahab to go against God’s word. Does God permit the activities of evil spirits at this present time?

  3. What did the false prophets tell Ahab? Are there false prophets today?

  4. When Ahab was dying, how did he show some courage?

  5. Can God use random events to accomplish His purposes? How did He illustrate this point in this lesson?

  6. Why did King Jehoshaphat do the things that he did for King Ahab (like changing robes)? How does this type of action apply to us?

ANSWERS

  1. Because he had told the truth, declaring the word of the Lord, which King Ahab did not want to hear.

  2. Yes, the Lord permitted the fallen angel or lying spirit to do what Micaiah said (1 Kings 22:23), but God also controlled their activities. Evil spirits now have a measure of freedom to do evil, but God is able to take even this evil activity and use it for His purposes.

  3. The false prophets told Ahab that he would win the battle, and they were claiming that the Spirit of the Lord God of Israel had given them that revelation. There are false prophets today, claiming to speak by the Spirit of God. David Karesh, for example, of the Branch Davidian cult was a contemporary false prophet, claiming to speak in the name of the Lord. But he was wrong and led many people to an untimely death.

  4. He had himself propped up in his chariot to face the Syrians, but he never submitted to the word of God.

  5. Yes. Ahab was killed by a random arrow, but it was not by chance. God uses random events today to accomplish His will. See Ephesians 1:11. From God’s perspective, there is no such thing as a random event, even though it might appear so at times.

  6. The Lord miraculously preserved Jehoshaphat’s life in spite of his naivety. And God bails us out of some of the predicaments of our own making at times. We can become entangled and ensnared in wrong associations and do things that we would not dream possible. But even though God bails us out, we should be more thoughtful and careful about being drawn into wrong relationships or associations.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Look up 1 John 4:1. Listen carefully to discern the true word of the Lord, and learn to shun false prophets and false doctrines. Spend time in God’s word.

  2. Have you become aware of a random event in your life, when you were in the right (or wrong) place at the right (or wrong) time? Perhaps this event was not as random as it seemed.

CHALLENGE

  1. Have you become entangled in a wrong association, doing things that you would not believe that you could do? If so, get out of it, lest you become blinded and lose all sense of right and wrong.

KEY VERSES

  • “Hear the word of the Lord.” 1 Kings 22:19

  • “The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets.” I Kings 22:23

  • “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12

1 Kings, Old Testament, TalksRon Reid1 Kings 22:19-40