“I Hate Him, for He Doth Not Prophesy Good”

Yesterday, I wrote about the susceptibility of a king to choose advice that appeals to his pride over advice which humbles him. As Samuel the Lamanite explained to the Nephites who had rejected him in Zarahemla, this tendency is not limited to kings. We are all averse to difficult messages, however true they may be:

If a prophet come among you and declareth unto you the word of the Lord, which testifieth of your sins and iniquities, ye are angry with him, and cast him out and seek all manner of ways to destroy him; yea, you will say that he is a false prophet, and that he is a sinner, and of the devil, because he testifieth that your deeds are evil.
But behold, if a man shall come among you and shall say: Do this, and there is no iniquity; do that and ye shall not suffer; yea, he will say: Walk after the pride of your own hearts; yea, walk after the pride of your eyes, and do whatsoever your heart desireth—and if a man shall come among you and say this, ye will receive him, and say that he is a prophet.
Yea, ye will lift him up, and ye will give unto him of your substance; ye will give unto him of your gold, and of your silver, and ye will clothe him with costly apparel; and because he speaketh flattering words unto you, and he saith that all is well, then ye will not find fault with him.

Helaman 13:26-28

When Ahab, king of Israel, asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to join him in retaking Ramoth-gilead from Syria Jehoshaphat was positively disposed. “I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses,” he said. But he also made a request: “Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord to day” (1 Kings 22:5). Ahab responded by gathering 400 prophets, all of whom counseled them to go and promised victory. Jehoshaphat was, however, skeptical. “Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might inquire of him?” Ahab responded, “There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil” (1 Kings 22:7-8).

Ahab’s criterion for judging prophets is questionable: “I will believe you if you tell me what I want to hear.” So it’s not surprising that he was surrounded by sycophants who called themselves prophets.

When Micaiah arrived, his message matched Ahab’s fears. “Did I not tell thee,” Ahab asked Jehoshaphat, “that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?” (1 Kings 22:18). Ahab commanded that Micaiah be cast into prison and fed only “with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace” (1 Kings 22:27). But Ahab did not come in peace. On the day of the battle, he was struck by an arrow and died that evening (1 Kings 22:34-35). His rejection of a true prophet cost him his life.

All of which leads to a simple yet challenging question: Are you willing to follow a prophet who teaches something you don’t want to hear? When you read or listen to the words of a prophet, are you looking for messages which reaffirm your beliefs and assumptions, or are you open to messages which challenge you to see things differently, which inspire you to change? If you want to stay exactly as you are, you will find voices of affirmation, but is that really what you want? And where will those voices be when you reach a crisis which they could not foresee?

Today I will seek out prophetic guidance which challenges me. I will remember that true messages from God don’t always agree with my assumptions, but that there is safety in seeking to hear and understand prophetic guidance.