Welcome back to another article and if you are new here: welcome. As you might have noticed, my themes and articles lately have been revolving around the Bible and God and I know some of y’all are like ugh… not again *insert eyeroll* And I know not everybody is as deep into spirituality as I am, doing the Baptist feet, catching the Holy Ghost and shouting during sermon shaaando! With your hands held high. Aiight… I get it. But this is the authentic me. And if I have to be authentic, you’ll also (on some occasions) be acquainted with that preachy, black lil' mama who gon’ spit Bible bars and keep you woke (or wake you up) on some very important Biblical and spiritual truths. Now let me put out that disclaimer: I AM NOT A PREACHER. I am sharing with you the things that jump at me when I am reading my Bible and spending time in God’s presence that have me like “oooh… my my my” *shakes head and lift hand in the air* (okay.. I’m done now)
So today we’ll look at the story of King Ahab in 1 kings chapter 22:1-39 and use it as the foundation of today’s topic: The importance of seeking God[ly] counsel.
So as usual, I’ll give you a little background story from the NLT (New Living Translation) Bible version and we’ll dibble-dabble a little into the BLT (if you ain’t familiar with this acronym, it stands for the Black Living Translation version. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of it before, you gon’ learn today what it is)
So at the time the story is taking place, Ahab is king of Israel and for three years he had been in a cease-fire between Aram and Israel. However in the 3rd year, Jehoshaphat (king of Judah) came to visit Ahab. Prior to his visit, Ahab had told his minister: “y’all… can you believe that Ramoth is ours and we haven’t done anything to take it back from Aram?” So when Jehoshaphat showed up, he asked him to come and fight Aram with him and he was like: “say. No. more. Fam! I got you.” they bumped fist and all that (this is all part of the BLT y’all. Don’t go looking for that in your Bible. You’ll find the story but not like that) And after doing all that agreement and fist bumping, Jehoshaphat added this : “But first let’s find out what the Lord says.” (1 kings 22: 5)
Ahab called the prophets (about 400 of them) and asked them if he should go to war to against Ramoth or just lay low and they all agreed and said: “sure! God will give it to you”
But then look at what Jehoshaphat said: “Is there not also a prophet of the Lord here? We should ask him the same question”. Now let’s stop here for a minute: the fact that Jehoshaphat asked that question suggest that: a) he was feeling off about the fact that all the prophets would agree unanimously to let Ahab go to war or b) those prophets were not of the Lord (woooozaaaah. Let that one sink for a second). So Ahab said: “There is one more man who could consult the Lord for us, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but trouble for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah” (verse 8) and to that Jehoshaphat responded : “This is not the way a king should talk! Let’s hear what he has to say” (verse 9). So they went to fetch for Micaiah but once the emissary got to his house he said : “yo man… all of your colleagues agreed to say the same thing: that the king will be victorious. So you better side with them too” (aka “better watch yo' mouth boy!” that’s the BLT version by the way.. Just in case you're wondering). But look at what Micaiah said : “As surely as the Lord lives, I will say only what the Lord tells me to say” (verse 14).
So they went back and then Ahab asked his question again: “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should we hold back?” and Micaiah responded “Yes, go up and be victorious, for the Lord will give the king victory!” (he was being sarcastic of course... Have a feeling me and him might be related). But then Ahab was like: “boy... how many times do I have to beg you to tell the truth?!” And this is what Micaiah said: “In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace” then he proceeded to explain how he saw God in a vision asking in the multitudes surrounding Him, who would inspire Ahab to go to war and thus go to his death and a spirit of false prophecy came forward be like “ I got you! I’ll do that and inspire all the prophets to tell lies” and God was like “very well then! Do that”. But one of the prophets got into bunches and slapped Micaiah *bam* (just like that, in his whole face) and was like : “since when the spirit of the Lord left me to speak to you?” and Micaiah was like : “you’ll figure it out soon enough… when you’ll be running for your life and hiding” (BLT version y’all stick with me) and them Ahab said “LOCK HIM UP UNTIL I COME BACK!” but then Micaiah was like : “tuh… if you come back then the Lord has not spoken!”. Long story short: Jehoshaphat and Ahab went to war, Jehoshaphat almost died for being mistaken for Ahab because he was wearing his clothes (this will be a topic for another article) but he didn’t however, Ahab was randomly hit by an arrow and because the war was violently raging, he couldn’t be evacuated from the battlefield. He died in the evening just as Micaiah prophesied.
So now you’re like… okay gurl… what are we supposed to get away from that story? Well… here are the takeaways that I got from meditating on that story on why it is important to seek God[ly] counsel:
A- They will tell you the truth (1 kings 22: 14)
People who are not led by God will tell you what they feel or what you want to hear and rarely the truth. That's what all of the prophets did except for Micaiah! See, Ahab was irritated about Micaiah because he was saying bad things but then begged him for the truth. The truth will not always be pretty to hear, it won’t be what you want to hear but it will be what you need to hear. And most importantly the truth will set you free. Free from bondage, from sin, from anything that might lead you to a captivity you might (or might not) come back from. God[ly] counsel will bring you what you need, what your spirit and your soul need. I know my best friends don’t tell me what I want to hear. As prayerful as I am, I get blindsided sometimes and those ladies are the mirrors that God placed into my life and that I cannot run away from. They will tell me the truth and not sugarcoat it because they know the truth, they know the Word of God and they know God but most importantly because they love me. If your friends agree with you ALL THE TIME, then ask yourself: “are they really my friends?” and if you are a christian ask yourself : “is the advice they are giving me in alignment with what the world of God says? Is it in agreement with the will and purpose of God for me and my life? Will these advices bring something positive into my life or will it lead me to chaos, tears, heartaches and headaches?” No judgment. No heat. Just a few questions to evaluate the quality of your circle because who you are around can make or break you and your destiny.
B- Your life might depend on it
You get the full picture from that story and I don’t think I need to say more. Had Ahab listen to his God[ly] counsel perhaps his end would had been different. But there is not certitude to it as the Bible said in verse 23 : “So you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all your prophets. For the Lord has pronounced your doom”. Who is in your counsel? Who are they getting their counsel from? Next time you run to them for advice and counsel, ask yourself that question first (I say you but really I'm in that one too). Not judging, just helping
C- It will prevent you from getting into situation that might cost you
Although I admire Jehoshaphat for his wisdom when it came to consulting the Lord before going to war, I was distraught by the fact that he did not consult God before getting into association with Ahab. This is what the Bible says about Jehoshaphat in 2 chronicles 17:3 : “The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father’s early years and did not worship the images of Baal”. However, it was a different story for Ahab: the Bible says in 1 Kings 16: 30 that “ Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him. And as though it were not enough to follow the sinful example of Jeroboam, he married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to bow down in worship of Baal.” So my first question when comparing those two people was : why even associate yourself with someone like that and agree to go to war with him?! The Bible says that before choosing his disciples Jesus prayed. He sought God’s counsel to choose who He was supposed to be surrounded with (sidenote: People could argue that Jesus chose wrong because He picked Juda Iscariot who would betray Him later but! it was part of God’s divine set up. It is the perfect representation of what Roman 8:28 means: this had to happen so that the prophecies about Jesus could be accomplished and humanity could receive salvation). But, because Jehoshaphat FAILED to consult God before getting in association with a man that stood before God as an abomination, he almost lost his life. What happened to Jehoshaphat was grace. It could be that God saved his life because at some point, his heart was straight and he was walking in the commands of the Lord? Can't tell for sure. How many of us pray to seek the will of God regarding the people that walk into our lives? Just because they walk in doesn’t mean God sent them. They are there for a purpose, true, but whose purpose? God or the devil? Had Jehoshaphat consulted God in the first place, he would have probably not agreed to Ahab proposal and perhaps not found himself in a situation that could have cost him his life. So next time someone steps into our life, maybe we should pray about it, seek God’s will and wonder if the presence of that person in our life has been orchestrated by God. And if you are genuine about that, God will speak to you. Maybe not directly but He will: through that person’s character, through signs, through what the people around you think of that particular person. God will give you conviction about whether or not that person has been divinely sent and positioned into your life but you have to pay attention! Don’t dismiss the response to your prayer the way Ahab and Jehoshaphat did. If you ask and you get a response, don’t walk or act like you don’t know when you do know. Act and walk based on what the Lord has told you and showed you.
That's all for today y'all. Hope it was fun to read and entertaining but most importantly, I hope it gave you a new perspective on why seeking God[ly] counsel is important.
So today we’ll look at the story of King Ahab in 1 kings chapter 22:1-39 and use it as the foundation of today’s topic: The importance of seeking God[ly] counsel.
So as usual, I’ll give you a little background story from the NLT (New Living Translation) Bible version and we’ll dibble-dabble a little into the BLT (if you ain’t familiar with this acronym, it stands for the Black Living Translation version. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of it before, you gon’ learn today what it is)
So at the time the story is taking place, Ahab is king of Israel and for three years he had been in a cease-fire between Aram and Israel. However in the 3rd year, Jehoshaphat (king of Judah) came to visit Ahab. Prior to his visit, Ahab had told his minister: “y’all… can you believe that Ramoth is ours and we haven’t done anything to take it back from Aram?” So when Jehoshaphat showed up, he asked him to come and fight Aram with him and he was like: “say. No. more. Fam! I got you.” they bumped fist and all that (this is all part of the BLT y’all. Don’t go looking for that in your Bible. You’ll find the story but not like that) And after doing all that agreement and fist bumping, Jehoshaphat added this : “But first let’s find out what the Lord says.” (1 kings 22: 5)
Ahab called the prophets (about 400 of them) and asked them if he should go to war to against Ramoth or just lay low and they all agreed and said: “sure! God will give it to you”
But then look at what Jehoshaphat said: “Is there not also a prophet of the Lord here? We should ask him the same question”. Now let’s stop here for a minute: the fact that Jehoshaphat asked that question suggest that: a) he was feeling off about the fact that all the prophets would agree unanimously to let Ahab go to war or b) those prophets were not of the Lord (woooozaaaah. Let that one sink for a second). So Ahab said: “There is one more man who could consult the Lord for us, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but trouble for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah” (verse 8) and to that Jehoshaphat responded : “This is not the way a king should talk! Let’s hear what he has to say” (verse 9). So they went to fetch for Micaiah but once the emissary got to his house he said : “yo man… all of your colleagues agreed to say the same thing: that the king will be victorious. So you better side with them too” (aka “better watch yo' mouth boy!” that’s the BLT version by the way.. Just in case you're wondering). But look at what Micaiah said : “As surely as the Lord lives, I will say only what the Lord tells me to say” (verse 14).
So they went back and then Ahab asked his question again: “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should we hold back?” and Micaiah responded “Yes, go up and be victorious, for the Lord will give the king victory!” (he was being sarcastic of course... Have a feeling me and him might be related). But then Ahab was like: “boy... how many times do I have to beg you to tell the truth?!” And this is what Micaiah said: “In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace” then he proceeded to explain how he saw God in a vision asking in the multitudes surrounding Him, who would inspire Ahab to go to war and thus go to his death and a spirit of false prophecy came forward be like “ I got you! I’ll do that and inspire all the prophets to tell lies” and God was like “very well then! Do that”. But one of the prophets got into bunches and slapped Micaiah *bam* (just like that, in his whole face) and was like : “since when the spirit of the Lord left me to speak to you?” and Micaiah was like : “you’ll figure it out soon enough… when you’ll be running for your life and hiding” (BLT version y’all stick with me) and them Ahab said “LOCK HIM UP UNTIL I COME BACK!” but then Micaiah was like : “tuh… if you come back then the Lord has not spoken!”. Long story short: Jehoshaphat and Ahab went to war, Jehoshaphat almost died for being mistaken for Ahab because he was wearing his clothes (this will be a topic for another article) but he didn’t however, Ahab was randomly hit by an arrow and because the war was violently raging, he couldn’t be evacuated from the battlefield. He died in the evening just as Micaiah prophesied.
So now you’re like… okay gurl… what are we supposed to get away from that story? Well… here are the takeaways that I got from meditating on that story on why it is important to seek God[ly] counsel:
A- They will tell you the truth (1 kings 22: 14)
People who are not led by God will tell you what they feel or what you want to hear and rarely the truth. That's what all of the prophets did except for Micaiah! See, Ahab was irritated about Micaiah because he was saying bad things but then begged him for the truth. The truth will not always be pretty to hear, it won’t be what you want to hear but it will be what you need to hear. And most importantly the truth will set you free. Free from bondage, from sin, from anything that might lead you to a captivity you might (or might not) come back from. God[ly] counsel will bring you what you need, what your spirit and your soul need. I know my best friends don’t tell me what I want to hear. As prayerful as I am, I get blindsided sometimes and those ladies are the mirrors that God placed into my life and that I cannot run away from. They will tell me the truth and not sugarcoat it because they know the truth, they know the Word of God and they know God but most importantly because they love me. If your friends agree with you ALL THE TIME, then ask yourself: “are they really my friends?” and if you are a christian ask yourself : “is the advice they are giving me in alignment with what the world of God says? Is it in agreement with the will and purpose of God for me and my life? Will these advices bring something positive into my life or will it lead me to chaos, tears, heartaches and headaches?” No judgment. No heat. Just a few questions to evaluate the quality of your circle because who you are around can make or break you and your destiny.
B- Your life might depend on it
You get the full picture from that story and I don’t think I need to say more. Had Ahab listen to his God[ly] counsel perhaps his end would had been different. But there is not certitude to it as the Bible said in verse 23 : “So you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all your prophets. For the Lord has pronounced your doom”. Who is in your counsel? Who are they getting their counsel from? Next time you run to them for advice and counsel, ask yourself that question first (I say you but really I'm in that one too). Not judging, just helping
C- It will prevent you from getting into situation that might cost you
Although I admire Jehoshaphat for his wisdom when it came to consulting the Lord before going to war, I was distraught by the fact that he did not consult God before getting into association with Ahab. This is what the Bible says about Jehoshaphat in 2 chronicles 17:3 : “The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father’s early years and did not worship the images of Baal”. However, it was a different story for Ahab: the Bible says in 1 Kings 16: 30 that “ Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him. And as though it were not enough to follow the sinful example of Jeroboam, he married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to bow down in worship of Baal.” So my first question when comparing those two people was : why even associate yourself with someone like that and agree to go to war with him?! The Bible says that before choosing his disciples Jesus prayed. He sought God’s counsel to choose who He was supposed to be surrounded with (sidenote: People could argue that Jesus chose wrong because He picked Juda Iscariot who would betray Him later but! it was part of God’s divine set up. It is the perfect representation of what Roman 8:28 means: this had to happen so that the prophecies about Jesus could be accomplished and humanity could receive salvation). But, because Jehoshaphat FAILED to consult God before getting in association with a man that stood before God as an abomination, he almost lost his life. What happened to Jehoshaphat was grace. It could be that God saved his life because at some point, his heart was straight and he was walking in the commands of the Lord? Can't tell for sure. How many of us pray to seek the will of God regarding the people that walk into our lives? Just because they walk in doesn’t mean God sent them. They are there for a purpose, true, but whose purpose? God or the devil? Had Jehoshaphat consulted God in the first place, he would have probably not agreed to Ahab proposal and perhaps not found himself in a situation that could have cost him his life. So next time someone steps into our life, maybe we should pray about it, seek God’s will and wonder if the presence of that person in our life has been orchestrated by God. And if you are genuine about that, God will speak to you. Maybe not directly but He will: through that person’s character, through signs, through what the people around you think of that particular person. God will give you conviction about whether or not that person has been divinely sent and positioned into your life but you have to pay attention! Don’t dismiss the response to your prayer the way Ahab and Jehoshaphat did. If you ask and you get a response, don’t walk or act like you don’t know when you do know. Act and walk based on what the Lord has told you and showed you.
That's all for today y'all. Hope it was fun to read and entertaining but most importantly, I hope it gave you a new perspective on why seeking God[ly] counsel is important.
Until next time,
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