The Majority or the Minority?
One morning in our household, some time ago, I was distracted by a chortle as one of my family read their Bible. I was curious to find out what the reader found so humorous. A cry of "Absolutely priceless!" emanated from the sofa. What tickled the funny bone was the response of King Ahab to the question of Jehoshaphat.
7 But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here another prophet of the LORD of whom we may inquire?" 8 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil." And Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say so." (1 Ki. 22:7-8)
The context of the comment in 1 Kings 22:1-40 was a Judah-Israeli alliance made to fight a war with Syria. The godly southern ruler was keen to consult Yahweh before lining up for battle. He asked the Omride heir was there not a prophet of whom Jezebel's husband might inquire?
6 For three years Syria and Israel continued without war. 2 But in the third year Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 3 And the king of Israel said to his servants, "Do you know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, and we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?" 4 And he said to Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?" And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." 5 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Inquire first for the word of the LORD." 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, "Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?" And they said, "Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king." (1 Ki. 22:1-6)
A group of 400 prophets, there or thereabouts, was summoned before the rulers to learn how the proposed assault on Ramoth-Gilead would turn out. There was not a single dissenting voice among the group: if they should launch a blitz, the allied force would meet success - it was a whopper of a lie that they had dreamed up!
The son of David was not content to act on the syncretistic word of the Baalist-Bethel cult. Jehoshaphat bluntly inquired: "Is there not a Yahwist prophet with whom we might consult?" With a sinking feeling that he was, yet again, about to be called-out, Ahab replied: "You call the guy Micaiah, but He always give bad press!"
Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, "Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah." (1 Ki. 22:9 ESV)
Messengers were sent-off to summon the son of Imlah to the court, where two royal thrones were placed. Meanwhile Zedekiah, the ring-leader of the fakes, made an impressive bull-horned headdress for Himself, enacting a pseudo-prophecy of strategic success - a choir of 400 "Yes Men" chimed-out "A military slam-dunk!"
10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, "Thus says the LORD, 'With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.'" 12 And all the prophets prophesied so and said, "Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the LORD will give it into the hand of the king." (1 Ki. 22:10-12)
Having forewarned Israel's paiges to expect "the whole truth and nothing but the truth", a reluctant godly messenger, burdened up with Jehovah's Word, was asked by Ahab to reveal the army fate. After either an insincere or compromised "VE Day is assured" he was urged to tell the truth. "This very day will be your last on earth."
13 And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, "Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably." 14 But Micaiah said, "As the LORD lives, what the LORD says to me, that I will speak." 15 And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, "Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?" And he answered him, "Go up and triumph; the LORD will give it into the hand of the king." 16 But the king said to him, "How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?" 17 And he said, "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 home in peace.'" 18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?" 19 And Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; 20 and the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' And one said one thing, and another said another. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, saying, 'I will entice him.' 22 And the LORD said to him, 'By what means?' And he said, 'I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he said, 'You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.' 23 Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has declared disaster for you." (1 Ki. 22:13-23)
His opponent with the horn-hat, whose fraud had been exposed, now pressed forward with insults to the honest minister of light - Ahab had been enticed by the lying spirit of false prophets, permission for which had been sought from Yah in His celestial court. Chenaanah's lad slapped, challenged, and denounced a faithful servant of truth.
24 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, "How did the Spirit of the LORD go from me to speak to you?" 25 And Micaiah said, "Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself." 26 And the king of Israel said, "Seize Micaiah, and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son, 27 and say, 'Thus says the king, "Put this fellow in prison and feed him meager rations of bread and water, until I come in peace."'" 28 And Micaiah said, "If you return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me." And he said, "Hear, all you peoples!" (1 Ki. 22:24-28)
Ahab remanded Michiah in chains, on a diet of water and grits, until he should return in peace. The pastor of Israel's sheep said that, if that event took place, he was not a true prophet of the LORD: he called the nation to testify to the fact: since God decreed that false prophets be put to death, Yahweh's spokesman had staked his work and neck on whether or not this prediction proved false, while Zedekiah and others spouted lies impudently and with impunity.
To try to prove him wrong, Ahab concocted a plan - Jehoshaphat would wear full royal regalia on the battlefield, while Ahab would go to fight in the disguise of regular troops. What the Samarian prince could not have known is that the Syrians soldiers were given strict orders to decapitate Israel - a contract hit was taken out on Ahab, sparing everybody else.
29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes." And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. (1 Ki. 22:29-30)
As the battle raged, and the Syrians advanced, the head of Judah was chased, cried out and, realizing it was a case of mistaken identity, Jehoshaphat was reprieved. In a totally random act (sovereignly and secretly ordained and overruled) - what we might call a freakish event or mishap - some unnamed archer took an arrow out of his quiver, and aimed at the air and shot - it whizzed from his bow, and was directed in flight from his string to the front of the King of Israel's armor-suit. It pierced a joint, and entered his heart. Michaiah had spoken sovereign Yah's truth.
31 Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, "Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel." 32 And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "It is surely the king of Israel." So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 And when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 34 But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, "Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded." 35 And the battle continued that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians, until at evening he died. And the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot. (1 Ki. 22:31-35)
Though Ahab slumped, propped-up, facing the Damascene Host, until the sun had set, he slowly bled to death, in his chariot's bloody mess. Brought back to the pool of Samaria, His tank-equivalent was power-hosed down, while, according to the Word of the LORD, in another prophet's mouth, dogs licked-up a hemoglobin feast.
36 And about sunset a cry went through the army, "Every man to his city, and every man to his country!" 37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. 38 And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed themselves in it, according to the word of the LORD that he had spoken. (1 Ki. 22:36-38)
There would be many valuable lessons we could learn from this text - especially the retort that might put a smile our face, largely because it exposes the old adamic flesh in our own depraved, duplicitous, self-deceptive, heart. Truth is not established by majority vote. Truth is often upheld by a single, dissenting, hated, voice.
It is true that we ought to expect much better from our own lips and our brethren in the Church. Indeed, we are commanded by Christ to maintain unity in truth. Yet, we could easily side-step the haunting reality of spiritual compromise and cruel response to those who expose our spinelessness, by consigning such stories to Old Testament History, or dismissing it as a case of a bad ruler of an apostate northern state.
Problem is, that the same thing has occurred many times throughout the history of the Church - I am sure that Church History professors of faithful denominations could point to the drowning out of minority reports, or persecution of those who spoke out contra mundum.
Nor should we forget the case of Barnabas and Peter in the "perfect, ideal" Early Church - it took a man of courage like Paul, who kept his eye on the ball of Gospel Truth, without losing focus, and able to keep his cool, under intense criticism, peer-pressure, and looks of disapproval, in order to boldly call out Simon. Paul, alone, it seems, had the presence of mind, and courage of heart, to correct his beloved travelling companion, publicly: temporary concession to error could have proved fatal if persisted in impenitently.
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?" (Gal. 2:11-14)
Perhaps that explains, in part, why he warns Galatians that - regardless of who does it, be it an Angel Gabriel, the apostle Himself, another witness to the death and resurrection of Christ, or the entire twelve-pillar apostolic group - if another Gospel of Christ + or Christ - is preached, such a pseudo-preacher attracts a death-wish to himself.
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel– 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Gal. 1:6-9)
We do rejoice in the unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace! It is, certainly, our delight to gather at the foot of the Heavenly Mount for the better worship of the New Covenant in the Blood of Jesus, our exalted Mediator, arm in arm, heart to heart! Nothing is better than when brothers dwell harmoniously united.
But - and it is a big qualifier - creeds, councils, and synods are never an autonomous authority in and of themselves, cut loose from the Word - the Church is not an democracy that determines truth by vote, but a theocracy that is adjudicated by and subordinated to Christ Himself. We need His Spirit for constant grace, heat and light, for ongoing reformation by King Jesus, who governs us by His Word.
