This is the day of God's reckoning, the day of God's retribution. Ahab, Ahab, this day has come so suddenly. You thought you could dominate the battlefield, but ahead lies your grave! A stray arrow pierced your armor; it was no accidental disaster, but the Lord's own arrow! When you fell, you realized how true the curse of God was, but it was too late!
Questions to Ponder:
When do you think God will bring retribution upon people?
What kind of reward do you most desire from God? How should you live your life to receive such a reward?
Have you ever lied? When do you lie?
Why were Ahab and the false prophets controlled by the spirit of lies? Why did only Micaiah speak the truth?
Would you choose to please people or to please God? Why?
Spiritual Principle: God is a God of Retribution
After reading this chapter, let us reflect on what it is really about. The answer is Ahab's retribution. On the day of retribution, nothing can be done to reverse the situation. Even if Micaiah tells Ahab the truth clearly, even if Ahab himself is well aware, there is no way to turn things around because he has accumulated enough of God's wrath for himself. This chapter corresponds precisely to the words in Romans Chapter 2:
And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, (Romans 2:3-9)
Brothers and sisters, we must not accumulate wrath with God. We must not think that nothing will happen after doing something wrong. You must know that when the wrath accumulates to a certain extent, God's retribution will come. Do not think that the God we believe in is not a God of retribution. Retribution is actually rendering to each person according to their deeds. Everyone knows what they are doing in their heart, and God knows it too. Ahab, the false prophets, and Micaiah all know what they are doing in their hearts. Because everyone has something called conscience, which will tell you what the spiritual consequences are. Even those who do evil, no matter how corrupt they are, their conscience will tell them that they are doing evil. Therefore, we must be vigilant about everything we do that is displeasing to God, because when the day of judgment comes, there will be no way to reverse it. No matter how talented you are, no matter how anointed you are, it will be useless.
The Operation of the Spirit of Lies
The life and death of any person is a spiritual matter. When we see the Lord on the throne asking who will entice Ahab to die in battle, do not think that God makes a special decision about his life and death only because Ahab is the king of Israel. Not only Ahab, but the judgment of every person is governed by our God. After death, the body returns to dust, but the spirit returns to God who gave it. (See Ecclesiastes 12:7). In fact, after Ahab died, his spirit would go to God, and God would judge him and throw him into hell. Some people do not understand this spiritual truth, thinking that God only cares about important people and will not care about themselves, so they do not consider what will happen to them in the future and accumulate God's wrath for themselves. This is actually a very terrifying thing. The judgment that Ahab encountered was also like this.
When God's judgment came upon Ahab, there was a very interesting phenomenon, that the spirit of lies participated in it. This spirit of lies not only operated on the false prophets, but also on Ahab, making Ahab's heart very hardened. In fact, God's judgment on anyone operates in the spiritual realm. Let us return to the Book of Exodus. When the Pharaoh of Egypt saw the miracles one after another, was he not clear in his heart that this was the work of God? Although he was clear, he still wanted to oppose God's people, and he still led the army to chase after the Israelites, and as a result, he was buried in the Red Sea.
It is difficult for us to imagine why people are so stubborn. But we have found in our ministry that some people are just so stubborn. If these people happen to be your own relatives, you do not have to be too sad. Just serve them wholeheartedly, and the final road is still their own choice. If you ask me if I will be sad for these people? I will say: As long as I serve him wholeheartedly while he is alive, save him one day if I can, save him two days if I can, then I will have no regrets. If he can repent and turn around, then I thank the Lord. But if he continues to choose to walk a path of destruction, then I really cannot help him. In this case, I do not need to be sad for him either.
Ahab's death was the result of the operation of the spirit of lies. How does it operate? It operates through the cowardice within people. Whether you will be controlled by the spirit of lies basically depends on whether you are a cowardly person. The Bible shows us that the natural tendency of people is to be afraid in a specific environment, and then they will lie. If you can choose to overcome this natural tendency, even if you are afraid, even if you will be punished or even in danger of your life, and still choose to tell the truth, you will overcome the lies.
In fact, all four hundred false prophets knew that they were lying, and Zedekiah also knew that he was lying. So why did they lie? Because they were facing the king of Israel. According to human道理, this is called 识时务者为俊杰: that is King Ahab, he will decide my life and death, if I tell him the truth, will I not offend the king? Then how will I live my life in the future? These false prophets are all paid by the king, and the king養了them is to listen to these good words. Does Ahab believe them? Of course Ahab does not believe them either. Then why does Ahab養了them? I am also very surprised.
How to Discern Lies
If a person is fearful in their heart, anxious about gains and losses, they may be tempted to act like a so-called hero in such situations. But these are worldly principles. They do not realize that if a person becomes accustomed to telling lies, it becomes very dangerous. The Bible divides people into two categories: those who fear man and those who fear God. If you fear God, you will absolutely not fear man; if you fear man, you will absolutely not fear God. These two cannot coexist. One type of person pleases God, while the other incurs God's wrath.
Those who incur God's wrath are all recorded in Revelation: But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death (Revelation 21:8). Here, the cowardly are listed first, and the liars are last. If you are cowardly, you will not fear God; instead, you will fear man. If you are bold, you will fear God and not fear man.
The Bible very clearly reveals these two types of people to us. During the judgment of Ahab, people were immediately separated: four hundred false prophets and one true prophet. Those false prophets only knew how to fear man, not how to fear God, and they were very arrogant. In reality, Zedekiah wielding the two horns was useless; it was just a prop. Today, let us carefully consider this in the context of our lives: If you go to a church where only pleasant things are said, such as It's okay to commit a few sins; who doesn't sin? This is how everyone in the world is, you may feel comforted, but it will not be like that when you are truly judged.
I once told a colleague, Brother, you must tithe, or you will be under the curse of poverty. As a result, he turned against me and went to a church that did not require tithing, where the pastor spoke very nicely. But what use is that? Some time ago, he told me on WeChat that he was unemployed and had a wife and two children at home. Who is suffering? It is useless to enjoy hearing pleasant words; you must desire to be blessed. The key to being blessed is to thirst for words that build up life; even if the ears do not like to hear them, you must still listen.
Isaiah says, The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He awakens me morning by morning, awakens my ear to listen like one being taught (Isaiah 50:4). Although these words may be unpleasant to the ear, you must understand in your heart that they build up my life. Over time, you will know who is telling you the truth and who is telling you lies.
If you read the New Testament carefully, you will find that those who belong to God cannot sin. This is stated very resolutely. Therefore, the difference between a false prophet and a true prophet is that one fears man and the other fears God. I encourage brothers and sisters to begin to fear God. When people tell lies to please others, it becomes emptiness in the blink of an eye. The false prophets pleased Ahab, but in the blink of an eye, Ahab was gone forever. Therefore, if you are willing to stand firm and speak the truth from the beginning, the spirit of lies will not be able to control you.
Rely on God, Be Alert at All Times
Returning to Ahab, he actually believed that Micaiah was right, but he thought he had a way to avoid it. He had Jehoshaphat put on the royal robes, while he himself put on ordinary clothes. But this method could not avoid God's judgment. Human methods cannot stop God's judgment. The only way is to repent. Repentance is grace, not shame. If someone only tells you pleasant words and does not talk about repentance, be careful. We must know that we must be in spiritual harmony with God's heart and be a person after God's own heart, so that we will not accumulate God's wrath. Therefore, Romans 2:10 says, but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good. So we need to understand this spiritual truth.
After Ahab died, his son succeeded him as king. Logically speaking, his son should have been very clear about what Ahab had done and his death, as well as how Micaiah's prophecies were fulfilled. But his son still went his own way. Don't you find that very strange? People are like that: once immersed in the trivial matters of life, they easily forget what happened before. For example, people feel very shocked when they see a dead person; but when they return to their own lives, they quickly forget this shock. Therefore, we should read the Bible and understand these things: God adds glory to people like David and brings hardship to people like Ahab. After understanding these things, we should not be like Ahab and his son, but we should be strong and resist all the disasters of life. These disasters cannot be stopped by human methods. Only by being a person who pleases God, that is: to those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. To them he will give glory, honor and peace.