Inquire first for the word of the Lord.
2 Chronicles 18:4
After the reign of Solomon, God’s people split into two kingdoms. The kings of Israel were only evil continuously. The kings of Judah fluctuated between good and bad.
At one point, Israel and Judah sought an alliance against a common enemy. But before they went out in battle, King Jehoshaphat of Judah (a good king) insisted that King Ahab of Israel (who was only evil continuously) to “inquire first for the word of the Lord.” (By the way, that’s good advice. Before we set out for any venture, we ought to inquire first of the Lord!!!)
Well, Ahab did. He inquired of 400 prophets – perhaps the same 400 false prophets of Baal that Elijah once did battle against. They told him what he wanted to hear – that God would be with them when they went into battle against Ramothgilead.
But good king Jehoshaphat wasn’t satisfied. He said, “Is there no other prophet of the Lord here of whom we can inquire?” (2 Chr 18:6).
Ahab responded, “There is still one other by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah … but I hate him for he never prophesies anything favorable about me, but only disaster” (18:7).
· Integrity always wants to hear truth. Evil never wants to hear truth.
· Integrity stands taller when bolstered by truth. Evil feels judged and defeated.
· Integrity will be blessed – if not in the moment, then always in the end. Evil may steal a few short term victories, but it is never, never blessed.
Don’t you see that in our world all of the time?
· Evil is afraid of the light, but integrity even shines brighter in it.
In Christ’s Love,
Hungry Jack
(a guy who’s hungry for truth
… and pancakes)
No comments:
Post a Comment