This week, we begin to consider the virtues that define a godly people. As a beginning place, we will consider the value of truth. Truth is connected to the virtues of truth-seeking, and truthfulness (both in speech and action). Let’s start with a favorite piece of history from the book of Kings:
It is an odd event. The king of Judah and the king of Israel meet to decide about matters of war. They choose to ask God what to do, and Ahab, the king of Israel, calls out his 400 prophets, who are unanimously for the attack. For some reason this is disturbing to Jehoshaphat. Does this unity of opinion seem unlikely? Are the prophets so obviously inclined to answer Ahab in the way that Ahab wishes to be answered? Something disturbs him, because he asks for another opinion: a 401st opinion.
The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, "Look, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king; let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably." But Micaiah said, "As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak."
When he had come to the king, the king said to him, "Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?" He answered him, "Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king." But the king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?" Then Micaiah said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said, 'These have no master; let each one go home in peace.'" The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything favorable about me, but only disaster?"
Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the host of heaven standing beside him to the right and to the left of him. And the Lord said, 'Who will entice Ahab, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' Then one said one thing, and another said another, until a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, 'I will entice him.' 'How?' the Lord asked him. He replied, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Then the Lord said, 'You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do it.' So you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has decreed disaster for you."
Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up to Micaiah, slapped him on the cheek, and said, "Which way did the spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?" Micaiah replied, "You will find out on that day when you go in to hide in an inner chamber." The king of Israel then ordered, "Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son, and say, 'Thus says the king: Put this fellow in prison, and feed him on reduced rations of bread and water until I come in peace.'" Micaiah said, "If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me." And he said, "Hear, you peoples, all of you!"
1 Kings 22:13-28 – NRSV
Isn’t it amazing that Ahab knows, even before he called Micaiah, that the prophet would deliver a contrary opinion? Ahab isn’t looking for truth; he is seeking affirmation. Doesn’t it strike you as odd that Ahab criticizes Micaiah by saying that he has to make him swear to tell the truth? Isn’t it ironic that, when the prophet of God delivers what Ahab wants to hear instead of his true opinion, Ahab catches it right away? Especially when 400 of his own have delivered a lie (from a false spirit) that fit Ahab’s fantasies?
Micaiah must be true to God; the prophet says that he must speak “whatever the Lord says to me.” The role of the prophet is truth-teller. Sometimes that truth involves the future, but in many cases, that truth is right in the midst of our current reality. The prophet’s voice is different because of perspective. He or she speaks from the viewpoint of God, and not that of human beings or any other spirits. Human beings require communities to discover and verify truth, but God can do this as a part of his nature. Consequently, one prophet who speaks with the voice of God from the perspective of God trumps 400 other prophets who speak from any other point of perspective. This is why John tells us to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1-2 – NRSV).
Seeking and speaking the truth is an adventure that is sometimes painful and dangerous, yet always rewarding. Let us be a people who value truth, and who dare to deal with it, no matter how difficult that challenge may be.
Grace and peace,
Ron
