And there came forth a spirit, and stood before Jehovah, and said, I will entice him.
The prophet Micaiah has just described what he saw. The Lord sat on His throne, with the whole host of heaven standing on either side. The Lord then asked that court who would lure King Ahab to his death at Ramoth-gilead. Verse 21 is the answer. One spirit steps forward and offers to do it. That raises the hardest question in the chapter: how can a lie serve God's purposes?
Ahab had made up his mind and refused the prophet's warning. What Micaiah reports next explains the flattery Ahab was enjoying from his own advisers.
Ahab was determined to attack Ramoth-gilead, and he refused the prophet's warning. So Micaiah was allowed to pull the veil aside for a moment. The stubborn king could see that spirit activity was luring him to his destruction, working on the minds of his fawning advisers… The disastrous expedition that cost Ahab his life was discussed and settled in the spirit world. An evil angel dragged the stubborn king down to his ruin — a king who had long since turned his back on his Creator.
The spirit does not work in the dark. It steps forward in the open court of heaven and speaks in front of the Lord.
He had seen the Lord on His throne and all the host of heaven standing by. It may seem strange that this included evil spirits. But God is in perfect control of satanic powers, as well as all other powers.
The offer comes from the spirit, and God permits it. One writer sets this beside other times God used Satan for His own purposes.
Satan is a creature, so God can, and does, use him to carry out His wise purposes in His dealings with people. God permitted a lying spirit to lure Ahab on to his death at Ramoth-gilead (1 Kings 22:21-22). A messenger of Satan, a thorn in the flesh, battered Paul, so that he would not become proud (2 Cor. 12:7). Paul could hand a man over to Satan, so that he would learn not to blaspheme (1 Tim. 1:20).
Ahab had worshipped other spirits for years. Now the sentence falls through the very channel he had trusted.
The prophet does not stop there. He points out the satanic lying spirit that has taken hold of all the prophets to make Ahab go up to Ramoth. The Lord had said, "Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?" (v. 20). This was the judgment of God, prepared in advance against Ahab. It was an indirect judgment: the demonic spirits he had worshipped became the instruments of their victim's doom.
The deception worked because Ahab had already rejected the truth. One writer ties this to the delusion God sends on people who refuse to believe.
This shows that the Lord allows evil spirits to do their evil work of lying, so that ungodly people will be deceived. 2 Thessalonians 2 shows the same folly: the Lord sends a strong delusion through the antichrist to deceive people, because they refuse to believe the truth of God (vv. 6-11). So, because Ahab had refused God's Word, he would accept the falsehood of Satan's prophets.
The verse tells us that a spirit spoke and what it proposed. It does not tell us more, and writers are careful not to fill the gap.
We do not know the nature of this spirit, nor how he influenced the prophets.
The scene still teaches something plain. Prophets can agree, use the Lord's name, and still be lying.
They were now pretending to speak by the Spirit of God, whereas a lying spirit who served their own interests had taken hold of them. One can wear the uniform of a prophet of the Lord and be lying. How often this has been so at all times, and how much more so today.
- Refusal comes first. Ahab had already turned from God's Word. Because he refused the truth, he accepted the lie of his own prophets.
- Permission, not partnership. The spirit volunteers and God allows it. Paul's thorn followed the same pattern: an evil spirit is a creature God can use for His own wise purposes.
- The throne is above the plot. Micaiah sees the Lord seated and the whole host standing before Him, evil spirits included. God keeps perfect control of satanic power.
- The sentence fits the sin. The demonic spirits Ahab had worshipped became the instruments of his own doom. Judgment reached him through the channel he had chosen.
- The lesson is discernment. Scripture does not explain what this spirit was or how it worked. It does warn that a man can wear a prophet's uniform and still be lying.
And Jehovah said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt entice [him], and also succeed go forth, and do so.
Micaiah answered a king who wanted encouragement by describing a council in heaven. How can the God of truth send out a lying spirit, and still hold Ahab guilty?
Ahab was about to march on Ramoth-gilead. Micaiah's vision shows who really decided that war.
Jehovah sat on His throne, surrounded by the host of heaven. His patience with Ahab was now exhausted. He called for a volunteer who would make the doomed man willing to go to war to his own ruin. After much discussion, a spirit proposed to go down and put a lie in the mouths of all the king's prophets. "Go out, and do so," said the great God. No words can say how solemn this is. Israel's war with Syria was arranged in the spirit world, as many a war has been since.
Ahab had worshipped demonic spirits for years. His judgment came through them.
He points out the satanic lying spirit that has taken hold of all the prophets to make Ahab go up to Ramoth. The Lord had said, "Who will entice Ahab so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?" This was the judgment of God, prepared beforehand against Ahab. It was an indirect judgment: the demonic spirits he had worshipped became the instruments of their victim's doom.
Another writer links this scene with the strong delusion in 2 Thessalonians 2.
This may seem a strange situation, but it shows that the Lord allows evil spirits to do their evil work of lying, so that ungodly people will be deceived. In the same way, 2 Thessalonians 2 shows the folly of those deceived by the strong delusion. The Lord sends it through the antichrist, because people refuse to believe the truth of God. So, because Ahab had refused God's Word, he would accept the falsehood of Satan's prophets.
God asks the spirit by what means, and the spirit must answer. It acts only when God says go. One writer sets this beside other cases where God allowed an evil power to act.
Satan is a creature, so God can and does use him to carry out His wise purposes in His dealings with men. God permitted a lying spirit to lure Ahab on to his death at Ramoth-gilead. A messenger of Satan, a thorn in the flesh, buffeted Paul, so that he would not become proud. Paul could deliver a man to Satan, so that he might learn not to blaspheme.
The strangest part of the story is that Micaiah told Ahab the plan in advance. Ahab heard it and jailed him for it.
The Lord's prophet now sets before them his vision of a scene in heaven. He sees the lying spirit in the mouth of Ahab's prophets, luring him to his death. But this is more than Ahab can bear. He orders at once that they throw Micaiah into prison. There he is to live on the bread and water of affliction until the king returns from his campaign in peace. And Micaiah said, "If you return at all in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me."
These prophets did not speak in the name of an idol.
They were now pretending to speak by the Spirit of God. In fact a lying spirit that served their own interests had taken hold of them. One can wear the uniform of a prophet of the Lord and be lying. How often this has been so in every age, and how much more so today.
The majority was wrong, and the battle proved it.
Ahab disguised himself, but an arrow wounded him and he died. Ahab's four hundred prophets and the Lord's one prophet are an instance of the conflict of spirits. The Christian is now called upon to test that conflict.
- Refused truth. Ahab had already turned away God's Word; the lie he later swallowed was the harvest of that refusal.
- Given delusion. The spirits he had worshipped brought him down. The judgment matched the sin.
- Under permission. The lying spirit is only a creature. It must ask permission, and it works inside God's purposes, never outside them.
- Still warned. Micaiah told Ahab the plot to his face, and Ahab jailed him for it. The lie never cancelled his responsibility.
- Test the voices. Four hundred men used the Lord's name and lied; one man told the truth. Believers are called to test which spirit is speaking.