Trusting God's Plan in the Battle: Lessons From the Life of JehoshaphatIsampula

Day 6: Yes Men

Do you know what a “yes” man” is? He or she tells a superior whatever the boss wants to hear, even if it isn’t the truth. They always agree with their boss, no matter if it’s right or not. In today’s lesson, King Ahab is surrounded by 400 prophets who are his “yes” men.

Yesterday we learned that Jehoshaphat and Ahab had agreed to join forces to attack the king of Aram. But before they start heading out to fight, Jehoshaphat tells Ahab, “First seek the counsel of the LORD.” (v 4)

Could it be that Jehoshaphat’s spirit was pricked for a second when he realized he hadn’t checked in with God on if they should go to war? Maybe he’s thinking it wasn’t such a great idea to ally himself with Ahab without consulting God. We’ll see!

Ahab brings all his “yes” men, but Jehoshaphat realizes none of these guys are true prophets of the Lord. Maybe he sensed the men were telling Ahab only what he wanted to hear. So, Jehoshaphat poses the question, “Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?” (v 6)

Ahab whines that there is a prophet of the Lord named Micaiah, “...but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad.” (v 7)

Meanwhile, the false prophets lie to Ahab saying he will be victorious against the Arameans. One prophet named Zedekiah even brings out iron horns and says they’ll gore the Arameans until they are destroyed. Talk about putting on a show for the kings! Remember, these guys aren’t true prophets of God, so they have no clue what will happen in the future. They are lying to Ahab and Jehoshaphat.

A messenger goes to get Micaiah and tells him all the other prophets are predicting success for the king’s upcoming battle, so Micaiah should do the same. But Micaiah says, “As surely as the LORD lives, I can tell him only what my God says.” v 13

We will pick up where we left off with the rest of the story tomorrow, but we can learn a thing or two from each of these key players:

• Jehoshaphat: Inquired of God this time about the situation.
• Ahab: Relied on the counsel of “yes” men instead of the Lord.
• Micaiah: Not willing to lie for gain.

Questions:

1. Have you ever had to tell a boss something they didn’t want to hear? How did you handle it?

2. Why do you think Jehoshaphat made this evil king inquire of God?

3. In this situation, what do you think you would have done?