Unsung Heroes Pt 9-Micaiah

Unsung Heroes of the Bible

Part 9

Micaiah: Speaking the Truth Without Spin

Eph. 4:23-25

1 Kings 22:14

This is our ninth message in the series “Unsung Heroes of the Bible.”

Today we’re going to look at a man who, under intense pressure to follow the crowd and say something he knew wasn’t true, refused to do so.

Micaiah lived in a society and among so-called “prophets” that practiced the fine art of “spin.”

“SPIN” refers to the highly manipulative tactics used to sway audiences away from a true presentation of the facts.

Spin is when one plays loose with the truth to gain an advantage.

Spin is a form of sophisticated lying.

When you believe that the end justifies the means, “spin” can be practiced without a guilty conscience.

I have chosen Micaiah for this week’s unsung hero because he is a refreshing example of a truth-teller for those of us who live in a nation of spin.

ILLUS: A major company was looking for a new Marketing Director.

After much advertising and many applications, three candidates entered the final selection process.

The first one in for the final interview was asked him a simple question: “What is 2+2?”

He was surprised, thought about it for a bit, wondered if it might be a trick question and then simply answered 4.

The Managing Director looked at the Board, shook his head and thanked him for coming, but he wasn’t the candidate they were looking for.

The next one in was again asked this simple question: “What is 2+2?”

He paused, thought about it for a bit and then replied that statistically it was a number between 3 and 5.

The Managing Director smiled and the Board was quite impressed.

The candidate was thanked and ushered out.

The last candidate was also asked the simple question: What is 2+2.

Without batting an eyelid he replied: “What do you want it to be?”

He was hired on the spot because he wasn’t after the truth; he was all about creating whatever they wanted the truth to be.

This is the fine art of spin.

These kinds of folks are called “spin doctors” in our day.

Another name for them is “politician.”

The national media are by and large no longer concerned with the truth; they are all about spinning a story to suit their own political agendas.

Micaiah wouldn’t play that game.

As Paul put it in our text, he “spoke the truth with his neighbor.”

He courageously spoke the truth of God’s Word, no matter the consequences, though surrounded with spin masters, compromisers, and fakes.

The events surrounding Micaiah are as follows:

One day Israel’s wicked King Ahab approached Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, with a request:

“Will you go with me to fight the Syrians?” (1 Kings 22:4)

There was a slice of land in the possession of the Syrians that Ahab wanted.

But Ahab was not called by God to possess this land; it was his own idea, prompted by his own selfishness.

Now keep in mind that Ahab and his wicked wife, Jezebel, were the worst that ever sat on Israel’s throne.

Wicked Queen Jezebel had introduced God’s people to Baalism, and in so doing had defiled the entire nation.

Also, under Ahab and Jezebel, all of God’s prophets had come under intense persecution and false prophets of Baal had installed in their place.

The wrath of God indeed was abiding on Israel because of Ahab and Jezebel.

So for Jehoshaphat to join in league with Ahab was like him joining hands with the devil.

Before diving into the battle, Jehoshaphat requested that Ahab get a word from God on this crucial decision.

Now here’s where the “SPIN” comes in.

Ahab quickly gathered together 400 of his own false prophets who all said together, “Go up, for the Lord will deliver the Syrians into your hand.”

The Bible pictures the two kings, Ahab and Jehoshaphat, sitting on thrones listening to the constant drone of these false prophets.

“Go up and prosper, for the Lord will deliver them into the king’s hand.”

Almost persuaded, Jehoshaphat asked if there was yet one more prophet

Ahab said, “Well, there is one, but I hate him because he does not prophesy good concerning me. His name is Micaiah.”

Ahab wanted only to listen to the spin doctors.

So leading up to this moment, there had already been a great struggle between King Ahab and the prophet, Micaiah (and in a greater way, between “SPIN” and God’s truth).

God’s truth had been available to the king and to the people of Israel, but they had rejected truth for spin over and over again.

They rationalized their actions by saying they had to have that land from Syria.

Rationalization is “finding reasons in your mind to justify what you know is wrong in your heart.”

The same thing happens to you and me sometimes.

God’s truth is available to us, it is presented to us, and it is sent to protect us, but we are not ready to receive it.

We choose spin in order to avoid obeying the Lord.

And the Bible predicts that in the last days, the whole world will prefer spin over truth:

1 Tim.4:1 “Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.”

People will choose the lies of demons over the truth of God’s Word.

Again, Paul the Apostle writes:

2 Tim. 4:3 “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers (spin doctors) who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.”

So the Bible predicts that the last days will be a prime hour for spin doctors whose “spin” will be chosen over the truth by people who no longer want truth.

FACT: When a person accepts spin over truth, the consequences are always disastrous.

And this is what we’re about to see with these two kings who refused the Word of the Lord.

Imagine being brought into a room where two kings are seated on thrones.

In front of them are 400 men claiming to be prophets.

They are all saying the same thing in perfect unity.

“Go and fight, for God will give you the victory!”

Then you alone are brought before this company.

Every eye is burning a hole through your soul.

Right about then, the messenger that brought you into the room leans into your ear and says,

“Look, all the prophets are promising victory for the king. Be sure that you agree with them and promise success.”

THE MESSAGE IS CRYSTAL CLEAR:

Everyone else is playing loose with the truth.

Be sure that you agree.

C’mon Micaiah, go with the crowd.

Don’t be a party pooper.

Fit in.

Play the part.

Compromise.

It’s more important to be accepted and popular than to stand alone.

But Micaiah couldn’t do it.

He squared his shoulders, looked the two kings in the eye, and predicted disaster.

He began by saying that all of the king’s prophets were under the influence of a lying evil spirit.

“…the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all your prophets.”

Then he predicted King Ahab’s certain death.

“For the Lord has pronounced your doom, Ahab.”

He concluded by saying, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd.”

FACT: God’s truth was given to protect the king and the people of Israel. But, they were not ready to receive it.

So, with Micaiah we find a man of truth; a truth-teller.

Though under intense pressure to spin the truth, he wouldn’t do it.

We learn three major lessons for life from this unsung prophet:

Go with the truth, not with the crowd

Micaiah courageously stood alone under intense pressure to go with the crowd.

His commitment was to the truth of God and the God of the truth, not to men.

Pr.29:25 “The fear of man brings a trap, but he who trusts in the Lord will be honored.”

Martin Luther was asked at one time if he knew that the whole world was against him because of his uncompromising commitment to God’s Word.

His answer was, “Then, I am against the whole world!”

His commitment was to God’s truth, not the world!

The Bible says, “For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth” (2 Cor. 13:8).

It is easier to walk in this when you realize that:

The crowd is often wrong

People are by nature fad followers and rarely think things through.

They are primarily concerned with acceptance over truth.

And history proves repeatedly that the majority can be tragically wrong.

For instance, an entire nation followed an evil Hitler off the cliff.

An angry majority crucified the Son of God.

A misled majority worshipped a golden calf in the wilderness to their own destruction.

Scripture records, “And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day” (1 Cor. 10:8).

A 23,000 person majority were wrong that day!

LESSON: Don’t look to the crowd for your truth, look to God’s Word!

The truth will always win out in the end.

At first, standing with the truth can be tough.

People don’t want to hear it.

They may lash out at you for the truth that stings their conscience.

Jesus said, “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also” (John 15:20).

But though tough at the beginning, the truth-teller is blessed in the end.

On the flip side, the crowd follower appears blessed at the beginning, but is burned at the end.

In the end, only one prophet was vindicated—Micaiah.

He alone stood out among the 400 and passed the test.

May we speak God’s truth without SPIN, despite being in the minority, despite being mocked, scorned and even rejected because of it.

May we speak it because of our love for God and our love for those who do not know Him.

Whether we succeed or fail in bringing that person around isn’t the primary issue; the primary issue is,

“Was I faithful to do what God wanted me to do?

Was I faithful to say what God wanted me to say?”

SPIN-doctors will come and go; God’s truth will remain forever.

NEXT TIME: Enoch: The First Raptured Man