King Ahab Didn’t Need to be Told!
King Ahab Didn’t Need to be Told!
1 Kings 22:15 Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king!” So the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?”
We Really Do Know Right from Wrong
God has given us a conscience. Because of that we know the difference between right and wrong. God has also given us prophets whose purpose is to be spokespersons for God. Some prophets are prophets that speak truth and some prophets tell people what they want to hear. Because God has given us consciences, we really don’t need a prophet to point out what is right and what is wrong. Micaiah was not needed by King Ahab to know what the mind of the Lord was—he knew. Usually people know whether a prophet is telling them the truth or not because they have consciences to guide them. They know without asking. But people still go to prophets to tell them what they want to hear rather than going to prophets to have what they know to be the truth confirmed.
Conscience is Powerful
Conscience is a powerful thing. It is a moral guide just as the law is a moral guide (Romans 2:15). We can have good consciences or bad consciences depending on how we are living. Paul had a good conscience (Acts 23:1). Consciences can and should convict us when we do wrong (John 8:9). However consciences can be “seared” or deadened to the point that they no longer distinguish between right and wrong. This seems to happen through a deliberate choice for some hypocritical people who knowingly lie. People can become numb to any conviction of conscience. See 1 Timothy 4:2.
I think that most people seek out preachers and churches today that tell them what they want to hear rather than seeking out those who will tell them what God says. Most people do not know their Bibles well enough for it to guide them today, but they do have consciences. Until they have turned a deaf ear to their consciences over and over again, deadening its effectiveness, they do have the ability to distinguish right from wrong. But it is tempting to listen to those who always have good news rather than listening to those who have a lot of bad news. And most prophets of God have more bad news than good news. It is discouraging to be a prophet and to know that people are not going to listen. Isaiah was told that would be his mission in Isaiah 6:9-10. Micaiah knew that would be the case with Ahab.
It is not fun to Play Policeman
It is not fun to always be the one who has to spoil the party and tell people that they are sinners in need of a Savior. It is hard to tell those who are religious that they still need to repent and believe the Gospel. It is hard to tell those who say that they are “following Christ” that they are not following Christ unless they have been “born again.” It is hard to tell people that they need to be baptized when their parents christened them and had them sprinkled as babies. It is hard to always be the policeman who has to point out departure from Biblical truth. It would be a lot easier to tell people that God is a merciful God and that as long as a person is well intentioned, things will be ok.
However, when faithful preachers point out Biblical Truth, it encourages me to know that most people really know deep down in their heart of hearts that what they are hearing from the Bible is true. They may not bow to that truth, and they may ostracize the true prophet for being faithful. However, they, like Ahab, know when they are hearing the Word of the Lord and when they are hearing the message of a false prophet.
Have we Rendered our Consciences Ineffective?
We all have a conscience that God has given to us to guide us. I hope we are listening to it and not resisting it. If we continually resist listening to our God given consciences, our consciences will be seared and will quit speaking to us. We will be open to all the religious confusion that we find in the world that calls itself Christian today.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of September 14, 2014