6So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”
“Go,” they answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
7But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?”
8The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”–1 Kings 22
- The king of Judah went to visit the king of Israel.
- When he got there, Israel was pondering going to war even when they currently were at peace.
- The king of Israel brought out 400 prophets to make a show of inquiring of God.
- But none of them were prophets of Yahweh, the only God. The king of Judah asked about this.
- Israel had one prophet of Yahweh, a man named Micaiah. But the king didn’t like him, because he always prophesied doom and gloom. Who would the king listen to?
- A person, for example, can have all the voices in their life telling them to follow their heart, yet the Bible is clear (Jeremiah 17:9) that the heart is deceitful and desperately sick. Who would you listen to?
- There is no replacement for God’s Word, the Bible. The questions only remain about yourself. Where do you go for guidance? Whose approval do you seek most? The king of Israel tried throwing 400 prophets at a problem, but they were not from God. Do you do the same?–JMB
Joel M Bradshaw 
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